Polishing A Vauxhall Shaped Turd.
Discussion
The humble Vauxhall Tigra 1.4 Exclusiv, the archetypal woman's car, universally hated by PH members and likely most members of the generally public, a car that I had no want or need for. So why did I buy it you might be asking yourselves? For no other reason it was local and cheap. It belonged to the sellers daughter who parked it up when the EML came on and bought herself a new car.
Advertised on FB market place with a long MOT but generally needing some tlc and of course said EML but with plenty of service history. It was up for £600 but had had no takers, when I came across it the seller just wanted shot. Viewing arranged for the following weekend, after a quick look over and test drive, £500 changed hands and I took it home.
That was November 2019. Since then I have given it a full service and generally tidied it up, the issue with the EML proved to be a simple fix of what is a fairly well documented problem with the Z14XEP engine, oil leaking through the oil pressure sensor. The EML was caused by the oil infecting the Lambda Sensor.
It appears the seal fails in the pressure sensor allowing oil to pass through, this oil then travels down the wiring loom making it's way to various sensors and the ecu. Bought a new sensor, a simple swap and set about cleaning the loom and sensor plugs etc, also gave the ecu a good clean out as it was contaminated by quite a bit of oil.
With all that done I cleared the fault code putting the EML light out and used it as a daily, however 2 days later EML back on, same fault code, Lambda sensor. I unplugged it cleaned the connector as the oil that remained in the loom had made it's way to it again, whilst I was at it I also cleaned all of the other connectors and ecu again making the decision to clean them daily until all of the oil trapped in the loom had gone. Put the EML out and again used it as a daily.
All was well for about a week when on came the EML, Lambda sensor(pre cat, the one in the manifold). This time I bit the bullet and bought a new one £15 from ebay for a genuine oe part that no one else bid on, I also decided to replace the 2nd one(After cat in the exhaust pipe) as it was only £18 from ECP. With that all done,EML extinguished it was just a case of drive on. That was all early December 19 and since then it has driven faultlessly and no EML.
So this brings me to polishing the turd. No matter how old or how much I pay for a car I like to keep them clean, this one proved to be no different. During Jan/Feb nothing more than a bucket and sponge when the weather allowed but now we have sunshine I thought I would give it a more thorough going over.
A good wash, de-tar, clay,machine polish and wax, all finish off with o coat of Turtle wax ceramic spray coating. Now it is 14 years oild with 107k on the clock so it does have some scratches and car park dinks which no amount of polishing will get rid of but I think the end result I have achieved is pretty respectable.
The wife now drives it as a daily hack, the electric roof and electric boot lid both work perfectly, it has working heated leather seats for those cold mornings and working aircon for those warm afternoons. The dog loves being strapped into the passenger seat for a spot of top down motoring.
All in it owes me about £600, not to bad for a bit of summer fun. I know haters gonna hate and all that do please do feel free to share your opinions of this car, good or bad i'm all ears.
Also cleaned the rest of the fleet.
Advertised on FB market place with a long MOT but generally needing some tlc and of course said EML but with plenty of service history. It was up for £600 but had had no takers, when I came across it the seller just wanted shot. Viewing arranged for the following weekend, after a quick look over and test drive, £500 changed hands and I took it home.
That was November 2019. Since then I have given it a full service and generally tidied it up, the issue with the EML proved to be a simple fix of what is a fairly well documented problem with the Z14XEP engine, oil leaking through the oil pressure sensor. The EML was caused by the oil infecting the Lambda Sensor.
It appears the seal fails in the pressure sensor allowing oil to pass through, this oil then travels down the wiring loom making it's way to various sensors and the ecu. Bought a new sensor, a simple swap and set about cleaning the loom and sensor plugs etc, also gave the ecu a good clean out as it was contaminated by quite a bit of oil.
With all that done I cleared the fault code putting the EML light out and used it as a daily, however 2 days later EML back on, same fault code, Lambda sensor. I unplugged it cleaned the connector as the oil that remained in the loom had made it's way to it again, whilst I was at it I also cleaned all of the other connectors and ecu again making the decision to clean them daily until all of the oil trapped in the loom had gone. Put the EML out and again used it as a daily.
All was well for about a week when on came the EML, Lambda sensor(pre cat, the one in the manifold). This time I bit the bullet and bought a new one £15 from ebay for a genuine oe part that no one else bid on, I also decided to replace the 2nd one(After cat in the exhaust pipe) as it was only £18 from ECP. With that all done,EML extinguished it was just a case of drive on. That was all early December 19 and since then it has driven faultlessly and no EML.
So this brings me to polishing the turd. No matter how old or how much I pay for a car I like to keep them clean, this one proved to be no different. During Jan/Feb nothing more than a bucket and sponge when the weather allowed but now we have sunshine I thought I would give it a more thorough going over.
A good wash, de-tar, clay,machine polish and wax, all finish off with o coat of Turtle wax ceramic spray coating. Now it is 14 years oild with 107k on the clock so it does have some scratches and car park dinks which no amount of polishing will get rid of but I think the end result I have achieved is pretty respectable.
The wife now drives it as a daily hack, the electric roof and electric boot lid both work perfectly, it has working heated leather seats for those cold mornings and working aircon for those warm afternoons. The dog loves being strapped into the passenger seat for a spot of top down motoring.
All in it owes me about £600, not to bad for a bit of summer fun. I know haters gonna hate and all that do please do feel free to share your opinions of this car, good or bad i'm all ears.
Also cleaned the rest of the fleet.
We have one, same spec and engine. We bought it for washers as a cheap, scuffed, badly painted daily hack. It's previously had bodywork by Braille and the panel gaps are a little unusual.
But. It's ridiculous fun to absolutely thrash everywhere. Bits are as cheap as you like. Sensible mpg for commuting.
It snapped two springs after a lay up so I bought a cheap set of lowering springs off eBay for about 60 quid, fitted in a couple of hours. And I had a moment and decided that purple wheels would look good (they don't, mainly because they were already kerbed to all hell).
Sadly the roof and boot have now failed and I'm too lazy to diagnose the fault. Its now sitting at the back of the drive waiting for me to finish another project... Then I'm thinking of ripping it to bits and putting something XE or turbo shaped in...
But. It's ridiculous fun to absolutely thrash everywhere. Bits are as cheap as you like. Sensible mpg for commuting.
It snapped two springs after a lay up so I bought a cheap set of lowering springs off eBay for about 60 quid, fitted in a couple of hours. And I had a moment and decided that purple wheels would look good (they don't, mainly because they were already kerbed to all hell).
Sadly the roof and boot have now failed and I'm too lazy to diagnose the fault. Its now sitting at the back of the drive waiting for me to finish another project... Then I'm thinking of ripping it to bits and putting something XE or turbo shaped in...
ShampooEfficient said:
We have one, same spec and engine. We bought it for washers as a cheap, scuffed, badly painted daily hack. It's previously had bodywork by Braille and the panel gaps are a little unusual.
But. It's ridiculous fun to absolutely thrash everywhere. Bits are as cheap as you like. Sensible mpg for commuting.
It snapped two springs after a lay up so I bought a cheap set of lowering springs off eBay for about 60 quid, fitted in a couple of hours. And I had a moment and decided that purple wheels would look good (they don't, mainly because they were already kerbed to all hell).
Sadly the roof and boot have now failed and I'm too lazy to diagnose the fault. Its now sitting at the back of the drive waiting for me to finish another project... Then I'm thinking of ripping it to bits and putting something XE or turbo shaped in...
Funny that I was browsing Ebay earlier for lowering springs and wheels as the 2 nearside are badly kerbed. Agree about them being fun, drives really well, infact dare I say it? I think it's actually a better and more comfortable drive then my Fiesta 1.4 daily.But. It's ridiculous fun to absolutely thrash everywhere. Bits are as cheap as you like. Sensible mpg for commuting.
It snapped two springs after a lay up so I bought a cheap set of lowering springs off eBay for about 60 quid, fitted in a couple of hours. And I had a moment and decided that purple wheels would look good (they don't, mainly because they were already kerbed to all hell).
Sadly the roof and boot have now failed and I'm too lazy to diagnose the fault. Its now sitting at the back of the drive waiting for me to finish another project... Then I'm thinking of ripping it to bits and putting something XE or turbo shaped in...
The ride quality on the springs is abysmal. I would recommend, of you care about your spine, getting some decent shocks and springs if you go down the lowering route. MrsSE and I have the policy of spending as little as possible on the non essentials, because the other cars are taking priority...
Its just silly fun, it will in theory do over 100mph but I'll always take the back roads and mess about at less tham 40, but at 13000rpm. It does steer fairly well for what is a Corsa in a party frock...
Its just silly fun, it will in theory do over 100mph but I'll always take the back roads and mess about at less tham 40, but at 13000rpm. It does steer fairly well for what is a Corsa in a party frock...
I have a genuine Irmscher grill to fit to the Tigra which I was hoping to do today, nice easy job...or so i thought. Had a look at taking the old grill out this morning, can't for the life of me see how I can get it out without removing the front bumper. Todays easy job has just got a whole load harder.
Unless of course someone can tell me otherwise?
Unless of course someone can tell me otherwise?
Cambs_Stuart said:
For 600 it looks like a nice summer daily. Good find and good work sorting the eml.
Agreed. It's a car that will now be used all year round, the wife uses it for work. Summer time the roof can be lowered and in the winter the hard top makes it more coupe like. We have the Z4 as our summer weekender, the Tigra and my Fiesta allow us to lay that one up over the winter months. At £600 we don't have to be to precious about it although like I mentioned whatever a car cost me I still like it to look it's best.The 2 nearside wheels are badly kerbed, yesterday's ebay trawl saw me secure 1 mint condition wheel for the grand total of £46 delivered. Will keep my eyes open for another one, however some people are wanting silly money for them so I will bide my time.
So this mornings job. Although the roof works perfectly, when driving with it up it squeaks and rattles. Google suggests lubricating all the seals, so that's what I did.
The roof can be opened a little at a time giving access to all of the seals. So armed with my trusty bottle of gummi pflege i set about giving them a good coating.
Allowed it so soak in, closed the roof and went for a quick drive. Success, no more rattles or squeaks.
It's little jobs like this that make me happy.
The roof can be opened a little at a time giving access to all of the seals. So armed with my trusty bottle of gummi pflege i set about giving them a good coating.
Allowed it so soak in, closed the roof and went for a quick drive. Success, no more rattles or squeaks.
It's little jobs like this that make me happy.
Ok a small update for the limited few who may show interest in this thread.
Both nearside wheels have bee heavily kerbed by a previous owner, and as you can see said kerbing has had copious amounts of body filler applied and badly rubbed down. I can only assume this was in preparation for a home refurb which never happened.
Here are the offending wheels.
So not being happy I started a search for replacements. Now although the Tigra and the Corsa both come with 17" Penta alloys they are different sizes. Tigra 6.5x17 et41 Corsa 7x17 et44. It is a lot easier to get these rims in Corsa sizes. However I have been able to acquire 1 wheel in the correct size, £46 delivered and in excellent condition.
The new wheel.
I will wait until I have managed to track down another one then get them fitted.
Other than that the little Tigra continues to provide excellent almost pleasurable everyday service.
Both nearside wheels have bee heavily kerbed by a previous owner, and as you can see said kerbing has had copious amounts of body filler applied and badly rubbed down. I can only assume this was in preparation for a home refurb which never happened.
Here are the offending wheels.
So not being happy I started a search for replacements. Now although the Tigra and the Corsa both come with 17" Penta alloys they are different sizes. Tigra 6.5x17 et41 Corsa 7x17 et44. It is a lot easier to get these rims in Corsa sizes. However I have been able to acquire 1 wheel in the correct size, £46 delivered and in excellent condition.
The new wheel.
I will wait until I have managed to track down another one then get them fitted.
Other than that the little Tigra continues to provide excellent almost pleasurable everyday service.
Edited by DevonLad on Saturday 2nd May 07:07
Macron said:
Goodonya for saving it.
Bit surprised one so interested in cleaning/ fixing hasn’t noticed the “J” which has fallen off the end of your Z4 number plate.
Well spotted, I did wonder if and when the plate police would notice Bit surprised one so interested in cleaning/ fixing hasn’t noticed the “J” which has fallen off the end of your Z4 number plate.
Bought the plate many years ago for the wife's significant birthday....Anyone care to guess her name? 
It pleases me immensely to save an old banger from the scrap yard, we live in such a judgemental/throw away society people are not happy unless they have an expensive car with the right badge. Yes as you can all see I do own a Z4 which does get used, however I am more then happy driving around in the Tigra or Fiesta both of which are driven on a much more regular basis then the Z4, what people think of them or me and the wife for driving them never enters my mind. Both are cheap daily A to B hacks, both can be driven and parked anywhere without having to worry to much and both are great at what they do.
Long live the cheap daily shed.
DevonLad said:
Well spotted, I did wonder if and when the plate police would notice Bought the plate many years ago for the wife's significant birthday....Anyone care to guess her name?
Bought the plate many years ago for the wife's significant birthday....Anyone care to guess her name? N70?
Yes, I am being childish now. Like the Mini. You have an interesting fleet!
DevonLad said:
It pleases me immensely to save an old banger from the scrap yard...
Long live the cheap daily shed.
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