vauxhall cavalier 1.7 izuzu diesel

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Wed 15 Mar 2006 21:35
vauxhall cavalier 1.7 izuzu diesel - circlip
I had recent problem with this Cav not starting very well when cold. I would fire eventually but it was hard work. Several users of this site suggested I check the valve clearences which are prone to closing up, especially on the inlet valves. I did this and found that three inlet valves had not just closed to zero clearance but gone a few thou' the other way, holding the valve open! EEK! All the other valves had insufficient clearances although they had not actually closed up, yet. I've re-shimed head which was straightforward and all is well. The Cav' starts first turn of the key now. The manager of the vauxhall workshop where I got the shims, said it is a regular problem and when these cars were a current model, they had 3 or 4 in the workshop per week for adjustment. The clearances should be: inlet 7-10 thou, exhaust 15-18 thou. Diesel Cav' owners beware, and thanks to those who helped me diagnose this starting fault.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Wed 15 Mar 2006 21:38
vauxhall cavalier 1.7 izuzu diesel - cheddar
I has one of these from new in '93, did 60k in it, the early Vectras had the same engine, better than the 82 bhp 2.0 Di IMO.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Mar 2006 00:26
vauxhall cavalier 1.7 izuzu diesel - Dynamic Dave
The clearances should be: inlet 7-10 thou, exhaust 15-18 thou.


I was told that in metric:-

inlets should be 0.15mm, and exhausts should be 0.25mm,

but that doesn't match your imperial figures.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Mar 2006 09:34
vauxhall cavalier 1.7 izuzu diesel - Number_Cruncher
DD,

Yes, the figures given by circlip are too wide.

However, people fuss too much over setting tappets exactly right, and more often than not, amateurs tend to set them too tightly in the vain hope of obtaining near silent running.

There is no real problem with leaving tappets* a little loose - but there is a massive problem with setting them too tightly, especially if the valve can't shut properly under certain running conditions.

So, I'm sure that circlip's engine will be fine running with those clearances - they'll be nicely closing up now anyway!

Number_Cruncher

* In his book on tuning the A series engine, David Vizard suggests setting the tappets on these engines as wide as 50 thou!!
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 16 Mar 2006 10:06
vauxhall cavalier 1.7 izuzu diesel - circlip
Yes, I also thought these clearances were bit big, especially when I normally woek on old Land Rovers with 10 thou clearances for both ex an inlet. These figures however were given to me by the VAUXHALL WORKSHOP MANAGER himself - straight from the horses mouth so to speak. Oh, and HE gave them to me in imperial measurement even though the shims are marked in metric. I simply converted the figures.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From economical vans to those that have the largest payloads, we have a shortlist for everyone - click to find out which will suit your needs.

Undecided on which van to buy? Our Top 10 shortlists can help...