General help please.

[Ernie]

Ive just bought a r reg Elite on 89k.

It has a recipt for the cambelt and rollers from last year and is in fairly good condition for £800.

The thing is i just wondered if there was anything i should look out for on it as never owned 1 before.

With thanks.

Chris.

[jonathanh]

Welcome!  A few thoughts:

1)Fuel bills and points on your licence  

2)Broken rear springs (easy job)

3)Blocked crankcase breathers (symptom is oil leak from cam covers)

4)uneven tyre wear ( possibly worn front wishbones)

[STMO123]

Hi Chris. Dont want to appear too cynical, but, its always worth giving the garage who did the cambelt a ring to make sure the tensioners were done. They dont usually mind as it is such a critical job.

[x25xe]

From the picture, a nice tidy car and a good price!  Hope you enjoy it for some time to come.  Welcome to the forum by the way.

In addition to the above (and I fully agree about fuel bills!) what I would look for / keep an eye on is this:

1. Does the car have any history  Has the coolant been changed regularly?  This is important to help prevent any problems with the oil cooler leaking oil into the coolant.
2. Does the coolant in the expansion tank - a. look clean and b. have a nice strong mixture of antifreeze?
3. If points 1 and 2 are negative then change the coolant ASAP using the vauxhall long life "red" antifreeze.  I is not expensive at the main dealer.
4. Be wary of the Heater Bypass Valve (at the back of the engine) leaking.  Keep a firm eye of the coolant level to detect it early.  If left leaking too long, the ignition coil will be put in danger.
5. Scuttle drains - keep these clear.
6. Give the car regular oil / filter changes say every 3K.  No need to use Mobile 1 or similar, the oil from Vauxhall is highly recommended and is a great deal cheaper too!

Hope this helps and enjoy the car.  They are very nice comfortable cruisers.

[Markjay]

Very nice motor and for a good price to...

As said by jonathanh, but I would clean the breathers (easy job - see the Maintenance Guides section in this forum) as a matter of course rather than wait for the cam covers to start leaking. And since frequent oil changes are vital to keeping the breathers clean, an oil change might not be bad idea unless you know when it was last done. Then keep changing the oil every 3-5k, not 10k as Vx say...

A general service would not go amiss either - air filter (easy), pollen filter (easy), fuel filter (you'll have to crawl under the car for that)...

Also, check the coolant level - there are various reasons for coolant leaks, so make sure that yours does not need constant topping-up.

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently. I suggest you get fresh Red antifreeze and change the coolant, possibly with a good flush before that - again instructions in the Maintenance Guides section. Easy job, only one tap to open and no hoses to undo, but it is time consuming as it requires repeated flushing for best results.

Enjoy....


EDIT: x25xe you were 1:30m minute faster than me!  

[Ernie]

Thanks for your coments.

The fluid is nice and clean with a stronge smell of anti freeze.

The tenssion wheels were done with the cambelt.

As for the oil change i will get on with it at payday (end of the month).

Apart from that it is a lovely cruiser and going to find out how well it tows at the weekend as helping a mate out with my car trailer.

Thank you .

Chris

[x25xe]

Very nice motor and for a good price to...

As said by jonathanh, but I would clean the breathers (easy job - see the Maintenance Guides section in this forum) as a matter of course rather than wait for the cam covers to start leaking. And since frequent oil changes are vital to keeping the breathers clean, an oil change might not be bad idea unless you know when it was last done. Then keep changing the oil every 3-5k, not 10k as Vx say...

A general service would not go amiss either - air filter (easy), pollen filter (easy), fuel filter (you'll have to crawl under the car for that)...

Also, check the coolant level - there are various reasons for coolant leaks, so make sure that yours does not need constant topping-up.

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently. I suggest you get fresh Red antifreeze and change the coolant, possibly with a good flush before that - again instructions in the Maintenance Guides section. Easy job, only one tap to open and no hoses to undo, but it is time consuming as it requires repeated flushing for best results.

Enjoy....


EDIT: x25xe you were 1:30m minute faster than me!  

Glad that what I said was not total rubbish.  Forgot the real basics though, like fuel, air and pollen filter.

[Auto Addict]

Thanks for your coments.

The fluid is nice and clean with a stronge smell of anti freeze.


Chris

Is it red antifreeze? If not flush it, and change it to Vx Red.

[Markjay]

Very nice motor and for a good price to...

As said by jonathanh, but I would clean the breathers (easy job - see the Maintenance Guides section in this forum) as a matter of course rather than wait for the cam covers to start leaking. And since frequent oil changes are vital to keeping the breathers clean, an oil change might not be bad idea unless you know when it was last done. Then keep changing the oil every 3-5k, not 10k as Vx say...

A general service would not go amiss either - air filter (easy), pollen filter (easy), fuel filter (you'll have to crawl under the car for that)...

Also, check the coolant level - there are various reasons for coolant leaks, so make sure that yours does not need constant topping-up.

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently. I suggest you get fresh Red antifreeze and change the coolant, possibly with a good flush before that - again instructions in the Maintenance Guides section. Easy job, only one tap to open and no hoses to undo, but it is time consuming as it requires repeated flushing for best results.

Enjoy....


EDIT: x25xe you were 1:30m minute faster than me!  

Glad that what I said was not total rubbish.  Forgot the real basics though, like fuel, air and pollen filter.

..and I missed the Scuttle drains...  

[ClarCE]

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently.

Well I've learnt something there, I thought they were destined to fail, I didn't realise it was a coolant issue that could cause their demise...

[Markjay]

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently.

Well I've learnt something there, I thought they were destined to fail, I didn't realise it was a coolant issue that could cause their demise...

Yes and no... definitely poor qaulity coolant kills the oil cooler, BUT they also fail for no apparent reason... mine was replaced by Vx while the car was still under warranty with the factory coolant still in it. So changing the coolant and using the Vx Red one is crucial, but still it is not a guarantee against oil cooler faliure...

[ClarCE]

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently.

Well I've learnt something there, I thought they were destined to fail, I didn't realise it was a coolant issue that could cause their demise...

Yes and no... definitely poor qaulity coolant kills the oil cooler, BUT they also fail for no apparent reason... mine was replaced by Vx while the car was still under warranty with the factory coolant still in it. So changing the coolant and using the Vx Red one is crucial, but still it is not a guarantee against oil cooler faliure...

I almost want to just do it anyway, and get one of the new: less-prone-to-failure ones in there..

[Markjay]

As with regards to coolant, the V6 has an oil cooler buried in the engine block, and this tends to corrode and leak if not using the right coolant and changing frequently.

Well I've learnt something there, I thought they were destined to fail, I didn't realise it was a coolant issue that could cause their demise...

Yes and no... definitely poor qaulity coolant kills the oil cooler, BUT they also fail for no apparent reason... mine was replaced by Vx while the car was still under warranty with the factory coolant still in it. So changing the coolant and using the Vx Red one is crucial, but still it is not a guarantee against oil cooler faliure...

I almost want to just do it anyway, and get one of the new: less-prone-to-failure ones in there..

Let me spoil it further for you then: my car is a 2001 and as such was already supposed to have the 'less-prone-to-failure' (stainless steel) ones... the oil cooler failed at 25k/3y. Also the cam covers leaked... luckily it was all just before the warranty expired.

[rpont]

Mine is a 97 and has the stainless one still going strong - touch wood  

It has had coolant changed every two years though, even the HBV diaphram looks as good as new. I don't think you can overstress just how important the coolant condition is to these engines.

[x25xe]

Mine is a 97 and has the stainless one still going strong - touch wood  

It has had coolant changed every two years though, even the HBV diaphram looks as good as new. I don't think you can overstress just how important the coolant condition is to these engines.

Nice going on the maintenance there then rpont and I agree, coolant condition seems to be vital just as regular oil / filter changes!  As an aside, I like your avatar - what is the cat's name?

It is interesting to note what Markjay has to say about his cooler - luckily his car was under warranty at the time.