Black Vectra 1.8VVT Elegance II Estate aka The Hearse

[bibu16v]

As stated:
Vectra C 1.8VVT(Z18XER) Elegance II Estate Black Sapphire aka The Hearse
Factory specs:
Body: Station Wagon(Estate/Caravan).
Trim/variant: Elegance II.
Engine: Z18XER, 140HP.
Gearbox: F17, 5 speeds.
Colour: Black Sapphire
Navi&audio(stock): CD70 w. CID + 9 speakers w. Twin Audio.
- Climate control w. automatic air recirculation/cool box;
- Heated front seats w. 6 way manual adjustable&lumbar support/armrest;
- Board computer;
- Heat reflective windscreen;
- Electrically operated&heated mirrors, electrochromic, electrically foldable;
- Electrically operated windows(front+rear);
- Central lock w. comfort module;
- Cruise control;
- Car kit w. steering wheel&voice commands;
- 17" alloy rims(stock);
- Tinted windows(stock);
- Smokers package;
- Towing equipment w. removable coupling ball bar;
- Autolights;
- Autowipers;
- Flat tyre repair kit.
Upgrades and aftermarket specs:
- Aftermarket parktronic rear;
- Aftermarket DRLs;
- Blue painted brake calipers(rear, work in progress for front).
Some pics:

[bibu16v]

Some updates ...
Replaced, repaired, installed, retrofitted, etc(after purchasing until now):
-repaired tailgate opening switch;
-auxiliary&timing belts, rollers & tensioners;
-rear silencer and solved some minor exhaust leaks;
-mounted aftermarket steel engine protection plate(underbody);
-installed original slim spare wheel set;
-aerial base/gasket;
-cooling radiator(began to leak out of the blue 2 days before summer vacation);
-header tank;
-front drop links;
-right outer tie rod end;
-front springs for a pair of (sport lowered chassis spec'ed) KYBs, lowered the suspension about 1” (or a little bit more); it's enough for me, it looks far way better than before, I don't need more lowering;
-shock absorbers with their supports(flanges & bearings);
-complete brakes, upgraded to 314mm+292mm;
-rear lamps for OE smoked ones;
-colour coded front grille;
-airbox mod;
-installed bonnet gas strut;
-retrofitted OPC Line rear roof spoiler;
-both bumpers(for having a lot of dents, scratches and some cracks from previous she-owner), upgraded to OPC Line;
-aftermarket rear parktronic with upgraded one (w. display installed on top of interior mirror)...
As far as I remember for the time being...
I'll post some pics soon...later today or tomorrow.

[bibu16v]

Rainy day out here...

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[bibu16v]

And some unpleasant event: driving to my parents-in-law town for Easter Holidays, some 50km before destination, ****** slave cylinder decided to break down all of a sudden, no previous signs of failure whatsoever!!! Seems to be rather common failure as some says... Consequently no clutch for me! No problem, I'm able to change gears clutchless in plain continuous traffic, it is not my first time in 35 years of driving...but in congested traffic like that(Good Friday, my goodness!) stoppings & startings would be a problem even for me but especially for the car...who did that knows what I'm talking about...for my luck I was "the lucky winner" of only 3 stoppings&startings, whoo, boy, it was a real pita!!! I drove that way until the outskirts of destination town where I called a nearby old friend of mine(lucky me to be originary from that town) to tow my car to his garage: it was too complicated to carry on risking failure of starter, battery or more. To be continued...my "adventure" was at the beginning only!

[northpole]

Yeah once the seal pops it is over with the thing working... nothing you can do about it.. at least you got to your destination in one piece and got the car in a garage.. now for pulling the gearbox and replacing the csc... bit if yoinask me it is the perfect time to replace the lot. Yes dmf, clutch, spring plate and the csc, including the rear crankshaft oil seal.

Do it once and forget about it for the next years to come

[bibu16v]

Yeah, exactly my thoughts...but intention is one thing and reality is another one...things got complicated really fast...being Good Friday I realized, after many calls to many parts shops there's no real chance to get needed parts until next tuesday, first working day after Easter Holidays, even I got an available mechanic, a good one, future partner of my forementioned old friend, to do the replacing job on saturday, before Easter, in order to get back to my job on tuesday. Therefore I was forced to abandon any fixing until tuesday when I'll get the parts, I was assured, and enjoy Easter with my extended family...So I did.
To my big surprise, on tuesday, I've learnt after many calls and visiting a lot of parts shops there's no chance to get a full clutch kit until the next day, wednesday!! Disadvantages of a small town! Meanwhile gearbox was pulled off and mechanic called me to confirm slave cylinder(being some aftermarket no-name brand opposite to other OE clutch parts, probably replaced before by former owner) is the culprit, as suspected from the beginning. Also letting me know clutch(disc & pressure plate) is good to go, nearly perfect, no visible wear, with a new slave cylinder. Couldn't believe my ears I got back to the garage to see with my own eyes and yes, I had to agree, all was Ok. Unwilling to miss another day from job and block the working post for another day(garage people were very nice to me in a very busy day after Easter) I had to make a fast decision: replacing slave cylinder, getting all mounted and good to go back home.I know it's not the best decision. Got quickly a FAG slave cylinder. I took advantage of the perfect timing for replacing gearbox oil and...front ARB bushes, well-known to be a pita! All done and set! Also redone tracking as recommended!
All that work was valued for 140 quids...I know you'll say it's a bargain for full 4 working hours at least...slave cylinder was 80, OE gearbox oil 33(2 liters) with a catch: buying 2 different bottles from 2 different places with 2 different prices (13+20)! No comment as far as I got the job done.

[northpole]

Dude you got it sorted and those prices... well all in all not bad except for that overpriced 20 euro bottle of oil...

[bibu16v]

Yeah, those prices are the advantages of a small town...btw LuK clutch kit was valued for 200 quids(w. slave cylinder included!)...probably in my town it would have been 50% more expensive for work and 15-40% for parts. And I agree, after all it wasn't bad at all. Except that deluxe bottle of gearbox oil! And obviously not replacing the whole clutch lot.
PS
No dmf here, just a regular flywheel.

[northpole]

Yeah I forgot f17 gearbox SMF

[bibu16v]

Some saturday work...combined: me and technician.
My rear brake discs were not in their best condition...not in my opinion. So decided to fix that.
Sample before & work in progress: