Caporegime
Gah, and I was proud of my oil service. 
What have you done to your car today?
- Thread starter mattyprice4004
- Start date
Gah, and I was proud of my oil service.
I was proud when i fitted a new mirror in my wing mirror!
Soldato
But you guys may have done some of that yourselves? I paid someone else and watched... 
Caporegime
I did do it myself, first time I've done an oil change!
I spilled a load of dirty oil in the alternator when I took the oil filter housing off... Derp.
Err, will that be OK or...?
I spilled a load of dirty oil in the alternator when I took the oil filter housing off... Derp.
Err, will that be OK or...?
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Soldato
Oil change and filter here as well - a 30 min job took over an hour - I hate engine under trays
Good job I have an inspection pit in my garage.
Dave
Good job I have an inspection pit in my garage.
Dave
Caporegime
I hate them too, if nothing else they make it hard to see if something is leaking, and heaven forbid you drop something on top of it!
My car is supposed to have one, but, well, it doesn't.
My car is supposed to have one, but, well, it doesn't.
Soldato
Stuck newly DIY refurbed Aero alloys on my Saab 9-3.
It's still a Saab.
It's still a Saab.
Associate
Handed the old girl over for a short stay with my mechanic after clutch fluid had drained out coming home from work last night.
Caporegime
I am so very jealous of that E30
Do you want to swap? My car is newer and has all the clutch fluid still in it.
Do you want to swap? My car is newer and has all the clutch fluid still in it.
Associate
Hahaa, tempting offer in current circumstances.
Soldato
Last week I had a bit of an impulse buy on ebay. £300 got me this:
Yes, a boring old Astra! Reason for buying it is that my other Astra is becoming very expensive to run. Doing 20k miles a year in something that does 20mpg and keeping on top of the repairs while using it daily was becoming an issue. So I have this now to use while my other Astra is off the road for some TLC, and I can take my time with things and do it properly.
I bought it cheap as it was sold as spares/repairs as it cut out when hot, very common issues on these being the ECU, it's bolted to the inlet manifold so all the heat and vibration seems to kill them over time. Got a replacement ECU with the immobiliser chips etc for £60 and it runs well now.
So yesterday I have it some much TLC, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, full service including air filter, plugs, fuel filter, oil & filter and replaced the wipers with bosch aero blades.
Wasn't too bad really, surprisingly lacking in oil leaks for a Vauxhall
One thermostat nicely stuck open
It went straight through the MOT with one advisory on a tyre perishing and slight play in a track rod, both of which I will sort.
It's surprisingly OK to drive. It makes a nice change from rock hard suspension, a loud 3" exhaust system and a heavy clutch. A friend of mine has some Vauxhall alloys so I'll swap them for the horrible steel wheels. Other than that it's a cheap and cheerful car to get me to work and back.
Yes, a boring old Astra! Reason for buying it is that my other Astra is becoming very expensive to run. Doing 20k miles a year in something that does 20mpg and keeping on top of the repairs while using it daily was becoming an issue. So I have this now to use while my other Astra is off the road for some TLC, and I can take my time with things and do it properly.
I bought it cheap as it was sold as spares/repairs as it cut out when hot, very common issues on these being the ECU, it's bolted to the inlet manifold so all the heat and vibration seems to kill them over time. Got a replacement ECU with the immobiliser chips etc for £60 and it runs well now.
So yesterday I have it some much TLC, timing belt, water pump, thermostat, full service including air filter, plugs, fuel filter, oil & filter and replaced the wipers with bosch aero blades.
Wasn't too bad really, surprisingly lacking in oil leaks for a Vauxhall
One thermostat nicely stuck open
It went straight through the MOT with one advisory on a tyre perishing and slight play in a track rod, both of which I will sort.
It's surprisingly OK to drive. It makes a nice change from rock hard suspension, a loud 3" exhaust system and a heavy clutch. A friend of mine has some Vauxhall alloys so I'll swap them for the horrible steel wheels. Other than that it's a cheap and cheerful car to get me to work and back.
Caporegime
Can't really argue at that price. Cheap to buy, cheap to fix. Sure you could have got something nicer for a few hundred quid, but it would probably cost more to maintain as well.
Must feel a bit slow though, does that badge on the back say 1.6?
Must feel a bit slow though, does that badge on the back say 1.6?
Soldato
Possibly could have got something nicer, but I know these cars inside out and have plenty of spare parts already.
Yeah it's a 1.6, a massive 84bhp! It's not actually as slow as I was expecting. My other Astra is 354bhp so a bit of a difference But it's the difference of nearly an extra 200 miles to a tank, so it'll pretty much pay for itself in not all that long.
Yeah it's a 1.6, a massive 84bhp! It's not actually as slow as I was expecting. My other Astra is 354bhp so a bit of a difference
But it's the difference of nearly an extra 200 miles to a tank, so it'll pretty much pay for itself in not all that long.
Soldato
Finally got round to cleaning it.
Soldato
Soldered in some plugs for the electric windows so now I can unplug them when I removed the doors (this is a more common occurrence than it should be).
Soldato
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- 14 Dec 2013
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Charged the battery, inflated the tires and coded the windows and sunroof to open and close off the key.
Needs new tires and an oil change soon and still have boxes of stuff to fit in the garage.
Will probably end up buying a new car soon as the itch for something half decent again is coming back!
Needs new tires and an oil change soon and still have boxes of stuff to fit in the garage.
Will probably end up buying a new car soon as the itch for something half decent again is coming back!