Matts CDX - Work In Progress.

[Robsey]

News to me too.
I am 1000% certain that none of my back boxes had a drain hole in them. Even my current Bosal SRi oval tail pipe / back box.

Good news on the cheap pass

[ilovedmymantas]

After loads of searching I found this site the most useful (and it's really short ).
https://www.forums.motester.co.uk/view_ ... hp?id=3809

It looks like I'll be drilling the new one when it needs fitted, that probably won't be till the next mot

[cavalier1990]

Had a few genuine back boxes with the little hole in them at the lowest part, where water gathers, aftermarkets don't usually have them, some GM ones didn't have them, seems hit and miss what you get, but as a matter of course I always now drill a little pin hole at the lowest part of the silencer if it hasn't got it, boxes seem to last a lot longer now than they used to.

[ilovedmymantas]

I've never had a back box with an intentional hole

The odd thing is this is far back and high. not exactly a pinhole


It does make me wonder how much water is in there, i'm surprised it's not flowing back to the middle box.
Could water collection be the reason some facelift cavs were recommended this huge ugly afterthought silencer, visible from the street and requiring cutting the mud flap to make it fit

When the new one's needed it'll be drilled and covered in a couple of cans of lidl rust protection black to help it blend in.

[ilovedmymantas]

It's been an interesting week.

I parked up Monday night after using the car twice. Next day it refused to start(strong year-old battery) and the AA was contacted with the(not very good) app, then cancelled by me after a series of updates that took my time from 16.20 to eventually 21.25 by a second party.

Wednesday fared better, ETA was 13.45 then 15.25 and arrived on time for the 16.30 prediction. The conclusion was a failed crankshaft sensor, no spark and no fuel readings.
It was too late to speak to my garage so recovery wasn't an option at that time so I was well pleased when the mechanic told me as a 'failure to fix' I could get the car recovered to the garage of my choice!

Thursday - phoned them to arrange recovery, 35 minutes in the queue to talk to a person then ten minutes of bliss talking to someone!

I was told I'd get a text and I did - at half past one in the morning on Friday saying they'd be later than they thought, 10.45am(Fri). I set my alarm........
Twenty past eight i'm woken by the the mechanic - who's at the door.
I didn't hear the text come in at 7.50 telling me 08.15, panic!

Due to the street conditions he moved it into position using the starter motor, I'm surprised I haven't seen a 'life hack' (awful modern term) to move a car off the road and out of harms way, I've never had to do this since learning it decades ago, it's previously been 'shoulder to the A pillar and push'.

On it's way to the garage


I'm amazed by the technology. It looks like a simple towing frame but it's like a transformer, it appears from the back of the van, folds down apparently from nowhere then sets to measured width!

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Garage side.

Sensor arrives Monday. Could have been Saturday with more expensive delivery but no point as they're not open. In the meantime they've ordered cam cover gasket(oil cooled plugs again!) and new spark plugs. I had NGK iridium fitted, apparently the first thing a vauxhall trained mechanic does is change from NGK!
With a bit of luck these minor changes will help with the January mot.

[Envoy CDX]

Good luck with it, hopefully it sorts itself out. At least it got you home on the Monday though

[ilovedmymantas]

I thought that too. I'm glad it didn't happen when I was at the funeral service, at least i was at home☺

[Envoy CDX]

Small mercies there.

[Robsey]

I sometimes wonder - when stuff like that happens on the day of a funeral, whether the person who had passed is having one last laugh at my expense.

Probably a bit neurotic of me, but that is the cynical, self-depricating way my brain works.
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As Gary has already said, hopefully it will all get sorted now.
You could get a "pre-mot" check done whilst the car is in the garage - then you can plan ahead.

[ilovedmymantas]

I picked up the car today, it wasn't exactly the happy feeling i was expecting though, partly due to cost. How much!

Although it was dark the ignition didn't feel right , it felt recessed, turns out it was. Steering wouldn't lock but key wouldn't turn, a quick spray of graphite oil soon released it. I've never had any problem before, i hope it's not another gremlin.
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So far....

Spark plugs replaced along with cam cover gaskets & O-rings and crank sensor, test (ok) leads cleaned. Also "cleaning excessively hardened sealant from cylinder head and underside of rocker cover....check on ramp and report work needed for mot".

As Gary has already said, hopefully it will all get sorted now.
You could get a "pre-mot" check done whilst the car is in the garage - then you can plan ahead.

On the plus side, the car is noticeably smoother. It must be, the missus said so without any kind of prompting . I guess the Bosch plugs made a difference
There's still a little vibration at tick over but that's probably a jammed cam lifter - easy to fix (hammer, solvent/penetrating oil) but a bit of a pain, worthwhile if doing the timing belt, the cams have to come off.
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The report ....

-Broken o/s/r spring.

-o/s/f shock absorber/top mount requires attention.
Top mounts were replaced a few years ago along with Bilstein B4 shocks and PI 35mm springs (bought for my previous sri). This may not have been the right choice with hindsight and no data, sri had 30mm and was lighter with no aircon . Looks and feels good though.

-Sump leaking/oil light on.
Weirdly the level sensor stopped working after the oil change was done when i first got the car. I have another sump( one that doesn't look like a sack of spuds!) with a sensor, yet to be tested, and a victor reinz gasket with sealant ready to go.
I'm loathe to fit it, the local roads are ok but driving into edinburgh ( i take my 80+ mum shopping twice a month) is nothing but potholes and cobbled streets

And now the shock, bearing in mind last years advisory was "oil leak, but not excessive"

-Welding required to underside boot area, /o/s/f jack support point may require further welding.

[3cav3]

If the AA kept you waiting that long, its worth calling them up and complaining. Several years ago they took nearly 6 hours to come and recover me, I had a good moan and relieved a £50 rebate on my membership cost.
I think overall though I'm going to be looking for a different recovery service, as what really annoys with is on renewal they come up with a ridiculous cost, then you have to go through the game of ringing them up, and telling them to cancel, then they magically halve the cost, and this has to be repeated every year. Considering I've only called them out twice in 10 years, I would of thought they'd like to hang on to me.

[ilovedmymantas]

I must be getting old, i'm actually ok with the wait, in hind sight.
During the snow the phone recording said 'if you're at home or in a snowdrift etc you may not receive an appointment due to unprecedented demand for our service' - or something like that
That's when I thought fair enough, I'll try anyway - the car was at least in front of the house and safe, not abandoned at the side of the road miles away with me stressing over it . Seeing the eta changes did make me wonder how happy I'd be if I found out i was freezing at the roadside for hours longer because someone was getting a 'home start'.

I totally agree about renewals situation but it seems to be the way the world is now, let the trusting complacent consumers pay more to offer cheaper services to entice new trade. They're all at it broadband, phones, insurance etc, all with offers 'only available to new customers'. The annual pretend cancellation has been made much easier thanks to comparison sites now though☺.
The problem I found when looking for national cover a couple of years ago was that AA was the only big company to cover a car over fourteen years old.

[Robsey]

Well - you say that, but the insurance for our house and both cars were all renewed at a cheaper price than last year.

And that was without any haggling.

As for the AA fee - that is more or less double what it was five years ago.

[ilovedmymantas]

Last year I renewed with GA (aviva) because I was happy with their service when the car was hit, and felt for the sake of a twenty quid saving by the meerkat to an unknown company it was worth it.

I fear thing will be different this year. I was reading last week that drivers over 50 would experience a hike in premiums (if memory serves me, to covertly subsidise younger drivers because they can't charge more for renewals than new business anymore) - something along those lines.

Two days ago I got an email from Sergei with the cheapest deal of £492.89, with a compulsory £300 excess .
My current policy is £270 with £50!
After a bit of fiddling got it down to £305 with Sheila's, £50 compulsory. The comparison quotes are for end of January when in reality i'm due renewal in march but can't get a quote that far ahead.
I failed to even get a quote from the moustachioed opera singer, 'unable to provide'. As if that wasn't bad enough even GA wouldn't - 'Sorry, your car is not valid for General Accident cover'

It's recommended to organise insurance three weeks before the end date for the best price, so we'll see what happens then

[Robsey]

That is odd...
All my insurances have dropped this year by approx £5 per month.
And I am over 50.

And where I live is probably in the "top ten" most expensive towns in the Manchester area.

Thankfully my no claim is maxed out at 9+ years claim free.
Fingers crossed it stays that way, because drivers have become very selfish and agressive since Covid.
Driving is not the pleasure it used to be.

[3cav3]

Overall I found all my insurances to of dropped quite a bit this year, I'm 42 and live next to the SAS camp which probably helps with thr crime ratings. Have you tried insuring it on a classic policy? If you do, personally I would give Lancaster a wide birth, as they hounded me so much when the Cavalier was up for renewal I ended telling them to stick it up their arse!( They emailed several times a day, plus rang me at work and dragged me off a job) So temporarily I took the cav off the road. For 5k miles a year I typically got quotes of around £120-£130 not in a garage and no additional security fitted.

[Envoy CDX]

That is odd indeed, mine dropped to sub 200quid this year (just turned 40). Sorry to hear about the hike though - hopefully something will pop up.

[ilovedmymantas]

Panic over!

My renewal premium went down, It's now sub £150, phew! That's with 12 years+ NCD protected, £50 compulsory and no voluntary excess.

I'm happy enough with that given the excellent service the company provided when I was rear-ended.

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I missed my mot date due to the garage being busy (this had been arranged in December)! There was a lot more needing done than expected, I do hate not being able to get under the car to maintain and monitor anymore

I got the pass today but not without smashing the piggy bank

[Robsey]

There is a fair amount of work there.
On the up-side.
You can now enjoy the Cav again for the next 12 months

[Envoy CDX]

Congrats on the pass, image is missing though

[ilovedmymantas]

..You can now enjoy the Cav again for the next 12 months

I hope so. It owes me many months of trouble free motoring now

[ilovedmymantas]

Congrats on the pass, image is missing though

Thanks.
I don't know why the invoice image went missing. I clicked on the box and it took me to a 404 page with a proceed button, when i used that my image gallery came up including the pic. It looks like somehow the link's been changed



I'm glad the brake pipe's finally been done, it was the only one not replaced. The suspension arms were a surprise though, one had a failing ball joint and the other a two inch rust hole
Welding's always the biggest shocker, especially on the wallet

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The garage arranged the mot, at full price, I've never paid more than £25 previously!
There was no emissions sheet so i got sent a pic



I've never had an emissions fail, I guess the first run was on a cold engine. I also noticed a couple of the parameters are different to my usual mot, I wonder why?

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Two good things have come from the recent breakdown & mot work.

The engine is a lot smoother since the change from iridium plugs. It used to be jerky when lifting off to decelerate, it's much more fluid now.

The ride is more comfortable with the kyb shorter tapered springs at the back(no pic yet) complimenting the 35mm front springs . I know they're for smaller engined cavs as well as xev astras but I'm happy with the choice - so far

[Envoy CDX]

Love it, I love seeing the old girl getting some love. Extensive, but essential. Hope you get many more miles out of her yet

[ilovedmymantas]

Here's the pic with recommended 2l rear springs and lowered front springs



And the lower, tapered rear springs for 1.8's and below



It's hard to see because of the angles but there is a slightly noticeable difference in height, 1- 1 1/2 inches.

The car feels more level than before and is a more enjoyable drive, at least when empty (my favourite ).
I think the only test will be the rare holiday with luggage, I doubt I'll be humphing white goods anytime now

-The more I edit this the more I'm distracted by the huge rear wiper. Time for a change, when I eventually get the rear wiper working again.

[Robsey]

I thought it was only the V6s that sat with a very high rear suspension.

But then, my 2.0 was originally a 1.8, so I haven't known any different.