Check control on Zafira B

[cross-keys]

In order to do this modification on the Zafira B, the following parts are required:

93183141 - Coolant Header Tank with inbuilt float
£22.45 +VAT from Vauxhall

93179551 - Sensor for coolant level (fits to tank above)
£13.05 +VAT from Vauxhall

90346055 - Washer sensor
£6.59 + £1.39 delivery from eBay seller 'hook4920'
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=200507701220

90276310 - Grommet for washer sensor
£1.84 +VAT from Vauxhall

The front bumper needs to come off to fit the washer sensor and this is done as follows:

Firstly, remove the front grille by removing the four torx bolts which hold it to the slam panel.

Attachment 407

The bottom of the grille latches into the bumper with eight lugs, which you may need to press with a screwdriver to release them.

Attachment 408

Working under the wheel arch, undo the four torx screws (two on each side) securing the wheel arch liner to the bumper. There's not much room so you may want to turn the steering around or even remove the front wheels.

Lower right:

Attachment 409

Upper right:

Attachment 410

Pull out the centre pins and extract the six expanding rivets securing the underside of the bumper to the mounting strip on the front subframe. The pins are a bit of a pain to remove. A fork-shaped tool may assist.

Pull out the centre pins and extract the two expanding rivets - one on each side of the radiator grille aperture. The picture shows the pins already removed and sitting on the bumper.

Attachment 411

Undo the two 8mm upper retaining screws (one on each side), adjacent to the headlights.

Disconnect the cable from the front temperature sensor, then you should be able to remove the bumper. Another pair of hands would be useful when doing this. The sides of the bumper will need to be disengaged from the body by pulling them outwards and upwards.

The washer bottle looks like this.

Attachment 412

- and here are the parts which need fitting.

Attachment 413

In order to fit the washer sensor, a hole needs to be made in the washer bottle. The grommet is a push-fit into the bottle, then the sensor is pushed into the grommet until it is fully home. I measured the diameter of the grommet and it was somewhere between 19mm and 20mm. I would suggest that you measure yours in case there is any difference. I used a hole cutter to make the hole, however hole cutters can sometimes cut larger holes than the stated size, so I would recommend drilling some test holes before doing the real thing. I found an old plastic oil can to practice on. I tried a 17mm cutter and a 19mm cutter.

Attachment 414

The 17mm cutter made a hole that was too small, however the hole made by the 19mm cutter was perfect.

Attachment 415

I test-fitted the grommet into the hole to be sure.

Attachment 416

The hole actually measured 19.5mm (using a vernier), so it was slightly larger than the stated size, but the fit was spot on.

Now it was time to make the hole in the actual washer bottle. I put the grommet in the correct location and marked the location with a pencil, after which I marked the centre.

Attachment 417

Before using the hole cutter, I drilled a 5mm pilot hole, which also allowed the washer fluid to drain out. I caught this in a washing up bowl.

Attachment 419

Once the fluid had drained, the hole could be drilled with the 19mm cutter.

Attachment 420

Here's the finished hole.

Attachment 422

Once this was done, I put the washing up bowl in place and poured water into the filler in the top, in order to flush out any plastic swarf that may have got into the bottle. There was a little swarf which came out.

Then I fitted the grommet and got the sensor ready.

Attachment 423

I smeared a little washing-up liquid around the sensor and then pushed it fully home.

Attachment 424

As the wiring loom was not ready, I taped up the connector to prevent muck getting into it.

Attachment 425

[cross-keys]

The replacement coolant header tank looks identical to the original, the difference is that the new one has a floating 'ring' inside which floats on the coolant and actuates the sensor, presumably via a magnet. Note that you can NOT modify the original tank by drilling a hole in it, as this will achieve nothing.

The new tank looks like this:

Attachment 426

and the sensor like this:

Attachment 427

You may be able to make out the ring when the tank is backlit. Also, the new tank rattles when shaken, unlike the original (without ring).

Attachment 428

The sensor fits into the tank like this:

Attachment 429

The first job was to empty the coolant out of the header tank. I siphoned this into a clean washing-up bowl, so that it could be re-used.

Attachment 430

Once the siphoning was done, I found a couple of M6 allen bolts and a wine bottle cork in order to plug the three hoses which connect to the tank. I then removed the battery. There was a lot of crud which had collected under the battery, and there were two drain holes that were blocked up. The holes seemed to be on the small side, so I enlarged them with a 5mm drill.

Attachment 431

Attachment 432

The header tank slides onto a metal bracket and a plastic clip slides onto the end to prevent the tank sliding off.

Attachment 433

The clip needs to be removed first ...

Attachment 434

and then the tank can be slid off.

Attachment 435

Comparison of old and new tanks:

Attachment 440

Once the sensor has been clicked into position, the new tank can be fitted.

Attachment 436

The sensor can be seen in this picture. You can also see one of the allen bolts blocking up one of the two small hoses.

Attachment 437

Now the three hoses can be reconnected. I'm not a big fan of the standard springy rings that are fitted as standard, so I fitted new jubilee clips all round.

Attachment 438

The coolant can now be replaced and topped up to the correct level.

As the wiring loom was not ready, I taped up the connector to prevent muck getting into it.

Attachment 439

[pecky]

Cracking guide mate, very informative. That pretty much follows the same way as the Astra, only the washer bottle looks a little different.