2004 Vauxhall Vectra collant light
Year: 2004
Variant: 2.2 Design
Categories:
Electrics, ECU, Warnings & Lights
hiya, just noticed this thread and interested as our 2004 Vectra 2.2 Design has a similar problem. 4 weeks ago, after a 5 mile journey the coolant light came on with no previous warnings, and as I'm a bit ott with the car when things go wrong I immediately looked up the manual and arranged to leave the car into the garage in the morning. The temp gauge started to rise quickly and the water was bubbling out the top so we kept the bottle topped up and drove the 7 miles to the garage where the car has been now for 4 weeks!!
Firstly the mechanic hoped that as it had only just happened that things wouldn't be too bad and his first thing was to check the thermostat which he said was stuck and he got a replacement. Still same problem with overheating so replaced water pump? and then the radiator - all in the hope that these would be the root cause and eleminate any further trouble. Now he is arranging a pressure test as he feels the only thing left is the head gasket! and hopfully not need a complete new engine! :-(
I'm totally scundered as we have been without the main family car now for 4 weeks, it passed MOT in June and had been serviced by both the local garage and the main Vauxhall dealer but I feel it is going to be an expensive job (although he is not going to charge lots for labour). I won't mind so much if this means that we once again have a reliable car(as far as Vauxhall's are concerned) as it's nice not having any finance to pay as we are both self-employed and I am cautious about taking on a new car and finance payments... but will the car be ok if all this work is done???? and how much are we likely to be out with all these parts??? will it be worth it???
Firstly the mechanic hoped that as it had only just happened that things wouldn't be too bad and his first thing was to check the thermostat which he said was stuck and he got a replacement. Still same problem with overheating so replaced water pump? and then the radiator - all in the hope that these would be the root cause and eleminate any further trouble. Now he is arranging a pressure test as he feels the only thing left is the head gasket! and hopfully not need a complete new engine! :-(
I'm totally scundered as we have been without the main family car now for 4 weeks, it passed MOT in June and had been serviced by both the local garage and the main Vauxhall dealer but I feel it is going to be an expensive job (although he is not going to charge lots for labour). I won't mind so much if this means that we once again have a reliable car(as far as Vauxhall's are concerned) as it's nice not having any finance to pay as we are both self-employed and I am cautious about taking on a new car and finance payments... but will the car be ok if all this work is done???? and how much are we likely to be out with all these parts??? will it be worth it???
Posted: Aug 19, 2010 (13 years ago)
get a block test done,this will tell you if the headgasket has blown.a pressure test will show up any coolant leaks in the system
Posted Aug 19, 2010 (13 years ago)
Thanks Simon. What is a block test?? If it is the head gasket and it is replaced - should I expect any more trouble or will the car be good enough again for a year or so?
Posted Aug 19, 2010 (13 years ago)
As "2145simon " suggests, a sniff test ( block test )checks for hydro carbons in cooling system which indicate head / gasket knackered , causing car to over heat and pressurise .Surprised this wasn't done earlier after thermostat jammed and fault still there after replacing .If gasket gone , you will also have to get head tested / skimmed .
Posted Aug 19, 2010 (13 years ago)
if you get the headgasket done and there is no other faults with cooling system it should last you a while
Posted Aug 20, 2010 (13 years ago)
to be fair 2 yourself the garage should hav done block test before replacing all those parts.
Posted Aug 20, 2010 (13 years ago)
Can understand your anger with car being in garage for 4 weeks , parts replaced and still not fixed .
Posted Aug 21, 2010 (13 years ago)
well, just thought you might like an update... I'm not sure what all tests the garage has done but I know a pressure test has been done and when the garage went to strip down the engine to set about replacing ahead gasket they found that some "pulleys?!?!?" which help drive the water pump or something were badly damaged! - it seems like £500/600 to fix.. Likely that was the noise which was rattling for over a year and the reason for the sub standard feelng it has had and none of the garages discovered it before!! Vauxhall told us about 3 months ago that the noise was the timing chain and that they had fixed it! (but we could still hear something and knew something wasn;t right!). p.s. to make mattesr worse, I have to see that Vauxhall are now offering a lifetime guarantee to their cars!! Yeah Right!!
Posted Aug 25, 2010 (13 years ago)
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