James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I found this amongst my spares.
I believe it's another item from Pete's Diplomat.

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It's not perfect but it's a lot better than the one on there.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Lowrider Dave »

Well done on the MOT. New gaitor looks smart - the handbrake one from 'Pete's Spare Emporium' will help it look a bit better.
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James McGrath
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Thanks.

It wasn't ready for the MOT until the very last minuet. Literally on the last day of the re-test period I got the radius arm dust cover replaced early in the morning and from there drove to the test station.

Hopefully I'm going to get the exhaust fitted tomorrow morning.
I had a look at it myself but the bolts holding the back box on are really tough and look like they might be seized.
Can't be bothered to try and remove them myself so I'm just going to leave it to the professionals.

Looking further into the auxiliary cooling pump; it looks like the Calibra and Frontera used the same part.
So I may be able to scavenge a compatible part from either of those cars too.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

All good progress and fantastic news on the MOT.

There is nothing like a looming MOT to get you motivated.

I find seized bolts on an exhaust clamp are the easy bit. You can just shear the nuts off the U clamps.
It is when separating the pipes at the joins that I suddenly realise that I know a lot of German (Saxon) words. :wall
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Robsey wrote:There is nothing like a looming MOT to get you motivated.
Indeed. I've probably spent more time and money on it in the lasts two weeks than I have in the last 4 months of ownership.


I got the exhaust fitted today! :D


This was the horrid old pea shooter.
Apart from it's awful looks it also had a hole in it so it was time for a change anyway.

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I took it to the excellent chaps at Hastings classic custom exhausts.

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While on the ramp it gave me a chance to check the underside thoroughly. Thankfully there were no surprises.

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Unfortunately after taking the old back box off they found a small hole in the mid section.

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I had a few options. It was only a small hole so I could probably get away with just putting the new back box on for now.
My other option was to wait for a new pattern part to come in the next day.
Or thirdly, I could get one specially made in stainless steel.
After a bit of umming and arring, I decided to splash out again and go for the third option. :D


I decided to ditch the mid silencer altogether and go for just a straight though pipe. No only is this cheaper, but it sounds better and helps the BHP too.

Anyway, this is how she's looing now

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I've really got to hand it to these guys, they do give a really fast service. Baring in mind I called in on short notice and arrived at 2pm, it was all finished and ready by 4:45pm. I thoroughly recommend these chaps. :thumb
http://classiccustomexhausts.co.uk/

Here's a few shots to end on of her alongside the Diplomat after giving them both a good clean today:


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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by humbucker »

Wow! That is good service. Far better than that I've received from Jetex. The Swedish manufacturer took my money for a stainless exhaust for Sharon's classic Saab 900, but then disappeared on factory shutdown for THREE MONTHS! Delivery is due at the end of September, by which time the car will almost be ready to be put away again until the spring. Not amused.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Yeah, I was chuffed when they told me the could do it today for me. I've had to do so much waiting around recently; when I got it serviced and MOTed for the first time I dropped it off at 8 in the morning and it wasn't finished until 5pm. :shock:
That was at a Vauxhall main dealer too.

Ouch, three months, that's gotta hurt.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I've been looking into ways of fixing my leaky drain plug. Hay you at the back, stop sniggering!

I've already replaced the washer and the drain bolt looks perfectly fine.
I've managed to find a new oil level sensor to replace the faulty one but want to fit it ay the same time as sorting this leak if at all possible. Just to save me the effort of draining the oil twice.

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I did come across this scotty Kilmer video about fitting an oversized drain plug.


Link



Is this realistically a good idea? Has anyone done it before?
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by humbucker »

Thought about replacing the sump? Not v expensive, if a mucky job.

Hold up! Is that an OEM drain plug? Doesn't look like it...
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I've looked for a new oil pan but they are quite expensive and I'd rather fix this one if I can.

I'm not sure. What is it supposed to look like?
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by humbucker »

I'm sure the OE plug has the 'collar' on the nut, matching the diameter of the washer. For the sake of the cost of a new plug, I'd invest in a magnetic sump plug if I were you. At least you can rule the plug out as being the issue, and you'll have upgraded the part at the same time. Other colours are available in the seller's eBay store: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311470379929
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I got one of those for my LS a few year ago.
I was talking to Dave at the last Southern meet as he has the same problem with his V6. He too fitted a magnetic one but the problem persisted.
Doesn't mean the same will happen with mine of course but I'm pessimistic.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

Felt like I needed to do something today on my day off so I just went ahead and changed the oil level sensor.
If I have to drain the oil again to fit a new drain plug so be it.

Here is the new sensor, all the way from Germany:

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Quite an odd looking thing with 3 small holes on the side to allow oil to flow through.
Sounds like there is some sort of floater inside that will move with the oil level. I suspect that when the oil level is low, this will make contact with some sort of switch inside and give you your warning light.

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I recently bought myself a proper 6L oil pan and a bigger funnel which makes draining the oil much easier than using that old plastic storage tub I was using before.

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The plug looks fine to me. All the threads are intact.

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The threads on the drain hole however, look a bit knackered to me. Looks like bits of them are missing:

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The old oil level sensor looked in surprisingly good nick. I expected that one of the oil holes on the side would be clogged or something but it looked fine.

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Only odd thing was the fact that the connector on the end of the wiring was missing and the wires were just bare :scratch
These were just shoved into the other end of the loom.
Most importantly however, the old gasket was in great condition. This was crucial as I couldn't find a new one anywhere for less than about £20 imported from Germany and I wasn't going to pay that much for a gasket.

Fitting the new sensor was a doddle.

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From then on it was just a matter of putting the oil back in...

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...and giving it a test:

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Success!

Not too happy about what was left in the oil pan though:

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These look like they could be my drain hole threads but I can't be sure.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Jimbo »

What a lovely Cav. Think my iPad has smellavison, sure I can smell engine oil.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by humbucker »

New sump time for sure. I did think it might be the thread on the sump itself, but then immediately dismissed the idea. Should have stuck with my instincts.

You can probably get a second hand one cheap. I think I paid a tenner for a minter from a Vectra B to use on the bottom of a Y32SE when I was considering putting the MV6's engine into one of my Cavalier Turbos.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

I'm going to try and re-tap the threads first.
You know what I'm like, I'll want an original C25XE pan with check control and I probably won't be able to find one for ages.

They are available from Germany but with the weak pound and postage costs it will be expensive:
http://www.opel-classicparts.de/oelwanne-29092.html

90469472
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

Genuine GM part is £130.03 from GPS.

Youch!!!
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by ilovedmymantas »

James McGrath wrote:I'm going to try and re-tap the threads first.
Those definitely look like thread bits :(
If plan A doesn't work you could consider plan B. Solder a bush;
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=14114&p=144676&hil ... ze#p144676
-just a starting point but probably the best long term solution imho
" 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 humbucker »

If you suspect metal has been swimming around your sump, then you'd be absolutely crazy not to invest in a magnetic sump plug.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

humbucker wrote:If you suspect metal has been swimming around your sump, then you'd be absolutely crazy not to invest in a magnetic sump plug.
:thumb Already on it's way in the post.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Lowrider Dave »

I had a spare sump I luckily came across on ebay yonks ago, but sadly I let it go with the V6 when I sold it. I found it hard to get the correct one. I feel a magnetic plug and a helicoil would be the way forwards.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

The magnetic sump plug arrived on Saturday, the day after I ordered it!

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However, despite being described as an M15 size, it was actually an M14 plug, the same as the original. My original idea was simply to tap new threads into the drain hole and then fit an M15 magnetic sump plug.

I thought I might as well try fitting the new plug before I drilled new threads. So I tightened it up as tight as I could, far more than you would normally. My thinking was that the threads are knackered anyway so what was there to loose.

Amazingly, it's been 4 days and it hasn't dripped any oil since. Oil has collected around the washer however, so it's not completely sealed.
It's a bit of a quick fix but hopefully it will do for now until I can prepare a more permanent solution.

I've also been able to track down an auxiliary cooling pump and the alternator cooling fan hose that I was missing. :cheers
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by Robsey »

Do you need alienating?
Ha ha.

Pity you couldn't weld on a thick washer like plate to the sump, and then drill and tap that.

I agree that an M14 helicoil repair would have worked fine - as per Dave's suggestion.
(Same as used for repairing stripped spark plug threads in cylinder heads.)
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by James McGrath »

A helicoil seems like my best option at the moment. It would save me having to buy another drain plug.


Robsey wrote:Do you need alienating?
Ha ha.
Well spotted. Edited.
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Re: James' 1995 Manual CDX V6 Saloon

Post by iangsi »

Try wrapping some plumbers PTFE tape or string around the threads it's worked for me in the past.
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