Raffles Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I never intentionally look to change my daily driver but every so often, something appears on the radar at a nice price and I jump. Such a thing has just happened: Considerably less than the cheapest Parkers price listed so I nabbed it. Having seen the fantastic bit of MV6 acquisition recently, I wondered if it counted... It needs a bit of love though...words cannot describe the state of the oil and the pollen filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillock Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I had a 140 SRi 2.0 and it was a fairly nice car - quick enough for me, plenty of toys, comfy and handled OK. Just it was silver, and they seem to be working their way down the Yes Car Credit ladder and turning up on bricks in gardens everywhere. Yours is new enough and blue enough not to look like every other Vectra on the road :)2.2 motors though.... are they the ones that eat timing chains? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Ross Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Normally these munch chains, yes. The biggest giveaway, I'm sorry to say, is the mullered oil filter that implodes on itself, or completely dismantles itself between oil changes. Best of luck. Keep your AA card with you. You may well need it. Hopefully though, I'm talking bollocks as usual! (I work for a Vauxhall dealer BTW) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 This one obliterated it's timing chain 12K miles ago and bent a few valves in the bargain. I'm guessing (hoping) that the repair kit had the wider oil jet in it as the parts came from a Vx dealer. It's a lot of car for what I paid but nowhere near as good a deal as that MV6... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXrescuer Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I hope it goes ok for you once it's sorted. I haven't known one single Vectra owner that's had a hassle free ride with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstraight6 Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Quite into this Griffin badged stuff now Raffles What's going to become of the old chavalier..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 Ahhhhh Mr BS6. How goes it?The SRi Cav has gone into store and toward the end of the month I shall get a years ticket on it and then move it on.Ironically, that was trouble from the day I bought it but once I got all that sensor crap resolved it gave me over 20K trouble-free miles.Great car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.welfare Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I often wonder if the "troubles" we hear about with particular, popular cars are due mainly to lack of proper maintenance by previous owners as much as inherent design faults - I'd be giving it very regular oil changes for a while to make sure all the crud is flushed out, sounds like a similar problem to the Saab 9-3/9-5 petrol engines to me!I understand the 2.2 made the old Vectra a reasonably rapid conveyance. Hope it is reliable for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volksy Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 All I've heard of is horror stories, some freinds of mine have a Vectra TD, and its been in the garage more than not. I can guarantee if this scrappage scheme comes in they will be binning it with glee to get 2k off something far more reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 A good point there Mr W.Vx 2.0 Ecotec engines have a bad rep for sensor trouble etc but after I had mine sorted (rewired) and gave it regular oil changes with the occasional bottle of injector cleaner (does that stuff really work?) it was great. It would still pull to 130mph plus (on an autobahn, obviously) and return 30-odd to the gallon on average. That was with 157K on the clock.The Saab 2.2 is the same engine and it eats timing chains the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milford Cubicle Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 ...words cannot describe the state of the oil and the pollen filter. The one in my 405 was quite a horror, think it'd been there since new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CortinaDave Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 I bought a W reg blue sri 140 a couple of years ago for the right price and I really liked it... it was LPG converted with a proper romano multipoint kit and i thought a nice drive, although it didnt feel like a true "SRi" the way my old cavalier did. Only things that annoyed me were the uncomfortable seats and the irritating dash computer that is always bong-ing and moaning about trivial shit.I had it two months then the head gasket went, cue £450 repair bill. Picked it up and the very next day i was driving it to work and the air conditioning unit went on fire.As I stood watching it dissappear in a sea of flames i decided i probably wouldnt have another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milford Cubicle Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Vectras are pretty unappealing to be honest, maybe for all the horror stories I've heard like cortinadave's, and from my friend who had to replace hundreds of pounds' worth of sensors just to get his running right. Most of them are driven by horrible horrible people too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillock Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Most of them are driven by horrible horrible people too.Sorry to hear you've met my ex-wife!Ours was OK in a transport sort of way but yeah the constant battle with the sensors wears thin, sometimes I felt like that engine management light was the only reliable part of the car. From memory it had a crankshaft position sensor, lambda sensor, mass airflow sensor and still occasionally didn't run right. The wiring was a mess though.The 2.0 motors also amusingly break off the studs holding the exhaust manifold to the head. Sometimes a decent garage can get them out in situ, other times you need to hoist the engine for access. Mine was done in situ but annoyingly had to have it done three weeks after I bought it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Station Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Pollen filters can cause the inside of the car to steam up. The Cavalier didn't actually have one, just a gauze across the top of the intake.Water leaks into mine on a regular basis and I've had to put a sheet of plastic over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 UPDATE: It has to go...Nearly 2 litres of oil burnt/lost in less than 600 miles says so.Much interweb reserach suggest that the piston rings are shot and/or the repair done after the timing chain snapped wasn't done well enough. Good job I never sold the Cavalier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.welfare Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Bit of a bugger. Any comeback possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raffles Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Not likely Mr W...After I had calmed down a bit yesterday, during which it faultlessly and pleasantly covered a couple of hundred miles, I did some investigation.Upshot is that it will get one more chance. Will change the crankshaft oil seal and clean up the gungy slick on the O/S of the block and see what it does then...I think I feel sorry for the blasted item as it has been badly neglected over the last few years by the looks of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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