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[Webby the Bear]

Afternoon folks, Merry Christmas and all that 

I'm getting a nice long list of jobs to do on the Omega: Wishbones, rear donuts and rear dampers (one's leaking).

But away from those maintenance items there's one thing that's bugged me for ages: when the bonnet is shut it slopes down towards the bumper on the right as you look at it. It's obviously had a bump in its lifetime prior to my ownership.

Here are some pics:



Wider gap between fender and hood on drivers' side:


And smaller gap between fender and hood on passenger side:


Headlight assembly not flush (it is drivers side):



Washer bottle not straight...



Headlight assembly broken away from its mount...


Now, I'm no panel expert but I have rad a few articles relating to bumper and bonnet repair. My approach was going to be whipping off the front bumper, 'massaging' headlight unit back in to place, realigning the washer bottle and fitting new bumper and bonnet.

Your thoughts?



Thanks.

[omega3000]

You been playing dodgems again  Mite be some sort of adjustment on the bonnet brackets , cant remember  Fix the headlight first so it gives you a reference to align unless slam panel has been pushed back 

[Webby the Bear]

You been playing dodgems again  Mite be some sort of adjustment on the bonnet brackets , cant remember  Fix the headlight first so it gives you a reference to align unless slam panel has been pushed back 

Thanks Steve. Haha! Nope, this was definitely done before me 

The 'slam panel'.... is this metal 'brace' the slam panel?.......


I'm not made of dough but I'm not averse to replacing what needs to be replaced if I need something to fix it....including a slam panel...It's bugged me that much! 

I'll definitely see if I can align it Steve so thanks for that. 

[omega3000]

Hmm , is it my eyes or does that slam panel look bent , job to say

[Webby the Bear]

Hmm , is it my eyes or does that slam panel look bent , job to say

I've no idea mate. It does line up ok with the plastic trim that sits above the rad.

If I end up replacing it is it a pig of a job? 

[05omegav6]

Oooh that not good

Should have mentioned it yesterday...

Basicall car has been bumped quite hard...

1. Remove bumper and you'll find the metal bar behind it is bent. Replace with straight 2nd hand or new from VX. Cheap enough new. Don't forget the brackets either.

2. Can't do much with slam panel unless you remove it... Not a five minute job as there are 30odd spot welds either side plus wings off radiator out etc

3. Bonnet is designed to fold up in three stages, the grill being the first. Open bonnet, place one hand on each bottom corner of the grill and push the bonnet up from underneath. Intitially take the slack out of the struts, then push a little more. Close bonnet and check alignment with the headlight trims. Repeat as needed.
Don't worry about the alignment with the front corner of the wings as that is a complex shape, but check the gap along the top of the wings. Should be 4-5 mm and even on both sides.

HTH, Al

[Andy H]

Inside the plastic bumper is a steel channel that provides the strength. After a shunt the plastic bumper tends to bounce back to it's original shape leaving the steel channel all bitter and twisted.

The channel section starts off following the curve of the plastic bumper, when it gets pushed inwards it straightens and tends to spread the front chassis legs - I think this is why you have large gaps either side between bonnet and wings.

The position of the washer bottle leads me to think that your channel section is a bit of a mess, When new the plastic bumper slides/clips neatly onto the channel but it is a struggle to get it to go back on to a twisted one

Save yourself some time and effort and get a known good one from a breaker if it looks as bad as I have described

Washer bottle not straight...

Note to self: must type faster...........

[Webby the Bear]

Thanks very much boys, really appreciate it!

When we're talking about chassis legs that's quite worrying. Is this a safety concern? On a slightly different note, if the legs have parted ( ) am I going to see problems with WIM being able to get my car aligned? I'm thinking if the chassis is 'out' then it may be impossible to bring alignment angles in to spec?

(This is quite a handy subject actually as it ties right in with what I've been learning about the 'chassis' area)

Cheers guys! 

[RobG]

Take the bumper off first Steve before speculating as to what damage there may or may not be behind it

[Webby the Bear]

Take the bumper off first Steve before speculating as to what damage there may or may not be behind it

Will do mate 

If I ask all the questions that come in to my head though I get a better understanding of how things work, if ya get me

[Andy H]

The subframe is bolted to the chassis legs and there is quite a lot of freedom to move the subframe (if necessary) so I don't think WIM will have trouble.

The chassis legs start off very solid under the car but become less so in front of the subframe mounting points. If the front bumper is pushing them apart they will probably spring back when the bumper is unbolted (or when WIM loosen the subframe bolts). If they have spread by only 1/4" it will show up in panel alignment.

Have a look for signs of excessive stress on the chassis legs (eg cracks in the paint or torn spot welds). I don't think you should have a problem but you won't be happy now until you have checked.............

[Webby the Bear]

The subframe is bolted to the chassis legs and there is quite a lot of freedom to move the subframe (if necessary) so I don't think WIM will have trouble.

The chassis legs start off very solid under the car but become less so in front of the subframe mounting points. If the front bumper is pushing them apart they will probably spring back when the bumper is unbolted (or when WIM loosen the subframe bolts). If they have spread by only 1/4" it will show up in panel alignment.

Have a look for signs of excessive stress on the chassis legs (eg cracks in the paint or torn spot welds). I don't think you should have a problem but you won't be happy now until you have checked.............

Thanks very much Andy.

In fact, if I wasn't such a forgetful soul I'd have remembered that my car's already been to WIM for a set up. As this bump was before my ownership they must have been able to line it up  Stupid bear!!!

I will get this bumper off as soon as I can and see what state this metal channel is in. Does it have a technical name should I go to order one from breaker/dealer? 

[05omegav6]

It is unlikely the chassis legs are damaged, needs a looksie to be sure...

When the bonnet bends, it takes the slam panel with it. The crash bar brackets mount a fair way into the chassis legs.

What's the gap between the wings and the front doors? I expect the nearside to be closer than the drivers side

[Webby the Bear]

It is unlikely the chassis legs are damaged, needs a looksie to be sure...

When the bonnet bends, it takes the slam panel with it. The crash bar brackets mount a fair way into the chassis legs.

What's the gap between the wings and the front doors? I expect the nearside to be closer than the drivers side

An excellent question.... I'll take a gander. 

[MR MISTER]

I'm not sure about this. That indentation in the top of the panel looks to me as if someone may have left a big socket or something there and slammed the bonnet closed on top of it. That may have caused the bonnet to misalign as well.