Vectra B problems...help :P

Funkydude

First off, hey all I'm new here and as you are about to find out, a pretty new to mechanics guy aswell.

My car (Vec b 2.2 sri) has been sornd for about 3 months now due to a couple of problems, one if which I have no clue how to sort, and its about time I did something about it. I have searched for these things already but either there was nothing or It was unclear.

First problem I suspect is a dodgy tie rod end (Loud knocking on moving wheel to full lock), am I right in saying the best way to check is to jack up the front of the car and check for play in the wheel?
I would be able to check this but am unsure as to where the best point to jack it up is, I have read a post here regarding this but i'm not really sure if I've got it right, would I put the trolley jack under the front or the side to jack it? and after that I can't see a place for my axle stands to go (do I need a block of wood for it?)

Second problem, a small spring came off what can only be the handbrake and is just hanging there, its seized on at the moment and I don't want to force it off, the spring itself is very thin but quite long, and is currently grinding off of the brake when driving. Is there any way I can 'loosen' the handbrake off manually? And what exactly is this spring, handbrake return one? (I'm assuming this due to the handbrake being seized on), and if so, is it a big job to replace? (Do I need to dismantle the whole system, or can I just use long pliers to get to it?).

Thanks for reading 🙂

Funkydude

Update: Upon visual inspection when turning, there is no play in the tie rod, the knocking seems to be coming from higher up, underneath where the pollen filter is. One side of the car (drivers front) is slightly lower than the rest, in all 3 other arches you can get fingers in with plenty of clearance, cant even attempt it on that one, same fault or another?

Another observation is that there is a loud hissing coming from what I believe is the power steering pump, it gets louder as you turn to full lock, however there is no drop in power steering at all.

cavaddict

Sounds like you may have a broken spring hence the knocking noise and drop in height. Quite common on these.

JohnnyN

Hello and welcome. As above, sounds like your spring has broken and the hissing from the power steering pump is quite normal and not a problem.

:thumbup:

Funkydude

Thanks for the replies, i'll get it in the air tomorrow and have a good look at the spring, shouldn't be too hard to replace from what I've read.

Any advice on the handbrake return spring?, I know they are only a couple of £ from VX, but am unsure on how to go about replacing them =/

Thanks 🙂

EDIT: got it in the air this morning and wheel off, confirmed that the spring is snapped, £24/each from a local supplier, looks like a bitch of a job though, anything else i'd need except tools/spring compressor? (Any nuts/bolts etc. )