Ok, I need some advice from anyone that knows about GM part numbers. Some of you may know that I bought a 2nd hand C20LET lump and stripping it down to recondition it. However the owner is not sure on the year it came out of, he says Cavalier Turbo 1992/1993. Now unlucky for me, 92/93 is slap bang on that date that parts changed on the car/engine.

"No problem" I thought, I just remove the parts and take note of the GM part numbers and order the same parts. Easy.

Nope.
I've noted down several GM part numbers and they have no hits on EPC I have (up to 1997), which means they don't exist??

For example:-
C20LET, pump, assy, oil, 1 off = R90411567 (no hits)
Water pump, C20XE or C20LET = R90400067 (no hits)
Head gasket = 90409710 (C20XE item!!)
Flwheel = 90448558 (no hits, but C20LET flywheel is 90448559 according to EPC)

I want to know what the 'R' means in the part number.
Also it seems I have some wrong parts fitted to the C20LET.
I've doubled and tripled checked the part numbers stamped on the engine parts I have taken off. The flywheel is an odd one, the part number stamping is huge and yet EPC does not find the number !!?

Several of us on Cavweb have had the same problem with EPC.

Best bet is to take the engine and Vin nu7mbers to a VX dealer and get the parts that "Should" have been fitted.

 

why do you have to know what year the engine is ?

 

Doesn't EPC have the option of entering the engine number to determine the year? Or does it only work off chassis number?

I find it useful to start with these codes, so you narrow down the number of hits from the searches.

 

I have this problem with EPC. You're just gonna have to take the bits into Vaux, compare, and buy identical replacements!

Not the best thing I know, but those 'R' nos. are not part nos.

Could the R stand for factory reconditioned/exchange etc?

Surely, they could get the correct replacements by the engine no. If you also go armed with the Cavs chassis no, you've got em by the short 'n curlies!

 

just run the engine number through the vin/poc search

 

> Surely, they could get the correct replacements by the engine
> no. If you also go armed with the Cavs chassis no, you've
> got em by the short 'n curlies!

Nope can't do that, I bought the C20LET lump & F28 gearbox out of the car/chassi already, hence I have no documents or numbers for the Cavlaier VIN or chassis number. There is no enigne number on the block either. Reading the info part of EPC it states that not all the blocks produced had engine numbers stamped on them!

The guy I bought it off had the engine lump sitting in his engine for a year and he didn't take any note of the numbers either. He just remebers it was (may be) a K reg Cavalier Turbo 1992/1993. I bought it off him when he lost intrests in his own project (astra Turbo)

I thought some of them I could look at the pictures on EPC and compare what I have in my hand. But even then I think the wrong parts have been fitted to thie C20LET (remember a C20XE headgasket had been fitted to this lump according to the GM part number!!). It even has the old GF50 idle wheel on there too! So it hasn't had a came belt change for some time.

Thats why I want to know what the 'R' means, don't think its recon unit as they have indivudle part numbers (again according to EPC).

 

what version of EPC have u got?

 

There is no enigne number on the block either. Reading the info part of EPC it states that not all the blocks produced had engine numbers stamped on them!

I didn't know that! Surely, by law every engine needs to be identified individually?! Would it just be blank on the V5?

You'll just have to order up bits for a '93 LET mate, with your fingers crossed. Explain to the parts man the situation.

 

> what version of EPC have u got?

EPC 2.1 (up to 1997)

> I didn't know that! Surely, by law every engine needs to
> be identified individually?!

I thought that too. But looking on EPC, click on > info > forward pages, you get more info about the car. So I went to Calibra and Cavalier and selected ENGINE NUMBER IDNTIFICATION and the same note owas on there as well.

It says
"The new engine identifaction is stamped on the engine block in the same place as on previous models. The identifiaction has 5 engine design features, not all of which are stamped on every engine."

The V5 will have to have the enigne number quoted on there though.

 

The identifiaction has 5 engine design features, not all of which are stamped on every engine."

Doesn't that mean the C20LET bit, not the actual 140........ engine no?

 

just order the bits that you need..... if u order on the part number the bits arrive anyway.... even if they are not listed on the epc

 

> Doesn't that mean the C20LET bit, not the
> actual 140 engine no?

Hmmm.....could be as the engine code is 5 characters long wheres the engine serial numer is 8 characters long.

I think the C20LET were all made in the same place, so the serial number should begin with '14' (Kaiserslautern MFR plant).

So it should be
14XXXXXX

 

why are you making such a meal out of this ? cav turbos were only made k through M reg, there were no major mechanical/eleectrical changes through this period. if you need to replace parts buy what "should" be fitted, forget what is fitted.

 

The R on a partcode indicates an item that is replaced on an exchange basis (in most circumstances Vaux supply a brand new item anyway).

All blocks destined for the UK at least will have been stamped with an engine number. However you can/could buy exchange short motor's, these are supplied without an engine number with the intention that the registered number would be stamped by the Vx dealer and the old block destroyed. Yours maybe one of these, provided there are no scratches/grinding marks or other giveaways indicating removal of a number - the face where the number is stamped should be a smooth machined flat.

p.s Those part numbers don't show in EPC 2.4 either...strange!

 

The R on a partcode indicates an item that is replaced on an exchange basis (in most circumstances Vaux supply a brand new item anyway).

All blocks destined for the UK at least will have been stamped with an engine number. However you can/could buy exchange short motor's, these are supplied without an engine number with the intention that the registered number would be stamped by the Vx dealer and the old block destroyed. Yours maybe one of these, provided there are no scratches/grinding marks or other giveaways indicating removal of a number - the face where the number is stamped should be a smooth machined flat.

p.s Those part numbers don't show in EPC 2.4 either...strange!

You can apply to DVLA for a new engine number IIRC.

 

EPC CD on Ebay.....

......bit shocking on the asking price though!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3101999524

 

cheaky f-cks, thats OPEL ver 2.1 which you can download for free. dont ebay clamp down on illeagal copyrighted stuff ?

 

> why are you making such a meal out of this ? cav turbos
> were only made k through M reg,

Thought that was painfully obvoius.
I don't want to spend money on parts I don't need or even worse do not fit my engine. I complety rebuilding the engine, so I want to order the correct oil pump or rather the oil pump repair kit as there are 2 quoted on the 1992/1993 year. Same goes for water pumps, rollers, cam belts, main crank oil seal and other parts.

> there were no major mechanical/eleectrical changes
> through this period.

There are according to EPC. Going by the prevous owner, it came out of a K reg Cav, so parts had changed on the engine slightly. Not all the drawings (I have found out) are accurate so I can't always rely on that either.

 

> You can apply to DVLA for a new engine number IIRC.

Yes thats what I read on a very old thread. Find it hard to belive thogu that the DVLA can issue a new engine serial number. They probaly need to know other factors like VIN number, but I don't have these

 

There's 17 available according to the seller, he's got TIS aswell if you look though the opel/vaux stuff.

 

There's 17 available according to the seller, he's got TIS aswell if you look though the opel/vaux stuff.

i bet he has, its on the same website.

 

ok, I've downloaded parts of EPC v2.4 with some Calibra pictures it seems (none of them look different to EPC v2.1). But it has more break point info in there.

I also found a page from Calibra workshop manuale detailing the engine changes and it shows the difference of upto MY93 and > MY93, see below (sorry about the large pic, it was the only way you I could get it so you can read the text)

I took a picture of my C20LET lump I bought with all the timing belts on etc, see below

So it seems I have a > MY93 engine. Its strange however that some of the parts I have taken off lists as early engines parts on EPC

 

I have a mungral (sp) engine too, its a late 93 20XE with the later belt design and DIS. However it has the early alternator V-belt and seperate V-belt for power steering pump. Also the later XEs have blue injectors with a 3 Bar pressure reg, my engine has cream with 2.5 bar (like earlyer XEs).

But in the end, who cares

 

> Also the later XEs have blue injectors with a 3 Bar pressure
> reg, my engine has cream with 2.5 bar (like earlyer XEs).

Year my 1993 C20XE has blue injectors too (Motronic 2.8 with DIS unit). But my (now presummed) 1993 C20LET has yellow injectors.

 

early engines are much nicer to work on. i can do a cambelt change in about 15 minutes. later engines you have to take the engine mount off. it wouldnt surprise me if someone retro fitted early belt setup to a late engine.