Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
View Threaded
Thu 3 Nov 2011 14:23
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52 - Ade2000

I would appreciate your advice.

We have just purchased:

Vauxhall Astra 1.6 Envoy 8v (Z16SE) on a 52 plate with 78,000 miles.

The service records are a bit patchy so to be safe we are having a full service and getting the cam belt changed.

Any advice on what else we should get checked/changed?

I have heard that there can be issues with the engines running cool on the 8v.

There were signs of an oil leak when we inspected the car and the dealer said it needed a new head gasket and offered to replace it . I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this as I had similar leak on a vectra and a new head gasket made no difference.

Thanks.

Ade

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 3 Nov 2011 17:01
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52 - Chris M

It's nine years old so there are plenty of things that could be just about to fail. The service and cambelt are sensible, but make sure the pulley is done too and a waterpump whilst the belt's off would be good. Do you know when the brake fluid was last changed - should be every two years and when was the antifreeze checked?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 3 Nov 2011 17:01
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52 - Victorbox

A full service will be spark plugs, air and oil filter, oil, brake fluid, fuel filter and possibly brake pads and at 78,000 possibly even new brake discs. Make sure whoever does cambelt does it with a full cambelt kit - pulleys and tensioner etc not just the belt and I believe the water pump is driven by the cambelt on these, so it's easier to get this done at the same time. You will then get fresh coolant/antifreeze, as you don't know when this was last changed.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 4 Nov 2011 07:46
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52 - Talking Hoarse

But .....If the head gasket needs changing (not clear why?) then do the coolant, oil, cam belt & watrer pump at same time as the gasket. No point (in my book) flushing /changing the coolant and changing the oil before doing the head gasket.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sat 5 Nov 2011 21:27
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52 - John Boy

This engine does tend to be overcooled, because the rad is quite large, but it’s only a problem if the thermostat isn’t working properly.

Watch the temperature gauge when starting from cold. It should take a while for the needle to move, but, when it does, it should go rapidly up to working temperature. If it has failed, it will start to move almost immediately, but it will never get to working temperature.

A design fault with this particular engine, is that the cambelt has to come off to replace the thermostat. Fortunately there’s a neat, simple and cheap workaround. You’ll find it in this topic on a forum devoted to Vauxhall cars -

www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?139...p;

Go to the first link in Post #13 (I can’t post it here, because it gets caught by the swear filter).

Edited by John Boy on 05/11/2011 at 21:34

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Sun 11 Dec 2011 17:14
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol - Advice Appreciated - Vauxhall Astra I.6 Envoy - 52 - BobTroll

If the water pump does not turn freely, it can dislodge the toothed cam belt and cause catastrophic engine damage. Consequently, it is sensible to change the water pump (plus tensioners and pulleys), when you change the cam belt.

The thermostat on these engines has a finite life and tends to stick open. An open thermostat will prevent the engine from reaching its optimum operating temperature.

A new thermostat costs very little. However, labour costs are expensive because to change the thermostat, you must also remove the cam belt and cam belt cover. Consequently, it is sensible to include thermostat replacement, when you change the cam belt, tensioners, pulleys and water pump. See www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/vauxhall/astra-g-petrol-1998/?section=bad

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Looking for a garage you can trust? Honest John's Good Garage Guide has thousands of reader recommended garages, plus how-to guides and tips on servicing.

The Good Garage Guide

From which small car to buy at which price point to the best UK-built cars, our Top 10s have the lot. Click now for your shortlist.

Unsure of what to buy? Our Top 10s are here to help you....