Vectra fun

Well the Vectra is still going OK other than the loud and embarrassing exhaust. However I met up with a guy I know who is good with cars and he had a look at the various issues.

The ticking at startup is a broken manifold gasket. In itself not a huge problem, but it can have drastic effects on everything else as the leaking of air and exhaust gases affect a sensor nearby. The engine management then gets duff information and the fuel and air ratio goes all to cock. Once sorted the engine will run much better and be more economical, definitely a good thing. Apparently a properly running 2.0 should do 40-45 mpg.

It also needs a full service and a timing belt kit, this I knew anyway. It's not a coincidence that the previous owner traded it in just as it was coming up to120,000 miles, when it would be due for it's third belt. I'm paranoid about timing belts so I definitely want to get that sorted out.

He also popped it up on a ramp to look at the blowing exhaust, and we found a dodgy weld where the centre part connects to the rear silencer and three neat little holes where it had rusted through from the inside, hence the loud and embarrassing noise.

Other than those issues and the central locking, everything is working OK. I might look into getting the air conditioning fixed but that can certainly wait until it's warmer.