Engine faults Z18XER: replacement of heat exchanger gaskets

In today's world, there are a huge number of service stations that can eliminate any problems that have arisen in your car. However, not always it is possible to do it cheaply - often for repair it is required to lay out a lot of money, and almost half of them go "for work", that is, a service that you get is paid. Naturally, not everyone will want to spend big money when he can do something on his own.

Many motorists prefer to spend the weekend under the hood of their own car, constantly repairing something, changing and improving it. In this article we will discuss one very interesting procedure related to engines. Z18XER. Replacing heat exchanger gaskets is a procedure for which more than six or seven thousand rubles can be demanded without materials. But in fact, you can seriously save by doing this replacement yourself. Of course, if you do not have any hands or soul to it, then it's better to trust professionals, but if you have already been repairing your car yourself for the first time, you can try and deal with the problem of the Z18XER engine.

Replacing the heat exchanger gaskets is a pretty painstaking task, so you will have to try hard, especially if your engine has served you for a very long time and you never dismantled it.

Symptoms

So, when is the replacement of the heat exchanger gaskets required for the Z18XER engine? There are some signs that you can determine that you need to perform this particular repair. The most important among them is the unpleasant smell in the cabin. This is something that you can pay attention to right away, but there are other factors that will point to the problem when you are already more closely studying your engine.

Pay attention to that side of the motor, where the catcher collector is installed, designed to control the toxicity of exhausts. If you see there is a large layer of mud mixed with oil, you can be sure - your heat exchanger has flowed and needs repair, or rather, your Z18XER engine needs replacement of the heat exchanger gaskets.

But do you really need to spend your time trying to repair this machine part? Maybe it's better to give it to the professionals from the service station? To answer this question, it is necessary to analyze, with what costs it will be connected.

Repair in service

How much is the replacement of the Z18XER heat exchanger gaskets at the service stations? The gaskets of this element cost about four thousand rubles, their replacement by experts is estimated at no less than six thousand. Moreover, professionals refuse to do only this work - after all, such a malfunction is associated with other unpleasant trifles, such as a strong contamination of the cooling system tank, which also needed to be replaced (specialists do not try to wash it).

Also immediately there would be a need to replace nuts and studs, which after many years of using the engine and because of this malfunction definitely rusted - somehow soak them too, no one will be, so there again there are unnecessary expenses.

As a result, the price fluctuates from ten to fifteen thousand rubles - a truly impressive amount, which not everyone will want to part with. And that's why you should pay special attention to this article.

Here you will learn that replacing the spacers of the heat exchanger Z18XER is a task that you can handle on your own, spending a little more time, but saving a decent amount. Naturally, you still need to purchase gaskets, but they can be found at the best price, and all other problems can be eliminated manually, if possible, which further increases the amount of savings.

When to wait for trouble?

Is this procedure standard for the Z18XER engine? Replacing gaskets of the heat exchanger, repair of this spare part - infrequently you can find similar situations with other engines. But if you have specifically this model, then you should not be surprised if you also have a heat exchanger. It turns out that very many engines of this brand suffer from such a problem, and you can find out when exactly to expect such a blow.

Most often this happens after three years of operation, so you can rest assured that there will be no such problems on the new engine. Also, drivers note that this happens more often after sixty-seventy thousand kilometers of run. When you change the mileage mark to one hundred thousand kilometers the probability that you will have problems with the heat exchanger gaskets becomes almost one hundred percent.

So, if you have such an engine, it is better to prepare for the problem in advance so that at any time you can replace the heat exchanger gaskets on the Z18XER engine. Opel Astra H and many other popular cars are equipped with this motor, so this skill is useful to every driver.

Preparation

If you ask in car forums, it turns out that for the Z18XER engine, the replacement and cleaning of the heat exchanger gaskets was carried out by many. Accordingly, you can also try your hand at it, and this article will help you.

So, every car owner equipped with this motor should have a heat exchanger circuit on which you can find nine different rubber gaskets - that's what you need to order them. In addition, there are also two metal gaskets - one for the collector, and the other for the intake pipe. In total, this will cost you 2200-2500 rubles, that is, almost twice cheaper than usually offered in the service centers and maintenance stations. As you can see, the savings have already gone.

But you need to buy not only gaskets, but also other things, such as nuts, antifreeze, a means for washing the cooling system and high-temperature sealant. All this will also require financial investments, but there will still be savings. Naturally, you will also need keys and screwdrivers, but they are on the farm for every car owner, so it makes no sense to paint in detail what exactly you need to use.

Well, the replacement of the heat exchanger gaskets starts at the Z18XER engine. Photos of the process can help you figure out what's what, but in most cases everything can be easily understood without visual materials.

Analysis of the engine

Next, the process of parsing the Z18XER engine, replacing the heat exchanger gaskets will be described. Eliminate the leak, clean everything that is contaminated - this is the main task of this process. But before you get to something that could be cleaned or replaced, you will have to do a lot of actions. Be extremely careful - remember the order in which the parts were removed, so that in the reverse order they should be returned to their place.

So, the first step is to remove the radiator grille, then unscrew the air duct clamp and remove the air filter box. After that, you will get quite an impressive space for maneuvers, so that it will be easier to act. Remove the hood fastener and then the washer reservoir. After that you can remove the resonator of the air intake, and then unscrew the fan fastener.

When you pull out the fan itself, you will have access to the collector shield. Then you need to unscrew and pull out the oil tube, while observing extreme caution - as soon as you release this tube, you will need to substitute some vessel so that the oil flowing from there does not leak to the floor.

When the oil flows, plug the hole with a rag so that it does not get dirty, after which you can continue the parsing. Now you can unscrew the screws holding the heat shield and gently pull it out. It is rather difficult to do this because it takes a lot of effort, and the screen can bend. If you are worried about this - it is better to spend a little more time and effort and to remove the air conditioner, which prevents to draw out the heating screen. One way or another, you will get it - and a collector will appear before you.

This is where you will need a liquid key, since the nuts are clearly not in the best condition. If you try to unscrew them by force, you can break the studs, which will require a very large amount of time and effort to recover. Therefore, it is better to pour them with a liquid key and leave for at least ten minutes. After that, calmly remove the catcollector and put the package on the outlet pipe, so that dirt does not fly inside, and you will have the last step - removing the heat exchanger itself. Here the recommendation is only one - merge coolant from the radiator, because otherwise you may have some difficulties.

Here comes the moment, for which the engine Z18XER - the replacement of gasket heat exchanger. Crushes the oil? Is its leak obvious? Unpleasant smell in the cabin? Now you know how to disassemble this motor - it's time to replace the gaskets.

Replacement of gaskets

In some cases, with the Z18XER engine, replacing the heat exchanger gaskets, preparation for which was so complex and time-consuming, is not necessary. They can simply be washed properly and returned to the place. However, do not forget that the problem occurs at least after three years of the engine, so even if it seems to you that the gaskets are still in good condition, you better still replace them, to forget about this issue for another three to four years as minimum.

But the heat exchanger itself needs to be cleaned thoroughly enough, after dismantling it for spare parts. Only in this way you can replace all the gaskets that are there. After that, calmly collect the heat exchanger, return it to its place, and then step-by-step in the reverse order and collect the engine.

Please note that no spare parts remain, as they all play an important role. If necessary, record each step or take photos during the disassembly, so that the motor can then be assembled without problems.

That's all, you were able to fix your engine Z18XER, replacement of heat exchanger gaskets, signs of damage which are better to notice as early as possible, carried out successfully, and you can use your car again.

Nuts

Well, the whole process is described in detail, and you can finish reading the article right now, but some important points will be described later, which you should pay attention to, if you go to make life easier during the repair process.

And the first thing that will be discussed is the nuts. As it was already said, the nuts after several years of use and because of the oil leakage rust and sour, so it is not recommended to use the usual keys to unscrew them - you can damage the studs, which will add to you an impressive dose of work.

Use special tools to make nuts "otkisli", and then you can unscrew them without any problems, saving on purchasing new ones, and also spending much less time for repairs. And this is very important when, in the case of the Z18XER engine, the replacement of the heat exchanger gaskets is considered.

Is the oil leakage detected? Immediately go buy everything that was described above, and start repairing as soon as possible - the earlier you do this, the less you will have problems in the process.

Oil and antifreeze

With liquids in the process of repair, most problems arise. When you are already removing the heat exchanger, you need to drain the antifreeze from the radiator - this has already been said earlier. The fact is that if you do not do this, then it will pour directly on the floor and you will have to urgently search for a container that could be substituted for a jet. The same applies to the oil that will appear when you take off the oil tube. It will be much less than the antifreeze, a maximum of two hundred grams, but this will be more than enough to stain the whole floor. So in advance, prepare a container in which the oil will flow to rid itself of unnecessary problems.

Protective collector screen

Another point that should be addressed separately is the collector screen, which was already mentioned earlier. The main point is that it easily bends, so if you overdo it, you will face serious problems. Get it very carefully, because if you act too abruptly, then when you reassemble it will be very difficult for you to return the screen to its place and secure it securely.

Expansion tank

The expansion tank at such a breakdown is always contaminated with oil emulsion, which must be cleaned, if you do not want to pay about a thousand rubles for a new tank. Use a powerful cleaner such as White Spirit, and do not forget about the cooling system. It is not enough just to drain the antifreeze out of it - it is also worth washing, because in it, after this breakage, the leaking oil remains, which solidifies and covers the system with a crust from the inside.