John Clements

Thanks Steve. I will try and get mine repaired, but if that doesn't work out I may consider a newer ally type. I was quite shocked when I saw how vunerable the rad had become, as just a couple of weeks ago I did a round trip to Birmingham, all motorway driving, so feel quite lucky that it held out until now. Sounds like you were unlucky with your experience. Out of interest, did you get your ally rad from CC? Cheers John C

Cheers Simon and Aves, I'll give these a try first.

The nosecone on my HPC appears to have gradually worn away the bottom left corner (facing the car from the front) of my rad. This must have happened gradually over a long period of time. I took the nosecone off last Sunday day and noticed a very shiny spot in the corner of the rad, in front of the drain plug. All I had to do was rub this very slightly and hey presto, a jet of coolant appeared. The worn area was paper thin! I have a standard radiator fitted. I have three questions: 1. Has anybody else with a similar car (1994 2.0i XE HPC) experienced anything similar? 2. Can anybody recommend a good radiator repair facility in the South East? 3. If not, before I go off to purchase new, does anybody have a standard rad for this car as a spare that they would be willing to sell? Thanks in advance for any advice. John C M7RSJ

Bob, Thanks for the link, if it turns out that I do need another switch I will give your recommendation a try. It'll be my third switch in 12 months, so hopefully will last a bit longer.

Thanks for the info Arnie, I will try all of this tomorrow. Re. your second post relating to the coolant level in the expansion tank. In the beginning the level was exactly at the recommended fill line, when hot the level completely fills the tank and stays that way for a long time after, is that what you would expect?

Thanks Foxy Smith, I might give that a try. Although, I've been running the car for nearly four years now and this problem has only developed in the last couple of months. Prior to that the temperature always seemed fairly steady (according to the temp gauge anyway).

My 2.0 XE has recently developed a slight overheating problem and I'm hoping to get a few pointers from any members out there who can help. Basically, the water temperature rises steadily and continues to rise past the 100deg mark on the temperature gauge and the fan does not automatically cut in. With the car in motion at a reasonable speed the temperature does stay at the correct level (between 80-90deg), so I have discounted a head problem. My first thought was that the radiator fan switch on to of the Rad was faulty, so I replaced it. This did not resolve the problem (maybe I have been unlucky and the second switch is also faulty). As a short term fix I have fitted a piggy back switch to the fan switch and can operate this from the cockpit, manually switching this on does bring the temperature down when the car is stationary. However, when returning from a run in the car, the coolant in the expansion tank appears to remain very full and does not go down to the correct level, even if left for an hour or so. After running the car, all of the water pipes and radiator are hot, so I guess the coolant is circulating ok. Could there be a problem with the sender unit or thermostat? are there any easy/recommended tests that I can do without having to start draining the system. I'm hoping to do a long run in about a weeks time and would prefer to do it without having to worry about overheating, so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance John C M7 RSJ

Does anybody have a spare set of 4 HT leads for a VX 2.0 16v injection to sell. It's the standard unit fitted to a 1994 HPC, the XE engine with the wasted spark DIS. I may also need a replacement ECU, again the standard Motronic unit supplied with this engine. Not sure yet as I am still trying to diagnose a problem. Thanks, John C.

Thanks all of you who have replied so far, it's the first time that I have posted a question on the forum and I have to say the response has been great. Having taken all of this on board, I think I will start with the HT leads and plugs and eliminate these first. The plugs are however fairly new as the car was serviced by Redline only about 800 miles ago and they did replace them. If that's not successful, I will have a chat with the local Vauxhall dealer. the last time I had a problem (dirty mass air flow sensor), they were happy to diagnose with the Tech 1 system for no charge. That way I will hopefully be able to find out which more expensive component has failed. Maybe they will send out somebody with a hand held unit. Arnie, If I could borrow the leads etc for an evening that would be great, I just need to know where to get them from. I will be at the club meeting at the Ringlestone arms tomorrow evening and I could always go the long way round to pick up first. You can e-mail me with details if it's convenient. Thanks again John C

Steve Yes, I am pretty sure that I have a Cat. I had an emissions test at the last MOT, carried out by a local garage. The exhaust unit has a welded seam approx 1/3 of the way along, as I understand it, this front section is where the Cat lives. I am in Ashford, Kent. Not exactly round the corner. Stewart, It has the coil pack at the upper rear of the engine. Cheers, John

Thanks John, Yes, this does sound quite likely. Not being particularly technical, where do you suggest I start the evaluation? My first thought was to change the distributor unit which I think costs around £50. Alternatively, get the car towed to a garage with the relevant testing gear, the local Vauxhall dealer for example. I can change the distributor, or lump that replaces the distributor on a VX injection (not sure of the correct name for it), so maybe I should do that first. Cheers,

Thanks for the replies, sounds like my first port of call is to get the catalytic converter tested, is there any way of doing this without having the car towed to a garage. It's not drivable. Or can anybody recommend anybody in the Ashford, Kent area who could have a look?

Hi everyone. Advice needed. Travelling home after a brief outing ysterday my VX 2L injection suffered loss of power and began running very rough, to the extent that I had to pull over. On inspection the whole of the exhaust silencer unit was glowing bright red, with a 4 inch flame blowing from the pipe. Needless to say I could go no further and finished the journey hitched to the back of an AA van. Having checked the distributor unit there were two good sparks and two weak, could this unit be at the root of the problem? The car is a standard 1994 HPC with the original exhaust system complete with CAT. Any advise as to where to start would be greatly appreciated. ☹️