well as stated before the back end is bad in the wet as i descovered mounting a kerb tearing of the passenger wheel then spinning into the other lane into another car witch rolled (fiesta!) that was the end o fmy beloved 1995 ecotech gls now im gonna buy another one as i loved it to death only might get a cdx or something this time...
MODEL: Cavalier 2.0 16V GLS (m reg) with the X20XEV engine.
PERFORMANCE: It is a very quick car for what it is and the sheer cheapness you can buy them at. Will push 130mph easily and 0-60 around 8.5-9sec
RIDE: They are a quiet motorway drive, however can be somewhat bumpy and heavy into corners around urban areas.
RELIABILITY: Niggly electrical stuff, like cam sensors etc causes a lot of garage trips around £100-200 a time, but the car like to be driven hard and covers long distance with ease.
COST: I paid £1000 and it had 70K on the clock, body work showing no rust and paint in V good condition, interior is a fine with exception to fag burns in the seat.
OVERALL: V Good car for the money, but set aside £500 to £1000 for repairs suchs as shocks, brakes, sensors etc. Out performs a lot of modern cars, so for the price including its faults you can't beat it.
PREVIOUS CAR: Cavalier 2.0i 8V (j reg) - Cannot fault, extremely reliable, copes with extreme abuse with ease. Not the most comfortable of cars, but gets you where your going every time. Finally after 2 years doing 55k driven hard, head gasket went between two cylinders, it got me home on two cyliders with a struggle, but still got me there!
What a great car... bought it for £1400 p/e with my old £99 85 1.3 cav (which was as quick as 1.8 to fifty, weight I guess, or the gear box), it was an ex fleet car (maintained whatever the cost apparently), it sails through MOTs.
I got the cambelt replaced soon as (there was 132k on the clock), and the only problem upto 151k was a knocking accelerating from start when turning. Thought it was a cv joint as old cav had same noise/prob, but it turned out to be the cambelt pullies/water pump which had to be replaced by a new and different setup to before...could have caused more problems apparently. Sorted it until a week ago. Damn. I replaced the crank cover gasket recently too to fix a slow seep of oil on the left of engine. Hell, it's only £2.50!
Speed is good, I put a k&n induction kit which i should give a clean really (and a second cold air feed maybe) which gave a meatier sound and better accel all through. I stuck a Peco bb4 on the back too, looks the dogs bits. noise is good until the revs die and i get a pu put phbhbhbhbb to idle noise hum. Oh well, it looks better than the vaux downpipe.
Last summer i also bought a pipercross crankcase breather filter on recommendation by someone else but it's sat in it's box on a shelf since. Does anyone know exactly what it does and how to fit it (it's universal) to my 1.8 cav? I change the oil every six months and use injector cleaner at the same time. It's a smooth engine but I've read comments about the filter like "Improved reponse" and "noticeably less trips to Shell" (97 ron petrol is great in this car).
I'm getting it lowered to spax vsx in a week (40mm) as shocks turn the road bumps into a sea swell, by a guy who lives suspension, so I'm sure he'll set it up right. I can't wait!!! Cornering!!
And another thing... When I (sometimes) wheelspin, i get a knocking from the back of the car. One car nut mate reckoned it was the ABS getting confused and paniking. It's a bit too regular to be my back box knocking (although it does rattle sometimes). I much prefer to have traction than wheelspin when driving but it's annoying all the same, so, any thoughts on that would be great!
Lastly, but not leastly (sigh), what things can I do to uprate the speed but keeping the reliability/change in my pocket? I'm gonna keep it for about a year I think, a Honda Prelude is calling me!! Ahh, 4 wheel steering and vtec probs galore!!
Any help greatly recieved, Cheers Chris Diz
When I'm a millionaire, I'll STILL have a cav in my multi storey garage!! (Maybe 4wd though)
Just Bought An J Reg Cav Li 2.0 . Very Happy With It ! Cheap To Run & Quite Quick For A Family Car Aswell .
I Have Recently Noticed A Strange Rattling Sound Coming From Somewhere Underneath The Car Whilst Driving ????? I Have Checked The Exhaust Etc And Its Not Loose .
Could It Be The Shock Absorbers Making The Noise ? Can Anyone Help ? Thanx Monty007
I have a 94 1.8 LSI cavalier. These cars are built to last. Its now done 142000 miles and still runs and runs. However its now started to overheat especially on the motorway above 60mph, its past the Cylinder head test. The radiator did have some rad weld put in to stop it leaking, not sure if theres a blockage, thought about giving the thermostat a go but the ali casing has corroded to the nuts, bummer! Does anyone have any ideas? Had to rig up the cooling fan to stay on all the time. Im no mechanic and would appreciate some advice. Thanks
Yeah, I've got a 16v Ecotec Cavalier, I was driving down the road and the engine blew up!!! BANG, the wheels flew off, and the back peddling mud gaurds flipped my wife in the face....mind you last time it took off and was flying, but it is an ecotec after all!!!! hope no one has had similar problems..BANG
Bought a '94 TD model (Izuzu) nearly a year ago. Picked it up for very little money considering. Private sale. one owner. The water pump has failed so far and it has needed new brake pads plus a few other bits. However, I spend the money on it as I want to keep it tip top. I use it for business work and it crosses Southern England weekly. Completely reliable. I am newly self employed so I needed a very capable car that was going to cost under £1,000 but eat 30,000 miles per year. This is it! I service it twice a year plus oil changes every 4,500 miles. It drives superbly and I think it will last me well over 200,000 miles. I do find the drivers seat a bit of an ache after 100 odd miles. Small price to pay though. Known history and regular routine maintenance (particularly cam belt) provide a sound investment.
Had a Cavalier 2.0i CD Auto for the past 2 months and Im totally in love!!! Given it free by my dad - God love him. Love passing boy racers in Peugeots and Clios, HA HA HA!! All in all it has been a fantastic car and an absolute pleasure to drive. My dad never broke down in it - EVER!! Its a 1988, so there isnt many of them about in my town which is cool.
I've had cavaliers for the last 15 years, most recently a M reg SRI 16v ECOTEC, when I first bought it I had a CAM Sensor problem, and got it replaced under warranty, more recently was getting the engine mgmt light on when starting and had to wiggle the cam sensor wire. The problem on mine was the connector was too worn (a common fault I believe) and was losing it's contact, Main dealer said needed whole new wiring harness!!, so went to scrap yard, cut an existing wire/connector off a old vauxhall (same spec of wiring) leaving 15cm of wire, cut the sensor wire on my car and carefully stripped and soldered the wires together. The scrap connector is a much tighter fit and not had a peek out of the sensor since I did it 6 months ago - just wish I'd thought of it years ago.
Hello all.. I have a cavalier gsi its on a G reg black its standerd accept the clocks i have put GTE digie dash in it..look well smart...the only fault with cavaliers is the back wheel arche's start to rott :( but other than that they are well smart cars eh lads n lassise.ive own my gsi for 1yr now and i paid £900 for it and ive been offerd £1000 upwoulds for it i still havnt past my test lol :(..my mate drives it now n then and we was racing my other mates calibra 16v and my gsi eat it for dinner it was doing 146mph and we had to slow down but ive got a few mods to go on the engaine etc i'll let you no the top speed when finshed..hope the cops dont catch me (well happy boy racing all)
I own a cavalier 2.0 cdi saloon 1991 J, overall it's been quite reliable, but I have an intermittent fault with it at the moment where it just wont start when its warm. It turns over fine just no ignition but eventually it will start after a lot of patience. Its done just over 150,000 and so far the things I've had to change are only the usual wear and tear items. This latest problem really only began after the fuel pump detached itself and pulled the connectors out. I'm wondering if it's related? Any ideas?
Recently I got the water pump and cambelt changed as there was a leak in my Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 SRi '93 K reg. car. This was because the car was over heating if i drove for even a mile or two.Even after replacement,it over-heats and the mechanic says i have to get the head gasket and thermostat replaced, for 280 pounds. Is what he says is right? Please reply on [Log in to view email]
I bought my H reg Cavalier 1.6GL in 1992 and still have it as it has been brilliant, the most its cost to get through an MOT has been £80 and although I never look after it , it's been a very cheap and comfy car getting me to Cornwall and Scotland without missing a beat. Not bad for a car of this age. Nearly changed a few times but not willing to spend thousands for something not much better.
H reg Cavalier GSi 2000 16v DoHC paid £400. It is great - quick and comfy and sounds just WOW. Faster than my old VW GTis (Golf and Jetta). Just as big a boot (for the shopping, camping gear and boombox) as the Jetta. Shame my local roads are so bumpy - just 3" clearance means I bottom out! Only probs are rusty wheel arches - anyone know where I can get replacements that look cool? and the central locking plays up (just need to slam the door to sort).
my first cav i owned was a 1985 16gls which i purchased in 1988 kept the car for 9 years only ever replaced 2 things camshaft and a water pump performance 4 a 1600 i thought was very good then i changed it 4 a cav sri 130 1990 model this car was fab quick and reiliable never had any problems bar lossing water which turns out to be the head gasket so now i have decided to cut my loses and scrap it i have now just got hold of a 1994 sri 16v ecotec which is in excellent condition its been a bit neglected so i have just had fitted a new cam belt kit the gear box was leaking so thats been fixed the car goes like a dream its quick and returns better fuel con than the 8 valve i have driven many hot hatches and it should out run most of them bad points havent any bar idle valve sticks but has been ok 4 several weeks touchwood i paid £700 4 this car taking what i have spent on it probably costing me a £1000 not bad 4 a car that will beat any ford mondeo on the road
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