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[Entwood]

Marks DTM Calib tweaked the steering box on mine several years ago to overcome a grumble I had with a disconnected feeling I had between the car and the tarmac.

Maybe I should take the other too him, as that has a similar feel, just nowhere near to the same level.


I vaguely recall Entwood having to tweak his, as a last resort, in order to get through his MOT.  In fact, his MOT tester explained to me how bad it was

Yup .. exactly true .. it was adjusted in extremely small increments to remove the excess play, BUT, to leave a tiny amount of play so as to avoid overtightening.

The adjustment was done by marking a reference point on the steering wheel with masking tape, then moving the steering wheel very gently (with the engine running) until the road wheels JUST moved, make a new mark with masking tape, repeat in the other direction. The distance between the two outside bits of tape was the total play. The MOT limit for non-rack & pinion is 75mm .. mine was over 90mm !! - so the failure was well justified

Reason for Rejection
This inspection applies to all types of steering
mechanism.
If power steering is fitted, the engine must be
running for all checks requiring steering movement.
If ATL or OPTL approved, references to the
assistant’s role in this section do not apply, although
an NT may use an assistant to aid with the
inspection of components if the NT considers it
necessary.
For tricycles and quadricycles with motorcycle
derived steering/suspension systems, refer to
Section 9.2.
A. Free Play
1. With the road wheels on the ground pointing
straight ahead, lightly turn the steering wheel
left and right as far as possible without moving
the road wheel.
Check the amount of free play at the
circumference of the steering wheel.
Note: Play due to wear or maladjustment must
not be confused with apparent play due to the
construction of the mechanism, such as caused
by the deflection of flexible joints or spring
compression in external power steering
systems.
Note: The steering wheel free play limit is a
general rule for standard diameter steering
wheels, (380mm). Lower or higher limits should
be set with larger or smaller diameter steering
wheels.
1. A point on the rim of the steering wheel moves,
without the road wheels moving, for more than:
a. 75mm for non rack and pinion
b. 13mm for rack and pinion steering.
Note: Where there are several joints between
the steering wheel and the rack, movement up
to 48mm on a 380mm diameter wheel may be
accepted.

I adjusted the box, as said, in small increments until the max play was 50mm. I did find that if I went any "tighter" then the self-centreing of the steering was poor. At 50mm play it all felt good, self-centreing worked, and the tester was well happy ..  

That was last year (Jan 13), at this years MOT (Dec) Mike commented that the steering was still "nice and tight" .. 

HTH 

[chrisgixer]

"If" there's a problem with adjusting the steering box, we really should discuss it, and confirm. So we're all sure.

Several people have adjusted it on here, with apparently good results. Myself included.
So if that's causing issues, we need to know. However slight, or otherwise, a chance there is of damage.

[rusty]

i had the same  problem with my 2.2 dti ive had it two years now and couldnt keep front tyres on it,kept wearing away on the inside.went through mot twice with no problems.had it 4 wheel lined twice still eating tyres and pulling to the hedge.Then the past 6 months as you went round a round about she would suddenly drop the arse felt like she was going to kick out or a shock or something had gone.Put it through mot again still no problems two days later went to put a couple of front tyres on and as it was being jacked up we noticed as soon as the tyre left the ground it droped in about an inch.Took it to the garage both bottom ball joints had gone as well as the bushes but you wouldnt have known until you had them of.Replaced both bottom wish bones.The car has now stopped dropping down as you corner and tyres are lasting alot longer,still pulls a bit so will need to get it lined again.Great to get it sorted as it caused me to crash going around a corner one day thankfully managed to miss the other cars.Now last week its decided to take notions when it will start,o the joys of having an omega.

[TheBoy]

Rusty, inner shoulder wear is ALWAYS camber. Don't waste money on pointless 4 wheel alignment, always get a proper geometry check done.

[Andy H]

Some discussion here from the old site, if it helps?

http://oldsite.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1268642813

Interesting.

[Andy H]

You still have a sector arm in a recirculating ball box.



Clearly the potential for such an assembly to self-destruct if it's adjusted without leaving adequate running clearance is there, and there's no way to measure it, so adjust only as a last resort if there's excessive play with the box in exactly the straight ahead position IMHO.

There is shed loads of play away from the straight ahead position, by design, and it is also much looser with the engine stopped.

The way to measure it is 'on the bench' using a special torque indicator (or a spring balance and a piece of string wrapped round the input shaft).

I have a Range Rover service manual somewhere with instructions on the correct way to do it. If I can find it I will post up the instructions.

[Andy H]

When I first got my VFR750 it was exhibiting a weird handling trait. It felt fine on twisty roads but was horrible in a straight line (eg on motorways). It turned out that the headstock bearings (which were ball bearings) had been overtightened and each ball had created a dent in the inner and outer races.

Away from straight ahead the steering was free to move but in a straight line it settled in the dents which messed up the self castor steering .

If a recirculating ball system is overtightened I imagine there is a risk of similar dents being created in the worm

[Kevin Wood]

You still have a sector arm in a recirculating ball box.



Clearly the potential for such an assembly to self-destruct if it's adjusted without leaving adequate running clearance is there, and there's no way to measure it, so adjust only as a last resort if there's excessive play with the box in exactly the straight ahead position IMHO.

There is shed loads of play away from the straight ahead position, by design, and it is also much looser with the engine stopped.

The way to measure it is 'on the bench' using a special torque indicator (or a spring balance and a piece of string wrapped round the input shaft).

I have a Range Rover service manual somewhere with instructions on the correct way to do it. If I can find it I will post up the instructions.

OK, but you can't adjust it like that on the car, and I wouldn't mind betting the torque method is fine for a brand new / rebuilt box but after a bit of wear that probably gets a bit hit and miss.

[chrisgixer]

Some discussion here from the old site, if it helps?

http://oldsite.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1268642813

Interesting.

Well, yes 2woodys experience is marked in his description of the importance of "proper adjustment." So to speak.
In talking to him, I don't think he's been unfortunate enough to experience the utterly appalling handling that certain tyre/set up/wear combinations that can occur on the omega, such as those from FALKEN and sports contact 5 threads I' m sure you've seen.

So if that's so, I don't know, his priority list makes sense and puts the box adjustment further up the list. If you see what I mean.

Certainly, for those that drove my car fitted with Falkens, the steering input needed to keep the car straight was way beyond the play evident in the steering box. WAY beyond.
So I then, would put the box adjustment lower down the list of priorities, as there's bigger forces at play.


But the key thing is, I don't think there's many of us here that are intimate with first hand experience of the box innards. So we have to leave an element of doubt and room for learning on how it works. Certainly I'd appreciate further info.

There's an element of hear say and oof legend about box adjustment, so I think its right to question it. however experience suggests improvements can be made with the box in the car. If its even remotely stiff, over adjusted, it's very noticeable. Much more so than the play itself. It feels like over tight head stock bearings on a bike as you say, and tends to zig zag. Most unpleasant. That would be re adjusted out in the space of 20yards driving, I can assure you.

But given the factual nature of the help sections, its fair to say some back up info would help all involved, if at all possible. Simply saying "that's wrong" well... you see the point I'm sure.

[chrisgixer]

Any more on this?

[minifreek]

My 2.5 Elite is doing the same thing with the steering too....

What happened was, I replaced the suspension with MV6 full suspension, took the car to get the tracking sorted as yo do after any suspension replacements, after driving it away from the tracking place there was a 'pop' on the left side and the handling just went weird... If in a straight line, it's fine, but as soon as you go over a grid or any 'slippery' surface the car seems to jump.... now I thought it was the 'new' suspension at fault as it is second hand and Im unaware of how old it is, so took it off and had a good look at it and cannot see anything wrong...

This problem will happen no matter which side the car drive over a grid etc.... so I came to the conclusion that the only common part is the steering box, I have been waiting for the weather to be kind enough for me to get underneath and see what has gone astray or even if its something that has just become loose....

I really do want to get this problem sorted as the MoT is due next month and Iv noticed that the NS tyre is wearing away at an alarming rate, and that was only replaced last week......

[Kevin Wood]

I really do want to get this problem sorted as the MoT is due next month and Iv noticed that the NS tyre is wearing away at an alarming rate, and that was only replaced last week......

The suspension geometry is out, then. I wonder if the camber adjuster wasn't torqued up and it moved when you drove off?

Also, bear in mind that asking for "tracking" will result in the front toe only being adjusted. This is a waste of time. You need a full geometry setup which should include caster, camber and toe at the front and the combined camber and toe adjustment at the rear. You also need to specify that you want the front camber set to around 1^o10'. Many alignment outfits have all the gear but simply don't understand how suspension works, so fiddle with it until everything is in the "green" and send you on your way.

The thing is, the Omega can feel like the steering wheel is barely even connected to the wheels with something as simple as a poor tyre choice. This can lead you to believe it's something major like a steering box failure when, in reality, it just needs setting up properly and an appropriate choice of tyres. I think Chrisgixer is the only person I can remember who's had to replace a steering box on an Omega, and that box had been previously adjusted, so may have been set up too tight, or had previously worn hence the need for adjustment.

[05omegav6]

Exactly what do you mean by second hand suspension?

Are the springs the correct length? And do they match across the car? ie are both rear springs the same length, likewise the front springs... was the car they came from accident damaged.

Save yourself time and money by replacing the lot, and get the car set up properly at Wheels in Motion

[minifreek]

Yes they are the same length on both sides...

Both front dampers are new

Rear dampers are new

Rear springs are the same length, exactly the same springs that are on any Omega except for the estate I believe...

The car they came off wasnt accident damaged, at all.... I removed the suspension myself from the MV6 they was on...

Im thinking that there obviously something has broken or is loose, maybe....

The tracking place I use aligns all 4 wheels as they should, to have them aligned and camber adjusted and castor etc... would cost a oppsing fortune, which is something I dont have... OK I know you cant put a price on safety but WIM are astronomically expensive for what they do/dont do....

[Kevin Wood]

Unless the camber is adjusted you will have problems with uneven tyre wear. Repeated early tyre death results in more expense than a WIM visit.

Did they give you a print out of the before and after settings when you got it aligned? If so, post them up, and they might tell us something.

If I'd had my car aligned and it started eating tyres, I'd be taking it straight back, though. Even if you only asked for tracking, they should have pointed out any other issues that would have caused excessive tyre wear - if they know what they're doing.