James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

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Robsey
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

It may prove a little thirsty.

Maybe a quick connector clean and dry may help.
90% of dodgy issues relate to faulty wiring or dirty / corroded connectors.
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Yeah, that's got to be worth a try.
I'll report back later.
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Cavalier342
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Cavalier342 »

I bought a can of Air sensor cleaner from ebay once, for my V6 as it was the first car I had with an airflow sensor on it. Never had a problem with it but don't know if it's worth you seeing if you can get a can somewhere locally to try it. Just remove the air filter box and the air flow sensor inlet trunking and give it a good spray, leave to dry and see how she goes.
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I didn't know they made cleaner specifically for the air flow sensor.
I'll have to see if I can get some tomorrow after work.
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Cavalier342
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Cavalier342 »

Very similar to this is what I have:

http://www.motoelectrical.co.uk/crc-sho ... gIKs_D_BwE
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China Blue 1989 Vauxhall Cavalier L 18SV
Kings Blue 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier LSi Auto C18NZ
Smoke Grey 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier V6 C25XE

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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I wonder if it's a similar substance to contact cleaner for electronics.
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Robsey
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

That particular one looks like a plusgas or wd40 type spray.

The blurb says -
Multipurpose service spray
Loosens rusted parts. Displaces moisture, enables to start wet engines, prevents electrical failure.
Lubricates, stops squeaks and squeals, frees sticking mechanisms.
Protects metals against humidity, corrosive atmosphere and prevents rust.

I suspect contact cleaner or carb spray would do the same job without leaving any residue.
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Just taken the MAF sensor off and had a look, it does look visibly dirty.

I have some spray contact cleaner that I use for Hi-Fi systems at home. I'll give it a go.
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Cavalier342
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Cavalier342 »

Let it dry well before starting, it could run a little lumpy at first, that's perfectly normal, after a couple of seconds it will smooth out. Get it up to temperature then test drive it.
Previous:
China Blue 1989 Vauxhall Cavalier L 18SV
Kings Blue 1992 Vauxhall Cavalier LSi Auto C18NZ
Smoke Grey 1994 Vauxhall Cavalier V6 C25XE

Am I a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper? Well that depends on how much I've had to drink...
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Mk3alan
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Mk3alan »

I have used a similar air sensor cleaner on my Astra with good results, I would be wary of using an electrical contact cleaner, I have two types one is basically a cleaner , the other (Servisol) is a cleaner, oxide remover and lubricant - that's the bit you don't want!
Will attract all the flies!

Alan
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Well I tried cleaning the sensor.
May be my imagunation but it did feel a touch smother. However, it hasn't solved the problem.
Still down on power and I have a MAF sensor low voltage error on the Tech 1 but the EMI light hasn't come on. :scratch

It made it to Germany yesterday just fine though.
Got it up to 120MPH on the autobhan and it averaged about 35 MPG so it seems to be ok.
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Robsey
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

Air Flow Sensor low voltage.
Flash code 73 for the Motronoic 2.8 X25XE set up.

The voltage increases with air flow, so I wonder if you have an air leak between the MAF and throttle body.
Or a restricted / partially blocked air filter.

Or a dirty / corroded connector pin.
As we know, additional line resistance caused by corrosion or faulty wiring will reduce the "perceived" voltage dent to the ECU.

Still, for a V6, 35 mpg is pretty good.
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Cavalier342
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Cavalier342 »

Only 120mph? Come on James, put your foot down lol.

Given the fact that a lot of parts for the Cavaliers and the V6 models were made in Germany, I shouldn't imagine it'll be too difficult to find a replacement MAF sensor, IF there isn't a more obvious simpler solution.
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Right then, it's been nine months but I'm going to pick this up right from where I left off.

As I was hinting at in my last post, the V6 wasn't exactly running all that great; it was severely down on power.
I just about limped around on my holiday in Germany. I still had a good time, but things just weren't right.

I still got a few nice comments from people while I was queuing up to get on the ferry though, which was nice.

Here's a few pics of the ol' girl larking about on the continent:

On the ferry next to all the bland euroboxes:

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On arrival at my cousins house in Jugenheim:

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On the way up the mountain to Auerbach castle (lovely roads by the way):

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On the way home somewhere near Belgium, possibly The Netherlands (actually don't know):

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On the way back, disaster struck, just as I was coming off the ferry a lorry didn't check his mirrors and pulled out into my lane.
Instant karma though as it happened right next to a police check point! So I instantly had the aid of 4 very nice police officers all of which were very happy to see a Cav V6, one of then even had an SRi as a squad car.
Anyway, they were very helpful and I was soon on my way again.
At the time, I thought the only damage was the wing mirror, which was broken off.

This is a photo taken at the scene:

Image


At the time I was quite relieved that I'd only lost a wing mirror considering I'd just been pushed off the road by a 10 ton lorry!

On closer inspection however, there was other damage. The door bump strip had been scraped...

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...and I think the door has been ever so slightly pushed inwards as the next time I opened the rear door...Crunch!

Image


Not such a good end to an otherwise wonderful holiday. Still could have been worse.


In the weeks and months that followed the lack of power got worse.
I tried everything I could to solve it, changing sensors and tinkering with the Tech1 but nothing worked.

I fitted a brand new GM air flow sensor:

Image

A new Delphi crankshaft position sensor (sorry no photo of that one)
And a new Delphi camshaft position sensor and Bosch front knock sensor:

Image


All of this made no difference at all and it got to the point where it was totally un-driveable.
It struggle to start and wouldn't even rev above about 1500rpm and I lost faith in ever getting it fixed.
So there it sat on the driveway, until last week, when I finally got to the bottom of what was going on!

I noticed that there was a hissing sound coming from somewhere around the exhaust downpipe.
At first I thought it was just another problem but then I realised the exhaust must be blocked. It's the only thing that could cause these symptoms and not give any error codes on the Tech1.

I got a local mobile mechanic to take the converter off and sure enough, the innards had turned into a solid block of unholy matter:

Image

Image


Right, time for a new cat then!
The mechanic also noticed that one of the springs had broken. This was really rubbing salt in the wound as I have always loved the stock GM suspension and knew it would be hard to keep it feeling the same way using parts that are still available.

Never the less, these are the parts that were fitted, just front springs and shocks:

Image

I also got some top mounts but these weren't used as the originals were still in excellent condition.

Here's the original components that were removed;

Image

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New cat fitted:

Image


Turned the key and hussar! I was greeted with that familiar V6 burble that I had missed so much.
A test drive confirmed that the problem was solved.

Incredibly the suspension is bag and the ride feels just as it did before, if not a bit better.
The ride height is perfect too.

My girlfriend Lizzie took it out for a spin after the new Cat was fitted and I think she loves it more than I do. She has never driven a car this powerful before.

So at last it's back on the road.
It's not over there though as sitting for so long has really taken its toll on the nearside sill:
I knew there was a bit of rust there but never imagined it was this bad!

Image


The offside wheel arch isn't that great either:

Image


So I've been ordering some parts to spruce her up a bit.
I had already sourced these last year, brand new GM door strips, very lucky to find these:

Image


Another lucky find, genuine carpet floor mats. These turned up on eBay.
Need a bit of a clean but very happy to find them:

Image


Finally, these turned up today. Complete set of sill and wheel arch panels.
Yep it's off the work shop to get that rust sorted, hopefully in time for its MOT in September:

Image


Other than that, I'd like to officially announce that I have moved into a new flat with my girlfriend Lizzie. (another reason for my lack of activity recently)
I actually moved in two months ago on the 1st of May but what the hell.
It's been an absolutely brilliant move, I don't know why we didn't do it sooner to be honest.
Here's the new flat with a cameo from the V6 and Dippy:

Image


Thanks everybody, till next time.
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ilovedmymantas
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by ilovedmymantas »

Congratulations on making it official :love -that's a nice looking place you've got there.
When I started reading it sounded like you had almost given up. I'm glad I was wrong.

Great job figuring it out . You must feel you've unleashed the beast after so many months of lethargy.

Your car looks really clean underneath so at least you can concentrate on the bodywork. Mine's in a similar condition overall :( . Nice to see so many panels being replaced :thumb
The bilsteins are good, I noticed a big difference from the originals on my cdx but your car will be heavier so probably had heavier shocks :scratch
" It's not rust. It's age-related patina " ;)

1980 vauxhall cavalier MK1 1.6L, 1982 opel manta berlinetta 1.8s, 1985 opel manta 2.0 gte, 1990 cavalier 2.0 gl ,1994 cavalier sri x20xev

-1995 cdx x20xev

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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by iangsi »

Nice informative write as all ways James :thumb Are the other 3 cavs at your dad's still place ?
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

ilovedmymantas wrote:Congratulations on making it official :love -that's a nice looking place you've got there.
When I started reading it sounded like you had almost given up. I'm glad I was wrong.

Great job figuring it out . You must feel you've unleashed the beast after so many months of lethargy.

Your car looks really clean underneath so at least you can concentrate on the bodywork. Mine's in a similar condition overall :( . Nice to see so many panels being replaced :thumb
The bilsteins are good, I noticed a big difference from the originals on my cdx but your car will be heavier so probably had heavier shocks :scratch

Yeah I pretty much had given up at one point. But Lizzie is the one how encouraged me to keep trying.
It was a great feeling to get it sorted and something so simple too. I was thinking I'd need a whole new engine at one point.

It is very clean underneath. The previous owner was meticulous about keeping rust away. I was quite shocked when I saw it, it has deteriorated very quickly.

Most Cavaliers came with oil dampers from the factory. However, the SRi, GSi, Turbo and V6 models all came with Gas pressure dampers so there was very little difference between the bilsteins and stock suspension.

iangsi wrote:Nice informative write as all ways James :thumb Are the other 3 cavs at your dad's still place ?
Thanks Ian.
Yeah, the other 3 are under my father's custodianship at the moment.
Technically, the only two cars that I own are the LS and V6 but it's always been a collaborative effort keeping them all going.
I've only moved about 2 miles away from my Dad's place so I've still got easy assess to them all.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

Great news all round then.
Good on Lizzie for keeping you focussed.

Aye - doesn't take long for the tin-worm to start doing it's dirty work. Especially when the car is stood for a lengthy period.

Soon be put right again. Time and funds permitting.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by V6BOY »

Cracking read, glad the damage wasn't serious considering it was a lorry good on you for not throwing in the towel.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by chrisash86 »

James, my V6 has the same problem regarding the sills where did u get the sills from ?
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by cavalier1990 »

James

Hope you don't mind me asking how much was new cat, I take it it is not oe part? I think the last time I checked a still available oe cat was in the region 500 bucks!

Glad to see you've caught sill early they always go at the back, hopefully inner sills should be OK still.
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

cavalier1990 wrote:James

Hope you don't mind me asking how much was new cat, I take it it is not oe part? I think the last time I checked a still available oe cat was in the region 500 bucks!

Glad to see you've caught sill early they always go at the back, hopefully inner sills should be OK still.

Of course not. It was an eBay special, here's the one I got:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fit-with-VAU ... 2749.l2649


The sill is pretty far gone. It's going to need the inner sill replaced too. :(

chrisash86 wrote:James, my V6 has the same problem regarding the sills where did u get the sills from ?
They were an eBay special too, here you go:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-CAV ... 2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-CAV ... 2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-CAV ... 2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VAUXHALL-CAV ... 2749.l2649
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Colorado »

Same as the ones I got to do my sill and wheel arch. Was pleased with them
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

In preparation for the VBOA national meet at Market Harborough, I thought I'd give it a go at fitting the new door bump strips.
Unfortunately, when I took off the rear one, I was greeted by this:

Image

Not good.
I removed as much of the rust as possible using a wire brush. For while, I thought it might just be surface rust but unfortunately it's gone right through so will need to be welded. This will be done at the same time as the wheel arches and sills.
For the time being, I've put some hydrate 80 on it to hold the rust at bay and re attached the original bump strip:

Image


After that, I'd though I'd try something a bit easier and cleaned up the carpet mats. They are now looking much nicer:

Image

Not, perfect. but then again if they were, i probably wouldn't want to use them all the time.
These have now been fitted and are staying with the car.

After that, I gave her a jolly good clean and a polish, all ready for the show:


Image



I've gone to a couple of bodywork places near me for quotes on the welding but neither have got back to me. Not a good sign.
East Sussex is distinctly lacking in good repair shops.
Half of them do shoddy work, the other half are snobs that aren't interested in Vauxhalls it seems.
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Robsey
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

All three of your cars looked great at the VBOA rally.

It is hard enough looking after one car.
I have no idea how you and your dad can look after five.
Total dedication and deep pockets.
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