Cavalier (Mk3) Attitude - MoT result

[richbraith]

Owned this lovely SRi 2010-2011.

 

[richbraith]

Loved this one, was my wedding car.  Was a well known car when I bought it and never really felt like mine though.  Now in ROI.

 

[richbraith]

First one I owned back in 1999.  This 1.6L with a 4 speed box was what gave me a taste for them.  Grille and rusty alloys from a local farmer's wife's rotten CD was what a 23 year old me deemed desirable mods.  I returned from a night out to find someone had attempted to steal it and bent the steering column, car couldn't be moved so the scrap man took it.  I sat on the floor next to it and cried.  18 years later fucking Cavaliers are still breaking my heart!

 

The next one I own will stay with me for life.

 

[richbraith]

Local one.  Contains C20XE, surprises everyone.  Belongs to a mate who's told me I have first dibs.  We'll see how that goes.

 

[paulscavalier]

The mk 2 Cavalier is really appealing to me these days, despite me being a mk3 Cavalier owner. Don't thinks mrs cav will let me have anymore though....

[richbraith]

I really would love a mk2 estate.  I've nearly bought a couple and then backed out on them for whatever reason.  Mk3's just suit me though, as long as you keep rust at bay there's no reason you'd ever need another car.

I intend to have another before the year is out.

[John F]

The rear seat also has a ski hatch, although I wonder how many were actually used for that specific purpose.

 

I used the one in my old 1994 SRi loads for skis when I lived in the Alps

[Burnside]

My best friend parents had a MK2 Cavalier 1.8 LXI  saloon when we were at school, always wanted it for myself ! 

 

Always wanted a MK2 Cav but never found one at the right time so ended up with my MK3 which I have no regrets about. 

 

The Estate is a real rarity my dad wanted to replace our Chevette Estate with a MK2 Cav Estate in the early 90's but he couldn't find one/ afford one at the time. 

[RobT]

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[RobT]

What with the Omega, this week I have been mostly checking Vauxhall wishbones for worn bushes...

 

 

Yep, perished. The ARB ones look worse, so they also need doing. A new clonking noise at slow speeds when steering is what led me to have a look. The wishbones themselves look old and a bit corroded in places so will replace both when I get the chance. I'll also stop being a fanny and attempt the work myself, as it's about time I advanced beyond the routine easy stuff. I used to do such things in my younger days, just got lazy I suppose.

 

It's my birthday soon so an impact wrench has been requested already as I'm sure I'll need it!

 

The brakes have also been squeaking, so whilst in the air I cleaned up all four and adjusted the handbrake as 'no reserve travel' was an advisory on the last MoT. 'Tis much better now.

 

 

I also finally did some quick rustproofing of the rear end (only taken me two years...) as there's surface rust in places. The horse has bolted when it comes to the back end of the rear arches though.

 

 

A dollop of P40 and forget-for-a-while on that one I think.

 

Mrs T uses the Cav more than I do (it's essentially her car anyway) and said yesterday she still loves it and wants another when this is knackered. Hopefully that's a while away yet, but cambelt is another job soon as I've let that one slip.

[lisbon_road]

Good luck with that Rob.  Done them loads of times so give me a shout if any issues, doubt you will need the impact wrench.  One tip from Astras that probably applies to Cavs, the bolts on the front of the wishbone and the back have a different thread pitch. 

 

And don't use a ball joint breaker, just thump the forging while gently levering it down.

[BorniteIdentity]

Mrs T uses the Cav more than I do (it's essentially her car anyway) and said yesterday she still loves it and wants another when this is knackered. 

 

Where do you find such a woman - and can you help me locate one?

 

(!)

 

Top work as ever Rob.  An inspiration to the perennially lazy among us. (ie - me)

[sierraman]

Impact wrench makes jobs like that much quicker and easier. If you are replacing the bottom the bottom arm pry it down against the hub or I find a length of scaffold pole resting on the arm, then smack it down with the copper mallet.

 

Love these old cavaliers, my dad used to borrow them from work, remember him taking us to London in a 1.4L.

[RobT]

Thanks for the advice. I'll probably make the job harder than it need be but worth a shot to save a few quid.

 

Where do you find such a woman - and can you help me locate one?

 

 

She still doesn't like "French shit", so it's not all rosy! Anything Rover shaped is a winner though as it's what she grew up with.

[Sir Snipes]

You'll want to free-off the track rods as it'll need tracking and they're always seized.

[lisbon_road]

That's good advice from Mr Rusty Sills.  Cheers the tyre centre up no end when you say that they are free.

[RobT]

The Cavalier has developed an annoying ticking noise in the cabin. Considering how quiet it is otherwise it'll be enough to drive me insane. So today I popped off the rear OS door card as the noise is coming from behind the driver. Nothing seems to be rattling in there, and it sounds more consistent and possibly electrical anyway, so I suspect the in-tank fuel pump might be about to kipper. I've only had one pump fail in the past with zero warning, that was in a Rover 114 whilst in the middle lane of the M1, so it's handy if this one is giving me advance warning of its demise.

 

Looks grubby in there so it's probably the original pump

 

 

The noise only happens when moving forward, so I tried removing the fuel pump fuse to see if it would drive a few feet forward just to confirm if it is the pump, but it died instantly.

 

This evening I hit eBay expecting to find one easily for 30 quid or something but no, not a sausage. So my next hope is to find one from a breaker.

 

In other news it managed a trip over to France a few weeks back with no problem, so I'm glad this issue held off until now. Here it as the Reims-Gueux circuit.

 

 

I still haven't done the wishbones. Or fixed the speedo. And the thermostat housing still leaks (because I'm a dork who sheared off a bolt trying to remove it six months ago). Yet despite my laziness/idiocy it keeps going! Hopefully I can get the pump sorted within the week as this is something I can't ignore...

[paulscavalier]

Is the fuel pump a general Vauxhall item that they use on other models? Definitely a worry if they are hard to get

[RobT]

As if the GM shite gods were listening to me, the correct one cropped up on eBay this morning for £32 so I quickly bought it.  It's a bit of a worry as I contacted three Vauxhall spares places (classic and breakers) and none of them had one in stock.

 

Other in-tank Vauxhall pumps could probably be made to fit, but I wanted a direct replacement to aid minimal faff.

[bramz7]

Kudos to whoever was going down the M4 this morning in an early looking CD MK3. Even had a jacket hung up in the rear window!

 

 

I think if I ever owned a Vauxhall it'd be a Cavalier. Never actually been in one.

[RobT]

Kudos to whoever was going down the M4 this morning in an early looking CD MK3. Even had a jacket hung up in the rear window!

 

 

 

One of life's winners!

 

Or it could have been this ugly bastard stuck in a temporal anomaly.

 

[paulscavalier]

As if the GM shite gods were listening to me, the correct one cropped up on eBay this morning for £32 so I quickly bought it.  It's a bit of a worry as I contacted three Vauxhall spares places (classic and breakers) and none of them had one in stock.

 

Other in-tank Vauxhall pumps could probably be made to fit, but I wanted a direct replacement to aid minimal faff.

Might be worth getting one just in case... I will keep an eye out

[Rusty_Rocket]

Change the filter before you dig out the pump, Rob.  Most fuel pump noises are due to a partially clogged fuel filter!

[RobT]

^^Good point thanks, I'll do that first as I've no idea when it was last changed.

[Burnside]

Reading this has got me thinking about the Fuel Filter on my Cavalier. Had it 9 years and can't remenber when I last changed it. So I'll be adding that to the list of parts along with also the wishbones on mine as there shot and I've got the Mot next month.

 

All the best with getting yours sorted out. 

[RobT]

This came in the post today, so that's a job allocated for Saturday morning.

 

 

In all my years I've never changed a fuel filter on a car, so this will be a first. It's rare for the Cavalier to be out of action, but Mrs T will have to take the Astra dizzler to the south coast this weekend to visit her folks. She's not impressed, but it's either that or risk a breakdown...

[23rdian]

I had a mark 3 1.6 LS purchased for £50 including £50 worth of tax. Guy who owned it was about to drive it to the scrapyard. It was a good car but I had too many cars at the time so sold it on eBay befiore winter (see below) which I do regret.

 

All was wrong with it was clicky driveshafts and a bypassed heater matrix. 

[RobT]

Change the filter before you dig out the pump, Rob. Most fuel pump noises are due to a partially clogged fuel filter!

You were right Rusty, just changing the filter sorted it so thanks for the advice!

 

Here's the old one. What is that likely to be, 15-20 years old? I can't remember when Halfords changed their font to the new one.

 

 

Whilst underneath I also noticed the exhaust box has a small hole so I bodged that for now, and also this random piece of cable that had been flapping about in the wheel arch. No idea what it is, part of the rear pads wear indicator perhaps, but I just cut it off as there was nowhere for it to go.

 

 

Something else that's been annoying me for ages is the uneven idle. I replaced the ICV not long after buying the car but have just lived with it since as it drives fine otherwise. I know Bosch fuel injection can be a bugger in that respect, but I'll do a bit more research and see if it can be fixed cheaply.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Nice result Rob, that fuel filter is an oldie.. but at least someone has changed it at some point!  I did the one on my Astra when I first got it; it was an original GM one and the mounting screw/ bracket was rusted solid!!

[RobT]

That's what I was expecting/dreading, so it was a pleasant surprise for the job to go smoothly. Not sure the rear brake pads next weekend will be so easy...