Project Zafira

Din

Right, so i bought a 2002 Zafira 2.2 as spares or repair, issue is knocking/rattling engine !

So this is the car.

And this is what i found when i removed the sump, top end looks good and turns over easily, though i have noticed the very top of the chain guide rail has broken off !

Yesterday i decided i wanted a look at the oil filter, in the service book the last owner (who bought it in 2007 for £5500) had had a single oil change service in 2008, then nothing, its only done about 10k in that time but an aftermarket 4 year old oil filter seemed like a good suspect !

Here it is :rolleyes:

Broken up, bits missing and holes right through it !

So i started to remove the inlet manifold... then got carried away.
Anyway, pic of engine when i started...

And after removeing pretty much everything.

And a boot full of removed parts :lol:

The engine and box have been unbolted, and there are just the two inner wing mounts left holding the lot in, im just waiting on my mate bringing a crane over so i can get the engine out.

Din

Engines out and fully stripped... hmm, its had it i think !
No 3 had enough play in it to allow the piston to kiss the head :eek: though the valves look fine, and bar the knocking it did not misfire, but on top of this the bore on number 3 has a scratch in it also and the piston has a large scratch in it.
I reckon i could get it running ok with a second hand crank, one conrod and piston, but in all honesty i would be worrying about the bore... plus its a very costly option to guess at !

Hopefully i can grab a good used engine, i think its now the most economical way forward now.

I will add some pics soon, i took a few lol !

Din

Used engine bought... should be in next monday !

Matt

Why do people buy cars for that sort of money and then not bother to spend a few hundred pound looking after it?

Din

Matt said:
Why do people buy cars for that sort of money and then not bother to spend a few hundred pound looking after it?

I cant quite work that one out Matt... people use cars as a utility now, they dont expect to have to even lift the bonnet any more ! one thing i always do is keep an eye on the levels every couple of weeks !

Din

Just to update with some pics from Sunday..

A big hole in the front...

Scored crank.

State of the main bearings.

If you look at the head you can see where the piston has just touched the head, two small shiny marks above the inlet valves, though both inlet valves appear to be unaffected !!! If its ok i will rebuild this head later and get a skim on it and sell it on to try and recoup some cost of the engine i just bought from Cavaddict... Steve iirc.

And the marks on the piston from the impact/s.

Worn bore, i could not get a pic of the scratch... the flash kept reflecting back.

And now a garage full of sh1te !

Engine will be here tomorrow (it has already been picked up!) but i wount get time to fit it untill monday.

astra22bertoneauto

Excellent work there! Reminds me of a few memories with my cars haha.

A good opportunity to get rid of that damn precat & replace the ARB rubbers whilst your engine is out.

Daz

Was just gonna say whilst the engine is out its time for a precat decat session

Din

You guys remove that precat do you ? seems like abit of pain... what do you do, take the downpipe off and hammer it out ? exactly how much difference does it make ? and would the Lamda values cause any issues ?

Really, i just want to get it on the road, couple of tyres and a backbox plus an MOT should be it, anything else can be done at work... with a decent workshop in the warm and dry :thumbup:

Din

I do like this little EGR cheater you guys do though, i have heard all sorts of storys about vauxhall EGR valves... i suppose that would be worth doing shortly ?

astra22bertoneauto

Din said:
You guys remove that precat do you ? seems like abit of pain... what do you do, take the downpipe off and hammer it out ? exactly how much difference does it make ? and would the Lamda values cause any issues ?

Yes we do. Not only does it improve the flow of gasses, I also found out the precat causes excessive heat buildup which then causes the standard manifold to crack. I had to have 2 replacement manifolds and could'nt work out why, then i found this site and the info on the precat. Precat removed = no more manifolds replaced. I do do a lot of motorway miles though.

Easiest way to remove it is take the downpipe off, cut the flexi off and knock it out. Just weld the flexi back on afterwards. I have tried the drilling option but its a pain in the rear and you have to support the flexi otherwise it breaks. Also the bits fall down to the main cat so you have to make sure you get all the bits out.

Hope this helps :thumbup:

Matt

Din said:
You guys remove that precat do you ? seems like abit of pain... what do you do, take the downpipe off and hammer it out ? exactly how much difference does it make ? and would the Lamda values cause any issues ?

Really, i just want to get it on the road, couple of tyres and a backbox plus an MOT should be it, anything else can be done at work... with a decent workshop in the warm and dry :thumbup:

How to Guide for removing the pre-cat: https://z22se.co.uk/library-articles/remove-pre-cat.10/

Din said:
I do like this little EGR cheater you guys do though, i have heard all sorts of storys about vauxhall EGR valves... i suppose that would be worth doing shortly ?

Yes, really worth doing, and throw the EGR valve in the bin when you are done with it :thumbup:

Din

Its like christmas all over again !

Got it on the crane and unwrapped it... its now safly in the garage with the Zafira in front of the door 🙂

I may be wrong... but i dont remember seeing a plug on the sump of the Zafira... two pin one, whats that for then o_O... not that it matters, i will swap the loom etc over anyway as i left it in the car on the Zafira.

Monday is the day to get cracking as im still on a course tomorrow ( got a spanking new 320d atm) it pulled the Zafira up the drive lovely earlier :rolf:

Then im away seeing the parents over the weekend... but two days booked off so i fully intend to have it running by the end of monday... if not early tuesday.

Daz

The sensor in the sump is the oil level sensor, fitted on some models, if ure loom doesnt have the plug just leave it as it is.

Din

Daz said:
The sensor in the sump is the oil level sensor, fitted on some models, if ure loom doesnt have the plug just leave it as it is.

Ahh, i thought it may be something like that ! this lump came from a Vectra B so i suppose there are one or two minor differences!

Thanks for that :thumbup:

As i said, i will use the stuff out of the Zafira anyway 🙂

Din

Just a little shit yourself moment... are the cranks all the same on the Z22se ? i tapped it in to google, im sure i saw one with a toothed wheel on the crank rather than the 7 points on mine :eek:

I went to pull the crank sensor from the new engine just now... but in knackered and had a couple of beers..got board and gave up...

astra22bertoneauto

Din said:
Just a little shit yourself moment... are the cranks all the same on the Z22se ? i tapped it in to google, im sure i saw one with a toothed wheel on the crank rather than the 7 points on mine :eek:

The cranks are the same, only the flywheels are different from auto & manuals gearboxes. You can swap them over thou but just use some lockthread on the bolts that attached the flywheel to the crank.

Din

Few.. thanks for that!

Din

Right.... if i can just drag myself from my pit.... i will make a start ! it would be bloody raining wouldnt it :rolleyes:

Matt

Din said:
Right.... if i can just drag myself from my pit.... i will make a start ! it would be bloody raining wouldnt it :rolleyes:

It's usually the case! I'd love to have a garage to be able to work on the car without getting wet.