View Full Version : New car and a few problems to say the least
Got my nova on Saturday
It all started when the front arches started rubbing
Next was advertised with a toad alarm turns out it has toad central locking
( spent all day wiring the rest of it up total spaghetti junction is understatement )
There is a bolt missing in the front engine mount (hope its not sheared) Not looked yet
Gear box is clipping off the tie bar I think people call it?? needs grinding
Breather missing from the inlet manifold to the head
Now I have oil on the drive
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/bebd457b7b23abe30b8293c2777fcba8.jpg
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/7812fe49e004840470ddc5e66b2ec6d0.jpg
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/ddd33958bd530e34006dfce686d3c76d.jpg
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/a43fed1e8860325753900647c5fa57ff.jpg
And I looked at where the previous owner brought it to my house and there is oil there also so it was already like that I have only done 6 mile in it :(
NOV4_SPORT
03-09-12, 08:22 PM
Gutted for you mate ! Any pics of the outside of the car ?
Welcome to nova ownership,
turbojolt
03-09-12, 08:26 PM
thats nothing, never knowen a vauxhall to not loose some oil from somewhere, atless you can see where its coming from lol
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/d7914163d2513658fe49b13b25aca03d.jpg
I paid a lot for this car
As above thats pretty normal for an xe, and the lug on the box is a common one to forget about, i forgot on mine and it took me a day or so to figure out what the horrible grinding noise was lol
Least theyre only small problems for you to deal with :d
thats nothing, never knowen a vauxhall to not loose some oil from somewhere, atless you can see where its coming from lol
Yeah about 4 difference places
Welcome to nova ownership,
Amen,better get used to it mate
Worst one is the oil leak it could be coming for anywhere as its all up the engine, it was clean the other day so some strange reason
Southie
03-09-12, 08:30 PM
Isn't this the Nova that was fully rebuilt for about 4k that was painted in a colour that only the owner sort of knows, as the mix went wrong?
turbojolt
03-09-12, 08:31 PM
fook me this is the one that was going for stupid money, 4.5k werent it :O
Aye it be this one....
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab240/mowen_sri/52423020.jpg
Anyone got any idea where leak is coming from going by the pics?
Apart from that it's a cracking motor tho, just gutted about the oil leak but will get it sorted tho,
paul080803
03-09-12, 09:04 PM
Did you sort the toad alarm? Somewhere I have the wiring diagram for a cat1 as all the wires will be black if you get stuck.
Did you sort the toad alarm? Somewhere I have the wiring diagram for a cat1 as all the wires will be black if you get stuck.
Yeah mate I had a fitting guide for it got it sorted just have to get a siren for it rest is done, was gonna see if an auto sparky would look but they aren't interested in messing with old stuff, so just cracked on
Cheers tho bud
Also forgot to add there are no split pin up in the front hubs
4.5k? Christ.
Leak will probably sump gasket. Dry it all off then leave it and see if you can spot where the leak is fresh from.
Tbh ive known people buy 5year old cars with more issues! Just pi**es you off when the sellers don't mention known issues with what theyre selling.
4.5k? Christ.
Leak will probably sump gasket. Dry it all off then leave it and see if you can spot where the leak is fresh from.
Tbh ive known people buy 5year old cars with more issues! Just pi**es you off when the sellers don't mention known issues with what theyre selling.
Yeah mate car is still a really good car just gutted cause I thought I would have trouble free motoring,For a while at least
I txt previous owner and he didn't know it was leaking, to be fair he hasn't done many miles since it was built,
Na not 4.5 mate
Could the sump be warped? And does the engine have to come out to change sump?
paul080803
03-09-12, 09:26 PM
Could the sump be warped? And does the engine have to come out to change sump?
Could be, is it a steel or an ally one? Exhaust manifold will need to be dropped to do sump in car
Its an alloy sump, could be warped/cracked, its worth checking the bolts aren't loose on it first.
If it's an XE and leaking it means it's got oil in it, good to go.
It's when they stop you wanna worry lol
If it's an XE and leaking it means it's got oil in it, good to go.
It's when they stop you wanna worry lol
Thanks for the tip but I thought the dipstick was for that lol
XE's run an innovative reactive renewal oil system.
steviegsi
03-09-12, 10:50 PM
Yip when an xe doesn't leak you've got problems as said above. TBH i wouldnt worry about any of those problems, worst worry on a nova is rust, and that one looks to have been finished properly in that respect.
Dan Stanley
03-09-12, 11:03 PM
The XE sump gaskets always leak. Mine did and it was a genuine GM item. I think thats why people put the 2.0 8v (20NE/SEH) sump baffle plate and rubber gasket on the XE as it seals better.
Do the sump, in car is easy. If it still leaks then you'll be able to tell where from...
That annoys me - I know XEs leak etc etc, but if youre paying that sort of money for a Nova, I would not expect that. I sold mine recently for less than that and there was no leaks at all! anywhere!
I wouldnt care if it was a £800 smoker...
That annoys me - I know XEs leak etc etc, but if youre paying that sort of money for a Nova, I would not expect that. I sold mine recently for less than that and there was no leaks at all! anywhere!
I wouldnt care if it was a £800 smoker...
I know nothing worse than having to repair something that you paid top dollar for, buy hopefully soon I will have it all sorted
Fingers crossed its the sump
All bolts on front mound were slack now tightened and the missing one has been replaced,
All rocket cover bolts loose only noticed case 1 was rattled loose, slight oil leak was coming from there now tightened,
Main Oil leak looks like its coming from behind timing belt cover, it has had a new crankshaft seal so I think it's from there,
I put breather pipe on from inlet man to rocker and it's now idling higher
You wana sort that asap, oil will eat the rubber of the timing belt.
SimonTW
04-09-12, 02:08 PM
Sorry to hear your troubles. As soon as you sort them out and get out on the road though you will have a big smile on your face!
Yeah I know total nightmare, idling really high after putting on the breather pipe checked for air leaks but can't find anything
Main Oil leak looks like its coming from behind timing belt cover, it has had a new crankshaft seal so I think it's from there,
5 seals there it could be sadly.
5 seals there it could be sadly.
Big job then?
further investigation shows its sump and behind the timing belt
Now I have 2 oil patches on the cardboard I lay down the other 2 patches are gone must of been with tightening up the rocker
I'm gonna tinker with the rest of stuff at the moment then in few months get oil leak sorted
I don't know if i should stick it in the garage for repair or have a bash myself
Paul16v
04-09-12, 08:23 PM
If theres oil getting on the timing belt i would sort it straight away!
paul080803
04-09-12, 08:26 PM
Whip the cover off and have a look. Clean up the oil then run it with cover off and have a good look.
But if leaking onto belt sort ASAP!
As everyones said really oil will eat a belt, was pretty amazing the tension it lost when I had an oil leak on my old 1.6 8v, ruined a brand new belt.
Ok guys I will not use it till I have a look into that, I won't get a chance till weekend back to work tommorrow
Cheers for tips :)
Took the day off so I sorted ther high idle now sitting at a grand, happy with that ( electrical plug was missing)
Just need to put split pins in the shafts cause there was none
And sort the leak :(
I couldn't get timing belt cover off Do you have to take off the alternator belt?
NOV4_SPORT
05-09-12, 02:56 PM
It's easier to get the cover off with the belt off mate, just remove the top bolt off the altinator and remove the belt then then the cover mate
Thanks
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/DSC_8603.jpg
I still think its a good motor, the joy of a nova is forever repairing it :)
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/DSC_8583.jpg
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/DSC_8358.jpg
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/DSC_8593.jpg
turbojolt
05-09-12, 10:20 PM
one of the best looking novas on here tbh
I got hundreds of pics of the rebuild, and the previous owner did a very good job on the shell
http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w520/chay6684/DSC_8612.jpg
I think a pro must have taken some of the pics
turbojolt
05-09-12, 10:58 PM
or a hobbiest with a decent camera
That soooooo needs a short throttle cable fitting imo :thumb:
If you look at mine, it runs around the back of the TB and also the main wiring loom is run under the induction pipe and around the side of the strut top, just neatens things up i reckon, wasnt clued up about the short cable till Dave told me about it, tis a facelift corsa B 1.2 16v cable :d
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a36/spudly01/Nova%20Antibes/antibes10.jpg
turbojolt
05-09-12, 11:01 PM
you got a part number for the cable spud?
Nope lol
Just go rob one from a corsa B in a scrappers, has to be a facelift 1.2 16v :thumb:
turbojolt
05-09-12, 11:33 PM
to looms i go lol
I never seen why people still run the cable over the RC, mine like Spuds is run around the back. Did it about 8years ago to tidy things up.
You can add a spacer in at the end of the cable too, it removes the slack at the end of the cable. Brings the response right up.
Big_Chap
06-09-12, 09:29 AM
That soooooo needs a short throttle cable fitting imo :thumb:
... or tb's!...
Split pins put in now, and maybe just maybe fixed oil leak
Big_Chap
14-09-12, 04:20 AM
You'll never "fix" it mate, all you can do is stop it pishing out, it'll always slowly seep out from somewhere.
blue_peg_16v
14-09-12, 08:07 AM
Exonvaldies spilled less oil than my let lol
camels toe
14-09-12, 08:07 AM
Only thing you can do to really cure the oil leak is to fit the metal sump from the 8v with the bonded gasket too.The alloy sumps are complete ****.
Pistol Pete
14-09-12, 02:44 PM
Only thing you can do to really cure the oil leak is to fit the metal sump from the 8v with the bonded gasket too.The alloy sumps are complete ****.
I disagree...
I had a leak on mine. Some time, care and cleaning and not even a weep.
Sump pan off, clean it good. Some fine wet and dry with petrol and clean the faces of the sump pan and the block. I also ran a tap down each of the bolt holes (remember you will need shorter bolts with the 8v baffle plate. Make sure all surfaces a dry and refit all parts. I did the above and happy days!! Time, care and attention to detail can work wonders!
I disagree...
I had a leak on mine. Some time, care and cleaning and not even a weep.
Sump pan off, clean it good. Some fine wet and dry with petrol and clean the faces of the sump pan and the block. I also ran a tap down each of the bolt holes (remember you will need shorter bolts with the 8v baffle plate. Make sure all surfaces a dry and refit all parts. I did the above and happy days!! Time, care and attention to detail can work wonders!
i've found its the cleaning of the inside of the block to remove all spare oil, so the sealant can't get contaminated is the best thing with gm engines in general..
but there is a saying that was used on Cars2....mater was on about british cars & said that ' if there's no oil under 'em, there's no oil in 'em...' i think he meant vauxhalls...
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