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[stevejones]

Thanks to the excellent guides on changing my 2.5 V6 cam cover and cleaning out breathers I've decided to save garage costs and do it myself! Shocked at Vauxhall prices though - the guides mentioned

Rocker gaskets: 90511451, one set per bank (£25+ Vat retail) - so if I do both sides that's £63 inc VAT!

But no prices were mentioned for  

Gasket, Inlet bridge to head: 90501652, 2 off  - I think Vauxhall man said £26 !

Gasket, Inlet to Inlet bridge: 90501653, 3 off - he quoted £33 !

Gasket, Inlet to Plenum O rings: 9118135, 6 off - I'd fainted by this time

Sealent, Black (not the Green stuff!): 90485251, 1 off

Apart from having only half the bits in stock, he couldn't say whether the gaskets came as a set of 2, 3 and 6, which would "limit" the gasket costs to £26 and £33, or whether those prices were 'per gasket'.


And on top of that I'd need the bits for the breather pipe cleaning!

Can anyone confirm the costs for gaskets, and a rough total so I can go and arrange a mortgage?

Steve

[omegalord]

Right,

All you need is the following :

Rocker Gasket Set x2 (there are 2 in each pack) so that will be 4 gaskets (roughly £55)
Black Sealant (£6) - use genuine vauxhall
Carb Cleaner (£4)
O Rings x 17 (£0.17p each)

So total approx £67.72


The other parts are only neccesary if they are knackered (most of the time they arent)

Cleaning the breathers is easy , just blast the pipes through wth carb cleaner then a hose. The gaskets are easy enough too.


Matt

[Rocketman]

That seems excessive. I did this job a few months ago.

The cam cover gaskets come in a set per bank so you will need TWO (my dealer gave me one! Grr!). They are expensive, about 70-80 euro together (I live in Holland). That is by far the biggest expense but according to everyone here GO FOR GENUINE. The old ones were hard and brittle.

Do not forget the 8 small O-rings round the cam cover bolts. These need replacing too. Don't cost much. Pennies.

Inlet bridge to head gasket - I did not need this as it's not removed.

Inlet to inlet bridge, 3 x orange gaskets - mine were fine and did not require replacing.

Inlet to plenum, 6 O-rings - replaced but originals actually OK. Cost not so much ~10 euros IIRC.

Sealant, black - you will require, cost again not so much, few euros.

When I did the breather I removed the throttle body to give it a good clean (recommended!). I also replaced the 2 green gaskets with the plenum here too. The old ones were probably OK but they were a bit hard.

Total cost about 110 euro, so ~ [ch8356]80 for gaskets.

[stevejones]

Brilliant thanks! So I've now got started (after buying a set of torx sockets!) and plenum is loose. Just one stupid question - how do I remove the throttle cable from where it connects to the plenum at the end (ie the end of the cable with a round metallic ball)? I assume it must pull off, but mine refuses to come away?

Steve

[Lordmpl]

There is a small clip on the ball, took me 2 hours to find that clip was there, its quiet well hidden.

 

[stevejones]

??!! As you say, it must be WELL hidden! I'll go take another look...

[ians]

Not only well hidden but having prised it out (and not dropped it ),  you may well find its still impossible to remove.

If so, I suggest leave it attached,  remove plenum and undo the 4 bolts attaching the throttle body to the front of the plenum.  Then you can remove the plenum for cleaning and just clean the TB in situ.

I took lots of photos and labelled pipes - came in quite useful on reassembly.

[JamesV6CDX]

Not only well hidden but having prised it out (and not dropped it ),  you may well find its still impossible to remove.

If so, I suggest leave it attached,  remove plenum and undo the 4 bolts attaching the throttle body to the front of the plenum.  Then you can remove the plenum for cleaning and just clean the TB in situ.

I took lots of photos and labelled pipes - came in quite useful on reassembly.

I agree with leaving it attached if it is not easy to remove, laidback and I did this on his Facelift a while ago...

[stevejones]

Aaarggh - OK, I've got one cam cover off and yes the plugs were swimming in oil! Question is the 8 O rings sealing the cam cover securing bolts - on inspection it looks like I've only had 3 in place, and they have 'solidified' and I've had to chip them away. Should this happen after the garage did them 6 months ago? Second question is that the new O rings don't 'seat' anywhere, they look like they will fall off when I place the cover on the engine. Have I got the right ones?

Help please! This is into the 2nd day.....

[JamesV6CDX]

Aaarggh - OK, I've got one cam cover off and yes the plugs were swimming in oil! Question is the 8 O rings sealing the cam cover securing bolts - on inspection it looks like I've only had 3 in place, and they have 'solidified' and I've had to chip them away. Should this happen after the garage did them 6 months ago? Second question is that the new O rings don't 'seat' anywhere, they look like they will fall off when I place the cover on the engine. Have I got the right ones?

Help please! This is into the 2nd day.....

Sounds like they weren't changed the first time around (the O rings, that is...)

[JamesV6CDX]

Re. the seating, place the O ring over it's groove, get a light smear of engine oil on your finger, and rub all around it, pushing it down. You'll find it will stay, that way..

[stevejones]

I have tried to insert  demo pics but it doesn't work for me? The O ring is sitting loose on the surface - there is nothing for it to push dwon onto / into. I've a feeling there might be old solid O rings in the way, but I'm nervous of chipping at the cam cover?

[JamesV6CDX]

I have tried to insert  demo pics but it doesn't work for me? The O ring is sitting loose on the surface - there is nothing for it to push dwon onto / into. I've a feeling there might be old solid O rings in the way, but I'm nervous of chipping at the cam cover?

They get VERY hard, I use a pointy device to remove them....

[ians]

I have tried to insert  demo pics but it doesn't work for me? The O ring is sitting loose on the surface - there is nothing for it to push dwon onto / into. I've a feeling there might be old solid O rings in the way, but I'm nervous of chipping at the cam cover?

It sounds to me like they are still there.  Try some pointy tweezers or (carefully) the point of a Stanley knife.

[stevejones]

Thanks - yes they were there and chipped off eventually. And, yes James, the new ones did stay put despite looking like they would fall off! So I'm on day 3 and the covers are back on with little if any black sealant on the places it should be. As far as I could tell the gasket was in place at the rear of the engine, so cross fingers.

Now I've wiped off my numbers on the 4 tubes at the plenum rear, so if I mix up the 2 smaller ones will it cock up the engine badly?

What a palaver...