Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

I wonder why a failed shock absorber position sensor would trigger a headlight failure message? Seems bizarre, but I guess car electronics are increasingly bizarre!

Timing belt replacement on the V6 is a bit of a performance because, with 4 camshaft sprockets, 2 idler pulleys and a tensioner pulley to go round, it's huge! I've managed to do it on my V6 without the special tools and camshaft locking pieces, but it's easier (though still time-consuming) with them...

Not sure about the hubs not having a non-V6 to compare with, but I recall when I replaced the front brake calipers, discs and pads these were larger than non-V6 ones as I had a bit of trouble sourcing them.

I'm pretty sure my 1993 V6 has an electronically driven speedo. The V6 did indeed come standard with traction control - this worked off the ABS sensors and then had a motor driven override on the normal cable operated throttle. As well as the upgrades mentioned by Robsey, the V6 also has uprated dri...

For some things the Haynes Manuals are godsends ( sadly the latest cars seem to only have the manual available online only, I much prefer a paper copy to cover in oily fingerprints,) however... Be wary of the online only Haynes manuals if you run a newer car alongside your Cavalier as I do. A lot o...

Hammerite Underseal is very good stuff. I used it years ago on my Cav when it was only about 9 months old and I spent hours on my back covering everything underneath (except the exhaust of course, but including myself!) with it. Together with spraying all the box sections internally with Supertrol/D...

The clock spring allows electrical connections to the controls on the steering wheel. On my V6 Cavalier these are only the 2 horn buttons and the airbag, but more recent cars have multiple steering wheel mounted controls that need a connection between the static steering column and the moving steeri...

My Cavalier V6 came with traction control which automatically cuts the throttle if the driven wheels start to slip. When going up hill in snow this is actually not helpful because at the slightest sign of wheel slip engine power dies and you come to a halt. Then its much harder, if not impossible, t...

There seem to be analogue RPM, oil temperature, charging voltage, coolant temperature and fuel level gauages but only a digital speedometer. I can't make out from the picture if all the gauges are being presented virtually instead of physical gauges but, if the former, maybe what is shown can be sel...

"I remember seeing the Mallard and the prototype tilting train at York train museum. Obviously, the inspiration for the pendulinos used recently between London Euston and Manchester." Yes, the original tilting train was developed, designed and manufactured in Britain, but was then ridicul...

That's a good price for E5. Up here in the wilds of Cumbria the cheapest E5 that I can find is £1.76 and at a lot of places it's £1.80 or more.

I've been treating my Cav V6 to the "super" grades of petrol (and trying not to focus too much on the price!) Esso say their "Supreme" E5 petrol does not contain any ethanol "in most areas of the country" but may contain up to 5% in some areas. A bit vague but at least ...

Yes, splits to the bulkhead steering rack mounts are also a problem for the Cavalier - especially with heavier engines like my V6. I managed to get and fit a kit with a reinforcing bar that braces the rack against the side panel; of the engine bay - using the mounting bolts for the ABS unit. While t...

I don't know why manufacturers have started putting clutch slave cylinders inside the bell housing. I still have an old Austin A40 with a hydraulic clutch but the slave cyclinder is mounted on the outside of the bell housing and operates the clutch release bearing via a lever. So it's very easy to b...

My Cav V6, with the heavier engine in it, has fairly heavy steering even with PAS. My wife complains about it but I reckon it keeps my upper body muscles a bit of a workout!
I hate to think what it would be like without PAS - probably all but impossible to manoevre at low speeds.

I think that little plastic trim piece at the rear of the roof just covers the roof to rear quarter panel weld, so there should be no leak through it, unless it's rusted through of course. The rest of the roof to side panel welded joint is hidden behind the tops of the doors. This has always seemed ...

"He also asked if it was metallic and I honestly don't know, but he mentioned it was listed as polar sea blue pearl, which I gather means a sort of metallic right? That seems to be backed up from my Google searches for that code as well." I think pearl paint has flakes of mica in it rather...

It's not just health & safety that has caused this downgrading. The reduction in "volatile organic components" (VOCs) is also supposed to be saving the planet. Another product you now can't get is proper creosote to treat outside timber. A single coating of this would protect timber fo...

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but have you checked the battery? I had this same issue with my V6 a year or so ago. I'd parked it after a run with no problems and then when I tried to start it 2 days later - nothing. I also started looking at fuses, wire continuity, relays etc but then just ...

"Then superglue failure, attaching the clips to which the clips attach (what an arrangement), eventually have three in place with epoxy-resin, and another two or maybe three missing, which if they were ever there, were never there in my ownership, but there are still marks from two more, I gues...

What a great array of pictures - and the quality was excellent. It's amazing what mobile phone cameras will do these days. Thank you for posting these!

I found you could just about reach the adjusters over the top of the wheels with the car standing on the ground, but you needed slimmish hands and stubby spanners.

When my Cav was about 9 months old, I coated both the adjusters with Hammerite Underseal while I was doing the underbody. This has completely prevented seizure, since the Hammerite stuff never sets completely so doesn't crack with age. It is VERY messy when you have to make an adjustment of course, ...

Regarding undersealing or stone chipping, I've had excellent long term experience of Hammerite Underseal, available quite cheaply from Halfords. When I first got my 6 month old Cavalier back in 1993 I spent hours on my back beneath it covering every surface I could get to with Hammerite Underseal. T...

"I don't trust anyone to jack any of my cars now, as they keep jacking it on that bit, while it will support the weight they tend to get damaged, and after all it's not really supposed to be jacked there." I absolutely agree - tyre fitters typically don't care where they jack up a car as l...