I shall never complain again...

[stephenpolhill]

..about maintenance and costs on my moggy. The spark plugs on our Vauxhall Vectra V6 need changing. This consists of taking the inlet manifold (massive metal pipes) off and taking lots off just to get to them . The new gaskets/seals cost £70 and the 6 NGK spark plugs cost £8 each. Mum's loving classics more and more!
Just a silly amount of money and that with us doing the work ourselves!!

[dalebrignall]

thats a wicked amount of money and your not paying 60 pounds plus an hour for labour.

[stephenpolhill]

I know. Vauxhall have just called to say we don't need the seals as we won't need to remove the inlet part. Saves us money and it's good to know they are willing to help and not just take money.

[polo2k]

Its often like that on the modern cars. They reccomend removing parts but thats so that the job is done quicker in a dealership. often you can work around the other parts (like the manifold)

other savings can be made if you use hylomar. I know ill get shot down for that, but in my experiance when used properly and in the correct quantities IT WORKS. the problems come when its poured on and squishes out of the edges, this usually ends up in the oil system, fouls the oil pickup and kills the engine. all that is needed is a tiny 1mm wide bead on flat, smooth, clean surfaces. If you coat one surface lightly with a tiny bit of oil it makes a removeable gasket
Rolls use this from the factory so its good enough for me in the garage.

[bmcecosse]

Why change the plugs? They usually last 'for ever' these days............And - who told you to take off the inlet manifolds ??? Not been reading Haynes have you???? There is a very good Vauxhall Owners Forum!

[stephenpolhill]

The fault code reading has read a misfire on cylinder 3. We are at least going to check the sparks to see if that's the issue.
And the Vectra Haynes manual doesn't cover the v6 models. Only the Vauxhall Omega manual does. We have found how to take only some of the inlets off which looks an easy job so come Saturday we will try.

[bmcecosse]

Fault code reading! Oh well - good luck!

[stephenpolhill]

We found out that if you push the brake and accelerator down, then turn the ignition (not the engine) on, the service light flashes a series of times which can be translated using the guide online and then matched to the fault reading. WHO thought to do that?!?! It saves £30 for a diagnostic at a garage.

[tingo]

Paying for diagnostic tests is a real con. For my Nissan you turn the radio off, press the info button and turn the radio volume knob 30 clicks. At a garage, that will be £25 sir ...