Matts CDX - Work In Progress.

[Robsey]

Brake pipes requiring attention on a 20-odd year old car is to be expected.

As you say though, after you have had them replaced, they should last another 10+ years.

As for the emissions, they are pretty much spot on.
You will never get nil emission unless you are running an electric car.

I would love my car to have emissions levels that low.

Congratulations on a new 12 month ticket.

[ilovedmymantas]

Thanks Robsey,

I think the emissions part is always a worry for older cars. Unlike rust or leaks It's not obvious until the test.

As for the emissions, they are pretty much spot on...

I foolishly got caught up in my past engineering experience of tolerances, i.e. +/- two thousands of an inch.
Seems it doesn't really translate to gasses
On reflection, they don't look that bad after all

….I would love my car to have emissions levels that low.

I've been spoiled by the ecotec engine.
Emission problems have been fixed by renewing the lambda sensor on this and the last car. Expensive but simple

When I had the 8 valve 1990 GL a couple of mot fails involved the old ' redex into the throttle at high revs' method.
Once the smoke had cleared enough to see my way out of the car park I'd take it for a blast on the way to the test. That did the job.
After that I got into the habit of using redex in the tank, it seemed to work.

With the Eco's I got old and opted for super-unleaded. Expensive ( around a fiver a tank more ) but less faffing.
It seems to be working and I view it as long-term maintenance - it's keeping the ravages of ethanol from my car.

[Robsey]

With the Eco's I got old and opted for super-unleaded. Expensive ( around a fiver a tank more ) but less faffing.
It seems to be working and I view it as long-term maintenance - it's keeping the ravages of ethanol from my car.

Sadly not an option on my car. The C20NE will only tolerate 95 ron (Unleaded) or 91 ron (2 Star ) petrol.
It doesn't appear or feel like "super unleaded" gives any gain to economy, emissions or general running of the car when I have tried it.

[ilovedmymantas]

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted here!

I've got loads of parts to fit and stuff needing done but the burst of enthusiasm I expected is taking a long time to kick in

With the Eco's I got old and opted for super-unleaded. Expensive ( around a fiver a tank more ) but less faffing.
It seems to be working and I view it as long-term maintenance - it's keeping the ravages of ethanol from my car.

Sadly not an option on my car. The C20NE will only tolerate 95 ron (Unleaded) or 91 ron (2 Star ) petrol.
It doesn't appear or feel like "super unleaded" gives any gain to economy, emissions or general running of the car when I have tried it.

I use it mainly for its cleaning properties but you may find you are forced into buying the more expensive "super" in the future, only because it will have been re-labelled
I found this informative, https://www.wemoto.com/news/article/124 ... y_to_the_u - a wide range of replies

If I have to use that then it's back to redex

Anyways, back to topic...

On holiday last month I had the misfortune to travel 20 miles on a road with loose chippings and a 20mph limit.
Needless to say nobody stuck to it and as a result I got 2 tiny chips, and a bigger one, all from oncoming traffic



I had a previous repair that was beginning to show so thought it was the ideal opportunity to get them all done at once.
I booked via insurance and a £15 excess with autoglass. All was good and I had friday as a repair date

On thursdays I travel into edinburgh to take my 80 year old mum shopping.
After that I visit my similarly aged dad. That's where things took a downward turn.

Damn those cobbled roads!

I have to say it's a very good service, so far, from autoglass.

Text message gives a secure bit.ly page where details can be changed.
I did this, requesting a new windscreen and was called back within the hour

Outcome was fitting is now Monday, I've paid £60 more, so I hope they've got one with the right tint!

I must admit I really didn't want a new windscreen. My last cav had a replacement by them and I wasn't happy with the result.

We'll see what happens this time....

[Robsey]

You sometimes find the replacement screens may be out of specification.
(A bit like any after-market part).

The shade band on one of mine did not come as far down the glass as it should have.
You sometimes have a little arrow printed on each side of the glass to show where the shade band should stop.
Mine 'faded out' about an inch above the arrows.

On the whole though the screens have been satisafactory. I have never had any issues with them. I have had screens replaced for various cars by various firms.
And every time the company checks for corrosion around the frame or any other issues, before fitting the new screen.

To be honest, if you discuss it fully, they should ask if it is clear, green or brown tinted,
And with or without sun-strip / shade band.

My car originally came with a clear screen, but I managed to talk them into giving me a green tinted screen with blue shade band.
All for the price of the excess. About £50 at the time... many moons ago.
After 20-odd years in service and 273,000 miles, I think the Cav has had upto 3 new screens. All okay.

At least yours will all be sorted in a few days.

Besides - Cavaliers carry a lot more reverence and respect, due to age and "my dad had one of those", so fitters should be a lot more caring and thorough when they do it this time.

[ilovedmymantas]

….Well, Monday was a washout, literally

Photo's were taken Thursday, in case you wonder

The fitter arrived in the rain but the thunder was getting closer as he unwound the canopy ( with a metal winder! ).
Even after I'd turned the car the rain was still pouring from the canopy to the windscreen.

We agreed it wasn't the weather to do it so he called in for a re-slot - It's now friday afternoon, fingers crossed.

While we were chatting he said when he got the appointment the thought came into his head "it's either a good one or a banger" .
Thankfully it's not a banger
We'll see on friday if it's as rust-free as it looks when the screen's removed.

I've been ignoring a rusty water mark under the o/s A-pillar rubber that I noticed a couple of months ago


I've had a peek and it doesn't seem to be drastic, it's only the seam but this is 'a bit more welding year'
I'd rather have fixed it with the old screen in place.

It looks like I'll have to find a replacement pillar trim(s).



The original's been heated, teased and glued back into place. That lasted about 18 months
The foam had degraded so it was easier with the thin vinyl then. Now the plastic has holed in a couple of places as if stretched so I think It must be shrinking rapidly.

You sometimes find the replacement screens may be out of specification.
(A bit like any after-market part).

The shade band on one of mine did not come as far down the glass as it should have.
You sometimes have a little arrow printed on each side of the glass to show where the shade band should stop.
Mine 'faded out' about an inch above the arrows.

On the whole though the screens have been satisafactory. I have never had any issues with them. I have had screens replaced for various cars by various firms.
And every time the company checks for corrosion around the frame or any other issues, before fitting the new screen.

To be honest, if you discuss it fully, they should ask if it is clear, green or brown tinted,
And with or without sun-strip / shade band.

My car originally came with a clear screen, but I managed to talk them into giving me a green tinted screen with blue shade band.
All for the price of the excess. About £50 at the time... many moons ago.
After 20-odd years in service and 273,000 miles, I think the Cav has had upto 3 new screens. All okay.

At least yours will all be sorted in a few days.

Besides - Cavaliers carry a lot more reverence and respect, due to age and "my dad had one of those", so fitters should be a lot more caring and thorough when they do it this time.

Apparently mine was a replacement.


-I did find a single piece of glass when I was removing the heater blower motor (new saga ) that I wondered about.
The fitter told me the original screen would have been GM.

In my case the shade band seems to finish about an inch below.


Now you've mentioned it I'll look at the new screen.
We spoke about the colour, for confirmation - Green tinted with blue sun-strip, I didn't think to ask to see it - It was miserable weather.

My only replacement before left the rubber seal barely making contact with the roof. The corners had been taped down with black insulating tape and had to stay that way so I'm a bit wary now but I'll pay more attention this time

[ilovedmymantas]

Back to the heater motor.

It's been on 2 speeds and noisy for a while now so needed looked at. Finally a bit of enthusiasm trickled in

Using the method described in Robsey's how 2 for removal, and expecting only to re-grease and put a new thermal fuse pack in, I noticed the fan wasn't parallel to the motor. Then I saw this.


Err.. something doesn't look quite right

I'm amazed it ran at all!
The fan also rubbed a hole in the lower casing, I'm surprised the fuse didn't blow.


Time for a new one then

The original was a siemens, rated at 13V


hours later....

...The cheapest one I found( £37) was also the best, a bargain in my opinion, a Nissens unit with 3yr warranty
The ad was ambiguous, stating for aircon, then later for non-aircon

-mine's aircon - the resistor pack is separate.
That cost 8-9 quid, after a bit of searching

I compared measurements ( at last something I understand ) with the ad
and decided it was the right one.

I ordered Sunday night then discovered "other 48-hour courier" may be after it's been sent from Denmark, estimated July 1st

I got lucky, It was in UK stock and arrived at argos for me on tuesday!

I'm very impressed with it, right down to the internal & external fan weights

Fitting is todays plan, once the scuttle bay has been cleaned & inspected...

[ilovedmymantas]

.. First task of the day was to repair the lower casing.

My choice of weapons ( what was at hand in other words ) was 3M all weather tape.
It's thick with a smooth surface and seemed good for the job. .

Ignore the highlighted bit for now

I know it's not perfect but if it lasts I'll be happy.
After all I've just bought shiny new parts that'll never be seen and, ( with the exception of the forum ) nobody I know understands or cares about these kinds of things

After fitting the motor & thermal pack the first thing i noticed was a resistor spade very close to the bodywork.


The reason is the new motor has female spades with longer 'tails'


I had no idea if it was a ground or not and wouldn't be a problem, I only knew the basics, wires touching bodywork not usually good
Just to be sure I wrapped it with self-amalgamating rubber tape.
That's a hell of a mouthful, is there another name for it?

With that done I thought now's a good time to test it.
Nothing!
Then I realised, with my attention focussed on the resistor pack, I'd forgotten to plug the motor in
What is this wire in the resistor loom for? I wondered last time I saw it


First impressions were not good, a rubbing noise on all speeds
I spun the motor by hand, to save the resistor.
An hour and a half later, after trying to fine tune via the mountings, i almost gave up. It was the best I could get It with the mounts.
I had it down to the first two speeds rubbing

This is where the highlighted area from the pic comes in.
That was the place it was rubbing and my last-ditch solution was to trim that piece of plastic by 1/16"x2" with the motor in place.
After trying, and failing, to get near it with the usual (jeweller's file, sawblade) I wondered if a craft knife with an extendable blade would cut through the expected hard plastic.
To my surprise it cut like a hot knife through butter!

So far I've got the slightest noise on speed 1 now. That may be the best I'll get but I'll try again tomorrow.
I may try spraying the fan edges with silicon spray to reduce any friction left and see what happens

[Robsey]

I am having the same issue.

Except the drum is rubbing on the opposite side of the moulding.

The positioning of the motor is very specific, and there is minimal clearance.

I will have to tweak my clamp band position on the motor body.

I just love these cars....

I see your clamp band is built into the motor body, so no real room for adjustment.

[ilovedmymantas]

Noticed a couple of mistakes.
I meant to ask what the wire with the plug attached to the motor loom is for?

If I had looked at the diagram i posted, I'd have seen the brown was negative .
It's done now but I'm not unhappy about doing it

The positioning of the motor is very specific, and there is minimal clearance.

I just love these cars....

I see your clamp band is built into the motor body, so no real room for adjustment.

You'd think with little adjustment it would easier.....nope, still isn't!

With the top cover on it was back to square one, four speeds rubbing but not drastically.
A quick trim later (old fan had rubbed the cover edge slightly out of place) It's now back to very slight noise on 1.

I've sprayed the edges and it's all back together now so I hope it settles, time will tell

[Robsey]

If you see my WIP, you will see that I had to trim 2mm from each side of the upper casing, and a similar amount from the nearside of the lower casing, to stop mine rubbing.

It was trimmed very crudely as I had used end-cutters.
Not pretty or smooth, but now the fan is quiet again.

Unlike yours, mine is non-air-con, so no extra wires. Just one 4 pin connector that only goes on one way.

[ilovedmymantas]

If you see my WIP, you will see that I had to trim 2mm from each side of the upper casing, and a similar amount from the nearside of the lower casing, to stop mine rubbing.

It was trimmed very crudely as I had used end-cutters.
Not pretty or smooth, but now the fan is quiet again.

Unlike yours, mine is non-air-con, so no extra wires. Just one 4 pin connector that only goes on one way.

I guess we all have bits that have moved slightly over the years

I forgot to mention the windscreen

It'll take some getting used to.
The tint doesn't go as low as the last one and the mirror's stuck onto an oversized pad and appears lower

The new trim is fine at the corners, above the screen has bumps that may be tool marks and will probably smooth out, given a little time.

my only real concern is the top looks very slightly gapped, not forming a seal.
I'll have to think about that one

I'm surprised neither my insurance company nor autoglass have asked for any kind of feedback by now, that's unusual nowadays

[Tobias_CDX]

Noticed a couple of mistakes.
I meant to ask what the wire with the plug attached to the motor loom is for?|

This is the connector for the heated windscreen spray nozzles.

[James McGrath]

What is this wire in the resistor loom for? I wondered last time I saw it
[ Image ]

That looks very much like the plug for Lambda sensors on the 1.6 and 1.8 SPI engines.

[ilovedmymantas]

Noticed a couple of mistakes.
I meant to ask what the wire with the plug attached to the motor loom is for?|

This is the connector for the heated windscreen spray nozzles.

Heated windscreen nozzles

Due to my lack of knowledge I had no Idea there was such a thing!
Was this an option for the vectra-a's ?

That looks very much like the plug for Lambda sensors on the 1.6 and 1.8 SPI engines.

I do seem to have a pretty complete loom. I'm always wondering what the unused plugs I stumble across are for
The obvious answer would have been consult Haynes but I'm at a bit of a disadvantage there.

I'm "electronically challenged" and partially colour blind - It's not Ideal when you want to work on wiring!

I was surprised my cdx has no bonnet light, the sri had one.
- Something else to get round to, when I find the right connector

Thank you for your quick replies.

-matt

[Tobias_CDX]

Heated windscreen nozzles

Due to my lack of knowledge I had no Idea there was such a thing!
Was this an option for the vectra-a's ?

This was an equipment for colder countries (Sweden i.e.) but in Germany not an official option.

I do seem to have a pretty complete loom. I'm always wondering what the unused plugs I stumble across are for

You can post pictures. There are non of unknown connectors left!

I was surprised my cdx has no bonnet light, the sri had one.
- Something else to get round to, when I find the right connector

Bonnet light was deleted with MY1995 I think. So no connector to find.

[James McGrath]

I was surprised my cdx has no bonnet light, the sri had one.
- Something else to get round to, when I find the right connector

Bonnet light was deleted with MY1995 I think. So no connector to find.

It was a bit earlier than that, they took it way with the facelift in late 1992.
Only my 1990 CD has one as standard.
They are very easy to fit though if your Cav has the wiring; I've added one to my 1993 Diplomat.

[Robsey]

Bonnet light was deleted with MY1995 I think. So no connector to find.

It was a bit earlier than that, they took it way with the facelift in late 1992.

I think it all depends on the country of sale / registration.

There are a lot of variations between the "equivalent" models in different countries.

The Vauxhall models often seem to be the "poor cousin" of their relatives with reduced or dumbed-down specifications / options.

A prime example being the digital dash.
An Opel only option on the Vectra-A but not the Cavalier mk3.

The only thing that main-land euro-spec seems to lose is the side-repeater indicators on the front wings.
A UK only fitment.

[Tobias_CDX]

Side repeaters were also fitted as standard at Vectras for the Netherlands.
Fitment depends on legal regulations.

[ilovedmymantas]

Could it be a case of 'whatever's left in the parts bin' again, or was my last one retro-fitted

This car's 95 on an M plate, the sri was 94 on an M plate, and had one fitted.
-It worked so I never looked at the wiring.

It'll be added to the (ever-expanding ) 'to do' list

[ilovedmymantas]

Tardy update time

3 weeks ago had the dimpled/grooved brake discs fitted along with the mintex pads, fitting kits etc.



The brakes are a bit sharper (that might be just because it's all new) but thankfully not up to modern standards - i.e. on or off, not much in between! There's a squeak from one of the fronts, that may be paint from the discs?
I've not tried an emergency stop, I need a front nearside sensor so I'll get the pair, silly not to.

My f to r brake pipes need replacing (advisory). That was being done at the same time as the discs, however the rear flexi's were iffy so that's postponed while I find them.

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

Last week I was on holiday near rhyl, a 600+ mile trip.
Reliable as ever, the car performed pretty well.
The clutch seemed to slip, about half a dozen times on the round trip. I had adjusted the cable correctly the week before so a bit worrying.
I wonder if there's a way to get clutch cleaner into an f18 - no inspection cover?

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

- The poor video post

The bit of lorry tyre was mid number plate height. It left a few large cracks, barely visible in the pics. You can just see it on the U.



I just noticed. You can see the shape of the tyre coil in the video spreading out towards the bottom of the bumper and leaving rubber marks.

The towing socket took a skelp too



---

In Rhyl the Queens market was closing down for a badly needed refurb.
I saw this ad.



Judging by the key it has to be MK2?

I would have asked for it but it was too brittle.

On Thursday we went to a car- boot sale in Prestatyn.
I picked up an emergency set of bulbs in a solid case for £2 but the best was yet to come



It's never been used, just tatty on the outside, all for 3 quid!

I thought I'd seen this somewhere in the distant past but a forum search of Lindsay Porter came up empty.

Scanning through it I would say it's a perfect companion to Haynes. There are good tips from major companies I.e. Autoglass or Sykes Pickevant .

well worth looking for

[Robsey]

I am surprised that the forum search came up empty.
I have mentioned my Cavalier mk2 & mk3 manual before.

In mine (no mk1s, Vectras or Calibras), it was amazing how they only used colour photos of red Cavaliers.



Great find on the door sign.

As for the brakes, and your collision damage - thankfully nothing too expensive to sort.

[ilovedmymantas]

Why did I ask my 'write it off at any cost' insurance company (GA/Aviva ) for advice?
I should have learned the first time

- Don't ask

I have new rear brake pipe flexi's and kunifer pipe to address the mot advisory but that has to be on the back-burner for now.
I've also got 2 new front pad wear sensors - that'll clear one of two dash lights

Mot's in January and the n/s sill needs replaced for it.

With that in mind, I am now car-less for a couple of weeks

I knew I'd have to replace the rear arches and sills and it made sense to get them done at the same time.
That time is now. They're embarrassing if nothing else......









I supplied the panels via ebay. Not the best fit according to my feedback.

I had an update from the garage, the inner o/s/r arch was poor. Neither of us could find a suitable replacement delivered quickly enough ( I rely on my car, all my passengers are disabled ) so a repair was started.

En-route to the garage the clutch had slipped a few times again so I reluctantly added that to the bill.
I expect I'll need a seal or two as well, why else would it slip at only 110k?
The sri was driven more enthusiastically and was fine on it's first clutch at 150k+

I can buy a LuK kit on ebay for just under £60 via discount code, and with next day delivery. Bargain!

The garage is 60 plus vat for the same parts from the factors but for that extra 12 quid and them doing it, I know the warranty is solid if anything goes awry.
For the money It's costing to do things right ( thanks to the villainous anti-hero Vatman ) I need that peace of mind, others may not.

Daft question time.
Why do e.g. body panels incur a value added tax, yet fitting them is detrimental in the eyes of insurers and buyers

It's looking around 2k
I didn't realise it was going to take every penny I'd saved but that's obsession for you!

[Robsey]

I suppose, by modern standards, 2k isn't too bad for replacement sills, inner and outer arches.

Do be prepared though for corrosion on the inner sills too.

At least it means that the car should be strong enough for a few more years.

[ilovedmymantas]

Car's back
It came in around £1850 including the new LuK clutch

More later once I've organised the pics.....