VX Ecotec

[ECR]

What year did the LN change to the ecotec ?

As far as I know the other change points were:

Pre 1993 Vauxhall 2L 16V engines are XE type

1993 and onwards they are LN type

???? they are Ecotec type

[Steve Kirk]

I thought that XEs continued after 1993? Mine is a "late" engine (with stepped flywheel and no dizzy) and has a C20XE number stamped on it. My Haynes engine management book lists mine as "Calibra C20XE 1993-1996".

PS car was ex factory 1995.

 

 

Edited by - Steve Kirk on 5 Feb 2004 17:23:16

[Chelspeed]

Yep I've always called pre 93 XE engines "early XE's" and post 93 engines "late XE's". The ecotecs appeared in 96 or 98 type of year. Sorry don't know more precisely.

[ECR]

Can anyone confirm the existence of a LN (for low noise) engine then ?

Or is an LN a post 93 XE engine fitted with the plastic cam belt pullies and a different belt path to the "early" XE's ?

 

Edited by - ECR on 6 Feb 2004 15:32:44

[Anthony]

Hi, not an expert but understand post 93 ones are "low noise" with plastic pullies and different belt type

[ChrisC]

I have a 97 car fitted with a late post 93 non dizzy C20XE, and its has a different belt route, porfile and plastic belt idle pullies to early C20XE engines, but the cam pullies are metal not plastic, as is then tensioner.

 

 

 

Chris....

H15 SVN Get it !

[Paul McKenzie]

ECR,

I can't see any reference to LN in the Haynes manual covering 91-96 engines. The Ecotecs came in around 95/96 when the XE's finished. What's the reason for the question?

 

Paul

[Chelspeed]

Post 93 engines have a different belt tooth profile, different idlers and different belt path. I suspect you're right in that this is what you are calling the low noise spec.

 

Be careful with plastic or metal idlers, SBD do a kit to mod the plastic idlers to metal following the Watchdog high mileage idler failure expose. So you may have either spec and have metal idlers.

 

To be honest there's a lot more than two specs of idlers, particularly when you take the cam belt cover back plate off and start messing with the tensioner options.

[ECR]

Paul

I am in the process of upgrading a friends HPC and was mildly suprised when I found the belt arrangement and pulleys were different to my (early) XE.Of course I knew of the existence of the "plastic pullied engine" but this is the first one I have worked on. I am just trying to find out the exact description of the engine that I am working on and to identify any issues that need watching out for !

[Paul McKenzie]

 

[Marius]

I´m running a pre93 XE but with different cam-arrangement, using the post 93 pullies. The engine builder recommends to replace the plastic pullies once a year as they´re prone to fail on tuned engines.

 

Spiess uses them on the F3 engines and have no problems with them but I´m sure they do replace them at least once a year after an engine rebuild.

 

Marius

 

 

[Harry Flatters]

ECR the LN is still an XE - at least that is whate is stamped on my block which was a 94/95 Injection with the LN engine. The LN as in "Low Noise" differed in only a few ways from the earlier XE's. The cam belt tooth profile and pulley arrangement was changed along with a sodding great flywheel (known as a pie-dish or pot type) all in the name of smoothness and quietness. The head was cast by GM rather than Cosworth but I don't know whether there were also later non-LN XE's with GM cast heads.

 

*arrowright*Harry Flatters *arrowright*

AKA Steve Mell of Su77on Se7ens and Surrey Joint AO

[ECR]

Thanks for all your replies:

I now make it:

Pre 1993 XE

1993 to 1995/6 XE "LN" (low noise)

1995/6 onwards Ecotec

[elie boone]

I know that the Ecotec is not so popular amongst tuners but someone like Mantzel in Germany must have some very fast bits for these, the problem is that i do not understand enough German. Just a happy customer some 10 years ago.

FWIW www.mantzel.de