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Topics - Grumpy

Pages: [1] 2
1
Maintenance Guides / How To Clean Your 2.0L IACV and Breather Jet
« on: 02 November 2007, 12:44:13 »
We seem to keep getting the same question on the 2.0L 16V
stalling. Mine and others answers seem to be spread over
numerous threads, so I've dragged it all together here.

Although there are several reasons why it will stall, one of the
most common is the Small Breather  Jet blocking up, and causing
the Idle Air Control Valve to malfunction. So this 'How To' will
just deal with checking for, and rectifying, this condition.

I don't believe in 'Monkey See, Monkey Do', so I'll try and explain
how the system works, at Idle. You must understand how something
works to be able to work out what will cause it to fail.
So below is rough, hand drawn schematic. It's not to scale and
it doesn't show everything. So pedants will have a field day,
but it should illustrate what you need to know.
Have a look, and then read the explanation below it.
I've followed it with a picture of the real engine bay.





As you can see, the Air flows in through the filter and into the
top of the Throttle Body to the Top of the Butterfly Valve, shown
in Red. Because the Butterfly is closed at Idle, the Air flow to the
Engine passes through the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV). Just follow
the Blue Arrows to see the flow. Note that the Inlet to the IACV is
above the Butterfly Valve and the Outlet is below it. This means that
the Air Pressure is Higher on the Inlet and above the Butterfly, than
the Outlet and below the Butterfly. This is due to the 'Suction' created
by the engine which is blocked off by the closed Butterfly.

Also note that the IACV is a Twin Valve arrangement, with the Air
passing round the back of the IACV to give flow through the Second
Valve as well as the first. This is important to understand for when
you clean the IACV. But more on that later.

Now note the 2 Breather hoses coming out of your Cam Cover.
The larger hose connects to the Intake Trunking between the
Air Filter and the top side of the Butterfly, so is subject to the
relatively Higher Pressure than the relatively Lower Pressure
underneath the Butterfly.

The Smaller Breather Hose is connected to a Jet that connects
below the Butterfly Valve, so is subject to the relatively Lower
Pressure.

So this means that the Smaller Breather Hose is connected
to a Lower Air Pressure than the Larger Breather Hose.
So, during normal Idle operation, the oily fumes will travel
towards the Lower pressure, via the Smaller Breather Hose,
and will not pass through the Throttle Body and IACV.

Now then, what goes wrong?
The smaller breather hose connects to a JET that narrows
down to approx 1.6mm. If you remember your Gas Laws,
Pressure1 divided by Temperature1 = Pressure2 divided by Temperature2.
So, as the Air whistles through the 1.6mm jet, it suffers a large
pressure drop. This means that it must also suffer a large Temperature
drop to keep the equation equal.
Under certain conditions, this would mean the water particles in the
air would freeze and block the Jet.
So the Jet is heated by coolant that is passed around the Jet via a Banjo
coupling.
This heating gradually cooks the oil and carbon and blocks this Jet.

Now then, with this Jet blocked, the oily fumes, at Idle, can no longer
pass through the Smaller Breather Hose. So they pass through the
Larger Breather Hose and through the Throttle Body and the IACV.

The oil starts to coat the internals of the IACV and build up until
they block the Air passages, thus restricting or stopping the Air flow.
Result? Your engine is starved of air and stalls.

So you can now see why cleaning or replacing the IACV will only be
a temporary fix and will just waste you time and money.

So how do you check for this? Refer to the following picture.



Disconnect the Smaller Hose from your cam cover.
Start your engine and let it Idle. Check for a suction on the Small
Breather Hose by placing your thumb on and off the end of it.
No suction? Your Breather Jet is blocked.

Continued......... Please do not add to thread.

2
Maintenance Guides / How to Replace Corroded Fuel Pump Cover Plate
« on: 02 August 2007, 15:44:08 »
Have now replaced my corroded Fuel Pump Cover Plate, so I took a few pics
to help anyone who has to do the same. I'll let the Forum Moderator move
it to the 'How To' section if he/she regards it as relevant to that section.

Safety Precautions:
The pump will run with the ignition on, the engine does not need to be running,
so remove the Fuel Pump fuse and/or ensure you remove the Electric Connection
to the Pump Plate first and refit it last after reconnecting everything else.

You'll be hanging over an open fuel tank and subject to fumes. So work in
a well ventilated area, do not smoke and take frequent breaks for a few
lung fulls of fresh air!  ;)

Tools are minimal.
Crosshead (Phillips Type) Screwdriver.
Small Flat Screwdriver.
Large Flat Screwdriver.
Hammer.
Fuel Clip removal Pliers, or a thin 'Podger' if you replace them with
adjustable clips as I did.

Vauxhall part is : 9128199 - Plug, Expansion, with fuel feed and return connectors, at around £35 plus vat.

Roll up Boot carpet.
Remove the  4 screws and boot access cover plate.

Remove the Electric Connector. Lift up the black locking clip first as highlighted in pic
Remove the 2 Fuel pipe clips and slide back the rubber fuel pipes clear of the cover.
Protect Fuel lines to prevent foreign ingress. I used a couple of clear plastic bags
with bread bag ties.



Use a hammer and a large Blunt(ish) screwdriver to loosen the large black plastic
locking ring anti-clockwise, until you can unscew it by hand.
Picture follows showing the locking ring removed.



Lift up the Pump Plate Cover and it will look like this.



Remove the 2 Electric connections. You will have to lift the small white locking clips under each
connector to enable you to slide out the connections. These Pic show what I mean on the new cover.





Remove the 2 pipe clips on the underside of the plate and slide the rubber hose off the pipes.
The Corroded Plate can now be removed and will look like the next pic.
Pic of the new one follows it.





If you are not refitting your new plate now, ensure that you cover the tank entry point to ensure
no foreign ingress to the tank and to stop filling your car with petrol fumes and turning it into a
Molatov Cocktail   :o

When ready, reverse the above procedure to refit your new plate.
Fit the external electric connector last of all and/or replace your fuel pump fuse.

Switch on ignition and check for leaks. When happy, start and run engine.

Refit Boot Access Plate and carpet.

Job's a 'goodun'

Hope that helps.

3
Omega General Help / Re: code 31
« on: 10 August 2007, 21:59:14 »
Seeing as we're talking about ECU codes on this thread, I hope you don't
mind if I butt in with a question rather than start another thread.

Car : 99 2.0 GLS Auto.
ECU: Simtec 56.5 with 4 digit codes.

Paper Clip test with engine running:  No flashes = No faults.
Paper Clip test without engine running: 0335 = Crankshaft Sensor.

I assume that the 0335 comes up because of no RPM signal due engine not running,
and in effect I do not have a fault.

Am I correct in this assumption?

Apologies again for hijacking the thread.

4
Couple of pics here on something you might want to check on your Omega.
Mine is a 99 V, and seeing that this has corroded through on mine and
some here have older cars than mine, then I consider, reckoning the safety
implications, that it would be worth taking 5 minutes to check yours.

I kept getting a smell of fuel when parked. I finally tracked it down to a very
small pinhole in the fuel pump cover outlet pipe that was spraying a fuel mist
whenever the ignition was switched on.

I went to remove it to see if it was repairable. It was that corroded, it crumbled
off as soon as I tried to remove the first fuel pipe connection.

First pic shows the boot cover over the tank removed with black cover locking
ring next to it. The plastic bags are just where I've protected the open tank and
fuel lines from foreign ingress.

The second pic shows the fuel pump cover with the pressure pipe sheared off.
It was held on by rust and a prayer. Imagine that blowing on you and spraying
fuel at 40psi+ over your hot exhaust.

Could only source a new one from Vauxhall at £118, and even they've had to
send away for it.





5
Newbie Welcome Area / Hello From Grumpy
« on: 09 July 2007, 22:30:07 »
Just saying hello to everyone.
Great site, full of helpful, knowledgeable folk, without a troll in sight.  :)

I retired early at the grand old age of 50 from a lifetime as an Aircraft Engineer.
It's nice to see the experienced folk here also tackle problems logically, without
jumping prematurely to incorrect conclusions.

Got myself a 1999 2.0 litre GLS Auto 2 yrs ago as a comfy holiday/ hobby car.
My wife hates it when I tell her she's actually driving around in a Gold Cadillac.
(I didn't let on that they didn't make a 2.0 litre version of the Catera)  ;)

Couldn't resist it when I saw the price, £2000 for a car like this with Air/Con and an Auto box,
with 39,000 miles on the clock and a full Vauxhall service history. (Remember that price
was 2yrs ago ! )

I've had the usual idle problems which I tracked down to the usual water-heated breather
jet just below the throttle body. I know Vauxhall needed to heat the venturi to stop it icing
up with the speed it must whistle through that skinny venturi waist, but jeez it don't half bake
the crud solid. Mine was like black cement!
I just wish I'd found this site earlier and got steered straight to cause of the problem instead
of all that fault diagnosis I went through. >:(

Anyway, nice to be a member of your merry band and I hope I can chip in now and then with
a few ideas.

6
General Car Chat / MOT
« on: 04 October 2010, 17:27:31 »
Mot'd the Omega today. Same as last year, did it a
month early, so now got 13 months to 03 Nov 2011.

Still looking to find something suitable to replace it,
been looking since this time last year  :-/ , but can't
find anything we like.

Think we may have to start looking for a medium to
large auto diesel to satisfy what we want; these small
eurobox petrol automatics just don't cut the mustard
in our eyes.

Ah well, at least we've got another 13 months to
keep looking. This must be longest replacement car
search in history.   :)

7
General Car Chat / Car Supermarket Omega Part Ex Value
« on: 27 July 2010, 14:35:42 »
SWMBO and I went to 'Fords of Winsford' car
supermarket this weekend. For those that don't
know it, it's one of the biggest in the Northwest
and has circa 1200 cars for sale.

We were thinking of looking for a 3 year old car
that was more compact and fuel efficient than an
Omega and 3 years old would mean that it had
lost circa 60% of it's value and would have had
any faults sorted out on its first mot.

I was offered £400 part ex on mine that would be
valid for 10 days against any of their cars.
For reference, my Omega is a 99V 2.0l GLS auto
with 57,000 miles on the clock. It's good condition
with a few of the usual rust bubbles on the door
edges.
Not a lot, is it?

Anyway, we looked around at some cars
and I'm afraid that we were singularly unimpressed
with modern day medium sized cars.

They all look and feel as if they've been designed
down to a price by the same computer.

We thought maybe a Corsa or an Astra of 'Design'
spec would maybe be nice with the leather seats
with cloth inserts for your bum and back.
Good grief! The leather looked more like pimply
plastic that had got a dose of goose bumps.  ;D

At least I've managed to cure SWMBO of her desire
for a C class Merc.
'Where's the handbrake?' she asked, about to drive
the machine.
'Doesn't have one, dear,' I replied, 'you have to lift
your left foot up and press down on that pedal
next to the brake, and when you want to release it
you have to pull that lever under the dashboard with
your right hand.'
'How bloody stupid,' says SWMBO, switching off and
walking away, 'I can't be doing with that.'

The salesman said that was the second sale he'd
lost today, for the same reason, with the wife walking
away in disgust in each case.

We hadn't realized how spoilt we'd become in owning
the Omega for the past 5 years. All the medium sized
cars we sat in felt like cramped shoe boxes with
dull plasticky interiors. The only cars that seemed to
have decent comfy interiors were the Peugeot 207's,
but they didn't have any autos and I'm not entirely
happy with the reliability record of their new BMW
shared engines with the VVTI and chain tensioners
that keep failing.

We were quite relieved to drive off in our roomy,
comfy, reliable, 'Grumpy' maintained Omega.

Might go back and check out a Saab 9-3 auto
when they get a petrol version one in at a price that
I'm willing to pay. The seats and interior didn't look
too bad in them, but I did not fancy the diesel versions
that they had in stock.

8
General Car Chat / Clockwork Merc Through Another MOT
« on: 12 May 2010, 12:11:54 »
Just put my 17 year old clockwork Merc through its
15th MOT. Had it since 2 yrs old, always serviced
it myself and its never failed yet.

It's a slow old 2.0l Diesel Auto with a 0-60 time of
circa 20 seconds  ;D , but scuttles along at legal
limits all day long.

The only non-service item I've had to replace in 15 yrs
is a pair of engine mounts. It's even still on the original
discs which I inspected this weekend and stiil can't
fault. It's gone through 2 batterys, 1 exhaust system,
and a set of glowplugs and that's it apart from routine
filters,fluids and brakepads.

Why don't Mercedes make cars like this anymore?  :-/

Edit: Forgot to mention, mileage is now at 151,000.

9
General Car Chat / MOT Passed for another year
« on: 12 October 2009, 15:57:33 »
Did the MOT a month early on my Mig today, so have
now got 13 months MOT on it.
So the Golden Mig is on the the road for another year.
 :)

Asked the tester if there was anything that was
showing any wear to cause him any concern and the
reply was, 'Nope. The car's faultless.'   :) 8-)

All I've done to it this year is change the front discs
and pads last Spring, and fit a cambelt kit combined
with waterpump, coolant flush and change and an
oil and filter change.
So quite painless really, and the car's still only got
55,000 miles on it.

Been looking round with Mrs Grumpy at all the car
offers on at the moment, seeing as the Mig is 10
years old and the old clockwork diesel Merc is 16
years old. But we've found that after cruising around
in an Omega, it's spoilt us when looking at the current
offerings. They all just seem to be the same
Euroboxes with a different badge to denote the
maker. And we certainly wouldn't pay the silly money
that they ask for anything half decent.

So it looks like we'll be bowling around in the Golden
Mig for a little while yet unless something good at a
price we're prepared to pay pops up. This is a buyers'
market after all, if it wasn't for the scrappage scheme
there would be a lot more motor business's going
bust at the moment in my opinion.

Good luck to anyone else with an MOT due.

Long live the Migs!!  :y

10
General Car Chat / Cambelt Done
« on: 16 September 2009, 18:52:42 »
Changed the cambelt yesterday, it has only done
15,000 miles since it was done by the garage where I
bought it at 40,000 miles, but that was 4 years ago
so better safe than sorry.

I used a Contitech kit including idlers and tensioner.
Took the opportunity to change the water pump, do
a coolant flush and refill with the advanced Red
coolant whilst I was at it.

Seemed a bit over the top at only 15,000 miles since
the last one, but there's always that thought in the
back of your mind when you don't do it yourself, did
they actually changed the belt and rollers, or just
said they they did or only did half the job and changed
only the belt.
In this case, with the Crank lined up both cams were a
full tooth out when I took off the cambelt cover.  >:(
So it was worth doing as I now have peace of mind.

I found it to be a fairly straightforward and easy job
on the 4 pot, just a bit fiddly keeping a good tension
on the length between the cams and the crank whilst
trying to fit the last section of a belt that always
seems too short to fit  :)

Found I didn't need a cam locking tool either, just took
the spring of a standard wooden clothes peg and used
the two halves of the peg between the cam teeth
either side of centre to keep them positioned when I
fitted the last section of the belt. I can see now though
why you would need a complete locking kit on a V6.
There would be too many variables to keep aligned
without it.

Anyway, I can sleep easy now, safe in the knowledge
that the job's been done and been done correctly.  :)

11
General Discussion Area / Cream-Crackered
« on: 02 July 2009, 13:06:25 »
I didn't realise how much this Arterial Vasculitus that
I've been suffereing from for past 14 months has
knocked the stuffing out of me.

Did an oil+filter change and front discs+pads change
yesterday. I'm now absolutely cream-crackered and
so stiff and sore that I'm hobbling around looking
like a 90 year old John Wayne who has just got off
his horse. Stiff-legged just doesn't come into it.  :(

Before the onset of this, I used to do this sort of stuff
on an idle morning and go for a 5 mile stroll in the
afternoon.  :'(


12
General Discussion Area / MOT'd the old clockwork Merc today.
« on: 08 May 2009, 18:12:00 »
Put the old Merc 190 2.0L Diesel through its 14th consecutive
failure free MOT today.  :)

Apart from my normal servicing, the only parts I've replaced
on it this year are the Engine Mounts. If I add that to the Glowplugs
I replaced a couple of years ago, this is starting to get labour
intensive.  ;D  ;D

These cars really are like clockwork mice, they just chug on and on
and on. Don't suffer from rust and give me circa 50mpg.
I know the V6 owners on here are probably sitting down feeling
faint at the thought of owning a normally aspirated 2.0L Diesel
Auto  :) , but I love it. After owning it for 14 years it's almost part of
the family.

What a shame Mercedes quality went downhill. They used to make
smashing cars that held their value. My old oil burner is now quoted
in the Classic Car mags and seems to be going up in value. I know
stuff is only worth what someone's willing to pay for it, so maybe
this is just wishful thinking by the Car Mags. But hey, it brings a smile
to my face.  :)

14
http://www.channel4.com/4car/ft/feature/motor+show/6795/1

With ref to the threads I've posted over the months ref 'Peak Oil'
and the dire straits General Motors (Vauxhall) / Ford/ Chrysler have
found themselves in due to their reliance on gas guzzlers/SUV's and
the cheap fuel the USA is used to.

The above car seems to show the way the future of cars we'll be
driving will pan out.

To those who don't know what I mean ref 'Peak Oil', in short it means
that we're at maximum production of oil (we'll never pump more
per day from the oil wells than we do now) and we have rising demand
due to the emergence of Asian/ African/ South American economies.
This means demand overtakes supply. ie we won't have enough to go
round.

There are many connotations associated with the above statement,
ref Wars, hijacking of global warming to bring in fuel conservation
measures by Governments etc.. but that is a subject in itself. So I'm
just talking about cars here. Seeing as this is OOF.  ;)

The interesting part of the 'Volt', is unlike the 'Prius' etc.. is that the
'E-Flex' concept that the 'Volt' is a product of, ensures that the car is
always driven by the electric motor, not the conventional internal
combustion engine. The small engine is purely there to top up the
battery pack. As stated in the article, this means that unless your
journey exceeds the approx 40 mile range, you'll not use fuel again
to power your car. As battery technology advances, this range will
increase. You will be charging your cars from the national power
grid instead.

The inference from this, is that alternate energy such as wind/ solar/
geo thermal/ nuclear etc will be used to power our national electricity
generating stations (worldwide) and thus, over the coming decades,
reduce the dependance on Oil and Gas as a means of power generation.
With a bit of luck, the powers that be have been given
a wake up call ref 'Peak Oil', in time to do something about it before
the world descends into 'Fuel Wars'.

So you all better start reading up on electric fault diagnosis for your
future cars. The internal combustion engine, that we all know and love,
will be a thing of the past unless I'm mistaken.

The future of the car, with ref to battery and fuel cell technology,
looks fascinating.

General Motors share price has now dropped to what it was 54 years
ago! Gulp!  :o

If GM weather the storm, stay solvent, and bring their new fleets
on line in time, there will be some serious money to be made in
buying their shares at this level.
But if they get it wrong, you'll loose every penny you risk investing
in them.

I'm still trying to decide.  :-/

Hope you found the above of interest.  :y


15
General Discussion Area / Ford Motor Company in a bad way.
« on: 24 July 2008, 22:19:28 »
For those who don't follow the financial news with ref to the
motor industry, Ford has made a loss of nearly $9 billion in the
last 3 months. (Yes, that's 3 months, not 3 years.)

This shows the future of companies that rely heavily on sales of SUV's,
or Chelsea Tractors. The era of the gas guzzler has come to an end.
If the US goes into a prolonged recession, due to the current credit
crunch, Ford will run out of money by the end of 2009 and will go
into Chap 11 bankruptcy. Their only hope will be to ramp up
production of smaller European style cars and hope to gain
market share with them in the US. They are already closing 3
SUV production lines and switching them to smaller fuel efficient
cars.

SUV's are going to be pretty much worthless in the US shortly, some
used car lots are already refusing to take them in part/ex.
This will happen in the UK as well. So maybe best to think on
a bit if you are thinking of buying a gas guzzler with respect to
future resale value and how much capital you'll lose in depreciation.

General Motors and Chrysler are also in a bad way. General Motors
is already engaged in ramping production of their smaller European
models for sale in the US. If they don't get their act together soon,
they also will face Chapter 11 Bankruptcy 2009/2010, the same as
Ford.

See Link ref Ford.

http://www.markeidiotch.com/news/story/ford-swings-87-billion-loss/story.aspx?guid=%7B2C5792D6%2DB1B6%2D43D7%2DAC35%2DC8C3BA340EE8%7D&dist=TNMostRead

Have a nice day, you all!   :)



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