1989 Opel Vectra GT

[vectra1903]

Update.

Got my bushings mounted, that's when I noticed that my shocks are well past their lifetime, so got them replaced for KYB units.
Also my alternator belt was squeaking so that got replaced too.

I also tried some fuel cleaning additives, seems to be a bit better but that may be just my brain telling me so.

My radio went up in smoke again due to shorting out the power lines for my bluetooth module, 2 transistors later it's working again.
I also set up a relay circuit that cuts the power to the power antenna when the cassette player (or in my case bluetooth module) is engaged.

I got myself a omega wiper relay and wiper stalk, so that got mounted also, works nicely, though the fusebox doesn't close that good anymore, the relay is hitting on the handle. It's no big deal though.

But the biggest thing to date is this:

Next stop is 200000.

[Robsey]

Hmm - the fusebox should still close with the Omega relay fitted.
I have the relay and stalk fitted. - I cannot remember any problems with the fusebox door.

[vectra1903]

I have the exact same relay and it just barely hits the handle for the door, just enough so it can snap on and close but it looks like it will shoot open when I hit a pothole or something. So far it hasn't opened itself yet.

[ilovedmymantas]

Nice landmark odometer reading. I almost said mileage reading, is there such a thing as kilometrage readings
190 thousand kilometres is a little over 118 thousand miles, pretty low for a car of it's age, I hope you can enjoy it for many years

[vectra1903]

Hi, I need information on what pressure my cooling system should be as I am suspecting a failure of the coolant tank cap (I don't know it's professional name) and I need to buy a new cap with the proper pressure rating. I have no pressure in my cooling system which leads to the coolant boiling and spraying out of the cap.

[vectra1903]

Replaced my coolant cap, got my cooling system pressure back, great!

One day later... big cloud of smoke from the bonnet.

Radiator gave up.

You can't catch a break with these cars, can you?

[chrisp]

Looks like the radiator had been weak for a while and only survived because the cooling system wasn't pressurised. As soon as you fixed that with a new cap.....

[Robsey]

These cars reward your love and devotion with more challenges.

I have had this in the past with the cooling system, where one part fails,
You fix that part,
and the next part in the coolant system fails,
You fix that.... and so on.

It can get very frustrating and expensive.

[vectra1903]

New radiator is in, no more boiling and smoke.
I have to get my brake master cylinder replaced as it is leaking pretty badly. Also my suspension needs checking out as I have a pretty annoying squeaking noise when going over bumps and turning the wheel.
I am also slowly gathering the parts for another front end "tune-up" or more precisely a rebuild of sorts. I bought original GT bumper panels with red stripes that don't have holes for foglamps. So because of that I bought a blank cover for the foglight switch and I'm gonna remove them. They're cheap knock-offs anyway, always fogging over after it gets a bit humid. The car didn't come with fogs originally so that's also a reason to revert this change.
I am also trying to source the black bumper base because mine is snapped and a bit "worn" after some altercations with a curb.
So because I'm gonna remove the whole bumper anyway I decided that I will make it a tiny bit better and straighter overall, also gonna take care of the undercover rust that has appeared on some parts in the front.

But I need money for all that and well... I don't have any! So that will have to wait.

[Robsey]

Owning a Vectra-A / Cavalier usually means that most owners have no money.
It is like a needy woman, as soon she knows you have money - she takes it from you.

I like the idea of reverting back to original.
(Although I am the worlds worst for modifying and updating).

[vectra1903]

I don't think I said this anywere in the topic but in my free time I also mounted electrically regulated headlamps. It's a dead simple job, the wiring for the headlamp height motors was pre-routed in my Vectra, so I just plugged in the motors. After that I got myself the rotary switch (from a Corsa, works just fine), put it in place of the blanking plate, popped the headlights on and boom, the motors started whirring. Didn't even need to insert any extra fuses.
Be careful with the motors though, don't try to manually set the height before plugging them in because after that they automatically set themselves into the normal position, it seemed as if my motors were set to the last position on the switch so they had to go through all of the 3 positions back to 0 and there went my precise calibration. So first plug in the motors, let them set themselves and then start manually setting the height.

[Robsey]

I am going to show my lack of knowledge -
I wasn't aware that the pre-facelift headlamps had electronic adjusters. (1988 to 1991).

My 1994 LSi had them from the factory.
Took them out when I fitted Depo Halo's.
Looking back, I think I prefer the original factory look.
Maybe one day I will refit the original light units.

[vectra1903]

I am going to show my lack of knowledge -
I wasn't aware that the pre-facelift headlamps had electronic adjusters. (1988 to 1991).

My 1994 LSi had them from the factory.
Took them out when I fitted Depo Halo's.
Looking back, I think I prefer the original factory look.
Maybe one day I will refit the original light units.

I currently have one original carello headlamp and one depo replacement unit, both pre-facelift style with electronic adjustment.

I personally don't like the look of the "angel eyes" or halo style headlamps on older cars, not my cup of tea, I'm all for originality. But that's just my taste.

[Envoy CDX]

I am going to show my lack of knowledge -
I wasn't aware that the pre-facelift headlamps had electronic adjusters. (1988 to 1991).

My 1994 LSi had them from the factory.
Took them out when I fitted Depo Halo's.
Looking back, I think I prefer the original factory look.
Maybe one day I will refit the original light units.

Optional Rob. My G reg had them.

[Robsey]

Every day is a school day.

I didn't even know you'd had a G Reg.
Unless that was your dad's car before you got Smoky.

[Envoy CDX]

Every day is a school day.

I didn't even know you'd had a G Reg.
Unless that was your dad's car before you got Smoky.

Oh lets see I owned 4 in total

L860BFT (Cav 1) (2005-2006)
G620TWD (Cav 2) (2006-2007)
K109XDB (Cav 3) (2007-2010)
L223FGS (Cav 4) (2010-2019 (2011 it came off the road))

But yeah, all fun and games I can't remember much cav wise these days :/

[vectra1903]

Replaced 3 bulbs. They are very brittle (internally)! I pulled out my clock with some unnecessary force and the bulb burned out. before this it worked fine. Thankfully I bought extras. Replaced the heater panel bulb, clock bulb and a bulb on the instrument panel behind the fuel gauge. Fiddly tasks, but I read somewhere that you can easily replace the heater panel bulb just by taking out the clock/BC and the instrument panel cowling (top and bottom). Then all four screws go out and the panel will slide out slightly, just enough to reach the bulb with needle nose pliers. The fuel gauge bulb was more fiddly, taking caution not to unplug the speedo cable I tilted the panel enough so I could twist the bulb out. Then a new 1.2W bulb went in. I know it's supposed to be a 2W bulb but that's all I had.
Now everything is lit up nicely.

[Robsey]

The heater panel bulb pulls out the back of the panel,
it is not a twist in bulb holder like all the other bulbs,
It is a square plastic bulb holder.

[vectra1903]

Ok, quick question.

What may be the cause of a big coolant leak at the back of the engine?
I am at a point at which I am pouring about 2 liters of coolant into it every week.
The top radiator hose is dripping a bit, also the termostat housing is slightly wet but the whole back of the engine is basically covered in coolant. This drips onto the exhaust and well... the driveway.
What's weird is that it won't leak any coolant when it's parked for a while. It will start leaking only when it's sitting overnight. One day there is coolant, next day there is a puddle under the car.

All three plugs are still in the engine block.

[Robsey]

If it is at the back,

If it is the timing belt end, it could be the water pump.
This tends to dribble over the right wishbone.

Anywhere else at the back, could be the rigid pipe.
The rigid pipe that runs across the engine below the inlet manifold.
There are several pipes off this, including the two pipes for the heater matrix.
The rigid pipe could have become brittle and cracked.

[vectra1903]

So... coolant is still leaking and a new problem has developed, when cold starting it doesn't want to run on one cylinder, after giving it some gas it starts running again. The only thing I did was secure the ignition leads with zip ties as the original plastic holders have disintegrated.

But what is new is half of the front end.
I put in a new panel under the headlamps and replaced the bumper panels. Also got the seems a bit closer, moved the headlamps a bit on their mounts, fabricated new mounts where the old ones didn't fit.

[Robsey]

So... coolant is still leaking and a new problem has developed, when cold starting it doesn't want to run on one cylinder, after giving it some gas it starts running again.

The poor cold starting sounds like a continuation of your earlier issue - where you were advised to check the roror arm, distributor cap and the leads.
Just give all the connectors a good clean and dry.

But what is new is half of the front end.
I put in a new panel under the headlamps and replaced the bumper panels. Also got the seems a bit closer, moved the headlamps a bit on their mounts, fabricated new mounts where the old ones didn't fit.

Looking very tidy - just a bit of a tackle needed on the front wings near the indicators.

[vectra1903]

Is there any way to increase tail light brightness? They are a bit dark, I remember I saw something about this on the forum but I can't find it now.

[Robsey]

The only "proper" way to do this is to -
1 - Ensure that all bulbs are a good make and that they are "new". Old bulbs will tarnish and grow dimmer with age.
2 - Ensure that the connectors and tracks to the bulbs are clean and press well on the bottoms of the bulbs.
3 - You could put an extra ground wire on the "common" terminal (brown wire) in each cluster, ensuring that you ground these wires to a good clean earth.
4 - Give the light clusters a good clean.
Our dish-washer makes a great job of cleaning up the dirty old light cluster lenses.

I am not sure if that is what you were thinking.

[vectra1903]

The only "proper" way to do this is to -
1 - Ensure that all bulbs are a good make and that they are "new". Old bulbs will tarnish and grow dimmer with age.
2 - Ensure that the connectors and tracks to the bulbs are clean and press well on the bottoms of the bulbs.
3 - You could put an extra ground wire on the "common" terminal (brown wire) in each cluster, ensuring that you ground these wires to a good clean earth.
4 - Give the light clusters a good clean.
Our dish-washer makes a great job of cleaning up the dirty old light cluster lenses.

I am not sure if that is what you were thinking.

Thanks. I will definitely try this.