American Living in Sweden Who Owns a 2006 Zafira with Z22YH 2.2 Engine

[ponderosaTX]

I am an American professor who is spending a sabbatical year (2013) in Halmstad, Sweden. In April, I bought a used car in Sweden, a 2006 Opel Zafira Cosmo (Z22YH engine, 6spd manual transmission) with 145K km on the odometer. I joined this forum because it is the most prominent Opel forum I have found that is conducted in English. I do not speak Swedish or German. I have also joined a Vauxhall forum in the UK. In the US, I own a 2007 Honda Civic SI Sedan and 2003 Mazda MPV. I generally perform simple maintenance of my vehicles including oil changes, brake servicing, and spark plug changes (which requires removing the intake manifold on the MPV). I have also performed some simple repairs like replacing the oil pan (the gasket design on the 2003 MPV is faulty) and the IAC valve.

I have visited NSW in Australia on two occasions. My youngest sister and her family moved to the Sydney area in 1991 and now live in Wombarra between Sydney and Wollongong.

I am just getting know my Zafira B and have comparatively few tools here in Sweden so my do-it-yourself (DIY) efforts will be rather limited. I have two immedaite concerns.

First, I need to change the spark plugs. My wife, who drives the car more than I do, recently noticed that the car has become more difficult to start. I examined the reasonably complete service records for the car and realized that there is no record of a spark plug change. Since the spark plug replacement interval on the Swedish Zafira is 80K miles (about 130K km), my car clearly needs new spark plugs. The availability of parts in Halmsad is limited, particularly at reasonable prices. The only major discount auto parts chain is Biltema, which is generally cheaper than local auto dealers and the major retail OE auto parts chain Mekonomen. Biltema lists only one plug, an expensive (99 SEK which is about 15 USD) private label plug (Biltema P7) with an iridium tip, but the Halmstad store does not stock this plug. So I will probably order a set of 4 plugs from the UK over the internet. Based on the information I have gleaned from the internet, the OE plug in a Zafira B Z22YH engine is GM 93175880 which is identical to Beru 14FGR8DQU7. Last night, I pulled the plugs in my car to confirm that they were worn. They look like the OE parts and they are marked as Beru 14FGR8DQU7 plugs. The OE plug has a multi-pronged ground electrode which makes me uneasy. In the US, multi-prong plug designs have been marketed for decades under marginal labels like Splitfire. The test reports on these plugs that I have seen show they are not as effective as conventional single prong plugs from major plug manufactures. In looking at other plugs listed as OE equivalents of my Beru plugs, some are multi-pronged and some are not. Major plug manufactures are now manufacturing multi-pronged plugs which makes me wonder if there are some technical advantages to such a design. When in doubt, my inclination is to use the plug recommended by the car manufacturer. So I am tentatively planning to buy four Beru 14FGR8DQU7 plugs even though these plugs do not have iridium/platinum tipped electrodes, which in my experience last much longer than conventional electrodes. NGK makes a platinum tipped multi-prong plug NGK BKR5EQUPA that is listed as an "alternative" plug for the Z22YH engine. The NGK OE "equivalent" is NGK BKR5EQUB, which does not have a platinum/iridium electrode. Of course, neither does the Beru 14FGR8DQU7. So the NGK BKR5EQUPA may be a better choice if it really is a suitable OE equivalent. I am eager to hear about the experiences of other owners of Opels with Z22YH engines regarding plug replacement.

Second, I need to replace the oil pan (sump tray) on my Zafira. I cracked the OE pan on a rutted dirt road to Tresticklan National Park. Fortunately, a very kind mechanic at the VW/Audi/Skoda dealer in Lysekil, Sweden opened the garage after official closing time on a late Friday afternoon to repair the crack with epoxy. The repair was very well done. By chance, I have gotten to know the top-rated mechanic (based on productivity) at the local Volvo-Renault dealer (the biggest auto dealer in Halmstad) and I asked him to inspect the repair. He said the mechanic who repaired it did an excellent job and that it would last indefinitely. Since I am going to sell the car in December, I want to replace the pan if the cost is not too high. I don't have the tools to do the repair myself. My mechanic friend has offered to do it for a nominal fee if I buy a replacement pan. In looking at used pans for sale on the web, there are two different part numbers (and several different part numbering schemes) for pans that fit Z22YH engines depending on whether the pan supports a multi-function display. My car has a multi-function display but all of the engine monitoring functions such as oil-level are unavailable; I don't know whether they were unavailable in the car as manufactured or whether they quit working at some point as the car has aged. So either pan will work in my car. What puzzles me is that the pans for older Z22SE and Z22YH engines appear identical to newer Z22YH engines like mine but they have different part numbers. The older pans also come in two varieties depending on whether oil-level reporting is supported. The older pans are cheaper and in at least one web listing, the new Z22YH part number is cross listed with a part number for the older pan. Does anyone know if Z22SE/Z22YH oil pans are generally interchangeable, modulo support for oil-level monitoring?

This has been a very long post. My apologies.

Warning: This is an Old Thread This discussion is older than 120 days. information contained in it may no longer be current . Please think of the children before resurrecting this ancient thread!

[guy 27]

Hey mate.

saw your post on z22se.co.uk

Shipping parts from aus to you is going to end up being too expensive compared to you purchasing in europe.

For plugs. Only use genuine. z22se.co.uk shop sells them at a great price. lots and lots of posts around as to why you should use genuine in these engines.

For the sump. the correct one for your vehicle is part number 55557091. the z22se has 9 different part numbers listed compared to just the 1 for the yh.

If you want to put a new one on. I'm sure the z22se.co.uk shop can help out. Otherwise if you want 2nd hand. the yh engine was in a range of opels not just the zafira. I'm sure you can find one being parted out that would be able to sell you the part cheaper.

[ponderosaTX]

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the quick response!

I have an order placed for four of the OE GM/Beru plugs at autovaux.uk. Their prices appeared competitive to z22se.co.uk, which only lists the spark plug for the Z22SE engine at their web site. The autovaux price for a GM 93175880/BERU 14FGR-8DQU7 plug is 3.95 GBP plus VAT. They will send me a shipping quote tomorrow. If it is reasonable, I will complete the order.

I am still trying to figure out how many different sump parts (as opposed to part numbers) have been used in Z22SE/Z22YH engines. Based on information I have seen online, there are actually two parts listed for my particular engine: one sump with a tap for an oil-level sensor and one without. The one with the tap is listed as fitting both applications. Some salvage part listings for the sump without the tap explicitly state it will not work on a vehicle with a multi-function display. As far as the Z22SE/Z22YH distinction is concerned, a posting on the z22se.co.uk forum says that the Z22SE and Z22YH have the same sump, but almost no other parts in common. See

http://www.z22se.co.uk/threads/z22yh.../#post-1197938

In addition, I have seen listings of salvaged sump pans that list both Z22SE and Z22YH part numbers. The online pictures for the various sump parts look identical (but pictures can be deceiving) so I am trying to understand what if anything (other than part number) is different between Z22SE sumps and Z22YH sumps. I have found a reasonably priced Z22YH sump on ebay.uk, but is not clear if the seller is willing to ship the part to Sweden. I have an email inquiry pending.

Thanks again for your help.