Keeping and servicing a 170,000 mile insignia

[Lincsls1]

My Astra diesel has over 160k miles on it now. Its also 17 years old, I've had it coming up 5 years. It still drives really, really well.
No reason why my Astra or your Insignia won't continue to work well with proper maintenance and some TLC.
I have no doubt mine will easily do 200k, allowing for some odds and sods.

[Paynewright]

Re oil pick up seal - would it be worth adding a small amount of flange sealant with the new O ring?

[mickyh7]

Not sure about additives.
They say failed DPF regeneration which then puts neat Diesel into the sump is the root cause.
Savvy owners have an LED wired into the mirror demist (which comes on during a regen).
This let's them know not to stop the engine whilst a regen is taking place.

[Hackney2]

mickyh7 said:

Not sure about additives.
They say failed DPF regeneration which then puts neat Diesel into the sump is the root cause.
Savvy owners have an LED wired into the mirror demist (which comes on during a regen).
This let's them know not to stop the engine whilst a regen is taking place.

Absolutely, never use additives.Manufactures will never endorse third part additives.Dealer will try & ‘upsell’ them to make a tidy profit.I always decline.

[Touring442]

Paynewright said:

Re oil pick up seal - would it be worth adding a small amount of flange sealant with the new O ring?

No. It only fails because the rubber goes hard after 10 years or so.

[B'stard Child]

Touring442 said:

Paynewright said:

Re oil pick up seal - would it be worth adding a small amount of flange sealant with the new O ring?

No. It only fails because the rubber goes hard after 10 years or so.

Hard is an understatement - goes from flexible to brittle

Pictures of seal and some guidance on replacement Here - Clicky

It's not a bad job to do on your drive

Best video I found that demonstrated exactly what happens when the seal starts to fail is this

[TNH]

The spinner of plates said:

I have a 250k Merc diesel. My mechanic and I now see it as an interesting project to ensure it hits 300k.

I discussed pre-emptive maintenance like changing gearbox oil etc.. his view was simply "It shifts fine and there are no leaks - so let sleeping dogs lie. Just drive it nice. Warm it up before asking it to do any hard work. We'll assess each time you're here and I'll give you options on what's worth doing and what's not".

My advice:
1) Find a friendly garage that knows your car and that you trust.
2) Drop them a case of beer when you're passing last working week in Dec to wish them a Merry Christmas
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.

Edited by The spinner of plates on Monday 21st February 22:41

I like your style!

[Monkeylegend]

TNH said:

The spinner of plates said:

I have a 250k Merc diesel. My mechanic and I now see it as an interesting project to ensure it hits 300k.

I discussed pre-emptive maintenance like changing gearbox oil etc.. his view was simply "It shifts fine and there are no leaks - so let sleeping dogs lie. Just drive it nice. Warm it up before asking it to do any hard work. We'll assess each time you're here and I'll give you options on what's worth doing and what's not".

My advice:
1) Find a friendly garage that knows your car and that you trust.
2) Drop them a case of beer when you're passing last working week in Dec to wish them a Merry Christmas
3) If your annual service / MOT is due in July like mine, turn up with a dozen Magnums. When the car goes up on the ramps, you'll not only get to eat a Magnum, you'll also get 5 qualified blokes having a nosey at what's what whilst they take a break.

Edited by The spinner of plates on Monday 21st February 22:41

I like your style!

Mine has reached over 324k on proper servicing and careful driving without giving beer and magnums.

I don't want inebriated mechanics looking after my cars

Just find a good indy and pay the bill.

[mickyh7]

B'stard Child said:

Hard is an understatement - goes from flexible to brittle

Pictures of seal and some guidance on replacement Here - Clicky

It's not a bad job to do on your drive

Best video I found that demonstrated exactly what happens when the seal starts to fail is this

That's a very good video to show oil turning to non protective foam.
I always thought the oil lost vacuum, and just stopped moving.
Very informative, thank you.

[B'stard Child]

mickyh7 said:

B'stard Child said:

Hard is an understatement - goes from flexible to brittle

Pictures of seal and some guidance on replacement Here - Clicky

It's not a bad job to do on your drive

Best video I found that demonstrated exactly what happens when the seal starts to fail is this

That's a very good video to show oil turning to non protective foam.
I always thought the oil lost vacuum, and just stopped moving.
Very informative, thank you.

Not a problem - happy to share the knowledge

Apparently the first sign you get is low oil pressure warning for a few seconds after cold start

That is the seal allowing the oil to drain back to the sump - this hadn't happened with the insignia I am involved with but when I looked at the state of the seal removed it wasn't far away from failure

[mickyh7]

The actual seal kooks very over engineered, and expensive.
A standard 'O' ring would have been simple and much more cost effective.
In my opinion!

[B'stard Child]

mickyh7 said:

The actual seal kooks very over engineered, and expensive.
A standard 'O' ring would have been simple and much more cost effective.
In my opinion!

There is a company in Poland from memory that has a alloy insert with two std O ring that replaces the seal (it's slightly more expensive and the postage charges are high)

Std seal is £13 and in stock in most Vauxhall dealers

Polish made alternative is £19 (plus post)

I only found it after I had replaced the std one with same again

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185127585340?hash=item2...

[Touring442]

The only one I've done was on a very early 58 plate car with 145,000 miles and it was fine. A bit tough compared to a new one but not bad.

A bloke I sort of know had/has a thing going, buying expired Insignias and fitting the old Vectra 1.9 diesel. Once you've swapped the ancillaries over, it goes straight in. The engine looks the same from up top, are reliable and worth buttons compared to the 2.0 unit.

[PurpleTurtle]

I see Vauxhall have officially dropped the Insignia in the UK now.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/vauxha...

I am a bit of a badge snob and for reasons far too lengthy to explain I've always had a downer on all Vauxhalls, but having had an Insignia as a rental for two weeks in Spain a couple of years ago I was pretty impressed by it. Good to read this thread that they are still doing great mileages, oil pickup pipe issue noted.

[MGZTV8]

Sorry for the thread revival but I was just wondering what the approximate garage cost is for a cam belt and water pump change?

2.0 CDTI Ecoflex.

Cheers.

[B'stard Child]

MGZTV8 said:

Sorry for the thread revival but I was just wondering what the approximate garage cost is for a cam belt and water pump change?

2.0 CDTI Ecoflex.

Cheers.

I did it myself on NN's car (Nightmare Niece) so I can't give you garage costs and I replaced the lower pulley and bolt because apparently it's common for them to shear the keyway

All the parts costs and a how to are here - clicky

[Hugo Stiglitz]

I remember when we ran Vauxhall Vivaros at work (1.9). They were really abused and on mega miles.

The Transits that replaced them regularly screw up with ad blue etc issues

[colin86]

Just wondering do you still have this car ? Been offered one at a great price with auto gear box but a only for about 6k miles a year not sure if this would work for me?