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[bear33]

As a complete novice when it comes to cars im going to attempt to do an engine service to save myself a few quid. Are GM parts ok or would you recommend using bosch super 4 spark plugs and mahle oil/air fuel filters

I can get GM parts for around 45pound the lot or bosch/mahle parts for about 55-60pound

any advice on which parts to use would be appreciated.

i want to do an engine flush to. any specific cleaner to use?

[ClarCE]

As a complete novice when it comes to cars im going to attempt to do an engine service to save myself a few quid. Are GM parts ok or would you recommend using bosch super 4 spark plugs and mahle oil/air fuel filters

I can get GM parts for around 45pound the lot or bosch/mahle parts for about 55-60pound

any advice on which parts to use would be appreciated.

i want to do an engine flush to. any specific cleaner to use?

I wouldn't flush the engine if I were you, you may well see the end of it if you do..

Someone I work with has used the Forte engine flush that you put in and leave in for 24 hours while driving, they've had no problems but I still wouldn't want to risk it.  If you clog your oil pipes internally due to dislodging some big bits of old, hard material then it'll run dry and die..

Just as I was advised on here, do a few oil changes in succession - 1st one, 100 miles, 2nd one, 250 miles, 3rd one 500 miles and so on until you get to doing it every 4000 miles regularly. Then the engine will be clean anyway.. Also, follow the guide on here and clean your breather system if you can..

GM parts should be fine, I've used them and so do a lot of other people they are generally pretty good..

[bear33]

Cheers for the advice mate. ive been told(by a garage) that it needs an engine flush as oil not getting to the tappets properly hence making them tap.As i dont do a lot of milage(4 a day) he said its due to engine not getting hot causing build up of gunk in engine, Ive got white gunge roung oil filler cap too(not headgasket as had that done) which he said is from condensation.

The thing is ive had so many problems with the car ove the last 2 years since ive owned it im getting a little bit fed up keep spending money on it and getting rubbish(expensive) advice from garages.

This forum has been a god send and the people on it seem to give genuine advice

[ClarCE]

Cheers for the advice mate. ive been told(by a garage) that it needs an engine flush as oil not getting to the tappets properly hence making them tap.As i dont do a lot of milage(4 a day) he said its due to engine not getting hot causing build up of gunk in engine, Ive got white gunge roung oil filler cap too(not headgasket as had that done) which he said is from condensation.

The thing is ive had so many problems with the car ove the last 2 years since ive owned it im getting a little bit fed up keep spending money on it and getting rubbish(expensive) advice from garages.

This forum has been a god send and the people on it seem to give genuine advice

I'd still avoid using conventional engine flush no matter what he says - if the tappets are noisey then try some hydraulic lifter cleaner from halfords, made by wynns - I used it in mine and its shut them up a load. Only about 6 quid and might save you spending a lot more money swapping an engine..

The Omega can be expensive, but if properly cared for you can avoid most of the 'big' annoying, expensive jobs..

[bear33]

Thanks for the advice mate. i will put new filter and some decent brand oil in her and ad the stuff you suggest and see how she goes

[tunnie]

Agreed with the above, don't flush the engine with any extra stuff just use oil!

Join the autobahnstormers (english club for 6 cylinder vauxhalls) their membership card gets you trade prices at Vauxhall.

5L of Vx Semi Synth oil is around £8 so dirt cheap, oil filters around £1.20. I suggest 3 oil changes in 1,000 miles if you wish to flush.... depending on how dirty your oil is...

I did 3 changes in less than 1k, now 1 change per k. Now its running very smooth, i will change again soon, then step back to normal changes of every 3/4 k  

Clean your breathers before each change, see maintanance section for a guide.... use GM parts much better quality...

[bear33]

is the car the member or the owner as i have a sticker in my window and the previous owner said it belonged to that club. dont recall having a membership card though.

cheers for the advice.

this forum is very helpful indeed.

[tunnie]

is the car the member or the owner as i have a sticker in my window and the previous owner said it belonged to that club. dont recall having a membership card though.

cheers for the advice.

this forum is very helpful indeed.

Ermm I think its the member... not sure I need to register myself at some point as I have a Senator.

When you get your card (its yellow) some dealers may fob you off, but they have to accept it. Worth while investment  

[bear33]

cheers tunnie. i'll look into joining it

i love the car to bits when its running properly but ive just been so unlucky with her

heres a list so far.

headgasket went(£1400 later got that sorted)
heater only blows out cld air. changed hbv(still not working so its a dashboard out job apparently)
cd multichanger faulty.(error message or no disc)bose system so cant change head unit
heated leather passenger seat stopped working(the part in the seat has blown apparently)
some lovely person deciced to key all down passengher side(gonna get done through insurance at some point)

as you can see ive been a little unlucky with her but i really do want to get her back to her former glory. she's a  lovely looking carin dark metallic grey running on 18'' tsw alloys and has the irmsher body styling parts.

just need some patience and a few quid to get her back to looking as vx inteded

[ClarCE]

heater only blows out cld air. changed hbv(still not working so its a dashboard out job apparently)

This could be vacuum pipes that have not been connected back up properly after all the other work you've had done - this happens a lot, so worth checking - layout diagrams are here

It may also be a stuck open thermostat

It could also be the heater matrix, but surely this can be flushed without taking the dash out - this garage of yours seems to be throwing some twisted, money making, advice at you tbh..

[x25xe]

Hi Bear33

I have just joined this club and used the yellow card that Tunnie mentions in my local dealership.  Joining is easy, just go to the autobahnstormers web site and download the membership application pack (or follow this link which will take you straight there) http://www.autobahnstormers.co.uk/club_information/Club_Information_Pack.pdf.

I found that the membership pack was sent very quickly, around 3 days.

Your dealer will need to register the card so go in the week when the parts manager is there.  I went at the weekend and the manager was not.  Still the dealer phoned me on Monday (as promised!) and said that the card was valid and then ordered up the bits for me.  As Tunnie said, Oil and filters are dirt cheap and I reckon that I saved around £120 on the parts that I purchased.

Highly recommend that you join.  It is the member, not the car that belongs to the club.

Also, as others have already said, DO NOT use a flushing oil in the engine - just do short changes.  I have done this myself and found it to be most effective.  What Tunnie recommends is good

Hope this helps

[ians]

Hi Bear33,

Good idea to add your car model esp. engine to your profile so people know which motor it is you're dealing with.

and despite the slagging off it gets, I suggest you get a Haynes manual - only a few quid on ebay and worth it for the torque settings and wiring diagrams if nothing else.

Good Luck
Ian

[TheBoy]

Rather than use engine flush, just change the oil more regular.  If the oil is black, consider a couple of 250m oil changes, then a couple more at 1000m, then keep to 4000m oil changes.  Get a trade club card (via ABS) as suggested, and it works out cheap

[bear33]

Morning all.

I will definately be looking into joining the ABS club.

ClarCE ive had the heater matrix changed. apparntly cos its electronic climate control its something behind the dash thats not opening properly. some sort or paddle or something.Ive had a new HBV and the coolant system flushed a couple of times in case of air locks etc.

One other thought to do with the noisy tappets.
I read on here that a manifold gaskest failure could make the engine sound tappety.  could this be the case with mine as i was told that it was leaking slightly and wonder if its gone altogether now?


Im going to hopefully do an oil and filter change this weekend and then put some hydraulic lifter fluid in to see if this cures the tapping. If not i will be looking for some further helpful info via this forum.

I spoke to the bloke at the garage yesterday about the engine flush and he said it would be fine as ive had head gasket changed recently and new oil and filter less than 400 miles ago.He said its due to me only doing short 4 mile trips everyday and that its a build up of gunk in the oilways due to condensation. I have gunk round the oil filler cap and down the filler tube which i have now cleaned out. he assures me its not the headgasket as had that done with heads reskimmed less than 500 miles ago. i dont think ill risk doing the flush  due to your helpful advice on here. i'll try the simple things first.

I was also wondering if it could be the oil pump on its way out? but would have thought light on dash would light up due to low presure if this were to be the case.

As i dont know hardly anything about cars she hasnt been started in 7 weeks because im scared im gonna seize the engine and that would mean her going to the big old scrap yard in the sky.

[ClarCE]

Morning all.

I will definately be looking into joining the ABS club.

ClarCE ive had the heater matrix changed. apparntly cos its electronic climate control its something behind the dash thats not opening properly. some sort or paddle or something.Ive had a new HBV and the coolant system flushed a couple of times in case of air locks etc.

One other thought to do with the noisy tappets.
I read on here that a manifold gaskest failure could make the engine sound tappety.  could this be the case with mine as i was told that it was leaking slightly and wonder if its gone altogether now?


Im going to hopefully do an oil and filter change this weekend and then put some hydraulic lifter fluid in to see if this cures the tapping. If not i will be looking for some further helpful info via this forum.

I spoke to the bloke at the garage yesterday about the engine flush and he said it would be fine as ive had head gasket changed recently and new oil and filter less than 400 miles ago.He said its due to me only doing short 4 mile trips everyday and that its a build up of gunk in the oilways due to condensation. I have gunk round the oil filler cap and down the filler tube which i have now cleaned out. he assures me its not the headgasket as had that done with heads reskimmed less than 500 miles ago. i dont think ill risk doing the flush  due to your helpful advice on here. i'll try the simple things first.

I was also wondering if it could be the oil pump on its way out? but would have thought light on dash would light up due to low presure if this were to be the case.

As i dont know hardly anything about cars she hasnt been started in 7 weeks because im scared im gonna seize the engine and that would mean her going to the big old scrap yard in the sky.

Ok, someone else is going to have to help with the heating problem, as I don't have climate in my car, just the normal thunderbird dials.. If you've had a new matrix then hopefully thats been rigged up right.  I would still check the vacuum hoses as a couple of these go to the ventilation system and if they're hooked in wrong, or not at all as was the case with mine then you'll get no heat.  Its also worth checking as you can do it yourself and it won't cost anything!

If its not that then I would still check out your thermostat - mines now not hot because my thermostat is stuck open - this means my engine runs cooler and again, I get no hot air in the cabin..

As for the noise, the manifolds do get noisey, however its normally only when cold and then the ticking goes away.  If for some reason you have lost a bolt / sheared one then I guess it would be noisy all the time - hopefully if its gone its the drivers side as passenger is a pig.

Condensation and short journeys seem to do this to all v6's I've looked at, as in the mayo in the filler cap.  Is there mayo on the dipstick (Shouldn't be) whats the state of the coolant in the header tank, any gunk in there?  Garages often mis-diagnose head gasket failure when its the oil cooler that sits at the bottom of the 'V' that fails - if you've got sludge flowing round the coolant system then its going to probably of blocked everything..

Make sure you use GM semi-synth 10/40w when you do your oil change...

Good, don't flush it!  So what if you've had a new head gasket?!  Makes no difference on the rock hard stuff that your mechanic can't see - I am quite suprised he's reccomending it...