olv
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 04:36 PM |
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Vauxhall XE 2.0 16v Questions
Got a couple of questions about the XE, mainly regarding costs that i couldn;t find answers to.
Firstly, this is the red top found in astras and cavaliers and such, correct?
Basically, is it easy to find one in fairly decent condition?
How much would you expect to pay for a reasonable one from a breakers?
Is a rebuild necessary/recommended before sticking it in a 7 and what's involved? cost?
With regards tuning, standard power is around 130bhp depending on what car it came from. Now i've read that 200bhp can be had reliably.
I'm not really interested in more then around 150/160bhp. How easily can an extra 30 or so horses be released and what costs are involved?
Is it simple to mate them up to a type 9 gearbox? what gearbox options are available?
And finally, are they heavy? relatively speaking? steel block aluminium head?
Sorry, lots of questions. any help appreciated, cheers 
[Edited on 29/11/05 by olv]
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ned
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 04:43 PM |
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block is iron, head is ally.
not bought in a while, around £300 seems common
a rebuild will depend on milage, higher milage (which most now are) would benefit from a rebuild
they are 150 or 155 bhp as standard, teh 130bhp is an 8v engine.
type 9 box requires a special bellhousing or a manta 1.8/carlton box can be used.
found in mk2 astra gte's, cavalier gsi's and calibra 16v's.
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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Danozeman
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 04:54 PM |
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As ned says, although watch out for porous heads. ( where the oil seaps into the coolant through the galleries in the head.
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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olv
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 05:02 PM |
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Cheers for replies, seems like a more attractive option than a pinto and not as costly as a zetec.
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MikeR
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 05:14 PM |
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big issue is height, its a tall block, this means either getting tall body work / chassis or running sod all ground clearance - or both!!!!
ST body work is proper 'lotus' sizes, this makes it difficult to fit but not impossible - ask NS Dev. Other suppliers add 1 or 2" to
the height either through the chassis or bodywork or both - this would make it easier.
have i just said the same thing twice?
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NS Dev
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 05:24 PM |
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........not dissimilar in height to a zetec though (same stroke and not much taller head), so you would have similar problems with that, but yes
height is an issue, but as mike said, it will fit (does just fit under stuart taylor bodywork with no bulge but limited ground clearance)
the rest is as Ned said!
std good condition engine with throttle bodies and a nicely mapped engine management system (be it megasquirt or any of the proprietary makes....I run
MBE systems) will make circa 200hp. (well mine did!)
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Ben_Copeland
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 05:43 PM |
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Bargains can be had if you look around...
Last 3 engines i've bought have been under £100
2 with coscast heads 
and one with a porours GM head, but westfield shortened sump
Ben
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NS Dev
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 05:49 PM |
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bloody hell that's cheap!!!
I have just paid £250 for a 1992 coscast headed XE, 92,000 miles, from a known car (mate's calibra) and with the car's V5 as proof of
engine age for the SVA "non-cat" requirements. You won't find much cheaper than that for an engine that you can drive a long
distance before buying, well not very often!!
I have bought 4 now over a few years and 1 of the 4 was in need of work, even though it was a runner with a coscast head. It had had the cambelt let
go at some point and been redone cheaply, with the result that all the exhaust guides were chipped on the ends, and whoever did the head gasket
afterwards fcuk'd it up and it was then blowing so it needs a new set of guides and a skim...........its now a spare head which will form the
basis of a solid lifter race head for my grasser wehn funds permit and if I don't change classes for 2007.......which is looking likely anyway!
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02GF74
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:01 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
I have just paid £250 for a 1992 coscast headed XE, 92,000 miles, from a known car (mate's calibra) and with the car's V5 as proof of
engine age for the SVA "non-cat" requirements.
can I ask wehre is this goldmine of cheap 20XE engines 
re: non-cat test; accorinding to KitCar SVA booklet, any car up to Aug 95 does not haver to have CAT test; but SVA book says if it had CAT fitted in
original car, then it needs to have CAT test.
I would be pretty sure 92 Calibra had CAT or not? Or it there are way of getting round this?
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olv
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:03 PM |
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What's a coscast head?
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Ben_Copeland
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:04 PM |
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The head designed by cosworth... they are slightly better than the GM head...
Ben
Locost Map on Google Maps
Z20LET Astra Turbo, into a Haynes
Roadster
Enter Your Details Here
http://www.facebook.com/EquinoxProducts for all your bodywork needs!
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Ben_Copeland
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:07 PM |
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The GM headed engine came from Wigan and i live in Kent... so was bit of a distance for it !!
The GM heads have been known to go porous
The Coscast heads were made of slightly better.
But it dont matter as long as it's not porous
Ben
Locost Map on Google Maps
Z20LET Astra Turbo, into a Haynes
Roadster
Enter Your Details Here
http://www.facebook.com/EquinoxProducts for all your bodywork needs!
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olv
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:09 PM |
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ahh thanks. how do you tell if a head has gone porous or not?
can you tell i don't know much about engines? 
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:14 PM |
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im using an ecotec basically cos it was free and 50000 miles, should go well with throttle bodies and emerald
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Danozeman
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 06:14 PM |
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The only was is to see if theres oil in the water ways which is not always posible if the engine is out of the car.
Someone will probably correct me on this. I have a calibra which had a porous head. I got a modded recon one for 100 quid.
Dan
Built the purple peril!! Let the modifications begin!!
http://www.eastangliankitcars.co.uk
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dave dickson
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 08:14 PM |
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Last few XE`s I have had, I bought entire, rotten Calibras. for £100 each. 1 good engine, 1 scored block, but I made a decent profit on both by
selling the car parts on.
Something worth considering as mentioned above, is the newer ecotec engine. Also 2 litre 16v, makes slightly less power at about 136bhp, but has
decent torque through the revs. They are newer, so likely to be lower mileage and not in need of rebuilding, and are also available in a wider range
of cars, not just the sporty models like the XE, but the ecotec was found in any 2 litre 16v motor after about 1994ish. as a matter of fact, im
selling a whole 1995 cavalie with one for £200!
The ecotec is pretty much the same as the XE size-wise and respond to the usual XE tuning stuff like TB`s.
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ned
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 08:27 PM |
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just to be pedantic (as always) coscast heads aren't a cosworth design, the head was designed by opel motorsport division from what i've
read, coscast is actually the manufacturing process by cosworth which the first heads were produced with under license or something, then gm copied
the process or used their own, producing the later gm heads.
Ned.
about the ecotec, its basically a vauxhall xe bottom end (well block but different pistons and rods iirc and possibly fewer bolts on the flywheel, but
i might be thinking of the 8v) but for the emissions they increased the vlave angles to reduce/eliminate overlap on the cams which lead to emissions
problems when the regs changed afaik. they make 136/138 and do benefit from breathing mods and throttle bodies, but afaik the inlet manifold and
exhaust pattern is different and you won't get as good a perormance as you will with an xe for the same state of engine and tuning bits.
[Edited on 29/11/05 by ned]
beware, I've got yellow skin
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NS Dev
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 10:56 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by liam.mccaffrey
im using an ecotec basically cos it was free and 50000 miles, should go well with throttle bodies and emerald
Oh it'll go just fine, don't you worry!!!
still around 170hp!!
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NS Dev
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 11:05 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ned
just to be pedantic (as always) coscast heads aren't a cosworth design, the head was designed by opel motorsport division from what i've
read, coscast is actually the manufacturing process by cosworth which the first heads were produced with under license or something, then gm copied
the process or used their own, producing the later gm heads.
Ned.
about the ecotec, its basically a vauxhall xe bottom end (well block but different pistons and rods iirc and possibly fewer bolts on the flywheel, but
i might be thinking of the 8v) but for the emissions they increased the vlave angles to reduce/eliminate overlap on the cams which lead to emissions
problems when the regs changed afaik. they make 136/138 and do benefit from breathing mods and throttle bodies, but afaik the inlet manifold and
exhaust pattern is different and you won't get as good a perormance as you will with an xe for the same state of engine and tuning bits.
[Edited on 29/11/05 by ned]
Hiya Ned!
Thanks for the fuel rail!!! Just the job!!
Yes, the coscast process was the process used, never knew that the design wasn't cosworth though, personally I thought it was as originally the
astra GTE was destined to be the astra Cosworth until ford said no to that and cosworth had to obey due to racing and sierra comitments!
Wouldn't be the last Opel/Cosworth collaboration, the DTM 2.5 v6 was also cosworth/opel (cosworth funded by Opel in other words!)
Incidentally one of our investigative metallurgists at the mill used to work for a specialist heat treatment company that did most of the work for
cosworth age hardening their alloy heads, including the YB and XE heads. The process was VERY tightly controlled apparently, and basically cosworth
maintained aircraft standards but without the aircraft levels of paperwork.
You are quite right on the flywheel bolts too Ned, ecotec only has 6, XE has 8. Basically the ecotec bottom end was specced the same as the old 2.0
SEH 8 valve engine. No bad thing really as this was still tougher than a Zetec!!! Have you ever seen one break????????
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NS Dev
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 11:10 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
I have just paid £250 for a 1992 coscast headed XE, 92,000 miles, from a known car (mate's calibra) and with the car's V5 as proof of
engine age for the SVA "non-cat" requirements.
can I ask wehre is this goldmine of cheap 20XE engines
re: non-cat test; accorinding to KitCar SVA booklet, any car up to Aug 95 does not haver to have CAT test; but SVA book says if it had CAT fitted in
original car, then it needs to have CAT test.
I would be pretty sure 92 Calibra had CAT or not? Or it there are way of getting round this?
How will they know that a cat was fitted??
I know people will say that a "C" prefix (i.e. C20XE instead of 20XE) will indicate cat presence on the XE engine, but the Calibra has a C
prefix engine and NO cat fitted, adn never did from new as I know the whole history of the car from new!
Can't see how SVA man will know on that one! If he makes a fuss, i have a block from a 1989 astra GTE 16v and the logbook for that too, so the
letter and number stamps and grinder will come out!! I own both engines so no legal issues there!!!
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olv
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| posted on 29/11/05 at 11:50 PM |
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cheers for all the replies guys. i have no idea what engine i'm gonna use at the moment, but that's a long way off. just trying to get an
idea of my options.
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ned
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| posted on 30/11/05 at 09:10 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by NS Dev
Hiya Ned!
Thanks for the fuel rail!!! Just the job!!
Yes, the coscast process was the process used, never knew that the design wasn't cosworth though, personally I thought it was as originally the
astra GTE was destined to be the astra Cosworth until ford said no to that and cosworth had to obey due to racing and sierra comitments!
Wouldn't be the last Opel/Cosworth collaboration, the DTM 2.5 v6 was also cosworth/opel (cosworth funded by Opel in other words!)
Incidentally one of our investigative metallurgists at the mill used to work for a specialist heat treatment company that did most of the work for
cosworth age hardening their alloy heads, including the YB and XE heads. The process was VERY tightly controlled apparently, and basically cosworth
maintained aircraft standards but without the aircraft levels of paperwork.
You are quite right on the flywheel bolts too Ned, ecotec only has 6, XE has 8. Basically the ecotec bottom end was specced the same as the old 2.0
SEH 8 valve engine. No bad thing really as this was still tougher than a Zetec!!! Have you ever seen one break????????
Nat your welcome.
my info is only second hand, so not saying its gospel, lots of rumours and so on, but as coscast is the process i personally believe there is a
ceratin amount of talking up and urban myth attached to the coscast term. they are good but the inherent weekness is still there apparantly just
doesn't show its face as often. imho its imaterial anyway, i've only come across one head thats gone porous on a racecar and very few
engines in our old series had coscast heads. my ported dizzless gm head has been fixed (oilway sleeved afaik).
just for info I have heard of people using 8v cranks in xe's when xe cranks have been in short supply (or much more expensive and less plentiful
than 8v) and allegedly the flywheel bolts have broken. I know some people who use arp flywheel bolts on xe's in place of the standard gm stretch
bolts (which i've just fitted mine with incidentally...)
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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02GF74
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| posted on 30/11/05 at 09:25 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by olv
cheers for all the replies guys. i have no idea what engine i'm gonna use at the moment, but that's a long way off. just trying to get an
idea of my options.
yep; I'm in the same boat. My concern is getting the engine so that is does not require CAT trest for at MOT time.
From Parkers Car guide, this is what I have found so far:
Astra GTE 2.0 16 V
99 E/F - 91 J
Oct 91 CAT on convertibles (not 16v?)
Cavalier GSI 2000 16 V
89 F/G - 92 K
91 optional CAT
Jun 92 all fitted with CAT
Calibra 2.0 16V
Jun90-94 All fitted with CATs
Quick question for those overendowed with these engines - does the engine number contain 20XE or C20XE?
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NS Dev
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| posted on 30/11/05 at 01:20 PM |
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Of the 4 that I have...........
2 are 1989 Astra GTE ones, and both are "20XE"
1 is cavalier GSI 1991 and is "C20XE" but definitely had no catalyst. (but did have lambda sensor)
1 is Calibra 16v 1992 and is "C20XE" and again had NO catalyst from new, though again had a lambda sensor fitted.
As an aside, I recently broke a 1993 Cavalier SRI 8 valve (one of the last ones) and that again had a lambda sensor but no catalyst.
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 30/11/05 at 02:38 PM |
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The guy I bought mine from said it was out of his H reg Astra 16v GTE and that's a C20XE. Just starting to worry about proof of age now...
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