Lowrider Dave's V6

[TurboSteven77]

Can anyone answer this please - the bump strips down the body side, are they stuck on or clipped in place?

Self adhesive, awful things to remove iirc

nah easy to remove just need tar glue removel for black stuff behind them tbh i 9/10 remove them as me personaly think cavaliers look nice with out them

[humbucker]

Silly question, where can I find a list of the correct torque values for the V6? (as the Haynes book of lies doesn't cover the V6)

haynes didnt do a v6 manual for cavalier/calibra so you'll need an omega manual to sit alongside your cavalier one. essentially you'll be using the omega manual for engine related stuff and the cavalier manual for everything else! all torque values are in the haynes omega manual.

[Lowrider Dave]

haynes didnt do a v6 manual for cavalier/calibra so you'll need an omega manual to sit alongside your cavalier one. essentially you'll be using the omega manual for engine related stuff and the cavalier manual for everything else! all torque values are in the haynes omega manual.

Typically I got rid of my Omega manual when I sold my omega! Still, I have managed to find a list of the torque values after mooching about on the net!

[Lowrider Dave]

Time to crack on and do the oil cooler - having soaked the ends of the oil cooler pipes with Plus gas for two days I was looking forwards to a fairly easy time removing the bolts that hold the pipes onto the bottom of the block.

Not so.

The only thing to budge was the nut surround which deformed making the hexigon more of a squarish shape and taking a chunk out of my finger too! The photo doesn't really show deformation well but I can no longer get a spanner on it. I am now not sure what to do, if I wrestle it off it could(most likely?) sheer and I would really be lost what to do. I can't replace the cooler without removing these pipes because the other end of the pipes are in the way.

Once again I have hit a stumbling block, there is no way I can take the car to the garage as it's all stripped down and my local mobile mechanic doesn't touch anything older than 6-8 years old. Help!

[planetc]

Pipe spanner, nice tight fitting one, hammer it over. Alternatively a pair of slipjoints that have sharp teeth on them, used in such a way that they grip tighter as you swing on them. Bluepoint used to do some that were great for this type of thing.

Or cut the pipe and put a six point socket on it?

[humbucker]

you need a 19mm crows foot spanner to remove that. those nuts are a bugger cos of the angle and the pipes themselves getting in the way, but as a tried and tested solution that's the way to go.

[Lowrider Dave]

Thanks guys, this will either kill or cure!

[Lowrider Dave]

Crow's feet finally arrived after an ebay mix up, so if I'm feeling brave I can completely ruin the oil cooler pipes now...

Clean and sprayed up rad fan housing. Cleaned fan blades and reassembled.

Drilled out sheered battery clamp bolt and will use a new nut and bolt to hold clamp in place.

Also got a replacement resistor pack for the heater from a VXON chap.

Yesterday's browse of the local scrapyard for a few bolts turned up an L reg Cav LS hatchback in gold in a separate pile of knackered looking cars. I asked about it and was told it was going to the crusher that evening! I asked them to keep it until tomorrow as I'd have the tailgate, they forklifted it inside the public compound. Today, after inventing a pretty good excuse for why I would be late into work, I hired a van and head to the scrapyard and removed the tailgate which came complete with a spoiler! Throw in a couple of round wing repeater lenses and I got it for £42. The van set me back £40, so not a particularly cheap outing but as Cav's don't turn up regularly for scrap (well, not round my way), I decided it was worth going for. Unfortunately the underside of the bonnet had rusted severly so I decided against having that as well, the grille had a small crack in it - on reflection I could have repaired that or cut it up and made my own Turbo-esque grille..ah well. The manual sunroof, headlights and interior looked good but I didn't need any of them. So that's it, given their keeness to 'reprocess' anything that is old and won't gather any profitable spares, I expect she went to the crusher and shredder after I left this morning. RIP. Pics up soon.

[Lowrider Dave]

This was the car I raided this morning!

[humbucker]

after inventing a pretty good excuse for why I would be late into work, I hired a van and head to the scrapyard

how did you get on with the oil cooler pipes?

[Lowrider Dave]

Going to attempt them this Saturday...wish me luck!

[Lowrider Dave]

Got one bolt off no problems.
Other one is still refusing to move and is too deformed to take the Crows feet, tried a small sized spanner banged on, but that started to slip. Will have to call a mobile mechanic to see if they have a better idea of how to remove it!

[Envoy CDX]

I'd look for a replacement pipe, or see if you can find someone who will lend you a 19mm lambda socket

[Lowrider Dave]

Oh yes, I'll need a replacement pipe - but it's stuck in the block getting it out is the problem!

[planetc]

Cut it off and get a six point socket on it, make sure it's a nice tight fit.

[Envoy CDX]

Cut it off and get a six point socket on it, make sure it's a nice tight fit.

+1

[Lowrider Dave]

As I couldn't get hold of a mobile mechanic that wasn't put off the idea of a problem nut, I tried Planetc's suggestion of cutting the pipe as it seemed to make sense.
I hacksawed pipe and removed both from the engine, a 18mm and 19 mm spanner/socket/crows feet wasn't even going to fit due to the nut being bent by my first attempt with a spanner...so for the heck of it I tried a 20mm socket over it and it fitted!
With a 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' attitude I had a go, and it after a few heaves it came undone!

The reason why it fitted the 20mm so snuggly was because of this:


I now need a set of cooler pipes, which I'm hopefully getting from a chap on Migweb for £7.
Then all systems go for reassembly and aiming for not too many left over bits when I'm finished!

[planetc]

Mate, a true enthusiast doesn't wear gloves.
Glad you managed to get it out, much better when you do it yourself, makes for. better stories to tell after.

[Lowrider Dave]

After a trip to Halfrauds for a 30mm socket, I removed the oil cooler, soaked up the excess water/oil and cleaned up the surfaces ready for reassembly! Just waiting for the pipes to turn up in the post and I can crack on.

[Lowrider Dave]

New oil cooler fitted and cover sealed and bolted in, just waiting for the oil pipes then I can put it all back together!

[Envoy CDX]

Mate, a true enthusiast doesn't wear gloves.
Glad you managed to get it out, much better when you do it yourself, makes for. better stories to tell after.

Yes we do well - I do

As for getting the stubborn little b*stard of a nut out - congratulations!
Progress full steam ahead now then?

[planetc]

Yes we do well - I do

Tart!

[Envoy CDX]

Yes we do well - I do

Tart!

terrible..... saves scrubbing till it bleeds though...

[Lowrider Dave]

Progress full steam ahead now then?

Yes indeed, one the I get the pipes I can start putting it all back together.

I wasn't go to say anything about the glove issue as it comes down to what kind of work I'm doing on the car but if it's generally going to be mucky then I will wear gloves, taking car of one's hands is important IHMO (To quote HSE: 'Frequent or prolonged contact with used engine oil may cause dermatitis and other skin disorders including (more rarely) skin cancer.')

Having spent two years stripping down and rebuilding a diesel locomotive at Eastleigh Railway works I'm entirely grateful for barrier cream and gloves for limiting the amount of repeative cleaning I have to do in the shower! Not to mention the drying out of skin and helping reduce the risk of infection it you cut yourself badly.
But each to his own, as a teenager I never used gloves but now I'm older and fussier about cleaning, and leaving marks anywhere other than the garage is frowned upon by the 'domestic authorities'

[planetc]

I have big hands, wearing gloves tends to make me feel like my fingers are glued together! You are both correct, and I concede, wearing gloves is the right thing to do. I am just a pisstaking git, ignore me if you wish.