The Vectra VXR estate diary

[ST200]

Hi folks I thought you might find the new ride of interest. At the beginning of November the wife and I spotted a local place with a VXR for sale so popped along but weren’t looking to buy. When we got there it was just too nice to let it go so a deal was struck and arranged collection the following weekend. It rolled over 45,000 as we were out on a test drive but wasn’t without a few bits and pieces that required the Harvey touch. We’re not using it daily at present as the trusty Vectra A (Cavalier Cesaro) is still with us after 4 years of faithful daily use but the VXR will soon replace it when we let the Cav go.





First fix was the misfire on WOT (Wide Open Throttle) which I had researched and found the Z28NET can be a little picky when it comes to spark plugs. It had no coil pack fault codes stored so I deduced must have dodgy plugs fitted.



Once the intake was stripped I found it had Bosch FR7NPP332 gapped to 1.0mm fitted. These can cause the exact issue I was having so they got binned.



I fitted NGK Iridium plugs LFR7AIX gapped to 0.8mm and these fixed the issue, happy days.

[ST200]

Next job was to sort the rear badge as the chrome had begun to peel off so more spending and this turned up.



Few minutes later and all sorted.





I had read the 19s can crack and with closer inspection unfortunately one was found boo hoo.





No trouble though as I knew a local specialist so thanks to www.giaengineering.co.uk it was fixed for £25.

[ST200]

yummy, who cares the fuel economy is E as it’s a 2.8 V6 turbo!





Hover car while the tyres were being sorted.



The centre caps had seen better days so were stripped ready for a refurb.





Hey presto and thanks to Ben at www.fleetsahead.co.uk they looked as good as new once again.





Built up ready for refitting.

[ST200]

Had the car at www.mgwheelalignment.co.uk for a four wheel alignment last Saturday, as always the guys there were brilliant and a top job was done.





While on the ramps I took the opportunity to have a poke and prod on the underside and all looks good. The cat and exhaust had a plastic bag stuck under there by the looks of it which explains the smell on the test drive which has now gone completely.

[ST200]

On the ramps I was able to closer inspect a leak I noted and it was as I thought coming from the turbo oil return.



I’ve already sourced the top gasket and lower rubber seal which is a job for this weekend. It’s not a huge leak as it’s not dripping but it needs sorting sooner rather than later.



Under the hood next to the turbo and actuator the heat protection was looking tatty so I source some 25mm alloy tape and made it look bling again.







This evenings job was to correctly locate the fuse/relay box for the cooling system as someone had just left is dangling in front of the UEC (Underhood Electric Center).

[ST200]

Sourced replacement rear top outer hub rose bushes. The current ones are fine but prone to failing and these were cheap as chips so why not stock up.



Thanks to a friend I’ve now updated the firmware in the CD70 Navi to the latest available version, cheers dude.



After the update had completed I double checked the version had update correctly via the hidden menu by pressing and holding Settings for 10 seconds you hear a beep, then scroll through each page using the Audio button.



The car came with a later OE nav CD so I won’t be messing sourcing a newer version for the time being.

[ST200]

A few weekends ago I set about a few tasks with the first job to remove the front bumper. Looks tidy enough behind there which is nice.







Got the missing left brake duct installed I collected from my local Vauxhall dealer earlier this week.



Also noted a rather messy repair to the lower left of the bumper but does the job intended.



Another reason for removing the bumper is to replace the right headlight washer jet.



Left old and right new.



The reason for replacing it was it had a missing jet and wouldn’t pop out correctly.



I noticed the oil cooler return hose at the bottom left of the radiator was weeping so popped a brand new hose clip on. There’s a handy drain as standard which it very useful and saves messing.

[ST200]

The job I wasn’t looking forward to was indeed a painful experience. The turbo oil return pipe was weeping and involved lots of swearing, meditation and patience to get it removed/refitted. Someone had been in there before and slopped sealer all over it in the hope it would fix the leak, how wrong they were.



You can see there is a gasket fitted but had seen far better days. The original was totally flat and brittle.





Replacement gasket bolt holes are slightly smaller so you can wind the bolts in to aid fitting as it’s a wrestle to get the pipe back into position, let alone fit the gasket and then the bolts. Great idea whoever designed the gasket. I also popped a new lower rubber seal on where the pipe feeds back into the engine.





This is what the pipe looks like prior to fitting. It took some doing getting the top bolts lined up and fitted as there’s just no room so you have to use a very long extension. All sorted and not a job I want to do again so I hope the new gasket seals it properly, time will tell.

[ST200]

A good friend of mine has an exact copy of my car Looks well cool

[ST200]

Checked the turbo oil return for leaks this evening and all is dry so I’m a happy bunny. Lets hope it stays that way.



This is where it’s buried and it’s so stupid that the coolant pipe has to come off, such a silly design which could have been made so much better and mechanic friendly grrrr.



Adjusted the bonnet release cable as it had done the normal and stretched. Also greased the bonnet catch.



One last moan, the darn header tank. Why of why did someone decide a black header tank would be a good idea. Yes it’s got a built in sensor for the check control but you have to remove the cap for a physical check and the level gauge inside is stupid as you need a torch to check it. Rant over.