Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Toledodude1973 on 22 May 2015, 21:05:14
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After MOT advisories and car pulling to the left decided to change wishbones and idler. Got vx idler on order today £93! Recently got Lemforder wishbones from carpartsforless £150 however they now dont come with new bolts so enquired about cost from vx and its £35 so i was wondering is it ok to re-use the three nuts and bolts?
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I did on mine as they looked fine to me after a good clean up....
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Would you use loctite on threads or not Steve?
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I didn't no, can't imagine it would do any hard though.
If the old bolts look corroded or misshapen I would replace though.
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Thanks Steve, hoping this will help with slight pull ??? to the left ,when i get the parts and fit them :-\
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The wishbone nuts and bolts never did come with Lemforder bones. The old ones are fine to re use.
They do come with steering knuckle to ball joint bolts though. These i think are important, or at least more Important, to replace with the new ones, as the nuts are slightly crushed to give a tight fit that won't come loose. Therefor, when undoing them after a few years of rust and crap on them, the threads do take a battering and get really hot. Sometimes evaporating off any plus gas or penetrating oil previously applied.
So, don't worry about wishbone bolts. Do fit the ball joint clamp bolts if available. (Only Lemforder seem to bother supplying these afaik)
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Be prepared for this to be the start, I did wishbones, drops links, track rods front and rear followed by setup. It is much better, but not perfect so I'm looking at donut bushes & top mounts now :y
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And yeah, as Steve rightly says. There's a very strong argument for doing the whole lot if possible, and your keeping it long term. Initial cost allowing, it does save money long term.
Top mounts
Shocks
Springs
Bones (poly ?)
Idler(less so as doesn't affect set up too much)
Track rods
Dr links (only if they are very old or knocking though, perhaps, as dont affect set up either)
Rear
Shocks
Springs
Donuts
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Thanks for help , carpartsforless say Lemforder dont supply any bolts now(could be they've dropped from plastic bag and they're just covering themselves ::) Will check bolts before re-use , bare with me as i will be doing job first week june :y so will probably need more help
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Meant to say got new droplinks so that should help :y
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Thanks for help , carpartsforless say Lemforder dont supply any bolts now(could be they've dropped from plastic bag and they're just covering themselves ::) Will check bolts before re-use , bare with me as i will be doing job first week june :y so will probably need more help
Perhaps check with Jason at all German ? You never know, he might price match, if you mention oof. ;)
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Thanks Chris will do :y cheers for advice i've done rear shocks and springs last year so they will be good for a while :y
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I got mine from carparts for less a few weeks ago. Came with the pinch bolts for where it joins the hub. The bump stops fell out on one side and I had to gripfil them back as couldn't be bothered to dismantle to send back. No response from Lemforder regarding this.
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Mine arrived ok but had 1 pinch bolt,2 bigger nuts and 1 nut for pinch bolt combined togther from the 2 plastic bags, all they're saying is they dont come with any nuts or bolts.....fobbed off again :(
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The wishbone nuts and bolts never did come with Lemforder bones. The old ones are fine to re use.
They do come with steering knuckle to ball joint bolts though. These i think are important, or at least more Important, to replace with the new ones, as the nuts are slightly crushed to give a tight fit that won't come loose. Therefor, when undoing them after a few years of rust and crap on them, the threads do take a battering and get really hot. Sometimes evaporating off any plus gas or penetrating oil previously applied.
So, don't worry about wishbone bolts. Do fit the ball joint clamp bolts if available. (Only Lemforder seem to bother supplying these afaik)
Just like to add; last week I changed the wishbones on my 95000 miles 2001 2.6 saloon bought in May. All went well except removing the pinch bolts. They were well rusted in and determined to stay there. I tried heat, but proximity of ABS sensors made it too risky. With calipers and discs removed, I managed to unscrew nuts with big impact wrench, but bolts still stuck. Finally shifted bolts with 18mm impact hexagon hammered on to bolt heads, turned them a bit with 24" breaker bar, then drifted bolts out with big hammer. That's the trouble with old low mileage cars - lots of original bits still present. I used new nuts and bolts on reassembly.
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Doing mine in a week or so Terry your getting me worried ;D
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Did my wishbones recently, car done 138k. Big bolts came out no problem but pinch bolt on steering knuckle needed 24 hour soak in Plusgas and driven out with 3/8 bar, not a big problem. Word of advice, the big bolt near the engine mounts can fall into the subframe so on removal and fitting tie some string around the head o prevent loss. :y
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Doing mine in a week or so Terry your getting me worried ;D
Haynes gives the job 3 spanners, makes it sound easy. He says support front of car, remove wheels, remove 3 bolts and extract wishbone. It's not quite so easy on a 14 year old car with those 3 bolts well settled in.
Don't worry, you have this forum behind you with advice if you need it. Good luckto you. Personally, I enjoy these jobs, I find them satisfying when I have done them. I reckon a man has to do them to enjoy these old luxury cars. The service history that came with my car demonstrated how much the previous owner had spent in vain to sort it.
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You may find yourself grunting and groaning and struggling for hours. The second time you do it (or even just on the other side of the car) you can't understand why it took so long the first time. It's easy enough in principle, just a few trick n so forth which you learn as you go. As said, all the support from the forum, we've all done it, and know your pain :)
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Did my wishbones recently, car done 138k. Big bolts came out no problem but pinch bolt on steering knuckle needed 24 hour soak in Plusgas and driven out with 3/8 bar, not a big problem. Word of advice, the big bolt near the engine mounts can fall into the subframe so on removal and fitting tie some string around the head o prevent loss. :y
You are very local to me, might have to keep an eye out for a 2.5! Facelift or not?
If you see a Silver 3.2 or Green 2.2 about it will either be me or MrsT
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The hardest bit I've found with fitting wishbones is lining up the rear bush to slot the bolt in. :-\
And trying not to lose the bolt down the subframe! ::) ;D
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My 'top tip' is to get both big bolts in (not forgetting they're different lengths) and then get a second jack on the steering knuckle, then rotating/wiggling the whole damper/hub/brakes assembly over the wishbone, which is being pushed down by a helpful mate, or with a spare third hand, which we all learn to grow working on Omegas :)
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True so true then sit down and have a bloody good pint :D :y
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Another fine use for your third hand, that. A pint :)