2010 Insignia upgrades

soups05

Hi All, I am looking for a little help/advice.

I have bought a Vauxhall Insignia, 2010, 2lt diesel. It's a big upgrade for me coming from an 05 focus lol. Now to the issues. It's a Vauxhall, not Opel, meaning the dash is displayed in miles not Kms. I figured it would be a simple matter to swap the dash for an Irish (Opel) version with the Kms. A quick visit to YouTube led me down a rabbit hole of different dashboards, digital displays etc and I finally quit watching when the dash was 700 US dollars. Finally I decided to come here and read some threads. Very first one I see is asking about re coding a dash. re coding? what did I miss? That was never mentioned on YouTube. So before I go tearing apart my car can anyone give some advice on how to do it? a link to a forum or YouTube vid, any real life experience of replacing a dash, anything at all.

Lets be honest here, it's a 2010 so am not exactly flush with cash, it doesn't need to be a flashy big screen that plays Netflix while you drive (who even thought that was a thing ffs). some flash would be nice but a simple straight swap with no bells and whistles would also be fine.

I am saving my money for a new radio/reversing camera install I found on Facebook but that's a project for another day, lots of research to do on that too.

Thanks in advance for any comments, loving the new car and just wanted to add a little something to it.

Akrasia

Just do the maths

Divide by 5 multiply by 8

Or use shortcuts

60mph is 100 kph

70mph is 120kph

30 mph is 50kph

Akrasia

And if you like the car save your money for the maintenance and repairs that are inevitable rather than cosmetic upgrades.

soups05

Hi Akrasia

Did not expect a response so soon. I could of course just use the inner line which displays the Kms, or work out the speed conversion on the fly as you suggest. This was just a fun little project I had in mind. As for the maintenance, that's a separate part of my budget and as I have always driven older cars I am in the habit of allowing for that as part of the running costs. thanks for the advice though, always good to be reminded of the essentials. I am just like a kid with a new toy atm lol.

Hellrazer

The problem with swapping out clocks on these is that the immobiliser works through the clocks and are coded to the vin of the car. In other words - it wont work - cant even be done by an Opel dealer.

However motorclocks in wexford can change the clocks to kmph - they just change the display printed piece and theyre quite cheap to do as well.

Id not be worrying about changing clock on that car - first thing Id be doing is changing the oil pick up seal in the sump - they give a load of problems on that model and will seize the engine if it fails.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119164805#Comment_119164805

This ^^^^ Get that pickup seal done before spending another cent and you'll have good car worth spending a few bob on.

soups05

funny enough the guy who sold me the car advised me to get the pick up seal changed at every service to avoid problems. said they are known to be bad in siggys. and this was as i was viewing the car lol. Honest bloke. Thank you guys for the advice though, much appreciated. I am currently trying to book it into a local garage I had a recommendation for and intend to get a service/seal change. feel free to add anything else I should be wary of. :)

Installed my dashcam hardwire kit this evening so all set for the drive to work in the morning. Filled it up, 98 euro.....that will take some getting used to lol. It will be interesting to see how much of the 638 miles range I really get.

3d4life

Found this for 2011 Insignia

https://www.carzone.ie/ask-carzone/how-to-change-the-units-in-my-insignia/4751

Any use ?

soups05

Nice find 3D, but my dash is the old fashioned clock type, not digital. It's not really a big deal, it does show the km on the inside of the dial. It was just a fun swap to do. But having read up a little and listening to posters above there is a lot more to it than just swapping dash. I found a guy on an english forum who reprograms them. I could get a 2016 digital dash. But i am not spending 600 pounds and waiting 8 months lol. I am currently trying to convince my long suffering wife that I intend to put those fast and furious 2 underbody light kits on the car. (am 50, I would look like a moron :P ) maybe a go faster stripe too

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119171642#Comment_119171642

Jesus - if you were to get it done at every service it would be an expensive one. Theres 2 different sumps on them - one of them has a hidden bolt above the gearbox which means taking the gearbox out to do the seal - thats not cheap on every service!! The one without the hidden bolt is roughly 250 euros to get done.The one with the hidden bolt is 500-600. Do it once,service it right - Id do an oil change every 10,000 - some of my customers do an oil change every 5000 to keep that seal intact - it is directly related to owners missing services and the oil quality making the seal go hard and leaking.

Also make sure to use a decent oil in it - it gas to be 5w30 semi synthetic low ash but a good fully synthetic is better in my opinion.

Also the digital dash isnt interchangeable - weve tried it for a customer before.

More advice - check the coolant bottle underneath for hairline cracks - they are know to fail. Replace asap with a new cap if it is leaking.

Dont let the timing belt go over its recommended mileage or intervals - they cause serious damage if they break.I think its 5 years or 120k on that year.

Also if you want me to check for outstanding recalls etc- pm me the VIN and Ill look it up.

soups05

Whoa. Thank you Hellrazer, I had no idea the seals were that expensive. Great advice and I have copied that into a notepad on desktop so I can relay to garage. Belt was done at 144k miles, currently at 164k that was in dec 20. I had a look with a mini scope to check for leaks etc but will certainly check again more thoroughly. The dash was just a bit of fun, thought it would be easy but the more I looked into it the worse it got lol. I will send vin via pm as soon as I finish this post.

Once again my thanks to all, the boards community is a truly wonderful place to meet the best that this little country has to offer.

You are all stars in my book.

soups05

That did not go well at all. :(

I took the car into my local garage, had a good talk about the seals ("they don't have seals, they have gaskets" said in a condescending tone. ) asked him to check a fault I got P2453. Also asked him to check the smell of diesel fumes in the cabin.

The idea was to do a service, call me to discuss other work that came up and quote for the seals(opps i mean gaskets)

Collected the car after having no call. Mechanic informs me that service was done, the error was a code 3 low coolant so they topped it off, the smell maybe a cracked turbo pipe? and they spotted a possible leak underneath but can't locate it cos of all the oil residue. told me to get an underbody wash done and come back in a couple of weeks ffs. I had given them the info on the dpf sensor fault, he did the whole tut tut that could be a big job line. I said i though it was a small sensor at the top of the engine held on by a 10 mm bolt. I would have changed it myself but not got the tools to relearn to ecm. He looked surprised than pointed out it may be a sign of something more serious, won't know till he looks. Then he does not look ffs.

I need a new garage.

also, anyone ever used vcdl or vcx nano? thinking of doing more work myself rather than be messed around with bs. worried now that the oil residue is the seals going and nothing gonna be done for two weeks. (long waiting time to fit into their garage)

Hellrazer

P2453 - is almost always the intercooler pipe on the passenger side of the car(rh as you are looking in). Run your hand down that pipe and you`ll know if its burst very quickly.Usually they will have a split in the rubber part 6-8 inches long.Thats probably where the oil is coming from aswell.

Code 3 is low coolant - see my previous post - usually a coolant bottle or water housing.

As for the oil seal - I dont think theres one mechanic I deal with that doesnt know about this seal on an Insignia -You definitely need to change mechanics!!!

soups05

while checking the pipe i spotted this below it, a bolt loose and sticking out. I hand tightened it but not sure if i should get a ratchet on it. what is it and how tight should it be? Oh and I checked the pipe but i could not find a crack, but it is covered in oil residue. should the mechanic have spotted that while car was up on lift? seems fairly obvious.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119228457#Comment_119228457

Its not a crack. The pipe goes from plastic to rubber to plastic again. They burst in the rubber part around a foot from the top of the front panel.The fact that its covered in oil makes me think its burst. Its usually an obvious split in teh rubber part.

That bolt looks like alower engine mount - Id tighten it with a ratchet.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119229140#Comment_119229140

I wonder is it a replacement engine? Very strange for an engine mounting bolt to be that loose. I wouldn't have much faith in his mechanic if he didn't spot that and the oil soaked boost pipe.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119237547#Comment_119237547

Possibly - or it could have had a clutch at some time in the past. Not many reasons to remove that mount.

soups05

Yeah I lost faith in the garage when they failed to spot that. not to mention mixing up a code three with a p2453 which we had discussed. I cleaned some oil residue from various parts with tissue to see if it returned during the week, it hasn't. Will be giving it a proper cleaning Saturday and hopefully will be able to find the source. Hellrazer provided great info but I have been unable to find the burst. Gonna try removing the pipe and checking it more thoroughly. couple of cans of engine degreaser and some hard work ahead lol.

CoBo55

It could be an old code that wasn't erased, have you erased the codes now? If the pipe was split you'd feel it on your investigations.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119240614#Comment_119240614

I wouldnt be removing that pipe unless you are sure its split. Its an absolute bastard of a job to do and I still have the scars on my knuckles from teh last one I did by using the access panel.

Theres an access panel in teh lower bumper on that side that is supposed to make changing the pipe easy but the pipe has a strange plastic locking clip on it that is just ridiculous to get on and off - it only fits on one way. Easiest way I do them now is to drop the bumper off completely - gives you much more access and makes getting that clip off a lot easier. If you have access to a ramp it ccan be a bit easier aswell.

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119160561#Comment_119160561

I'm at 350000k and as of yet repairs were 680euro