NickT

Hi all, I keep getting an annoying vibration which doesn't seem to be repeatable and it happens at 82 and 88 (obviously on a private road!) Car is a 2004 astra 1.7 diesel. I have had new anti roll bar bushes on as part of the main dealer service as it is still under warranty. I re-did the wheel alignment after and OK drives straight with the wheel in the centre (, thanks to Tony's advise on using a supertracker!) I have had new tyres on the front, Firestone F700 fuel saver ones 195/60/r15's on standard vauxhall 15" alloy wheel. I had the wheels rebalanced by the garage that put them on but was just as bad. As the garage kept giving this job to the "new-boy" spotty lad, I took the car to a different garage. I watched the tyres get balanced and made sure all old weights were removed. I made sure that the tyres got a re-spin and that the machine read 00 00. This time the vibration is a lot less but is still there. I have had a look under the car and checked for loose/ split bushes/ anti roll bar drop down links/ loose wheel bearings etc. and can't find anything noticeable. However, when the wheels were off I did notice that on the inside of the alloys, the tyres had a green circle. Reading on this forum, this circle should be next to the tyre valve ! Would this be the answer to all of my problems? Would I need to get the tyre re-seated back on to my rim at this point? I would be grateful if anyone can recommend a GOOD tyre independant in the Wakefield/ Leeds or Sheffield area who can resolve this annoying problem. If anyone knows any other suspension bush/ problem with this Astra car then could you let me know. In the meantime I will swap my fronts to rears to see if this improves matters. Many thanks for help in advance, it is a big anooyance to what is otherwise a v nice car. NickT

Sorry for taking long to get back to you. I have scanned the pages from my manual: http://www.deloreans.co.uk/alignment/ Note bottom of page 10 re: For example, in a situation with (flag) readings 4 on the left and 6 on the right when measuring from rear, set the steering straight and adjust a two line difference on the rear scales on the right hand side when working from the front. then on page 14 it shows that the offset is 1 to the right in total. I will PM you my phone number. Thanks in advance, NickT. ps I bought the supertracker from a garage closure so no training just the manual. ........................... Dealt with verbally due to the complexities of the system. NickT will re-test the operational procedure and report back to wim. Thank you for your advice last night Tony it is appreciated. I will get the extra information to you and will re-check. Regards, NickT. Not had chance to reply on here due to my broadband upgrade and the Mrs wanted some gardening doing. (I hate gardening) Thanks to Tonys excellent advice over the phone last week I found that that the anti roll bar bushes were worn hence the small error in tracking. I managed to get the bushes changed under warranty at Vauxhall and the car feels more stable. I have not had chance yet to re-check the tracking but will do asap. The car definately feels tighter on the road with the wheel coming more to centre. Thanks again Tony. I will give my results when I re-check with your setup info. NickT.

Sorry for taking long to get back to you. I have scanned the pages from my manual: http://www.deloreans.co.uk/alignment/ Note bottom of page 10 re: For example, in a situation with (flag) readings 4 on the left and 6 on the right when measuring from rear, set the steering straight and adjust a two line difference on the rear scales on the right hand side when working from the front. then on page 14 it shows that the offset is 1 to the right in total. I will PM you my phone number. Thanks in advance, NickT. ps I bought the supertracker from a garage closure so no training just the manual. ........................... Dealt with verbally due to the complexities of the system. NickT will re-test the operational procedure and report back to wim. Thank you for your advice last night Tony it is appreciated. I will get the extra information to you and will re-check. Regards, NickT.

Sorry for taking long to get back to you. I have scanned the pages from my manual: http://www.deloreans.co.uk/alignment/ Note bottom of page 10 re: For example, in a situation with (flag) readings 4 on the left and 6 on the right when measuring from rear, set the steering straight and adjust a two line difference on the rear scales on the right hand side when working from the front. then on page 14 it shows that the offset is 1 to the right in total. I will PM you my phone number. Thanks in advance, NickT. ps I bought the supertracker from a garage closure so no training just the manual.

Hi All, I have bought myself a supertracker (, calibrated and double checked with laser pointers) and have just done my first 4 wheel alignment on my 2005 (old model to 2004 model) Astra enjoy 1.7cdti. I have had a look underneath the car and found no rear axle adjustment points as it appears to be a solid tosion beam type axle so I have followed the supertracker instructions for fixed rear axle. I first set the tyre pressures to 32psi all round as per handbook with tyres cold and jacked the car up to check for anoy buckled alloy wheels. The wheels are true. I put the alignment tools on the rear, accounted for the fact that toe out on equipment is toe in etc and used a spirit level to make sure the supertracker is level. I got the following results: rear right rear left +0.2mm toe -1.2mm toe ie total toe 1mm toe in front right front left 1.9 flag marker 2.2 flag marker ie difference 0.3 biassed to the left. I then halfed the difference ie 0.15 I locked the wheel centrally ran the engine for the electic power steering then moved the car backwards and forwards. My garage floor is perfectly level. Haynes book said total toe on front is 0mm ie parallel I then put the alignment tools on the front and set the front toe to 0mm both sides rear right rear left 3.2 flag marker 5.1 flag marker front right front left 0mm toe 0mm toe. So I used the instructions and got the average of the markers to account for the rear thrust angle 5.1+3.2= 8.3 8.3 / 2 = 4.15 Now, accounting for the rear thrust angle: rear left = 4.15+0.15 = 4.3 (ie added as the rear to front was biassed to the left) rear right = 4.14-0.15=4 (ie subtracted as the rear to front was biassed to the left) so now my resulting reading is now set to: rear right rear left 4.3 flag marker 4 flag marker front right front left -1mm toe +1mm toe ie toe difference is 0mm i removed the supertracker, ran the engine, moved the car backwards and forwards then put the gear back on: rear right rear left 4.3 flag marker 4 flag marker front right front left -0.9mm toe +1mm toe ie toe difference is +0.1mm As this is my first go, would you say these results are typical for a mass produced bog standard car and have I done the procedure right? The car appears to drive straight and the steering wheel is central. I did the alignment as the toe was +1mm total and the wheel was to the left, the tyres scrubbed slightly on the inside. Cheers in advance for any feedback. Happy spannering. NickT.