DoIDon'tI
Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2008
- Messages
- 470
- Points
- 81
For a while now, I've been hearing a clunk/rattle from the rear of the car, and suspected that there was some play somewhere in the rear suspension. When I changed my wheels over for winter I noticed a considerable amount of play at the top of the rear wheels. The outer joint in the upper suspension arms (banana arms to the Vectra-C folks) has developed some play, with the MoT looming something had to be done.
So, a couple of days ago I found myself crawling under the rear end of a Croma on axle stands (I jacked the car under the lower suspension arms and put the stands under the mounting points for the trailing arms - sunstantial structure). I'd read up on how to do the job by looking at the Vectra-C forum so felt fairly prepared.
Little did I know that the Vectra floorpan isn't exactly the same as the Croma one...I spent a while scratching my head before coming up with a way to get the job done. The way I found easiest is as follows:-
1. Remove the two bolts holding the rear caliper on and move the caliper out of the way.
2. Undo the 21mm nut (use a 16mm socket to hold the other end of the bolt still) and remove the bolt holding the upper arm to the hub. Put a jack under the lower arm as the hub will drop when the bolt is removed.
3. Unclip the wiring loom from the upper arm but leave the clips attached to the arm for now.
4. Now for the good bit. The inner end of the arm is held in place by a Ribe bolt with the head facing the rear of the car, and an 18mm nut at the front. Access to the front is limited, but if you have the correct Ribe bit then it's not too difficult to get a combination of extensions to allow you to get to the bolt head.
5. The problem is the nut - it's very tight and you can't really get a ratchet handle in there. In the end I discovered that my extandable wheelbrace (an example of which can be found here) with an 18mm socket was just about right, and with a bit of fiddling around I was able to get the nut loose enough to undo it using the bolt head.
6. Once the bolt's been removed, the arm can be removed upwards and outwards. The wiring clips are much easier to change over when the arm's out of the car.
7. Fitment is the reverse of removal (!) but take care to position the arm in the middle of its travel before tightening the bolts - again, use a jack under the lower arm to help.
The car no longer rattles from the back and feels a little more planted on the road, so job well done I reckon. The best bit - the arms cost £30 inc P&P from ebay so at least the parts were cheap. The car's done nearly 71,000 miles so that's not too bad really.
Anyway, hope this helps someone.
So, a couple of days ago I found myself crawling under the rear end of a Croma on axle stands (I jacked the car under the lower suspension arms and put the stands under the mounting points for the trailing arms - sunstantial structure). I'd read up on how to do the job by looking at the Vectra-C forum so felt fairly prepared.
Little did I know that the Vectra floorpan isn't exactly the same as the Croma one...I spent a while scratching my head before coming up with a way to get the job done. The way I found easiest is as follows:-
1. Remove the two bolts holding the rear caliper on and move the caliper out of the way.
2. Undo the 21mm nut (use a 16mm socket to hold the other end of the bolt still) and remove the bolt holding the upper arm to the hub. Put a jack under the lower arm as the hub will drop when the bolt is removed.
3. Unclip the wiring loom from the upper arm but leave the clips attached to the arm for now.
4. Now for the good bit. The inner end of the arm is held in place by a Ribe bolt with the head facing the rear of the car, and an 18mm nut at the front. Access to the front is limited, but if you have the correct Ribe bit then it's not too difficult to get a combination of extensions to allow you to get to the bolt head.
5. The problem is the nut - it's very tight and you can't really get a ratchet handle in there. In the end I discovered that my extandable wheelbrace (an example of which can be found here) with an 18mm socket was just about right, and with a bit of fiddling around I was able to get the nut loose enough to undo it using the bolt head.
6. Once the bolt's been removed, the arm can be removed upwards and outwards. The wiring clips are much easier to change over when the arm's out of the car.
7. Fitment is the reverse of removal (!) but take care to position the arm in the middle of its travel before tightening the bolts - again, use a jack under the lower arm to help.
The car no longer rattles from the back and feels a little more planted on the road, so job well done I reckon. The best bit - the arms cost £30 inc P&P from ebay so at least the parts were cheap. The car's done nearly 71,000 miles so that's not too bad really.
Anyway, hope this helps someone.