Rear Axle and Rear Wheel Suspension (Introduction): Repair Instructions

Introduction

With their extremely complex chassis design, modern vehicles provide a high degree of safety and driving comfort.

These new suspension constructions e.g. individual and multilink suspension, require precise observation and setting of the figures given by Opel/Vauxhall in order to ensure the required levels of safety and driving comfort for all conditions, and also reduce tyre wear to a minimum.

Continued development of new suspension, and the improvement of existing designs, has meant that setting tolerances have steadily been reduced in recent years. Consequently the requirements imposed on manufacturers of chassis alignment equipment for perfect alignment are becoming more stringent. To meet these requirements, for Opel/Vauxhall vehicles 4-wheel alignment has been stipulated since the introduction of the Vectra-B.

This chapter explains what we mean by chassis alignment, what its purpose is and how we know when an alignment is required.