Matts CDX - Work In Progress.

[ilovedmymantas]

Thanks for the input, I've bitten the bullet and am going with the head off option. It's unlikely I haven't bent valves given it's an interference engine so i've decided against the cost of further inspection, rebuild it is then.
Just bought an Elring gasket set and a set of Elring bolts, £60 in total.

I'm actually looking forward to doing something I can manage for a change . I can take my time in the heat and comfort at the back end of the living room, the missus won't be too chuffed but it's only short term and who doesn't prefer the smell of wd40 and engine degreaser to lavender or summer fields air freshener
The garage is a man down at the moment so it'll (hopefully) be removed next week when the bigger jobs are cleared.

[Envoy CDX]

[ilovedmymantas]

It's been ages and i'm still off the road-so far.

What happened? Well the garage owner (who works on my car) sadly had a close family bereavement, understandably causing a backlog.
In the meantime I bought a full head gasket set and bolts and a gallon of gunk, preparing for the worst but looking forward to cleaning the cam followers and getting rid of the tickover vibration.

Everything's up in the air now.
I phoned today to see if there was any progress, there was. The timing belt had been fitted and the engine appeared to be running ok. After that the full kit and water pump were fitted. The theory is I might have got away with it because the engine was only idling.
It's booked in for mot tomorrow so we'll see, I guess emissions will be the true test.

[Robsey]

Fingers crossed for you fella -
It is sounding promising.

[ilovedmymantas]

Well that little bit of hope didn't last very long.

The car failed it's mot.
Not on the engine (i assume the emissions were tested) but for chassis rust, four or five areas including two inner sill. There's at least another five hundred quid, i hope i get more than six days driving with the latest instalment

[Robsey]

Oh bugger!!
It is hard to tell how bad or how big the affected areas are.
I am assuming the suspention towers are all rusted, and rear inner sills.

Not too big a job if they patch it. But a bit of a sharp intake of air between the front teeth for the price of the work if done properly. A lot of compound angles and curves.

[3cav3]

Gutted for you. After opening up my van I'm always terrified at the mention of rot. Done properly it can be opening up a real can of worms. I've gone down the patching route in the past, only tends to last a year or 2 before it comes back with avangence. Let's hope at £500 they are doing properly, if so happy days

[Envoy CDX]

Hope the repairs go well, and you get many years from it Nice news on the engine though.

[ilovedmymantas]

I finally got a pass and should be picking the car up tomorrow. Here's the failure list

Do not drive until repaired (dangerous defects):
Nearside Front Suspension component mounting prescribed area is corroded to the extent that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected inner wing (5.3.6 (a) (ii))
Offside Front Suspension component mounting prescribed area is corroded to the extent that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected inner wing (5.3.6 (a) (ii))
Nearside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area is corroded to the extent that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected chassis leg at floor and inner wing (5.3.6 (a) (ii))
Nearside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area is corroded to the extent that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected outer sill (5.3.6 (a) (ii))
Offside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area is corroded to the extent that control of the vehicle is likely to be adversely affected outer sill (5.3.6 (a) (ii))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Nearside Front Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge (5.2.3 (e))

How did that happen? I've done less than 1500 miles in the year, admittedly due to breakdowns

I say should be picking it up tomorrow but that's going to depend on me finding my v5c.
I had to sorn it but when I tried to re tax it the reminder wasn't recognised. It should have been valid until the end of march but i think this being a leap year has messed things up

it'll still be nice to get it back even if the huge financial outlay means i can't address the other issues (mainly paintwork) for now.

[Robsey]

Unfortunately, Cavaliers do not like being stood for long periods.
They simply rot where they stand, especially during cold, damp winter months.
They need the air-flow of a good commuter run, or a long distance jaunt to blow away any moisture, and the warmth of the engine and cabin heater to do the rest.

It is four years this weekend since I SORNed mine.
(A week before the first UK Covid lockdown started in March 2020. - Remember that milarkey!!)
I dread to think how bad the car is underneath by now.

--------------

The main thing now is to ensure that any repairs are protected from the elements and corrosion, otherwise you'll be back here again in a couple of years.

[Envoy CDX]

Good news on the pass, glad to hear its on the road for another year. But yes, echoing Rob's sentiments - they need to be driven.

[3cav3]

I've never seen that the control of a vehicle could be effected by corrosion on an mot sheet before, but am pleased you've got it sorted.
I totally agree with the above though, if the car is stood then corrosion sets in fast. At the moment I can't justify the cost of taxing my Cavalier. The best that ive been able to do is to park it on gravel in the hope that the rain will soak away, but the corrosion is setting in fast in places. Not terminal yet but I will soon have to decide wether I return mine to the road or sell it on. Hopefully you'll be able to use yours regularly now and keep any further problems at bay. Its nice to see though that people are investing time and money into keeping these old girls on the road rather than just weighing them in.

[Robsey]

I am assuming that the corrosion was in the upper strut mount locations.
If so, either the mounting hole could have eroded, or the surrounding metal could be cracked or damaged.

If so, there is small potential for the strut top mounting to move around a bit, causing the vehicle to feel a bit wolly.
Like an excessively worn tracking joint or bush would.

That would be my interpretation
I could be speaking from my backside though.

Either way, it still falls into the -
"Excessive corrosion within 30cm of a prescribed load bearing area - suspension".

[ilovedmymantas]

I'm beginning to think this car doesn't want to be driven.

After six weeks of 'house arrest' and having daily visits from wonderful district nurses i'm now recovered enough to drive to daily appointments.
The car had other ideas however and wouldn't start today. I struggled to get the key in at first, when I tried to turn it over - nothing but dash lights. Removed the key and the dash stayed lit up . Disconnected the battery and called the AA.

AA to the rescue - again!
The pin at the end of the barrel sheared and wasn't engaging so for now the switch is separated and will be started with a screwdriver, not ideal but at least I can still drive till i sort something out

Is it possible to dismantle and change the barrel to keep the original key, I believe there are different barrels, what part number should i look for?

[Envoy CDX]

Yes, the barrels can be stripped down and the tumblers switched over.

As its the internal part of the lock assembly you're needing most you can use pretty much any locking assembly ignition barrel and simple use your original outer piece. It would be a good time to re-lubricate the barrel (some kind of graphite grease) when reassembling. It'll be a messy job, but totally doable - just have to be methodical.

[ilovedmymantas]

Thanks Envoy,
it's been decades since i've played around with locks. Good to know at least that bit should be doable for me.

The pin at the end of the barrel sheared and wasn't engaging so for now the switch is separated and will be started with a screwdriver, not ideal but at least I can still drive till i sort something out

Well that only worked for a day . Looks like a new switch is needed too, the screwdriver is chewing it up and it's physically not engaging the starter. I wonder if that's why the barrel pin broke in the first place. The contacts need cleaned but that seems pointless now.

Random poor pics

As can be seen by all the tape in the last one, it's had an aftermarket immobiliser at some point, already disconnected when i bought the car.

It's a bit of a panic moment, i've still got at least two weeks of daily appointments but fourteen quid a day in taxi's for a six-mile round trip just isn't possible. I thought of asking if anyone could pm me with how to bypass the switch, the downside being if something went wrong away from home the aa wouldn't get me back

[ilovedmymantas]

Duplicate removed - I couldn't find delete button

[ilovedmymantas]

Third copy removed

[Robsey]

Look here in my WIP thread.
About half-way down the page.

http://www.vauxhallcavalier.com/forum/v ... 49#p164149

[3cav3]

On my second cavalier the ignition switch burnt out, being skint i used to put the key in to keep the steering lock off, and picked up on the wires on the back. One flick switch to turn the ignition on and another connected to a push to make switch to engage the starter. Always meant to get another ignition switch but over a year later when I sold the car it was still like that.

[Robsey]

You could do that using "standard" Cavalier switches.
Any normal switch for ignition live via a relay.

And a rear window demister switch for the starter... again via a relay.

Do bear in mind though the other wires for park position (key out) for using a side marker light when parking at night. - indicator stalk set in left or right position.

And for later cars, the presence of the key in / accessory "W" contact. But not wired in on the Cavalier.
----------------

You can get really elaborate so that the high consumers are not live during cranking.
A system used on many 80s Volkswagens.
They use what is called an 'X' or relief relay for that purpose.

Just checked - the Cavalier does have this on terminal 15a. Ignition on when NOT cranking.

[Envoy CDX]

Kool. learn new stuff all the time

[Robsey]

I am surprised nobody has used the blue forward-bias charge warning light feed wire to drive a "15a" relay.

It would only drive the high consumers when the engine is running. Less chance of flattening the battery due to leaving the ignition on with the engine stopped.

The same control system used for "split-charging" a leisure battery. Only charges when the engine is running.

[ilovedmymantas]

Look here in my WIP thread.
About half-way down the page.

http://www.vauxhallcavalier.com/forum/v ... 49#p164149

Thanks for the link, much better pics to work from

I've ordered a febi switch, i couldn't find a gm one. It looks the same as the one in the bottom pic and it's the correct part no. but it's described as 5 post, typo i expect.
I did manage to find an old stock gm barrel, the quality of the casting looked better than the febi one.

It's come to my attention i'm no longer confident with stuff like this that i would have been happy to tackle twenty years ago. Getting old i guess.

[3cav3]

The last few febi items that I've bought have turned out to be very poor quality, bearings that disintegrate being pressed in, the rubber separating from the shock top mounts a few months after fitting etc, just check the items very thoroughly before fitting. I strongly suspect that like a lot of firms, production has been moved to China. I now would purchase febi only as a very last resort, yet a few years ago it always seemed to me anyway to be one of the better after market products.