Astra Mk1 in glorious poo-brown. SOLD

[Rocket88]

Get it started, and then see if it will rev with the air intake on the air filter patially blocked. If it does, it means you have an air leak carb side. I'm willing to bet the carb is "not as it should be" [spesh if it's a bloody Pieberg, which are the spawn of Satan]

[autofive]

might be a silly question, but, have you checked any vacuum/s pipes going to the carb?

or does it use a vacuum advance distributor?

 

(thats one solution if it was a ford, maybe totally different for GM products)

[Louise2cv]

It does have a vac advance and I tried a previous suggestion about checking the brake servo (Morgan84?).

 

There are a number of pipes going to/from the carb... how do I check them? esp if the stupid thing won't start? Isit ok to do any test with the choke out, or will I just be setting it to run on the choke?

[cort16]

I'd say the best bet would be to get the carb re-built and go from there. Even if you get a 2nd hand one and then the problem continues you'll not know if it's the new carb or something else that's causing it.

I'm far from an expert on carbs but I'm an expert on getting pee'd off with ropey old motors. Best to get it dealt with before you feel the need to put a pick axe through the bonnet.

[cort16]

You've probably done this but my mate had a Scirroco that did what you're describling and it turned out the gasket between the carb and the manifold was knackered. You'd tinker around with it and it'd run fine (probably because you're leaning on it) then 5 minutes up the road it would cough and splutter eventually conk out.

[Louise2cv]

I did wonder about the gaskets. Last time asked at the motor factors he gave me his last sheet of gasket paper and I've no idea where it is now.

 

Not sure if I'd be able to find the proper gasket...

 

do I need to search for one specific to the car or to the carb (iyswim?)?

[RobT]

Post up a few photos of the carb and pipes Louise (or have you done that?), one of us on here will probably be able to say yay or nay to whether certain bits are knackered or not.

 

If all looks good I'd invest in a home tune. The bonus of that is you can chat to the bloke whilst he's doing it, learn a few things if he's the conversant sort, and generally get in the way!

[cort16]

I'd guess you're best trying to find the right one rather than using paper or slopping a load of gasket paste all over it. Do you know the model of carb as you'll probably get it off ebay?

[pompei]

Sorry, can't offer any practical advice other than what they said ^ ^ ^ ^

 

If it is any consolation, I used to have all sorts of trouble with my Fiat 500. A new carb and electronic ignition sorted it out. Similarly, my old Alfasud Sprint was always going out of tune. A couple of rebuilt carbs and a bloke who knew what he was doing (thanks Mike Roberts!) got the car running better than ever.

 

I suppose old components will carry on failing. Agree that new/rebuilt carb and gasket might be the way. Best of luck.

[Cavcraft]

Possibly a bit far out for you Louise but Balmuir Garage near Wrexham (they're on Google) are very good and very trustworthy. I think they have a rolling road there and are very old school.

[M'coli]

It could be the accelerator pump diaphragm, too. Easily changed, once a replacement has been tracked down!

[Louise2cv]

I've just mentioned at the garage up the road that I might have cocked about with the carb setting etc and he just gave a "bless smile/rolled his eyes, so I'm a bit less concerned about the embarrassment factor now! I'll just have to find a time to take it in I guess.

[theorganist]

I had a Mark 1 Astra in 1996 and I tried adjusting the carbourettor as it was running very badly and there was a lot of gunk in the carbourettor. Long story short I ended up calling the AA out as it would not start, I tried re-adjusting it to what I thought it was before I still could not get it to go!! Vowed never to mess with carbourettors again!!

[idiotboy]

I've just mentioned at the garage up the road that I might have cocked about with the carb setting etc and he just gave a "bless smile/rolled his eyes, so I'm a bit less concerned about the embarrassment factor now! I'll just have to find a time to take it in I guess.

 

Sounds like throttle pump is either blocked or the diaphragm is busted.

[M'coli]

That's roughly what I said...

[Louise2cv]

Is that the little square jobby on the side of the carb?

[M'coli]

Similar to this thing?

This can be tested with the engine off. If you take the air filter cover off, open the choke flap and turn the throttle spindle you should see a jet of petrol squirting into the carburettor, similar to what happens in this video on youtube:

(it's in the first 15 seconds or so, the rest is just a slow-mo repeat)

If it doesn't, try to take the cover off without and have a look for splits in the diaphragm (without hopefully loosing any screws/springs/washers etc. - a large cardbaord box, flattened out, under the car makes retrieval of anything dropped onto it much easier than trying to crawl around and reach it with your hands!)

Edit: this is roughly what it should comprise of when dismantled, the picture's from a thread entitled "Why would my Weber accelerator pimp be sticking?" on an MX5 forum. ( Juvenile, I know!)

[Louise2cv]

Just to cement my status as a complete failure at pissing-in-the-wind-car-maintenance, I've just dropped the car off at the garage up the road.

 

I decided honesty was the best policy so explained that:

 

It stopped idling a few weeks back so after a lot of faffing I got it going.

It then went the same way this week, running only on choke and stalling at junctions etc.

Due to my initial smugness at having "fixed" it the first time, rapidly decending into a tantrum I'd cocked about with the settings on the carb and the long and short of it was, I'd broke it.

 

He seemed very accepting of the whole thing.

 

Apart from not laughing, another bonus was that he didn't take my phone number, so it's poss, as long as we never go that way again, we've seen the back of the heap for good!

[Louise2cv]

Update from garage: Cack in the slow running jet (might have something to do with the the brand new fuel filter that I bought in the last round of "repairs"... fittedchucked in the passenger footwell I'm such a d*ck).

 

He also very politely said I "might have slightly altered one of the mixture screws" to which I replied "no I definately did alter everything in some sort of fit of rage". It was nice of him to be so diplomatic about it!

 

Only downside is he wouldn't be drawn on the price, just said someone will send the bill on

[Louise2cv]

It's back home. Yay.

[pompei]

Under its own steam?

[Vin]

Ah. Glad it's back and it's all sorted.

 

Reading through your posts I was also going to suggest the pump/diaphragm,as I had the same idling problems on the Panda 750 and the arm controlling the diaphragm had seized up...

 

Good that it is all OK now.

[Louise2cv]

Yep.Bare in mind, it was a journey of a mile or maybe less!

 

Hopefully I'll learn to like it again after I've got over this latest temper tantrum.

 

Needs a t cut or something and I might slop something over the rusty bits on the rear valance. I think there's been a bump in the past and the corners have gone a bit manky. What do I do? Wire brush, kurust then paint? Hopefully it won't be proper holes.

 

Maybe then it will be nicer to me.

[KruJoe]

Good efforts so far Louise, I'm most impressed.

I'm not the one to be giving much advice on beautification jobs, but I'll tell you this: Wire brushing can become very tiresome very quickly, so invest £3.50 in a cup shaped wire brush attachment for your electric drill, these make light work of brushing down, and make it almost enjoyable (so long as you protect your eyes/face while you're at it).

 

Has the bill arrived yet?

[Louise2cv]

Cheers,I think I have a brush like that somewhere... I'll have to try it.

 

No bill yet. Matt thinks it's because he want's to check with his boss(his dad, maybe) if he can let us off. LOL. So naïve!

[Morgan84]

Hows the little Astra behaving ?

[chaseracer]

Not due till September.

 

Ah... see what you mean...

 

[DSdriver]

Wire brushing can become very tiresome very quickly, so invest £3.50 in a cup shaped wire brush attachment for your electric drill, these make light work of brushing down, and make it almost enjoyable (so long as you protect your eyes/face while you're at it).

 

Better yet, get the one with the stiff nylon bristles that does a great job on the metal but magically doesn't cut your hand to shreds when you get it in the way. They are ace.

[Louise2cv]

Hey! Thanks for asking, as far as I know it is behaving very well. But I tend not to ask too much just in case.

 

The garage charged £20 which I can live with, saved me a lot of stress.

 

Unfortunately for the disastra, my nesting instinct has kicked in so every spare minute I have is spent doing DIY in the house. Mostly doing ridiculous things over the stairwell with wobbly step-ladders. The rear panel will just have to wait and/or rot for now.

[Morgan84]

A good coating in waxoil or vaseline on the worst bits should slow the rust down until you have time to sort it out and give the rust a good seeing too