Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Soooo... I may have neglected to check something while I was looking at damn near everything else... this morning, not 5 minutes ago, I was trying to discover the source of the air leak still. I had the bright idea of covering the air intake as before, and listening for any hissing. And boy, did I f...

That's the thing... no warning light, and given the engine can draw in enough air when I block off the main intake with my hand (palm across it) to continue idling. So that to me means more of a problem possibly just below the throttle body. If it were drawing from say the brake servo pipe, then onl...

Anyone perchance have a photo or able to get photos of a C18NZ intake manifold? Trying to do some research as to where it could be leaking, but weirdly, the internet isn't very helpful on this part.

Anything helps, cheers!

Ahh, that should be a simple and quick job assuming there is nothing else wrong with it. The head may require skimming if it's too badly warped, mine needed some on it and came back a rather nicer colour than the rest of the block! Also, what engine is it you have, btw?

Well... I got back from being out and about, and some thoughts had crossed my mind, some lingering from a suggestion my tame mechanic friend had told me to try, so I figured I'd give them a try while I still had daylight. First up was taking the servo vac line off the intake manifold, and covering t...

Yeah, sounds like it's the crank sensor wiring bundle, multiple wires in a sheath. Oil pressure is fine, is there no oil temperature sensor though? Or is that present only on other models, I'm sure I saw something along these lines when looking through the Bog Book of Lies. I'll double check and hav...

After a bit more inspection, checking as much of the ECU as is visible and giving all the plugs a good wiggle, I'm happy that's all fine on the physical side of things. Taking the neg off the battery for a few hours (partly for good luck, partly because I forgot I did it) didn't seem to do much... w...

In the words of a co-worker of mine... Phucktybollocks. (thank you, bonkers swear filter) So, the new ICM started out at 3000RPM, then dropped slowly until it was back in the horrible zone of poppybangbangphut. I really thought I had that figured out, but the gods of Cavalier have decided to stick t...

Well, bugger me... I think I found the culprit. I removed the ICV to check it over, figured an inspection wouldn't go amiss on it before I did anything else... and found the plunger was seized rock solid. No movement, nothing. Given the Haynes Big Book of Lies said you may need to depress the plunge...

I'll have a look and see if there is anything outwardly wrong with the unit... kinda baffled why I never thought to check it until now anyway. I can get a replacement idle control motor for 15 quid all in from Germany, so might as well do that one as well. Could just be the spring on it is weakened,...

I'm going to assume the fuel system is fine, because if anything it's over fuelling, not under. It really does seem like something the ECU controls is causing it, the more I think about it... cold start is fine, no lumpiness, no misfires, no problems... then after a short time, everything just start...

I just had a horrible thought... if I keep this up, do I win the title of 'Owner of the most broken piece of crap' from Rage?

To go through the list Robsey made... 1) Oxy sensor was replaced due to a different issue regarding that, fixed the 'choked' engine issue, but the persistent problem remains. 2) Induction... the intake manifold gasket was changed as part of the head gasket job, and as far as I can make out, all the ...

Well, brute force and a minor hulk-like rage managed to get the cage fitted... somehow, they DO slide into that horrible black tray behind it all, and even more surprisingly, the unit still slid into it, despite it looking a little less than square. And amazingly, I managed to not screw up the wirin...

Yay! I have another problem, but for once, not related to the engine... in a way. So, I have what I would imagine is the original cage for the radio and a nice shiny new head unit to install. So, I dutifully pulled the old one out, and went to fit the new cage... aaand it's a little bit too long, an...

She's still doing it. I've noticed I seem to have a better fuel consumption overall (almost a 200 mile round trip, about half a tank used?), but the lump still sounds like it's not happy. It felt so silky smooth when I put the new temp sensor in, like it had sorted the problem, but after the 2nd run...

Ok, so changed out the temp sensor finally (about an hour ago), took her for a run, and she feels a lot better for it. Idle speed still seems a little low, but from inside the car there are none of the usual thumps indicative of the engine having issues. Listening at the exhaust however, still sound...

It could be the same as I've had recently, but I'd need a few more symptoms to confirm. Does it drive fine through the lower gears, then in 3rd/4th/5th seem to cap out at about 45-50mph, with the engine struggling like it's having trouble breathing? If so, could be your O2 sensor, mine went the way ...

Hahaha, knobs!

When you say converted to the C20NE... full powerplant replacement, or is it just a few parts changed to give the extra volume? Either way, pondering it...

I've got a new temp sensor on order, so when it arrives I'll stick it in there and see what happens. It does make sense now you've put it that way, the exhaust smelling a lot of unburnt fuel would certainly point to it being way too rich... plus the fuel consumption not being great at this point doe...

Well, hmm. So, she's back from the garage, having had a new head gasket, skimming, valves re-seated and ground, etc. etc. And it's still doing it. Still fires up fine, no popping or loss of RPM at idle, then gradually slips back into old habits. The engine does feel a bit perkier, but at the same ti...

Progress, yes! Hopefully have her back tomorrow lunchtime, if all goes well. The problem with smaller places is they're often booked out and busy most days, so work like this comes between all the MoTs and servicing, I guess. Still, a small price to pay for what hopefully is some solid repair work. ...

Just a small update, she went in for her powerplant surgery last Tuesday. Owing to the machine shop being a little tardy she's not back until tomorrow, but hopefully much smoother, much less thirsty, and a LOT less leaky. Going to cost in the region of just under 800 notes, but as you lads have stat...

Injectors... plural? If only...