Frontera LWB 2.4i

[Jack]

Hello all! No, I'm not dead, I've just had a mental few months. Sadly I've moved far far away from my GSI, so work on that has all but ground to a halt. My daily driver now belongs to Paul as it ran out of MOT, and I've replaced it with this monster (apologies for the night photography, it's the first chance I've had to take photos of it):







It's a Frontera A, LWB. 2.4 CIH engine delivering a whopping 7bhp (or so it feels like).

So far I've adjusted the clutch as the pedal was almost touching the floor (easy to adjust, just loosen the lock nut, turn the shaft and re-tighten the nut), sealed up the exhaust and fixed the headlight washers.

It's awesome fun to drive, and hopefully this Friday should see it with a fixed CV gator, some decent spotlights and a good clean.

A lot of these fixes wouldn't have been possible without my project manager, who helps me stay alert by tripping me up, chewing on things made of plastic and licking my hands.

[@ndy]

Uummmm

[Paul]

£?

[Jack]

£325. lmao Not to everyone's tastes, but I like it.

[djivesp]

Nice one dude! Now get a towbar on it, nab a trailer and go get the GSI

[Nemesis]

Hello Mr. Somerfeld

Allvaux will approve.

[Jack]

Nice one dude! Now get a towbar on it, nab a trailer and go get the GSI

It has a towbar! YES!! What do I win? When can I borrow you and your welder for some GSI V6 exhaust madness?

[Astra Dan]

lol wut

[Dom]

I keep getting hankerings for a Frontera - must be getting old !

[Spinbitch]

Ah a 4x4, good man. Need to visit my neck of the woods for a spot of off-roading.

[Jack]

I keep getting hankerings for a Frontera - must be getting old !

I quite like them. I kind of enjoy the mix of Vauxhall and Isuzu bits, and how difficult it is to find information on them.

I've got a CV boot to change tomorrow night, and finding information is close to impossible. I'm having to search for Isuzu Wizard, Isuzu Trooper, Honda Passport, Holden Frontera....etc. It's a shame there isn't just one big forum that everyone joins, admits they've got a rubbish car that's a random mix of bits, and helps each other out. lmao

[caza]

Frontera owners.co.uk, FRONTERA TECH /FRONTERA OWNERS.ORG, Muddy Fronteras & Friends off road group.,

i've just got myself a 2.3 td , been sat in a barn for 6 years, nearly ready for a test, then see what else is required, warning everything for these cars are bloody expensive at vauxhall,example needed a glow plug relay ,= vauxhall wanted £70+vat, alloy wheel nuts for the series one are £14 also at vauxhall

so good luck mate

[vantastic007]

I worked on these at IBC in Luton a few years back, I wrote the software system for the servers that saves all the airbag serial numbers from the production line.
Quite an eye opener when you are on the shop floor all day seeing them put together.
Half of them were opel badged left hookers.

[Jack]

warning everything for these cars are bloody expensive at vauxhall,example needed a glow plug relay ,= vauxhall wanted £70+vat, alloy wheel nuts for the series one are £14 also at vauxhall

****ing hell, thanks for that. lmao

Got in the car this morning only to find that the sunroof has leaked all over the centre console. lmao lmao Love this car already!

[djivesp]

Haha, love it already lmao!

You're too bloody far away dude

[Jack]

I know man. You need to hear this, there's some rusty holes in the end of the exhaust pipe, and it idles really lumpy. It sounds amazing! lmao

[Jack]

So far, the list of jobs:

• Replace nearside CV boot.
• Replace nearside bottom ball joint after previous attempt at CV boot. lmao
• Check preload on front wheel bearings (previous MOT advisory, worth double checking).
• Change oil, filters, coolant and spark plugs. Check gearbox and diff oil levels.
• Fit digital fan controller instead of the ****ty capillary-type crap on there at the moment.
• Re-wire fan controller, as whoever has done it before should be ****ing ashamed of themselves.
• Fit spotlights and wire up to main beam. Maybe combine wiring jobs to make a turbo neat job.
• Fit extra reversing lights, as I have to reverse up the darkest driveway known to man.
• Clean and paint all the wheels. Done one so far and looks the business.
• Clean everything, as it's filthy inside.
• Fit indicator lenses, as both have fallen off.
• Fit speakers under dashboard, as someone has removed the factory units.

It's a little bit scruffy and unloved, bless it. But I do love it already. Can't see why people hate these so much TBH.

[Mazz]

Simply

xx

[Jack]

Well, failed pretty miserably changing the CV boot as I didn't have any circlip pliers. Got some now, so having another go on Monday!

Did fit these bad boys though:



At least I've got some tunes. And painted the wheels too. Spiffing!

[Jack]

Not wired in yet, but I've cut up my ashtray and fitted the digital fan controller in there:



Interference fit and looks pretty good!

[Astra Dan]

So what's up with a good old switch in the rad/ pipe work then?
You need a few more CDs in there chief.

[Jack]

At the moment it's got an electric fan and a controller similar to this:

Adjustable Electric Fan Capillary Controller Sender Kit | eBay

But it looks about 30 years old, and I'm not sure how reliable or accurate it is. The wiring to it is absolutely shocking (think... wiring squashed through battery terminal levels of shocking) and it's all random colours. I've got some spot lights to wire in as well, so my plan is to mount an auxillary fuse board on an inner wing somewhere, and wire in the fan controller and spot lights to this. Then I'll be able to adjust the fan controller from inside the cab, it'll be a lot neater and I'll be able to see for definite that it's working.

I was thinking of re-wiring what's already there, but I really don't like the look of the existing controller.

Plus, if this works well enough, it might be quite useful for other folks putting eletric fans in their cars and wanting some method of controlling them. The instructions I got with this are Chinglish, so I'm going to have a good play and see what's what, and hopefully it'll be some use to people like Ives who have cars made out of random bits and like having loads of lights and dials and adjustable stuff inside the cab. lmao

[andy_gsi]

i like the swb fronteras had a few

[Benn]

I wanna see this with mud up on the roof.


Hi kittie...

[Jack]

Some progress today.





New CV boot! Took ages to get at, and replaced the bottom ball joint too as the rubber was split.

Also tightened up the wheel bearings, as they were on the advisory sheet from last MOT. First one took a while, but the second one was dead easy, and I took some photos for reference.





All jacked up with my trusty Merc Sprinter jack. lmao

Leave the wheel on for leverage, and remove the freewheeling hub cover.



Take the cover off along with the cage and the bolts, and that leaves you with this:





Whip this circlip out. This separates the driveshaft from the freewheeling hub, and allows the whole assembly to slide off.



The toothed ring needs to be removed with some pliers.



Now you have access to the locking ring, which locks the wheel bearing in place and stops it rotating and undoing.



Undo these screws and whip the locking ring out.



Now you simply insert your "special tool" into the two holes and rotate to tighten up the wheel bearings. You should tighten it up until you can measure a certain preload on the wheel studs. I used a screwdriver, and tightened it up until there was no longer any play in the bearings. Then you stick the locking ring back on, and everything else slips on over the top. Easy!