AndyR

Well for the last few weeks I've been working on the astra for the impending mot. Today was judgement day, and my worries were soon dispatched. We rolled inattentive 10:15am, and after a good going over by the tester @ Banham Vehicle Services. We rolled away with a pass certificate, and no advisories. That has to be a first for me, as I can't remember ever having a clear ticket like today. There's always been a "keep an eye on" something, normally brake pipes. Oh I'm a happy bunny. Astra getting treated at the weekend to a good service, and that gear oil change. . And a celebratory beer tonight too.

Forgot to add, that it is the Z16xe 16 valve ECOTECH engine. Thanks again. Andy.

Hi all, I have been preparing my Astra G for mot on Tuesday, and I've now got the engine symbol come up. I have had an obd reader on it, and it is saying that it has a misfire on number 3 cylinder. Could this be the coilpack or is there something else i should be looking at? I have changed all the spark plugs, and cleared all the fault codes, the light went out, but came back on after 3 miles. Any advice in the right direction would be much appreciated, thanks in advance. Andy

Well the rain let off for a bit today, so i have done the front pads. Definitely not got ABS. I did notice that there is a wire with a female connection plug on the end, and it is clipped to the inner wing beside the brake pipe on both nearside and offside. Is this for a different model, or should there be something connected? That's one job of the to do list. Gearbox oil and a service next, and then a complete flush through of the cooling system again, and hopefully get rid of the last remnants of oil that seems to be there. It is getting less. Regards Andy.

Hi Trevor glad all ok. Thank you for the tip about abs,can't say I've seen that light. Will have a look later. And yes, once it stops raining here,and I can get outside I will get pics, or a video of the oil. There was a canister in the boot when I got the car that had 10/45 oil written on it. It smelt very much like ordinary manual gear oil. I'm so hoping that not what's in there now. Will keep you updated. Regards Andy.

Hi all, hope everyone is staying safe, and making the most of their time pampering the cars. How do i tell if my Astra has ABS braking .I cannot see an abs pump near to the master cylinder/servo, but knowing my luck it's probably hidden somewhere else. Its getting near mot time and need to get everything sorted, and as there is no school/college runs this week, I am hoping to get stuck in to the old girl. Brakes, service, and at last I can get that crappy old gear oil out and put in proper automatic transmission fluid. I will get some pics of the gear oil and show you all what some numpty at a garage had done at some point in the past. Watch this space........

Hi, certainly sounds like you have having fun, my old cab was the 8 valve 2.0 Sri. Pulled like a Trojan, would probably still have her if it hadn't been for the rot. I'll see if I can find some pics of her too. It didn't owe me anything as my brother in law gave me two Cavs, one was a beaten up saloon, and the other was the Sri hatch. So I went for the hatch. Good luck with the rest of the rebuild.

Hi DandyP, Welcome to the forum. Would your cavalier be the one before they went to vectra? I had a cavalier SRi a few years back, loved the old girl, but the dreaded tin worm was hungry, and i couldn't keep up, especially when the springs came through the rear floor pan. Would be nice to see some pics. Regards Andy.

I certainly hope so. The strange thing is, the car runs so well, gears change without any problems. Next payday will see filter and oil for gearbox. I definitely won't be going to the garage the previous owner used.

Well i put the original cap from the 16v on, and it has cured the problem of the top hose collapsing. Going to buy some rad flush this week and give it a good flush through. Fresh anti freeze, and then its service time again. And try to get a filter for the auto transmission, and freshen the oil as some dips**t has put ordinary gear oil in and not proper trans fluid.

I've found 5 of them on the wheels . Just need to find the others and I'll be good to go

And just noticed that I have a 26 valve engine Better start looking for the other 10....

Hi folks, just done 240 miles in my Astra G. It's working out @ 47.5 mpg, and due a service. It is now sitting on 210019 miles. I am a happy bunny with that. I'm glad I made the move to Vauxhall.

Hi, yes thanks I am keeping well, and hope you are too. I going to get a new cap, but will put the original one on and see how it goes. Have got to do another flush through too, as don't think I cleared out all the crap. Coolant still oily, but not as bad as it was. Regards Andy.

Hi all, went out shopping yesterday evening, a bit cold so had heater on. Noticed this morning that the top hose had sucked in. Could this be due to the header tank cap being off the 8 valve engine, and is now on a 16 valve ecotech?

Yes it is. I managed to scale down settings on my phone, and then cropped the picture before uploading it to the forum. I found this works better too if I do it all with my phone, rather than using the PC indoors.

Yay I've managed to get a photo loaded , and it's clear

Well you got the blurry one. I GIVE UP............ I am going to try a different camera tomorrow. I WILL get some nice pics to show on here. Andy.

Well i have been playing with my camera on my phone, and i think i've got it sorted. Quality might not be as good as i hoped for, so here goes. Old and new shocks, a nice clean engine cover , and a bit blurry one of the car itself.

I kept trying different ways to get photos on , but it kept telling me that the files were to big. I'll have another play later.

I am hoping that this will work regarding photos. file:///C:/Users/andrew/Pictures/mobile%20pics/Astra%20G/IMG_20200704_file:///C:/Users/andrew/Pictures/mobile%20pics/Astra%20G/IMG_20200729_file:///file:///C:/Users/andrew/Pictures/mobile%20pics/Astra%20G/IMG_20200730_file:///C:/Users/andrew/Pictures/mobile%20pics/Astra%20G/IMG_20200717_155617.jpg

Well I received new shocks as planned Wednesday. Thursday morning I got stuck in to change them. Surprisingly all bolts came off easily, which was better than I expected after how ever many years. New shocks bolted in and springs replaced, and now it is a much smoother ride, and sitting somewhat higher, which is good for up and down my driveway with a full load.

Thanks for the good luck. The paperwork I got with the car gave rear shocks as an advisory because the outer casing was rusty. Well that's completely gone, and the shiny ram is visible. Also the springs look like they've been doing all the work. Hopefully it will be a better ride. Like you say, you get so used to how it is. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Andy.,

I just can't seem to get pictures small enough at moment. Need to configure camera somehow. As regarding checking out the underneath of car, have found rear shocks are shot!! So have ordered a pair from ebay, £28.99. Should be here Wednesday, so hopefully Thursday, weather permitting, i'll be swapping out the rear shocks and springs. Looking at springs, and comparing them to my old Astra, I have a feeling that the springs have been doing most of the work, as there is no bounce on the rear of car, and they look quite squished. So as I have a pair of new springs, which were bought for old car, I might as well renew the lot. I will take pics of the car and find some way of getting them on here. She is a fine example of the model, and I aim to keep her looking as good and original for as long as possible.