GSI V6

Hi guys, new to this group, but have been looking at it for weeks now.

I have a Vectra 2.5 GSI (facelift), but have asked many people about when to
change the timing belt, I've been told 40k,60k but no one has confirmed it,
even my local Vauxhall dealre is saying different times.

And also, has anyone out there changed there headlamps to the Xenon ones, is
it a big job?

Apart from sourcing the parts required.

Regards,

Big_Man
big-man@blue<remove>yonder.co.uk

 

Hi
on the auto data cd it recommend replacement every 80.000 or 8 years which
ever occurs frist but i have a 2.5 sri 2000 model and i change my ever
20.000 miles to be on the safe side u dont want to bend any off them valves
because will be a lot of money to fix hope this helps

john
jcautos

 

what year is your car

john

 

It's a 2000 V.It was done at 60k, just before I bought the car. Just want to
knoe when to change it next. I do know that Vauxhall's aren't particullary
good with timing belts, but saying that I had a Mk2 Astra GET 16v many years
ago, and I first changed that one at 96k!!.

Also, I'm using Optimax, is it really worth it?

Regards,

Big-Man
big-man@blue<remove>yonder.co.uk

 

I have a v6 omega and from what i can find out v/hall service book says that
the belt needs renewed at 80,000 but v/hall mechanic mate says that they
were told to advise customers that due to the chances of belt failure and
subsequent costs that customers should be advised to change at 40,000. I
dont know where you stand if you have a full history or not but my own
feelings about this are.
If the cars outwith 3 years warranty v/hall will walk away from any problem.
If its within the 3 year warranty and full service records and new belt and
pulley kit at 40,000 miles you might get a proportion of the cost back.
If you get a dealer to fit a new belt and pulley kit ( upwards of £300) he
will gaurantee the work for 1 year. If the belt breaks do you think he will
cover the full cost of all damage. I think its very unlikely.
If your pulleys sound ok (apparently thats where the problem lies ) and the
belt is not contaminated with oil then it should be ok for 80,000.
For the price of a dealer belt change you could pick up a 2nd hand engine.
You could change it yourself for about 80 quid if you feel competent enough.
As for optimax i doubt it makes a huge difference but thats a whole new very
long thread in this news group (again).
The V6 is a great car I hope you have a lot of fun in it.

 

in the auto data cd which most of the garage go by it says 97 onwards
Replacement every 40.000 or 4 years which ever occurs first tensioner pulley
must also be replace

ps found if your have had the tensioner pully replace because they can fail
and its just has bad has the cambelt snaps

 

Thanks for your help.

I think I'll go for the every 40k to be on the safe side. Only do about 10k
a year so it'l take the 4 years ro get their.

Anyway, it's a superb car, very very hard to find, would like to speak to
other V6 owners to find what they think and problems they come accross.

As for the Optimax, does sound a long thread, just use it to get the bonus
pluspoints as the car does use a lotta petrol

 

At the risk of needing a far bigger can to get the worms back in after they
have been given an airing, using the likes of optimax (or any other good
quality oil) is mainly about engine longevity, not fuel consumption. When
compared to driving manner and conditions, any additional fuel economy
achieved by reducing the internal friction of the engine with good oil is
negligable at best.

Anyhow, whatever you are getting from your GSI has got to be better than
when I let my wife drive my 4L auto 4x4. she can manage 8.5 mpg in city
traffic. Thats why I dont let her take it into the city without a good
reason, as otherwise I get 18+ out of it.

Mike

 

4 years/40,000 miles is Vauxhall recommended practice. I would also use
genuine cambelt and rollers/tensioner. Vauxhall have recently reduced
the parts price and put it in a kit.

If you get a dealer to do it they will guarantee the work for a year
and they will replace all damaged parts if it fails. Having said that,
it is unlikely to fail within the year.

 

yes they will replace any of the damaged parts that they fitted but highly
unlikely the will pay for head skimming, valves,recut seats,regrind seats
gaskets etc etc etc . "Only the parts they fitted that fail"

 

That's just your typical guarantee though, I myself work for a Main Delear
and it is a joke how the give you a schedule for timing belts, but if it
fails before that then tough. But I'm sure a letter to Vauxhall (nicely
written) they might contribute a little towards it. Probably only the mark
up on the parts required though.

Just a little bit paranoid as it's my first V6 and there's a lot of valves
and expensive cams etc that can be damaged due to improper care. I've only
ever had one timing belt fail on me and that left me with 1 valve working
ok!.

 

It is not really relevant as it is unlikely to fail under warranty but
Vauxhall or the dealer would have to pay for the the extras if the
failure was their fault. That is the whole point about going to a main
dealer.

We recently had one where Vauxhall paid the lot (including skim & valve
cutting) for a car that was out of warranty.

Alan.

 

I think a lot depends on the paticular dealership and the staff ... I've had
Vauxhall's for years either company cars and, more recently, my own ... used
the same dealership all the time and had no problems with them at all ...
always told me what had been done to the car, even when it was a company
one, and gave me more discount off repairs than Vauxhall stated as it's
based on mileage/age for some warranty work.

Guess I struck lucky

Mal

 

Guess I struck lucky

Quite possibly, but just as bad/shoddy work and service needs spreading, so
should the opposite. Just who are these potential paragons of virtue?

Mike

 

err.. methinks I will re phrase that to read "...just as NEWS OF bad/shoddy
work and service needs spreading..."

Its been a long day....

Mike

 

A good site to look around on is...
http://forum.vectra-sport.com/index.php

Been on there for 3 years now..

Gazza

 

Have joined a Vauxhall forum already, but will look at this one since its
specific to Vectra's

Cheeers!