Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

That wheels look better than new now.

Greig

That's an incredible transformation I must say.

Really nice looking wheels . Did you just do the four, keeping the best as a spare ?

Yep. I considered having the fifth done too, but theres so many other places this car needs the 100 quid spent, it didn't seem a priority to have a shining wheel in the boot. I plan getting the GTE wheels done when the tyres next need changing. I'll probably throw the Cav spare in then.

After a wash, the wheels returned to their correct place..



The Fifth, and best of the rest was cleaned an put into the boot as a spare, along with it's mighty Admiral Powermax Rubber..



And the Astra rested safe on all four legs once more.

Wheels look gorgeous, but can't believe you had weights bashed on!!
Stickies every time!

Alan

Mk3alan wrote:Wheels look gorgeous, but can't believe you had weights bashed on!!
Stickies every time!

Alan

The rim weights were on there when I got it.. The only one left is the one in the boot. All the refurbed wheels have stickies inside. Would be scandalous to bash rim weights on the refurbed ones I agree..

What a relief!
It's just that I have noticed a lot of nice wheels with weights bashed on.
Sacrilege!

Alan

Nice job on the wheels, just keep away from those high kerbs now !

Decided to hattach the rear end today

After a quick wash..



I stripped the rear panel so that I could clean up behind..

Euch..



I then wanted to take the rear clusters out so that I could clean here also. Loosened the bolts and they wouldn't budge. On closer inspection..





Billy Bodger's been here again..

Levered the clusters out, and noted why the silicone had been used. The seals had gone flat.



Went to stores to grab a pair that I knew would be in better condition.



Also noted a difference in manufacture. Old made in England



Replacements made in Germany..



Set about cleaning all this mess up.




Then polished and waxed the rear and rear wings with the rotary Polisher.

Noted that this is suffering in the same rot place as most other Mk3's.



Put it all back together, and stood back for the full effect.

Looking good!

Your paintwork is in much better condition than my Diplomat's that's for sure.

Sorted out more today..

Decided to have a crack at the front dampers, now I have a bench vice to assist. The haynes manual warns that the damper topnut is 'extremely tight'.

Took the O/S leg off, clamped it, and with a little effort* managed to persuade the strut top nut out. Had a look at the old shock versus the new..

*As the Haynes manual describes, and advocated by the South Central gurus, clamp the nut in a vice, and then use a long bar and bolt through the steering arm to turn the whole thing off the nut.

Old and new shot..



But the original appears to be 'adjustable'.. You can leave it here..



Or in any place you want it.. It'll even spray oil out as you move it to show how happy it is.. :face:

Anyway, reassembled, and put it all back along with new topmounts..



The N/S was a bit more problematic. It bent the topnut in the vice, and then started pulling my vice out of the top of my workbench. So I set about it with an angle grinder. I took the top off the nut with the idea that if I could get the shock out, with a gentle cut down the threads, the rest could be deformed and removed. In reality, the heat of the grniding and the gallon of release oil sprayed in, mean the when the top was free, a quick twist with some grips removed the rest.. Result!

Shock was in a similar state, so set about rpelacing that and the top mount.

Car feels so much better to drive. no bouncing at the front, and it steers where I point it now.

Next jobs (hopefully at the next MIG mince) are the outer CV boots (both split), and new lower control arms..

Good work Tony, I have held off doing my front dampers for the very reason they are hard to get undone. I suppose at some point I'll have to bite the bullet as Archer feels a little 'wayward' on corners...

lowrider dave wrote:Good work Tony, I have held off doing my front dampers for the very reason they are hard to get undone. I suppose at some point I'll have to bite the bullet as Archer feels a little 'wayward' on corners...

Yeah, an absolute PITA. But well worth the effort..

Of course, as always with this car, theres a sting in the tail.. I now can't get the bonnet to release.. I know the catch is well greased as I cleaned and lubricated it a couple of months ago. think the handle pivot has come adrift, and is not pulling the cable strongly enough..

Just like any cable they can stretch and need tightening or even replacing.

If you've got someone to help you sometimes you can get the bonnet to open if you lift up the bonnet while someone pulls on the bonnet release leaver.

James McGrath wrote:Just like any cable they can stretch and need tightening or even replacing.

If you've got someone to help you sometimes you can get the bonnet to open if you lift up the bonnet while someone pulls on the bonnet release leaver.

Took me ages to find a (yet to be fitted) new cable. I'm at stage 3 just now, two hands pulling the unmounted lever, with a shoulder into the a pillar for leverage and someone pushing the bonnet. I guess it's time for the new one
If you push down on the centre of the bonnet above the pin you'll compress the spring and take the pressure off the release catch, then get an assistant to pull and hold the tension on the lever / lever assembly . Let go the bonnet & it should pop-up

Sooo..

One night last week, I got so fed up with the exhaust rattling, I decided to gote it a darn good seeing to..

Started wth the CAT..



The heat sheilds were resonating at low revs, so the cat needed a bit of modification..



Leaving me with these.



Maybe useful as ultra hard Shin Guards if I decide to take up a dangerous sport..

After that, the exhaust still rattles! Its a bit quieter without the sheilds amplifying the noise, but still rattling at about 1600rpm. I think the cluprit may be the Genuine centre section I put on last year. Had discounted it because it was a genuine GM unit, but I think it needs investigating next time I'm mincing witht he Mig SC boys..

On to today.

Ever since I've had the car the bonnnet has been a struggle to open and for a few weeks now, the bonnet has been firmly shut.. The Handle pivot had broken and it was a two person job to open. So after ordering the wrong cable - Anyone got an LHD Cav they want a bonnet cable for? :grr: I sourced the correct part..



Undid the rather crusty old cable..



And pulled the new one in after ripping the old handle out of the car - really the only option here..



Whilst there, I removed and cleaned the latch, hole, and greased everything lightly before reassembly.



I did take the grille out for the process so that any misadjustment wouldnt leave me stranded with a locked bonnet. After the effort however, it was fine, a few test pulls and the old girl exposes her innards with the stroke of a single finger on the lever rather than giving up after a good tug with both hands.. <snigger>

Whilst putting it all back together, I remembered I'd got new parts from a Scrappy trip a while back.. The old drivers kick panel was split and cracked..




So pulled the one I'd rescued from the scrappy, cleaned it and fitted.. It even had the little locking bung with it and could now show off the new handle nicely.



Last box to tick today was the ever present NE task of stopping the rocker cover gasket leaking. The car is loosing oil and it can be seen all over the subframe and on the inside of the O/S/F wheel, I'm hoping that the gasket was the source..






Cleaned the mating faces up, cleaned the breather filter in a bath of brake cleaner..



Put it all together with a bead of gasket seal on either side of the cork.. Cleaned the faces of the rocker carrier outside too, so that I can see any oil leaking. Hopefully I've done a decent enough job for there to be none, and the remaining oil on the block will disperse and leave me with a dry engine bay..

No photos of the finish, as the clouds opened, and I had to get it zipped back up to stop the water going into the rockers.

Good work there mate.

Niggles like that are always the most satisfying to fix I find.

8 valve cam cover gaskets leak for fun. If you have a torque wrench make sure you tighten the cam cover bolts to 8Nm. Also helps if you clean out the breather hoses.

Niggles are good to fix. Really enjoyed doing the bonet cable, had been told it was a pig of a job. In reality it went rather easily.

Torque wrench doesnt go that low.. All I do is nip them up with my little 1/4 ratchet. Learnt with my original Mk3 not to push them too far, also learnt about helicoils on that occasion..

Breathers are nice and clear, a very common and much overlooked way of spoiling an NE in my opinion.

Excellent stuff there mate, those cam cover bolts can shear off just for a laugh, when I replaced my old 8valver gaskets, I always replaced the bolts with some black allen-head bolts, they lose the originality image of the block but means no helicoils or drilling in the future...

Aaaaannnndddddd.. Its just rewarded me with an MOT failure..

001 Rear brakes unbalanced.

The discs look like they have been stored on the Titanic anyway. Fitting new discs and pads should free the calipers up and solve the problem.

002 Front brake disc heavily contaminated by leaking oil.

I'm pretty sure i've solved the oil leak, so clean the bottom of the engine, and replace the front pads and discs. If theres still a leak, it'll also make it easier to spot.

003 CO excessive at fast idle.

I put a cheap cat on it when the matrix went. I'll put a proper one on it, change the CTS, and possibly throw a Lambda at it. I'm also wary that it was warm enough when tested, as i'd dropped it off 3hours before the test, and the second reading, although still a fail, was significantly lower than the first, suggesting the cat was still warming.. When it goes back, I'll take it for a booked slot and make sure it gets a darn good clearout and warm up immediately prior to the test..

Bits are now arriving to sort the brakes and emissions..

Already had these..



These were also in stock, thanks to Pedro's Parts...



Today, a nice little box of stuff turned up, with some more to follow, not too expensive either, thanks to Eurocarparts lopping nearly £40 off thanks to Mig Member discount..

Minty..



Brembo



Sparky..

tonyo wrote:Sooo..
Ever since I've had the car the bonnet has been a struggle to open and for a few weeks now, the bonnet has been firmly shut.. The Handle pivot had broken and it was a two person job to open. So after ordering the wrong cable - Anyone got an LHD Cav they want a bonnet cable for? :grr: I sourced the correct part..

I actually fitted the lh bonnet cable to my old cavy, the mount section is there for it. It's a lot better than the RH drive one a it is really short and no real bends in it so bonnet always pops open with just a flick of the handle. Ok it's on the other side but ho hum!

If you don't want cable 'd be interested as want to fit both left hand cables to my own cavys, have one cable, need another one.

So, Saturday was the day for ticking boxes..

Started off nice and slow, with a Cat change.. From the cheap old one I fitted last year, to the cheaper (but hopefully better) Klarius unit.



Already cracked, less than a year old..



Then, with the arrival of Pete, we cracked on with the brakes.. I took the fronts, and Pete did the rears as I've never worked on the Cav's rear Disk/Drum setup before..

Fronts were nasty.. And lipped.



Replaced with Genuine GM parts that Pete had in stock for his now departed Dippy..



Rear Brakes were just as shocking..



Changed the front pads from 'unknown', to nice new Brembos..



Plenty of new meat.



Rears were changed to Brembo's too..



A lot more meat then the old ones here..



Whilst taking the rears out, Pete pulled out the rear pad retaining spring, in two halves. He then reminded me that he'd dropped me a new set some time back, and now may be the time to swap them in..

Oh dear.. the new ones were in stores, above the ceiling of the garage, directly above the immovable Cav with two wheels missing. So, we replaced the rivet on the old springs, and put them back in. They're fine for now. Once the car is sorted, I'll get up above the ceiling, and find the new retaining spring set.

At the same time, Pete noted that the rear ARB rubbers were a little.. err... Worn.. So they got replaced with the new ones I had in stock..



We finished the session by replacing the CTS and Temp Sender, and putting the nice Bosch Twin Electrode plugs in.

Lets hope the work pays off on Saturday.. Hopefully, I can bed the CAT and new pads and discs in enough on the 9 miles to the MOT station to get it through.

Nice work.

Good luck with the MOT.