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Stanky's Car Fixing Thread - New Car Update 16/3


Stanky

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Lanos has been paid for and recovered all of 100 yards to my base of operations in Gods Waiting Room.

 

I topped up the coolant (which was actually only a couple of CM below the min mark, and only took half a litre of mixed coolant to top up to almost max) and luzzed about 3/4 of a litre of 10w/40 oil in to take the oil level halfway between min and max.

 

it wants a proper service really, I'll probably wait until the end of the month and give it a oil and filter change, a new air filter and probably flush the coolant - though I my hold off on this if I'm getting the water pump replaced with the cambelt because they'll need to drain it down anyway.

 

Sorted the insurance and tax too and I'll take it out for a bit of a run later on and see how it behaves on the motorway. Looking at the colour of the old oil, and the varnish visible through the oil filler cap I have a feeling the old boy who we bought it from either didn't know the difference between an MOT and a service, or the garage he was paying to service it weren't doing the job, and so its not had a service since 2013. Granted its only done 11k since then, but still, its a bit manky.

 

My wife messaged me earlier and said that she's decided its the sort of car thats owned by people who list 'dogging' as a hobby and I'm sort of inclined to agree.

 

The only paperwork that came with it was evidence of the cambelt having been replaced in october 2013, and a receipt for them having paid £2500 for it in September 2013. We paid £700 for it. I don't reckon it can fall much further.

 

So, while its not Nigel Bickle levels of shite Daewoo ownership, its got the potential to go that way. I'll be forming the Daewoo Owner Group (of) South Hampshire And Region Trust, or DOG SHART for short.

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We traumatised a Peugeot 206 several years back which we were given by my grandfather. It had done about 25k in 12 years and was pressed into daily service doing 50 miles each way to and from work on the A3. We sold it with about 40k on it, but the automatic gearbox went weird and used to bang into 2nd then refuse to go back into first. Apparently some valve or other goes oval and won't release properly.

 

Anyway, this will be used for my wife to pootle about in so while I'll work it up to longer runs, it will be done gradually so shouldn't shock it too much. We'll see how I get on.

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I took it out for a run last night and its a decent car it seems. The thermostat could do with changing as it sits between 1/4 and 1/2 on the temp gauge and will drop noticably sat in traffic. The gearbox is pretty smooth though and it ticks up to 70mph nicely. Its doing about 2800rpm at 70 in top (4th) gear.

 

its got reversing sensors which work, a decent CD player, the fastest electric windows I've ever seen and minimal scrapes, the ones that are there should be fixable with some vactan, primer and a rattle can of white paint. Thats a job for a bit later in the spring though.

 

Overall not a bad car IMHO, I'll get it booked in for the cambelt and water pump and the garage can do the thermostat at the same time since they'll be in there anyway. I'll get that sorted for the end of the month I think.

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After slopping a litre or so of fresh oil into the Daewoo the other day, the contents of the sump were still purest darkness, like a black hole, absorbing all light. So today I paid the princely sum of one pound and eighty one new pence for a bosch oil filter and decided to have a go at a proper oil and filter change.

 

Now, as said previously, the seller reckoned that it had been serviced at the last MOT, in November 2018. So 3 months ago. The state of the old oil filter (rusted, previously done up by a silverback gorilla) and the colour of the oil after 400 miles have been travelled suggests that this may not have been the case. The fact the service history fodler was last stamped in 2013 says to me that this was the last time it got oil, or filters. Poor thing.

 

Anyway, having drained about 4 litres of liquid darkness from the sump undone the old filter with the aid of my chain wrench (its in a fiddly place next to the exhaust manifold and was done up super tight) I spun on the new filter and glugged in 4 litres of Asda's finest 10w/40 oil left over from the last service of the Yaris thats now with Jim Bell.

 

I took it out for a little run to take a load of cardboard boxes and old engine oil to the dump and it seems happier, the engine is quieter and seems to rev better, though having the autobox attached makes this a bit harder to tell.

 

I'll probably see about another change in a few months because I'm sure this will probably flush out all sorts of manky varnish and floaty skuddy bits. On the subject of flushing, is the general consensus that using oil flush stuff in an engine thats never had it before, even a low-mileage (though seldom serviced) engine like this is A Bad Ideatm ? I seem to recall someone doing this on a 106 possibly with a sump full of marmite and then the engine died spectacularly when years of caked on grot escaped and blocked something?

 

Next up is to have the cambelt, water pump and thermostat replaced by the local garage. As its february and rather more complex looking (and less well documented) than the Celica one was I'm going to wuss out and have someone else do it I think. I'll see what they quote, book time is 2 hours plus £100 of parts. It'd take me 2 days plus £100 of parts and then probably go wrong anyway. Anyone got access to Autodata who could confirm the book time for this job?

 

updates to follow.

 

ETA - billy bonus, I spotted a freecycle ad for a nearly-new Varta 063 car battery earlier and went up and grabbed it. Its on charge in the shed now, but is a handy thing to have available. Probably a bit underpowered for the Saab but entirely adequate for the Daewoo I suspect. and bagged for the best price in the world.

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These things really aren't bad at all. A decent steer for what it is.

 

The non metal bits disintegrated quite easily in true GM fashion, but shouldn't be an issue in the area with not much heat.  :)

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They're not bad things I've found. I've never purchased one outright but had entirely trouble-free experiences with cars I've purchased with them already fitted, and the two free ones I've bagged have come back to life happily with my trickle charger.

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Re the flush, I would just buy some cheap ordinary semi synth and do another change in a thousand miles. Maybe another after another thousand.

 

Supermarket oil and filters for less than £2 is truly bargainacious!

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As above, just do another oil change in two months or so. An flush in a near 15 year old engine that’s never had one before doesn’t strike me as a brilliant idea - you never what might be ‘disturbed’ from its home in a nice little out-of-the-way crevice where it’s doing no harm.

 

TBH I treat engine flush products and anything else sold by dealers that claims to ‘clean the internals’ with a LOT of scepticism. I say this as someone who was vaguely involved with flogging Forton products through the Hartwell network many moons ago!

 

Modern petrol engines don’t really need them.

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Cambelt, tensioners, water pump and thermostat are booked in on Tuesday coming for a quoted £320inc parts and labour which didn't seem too bad all things considered.

 

We had a long conversation where I made clear I was prepared to pay for them to use a Gates cambelt kit and a not-circoli thermostat based on what I've read on here about them, partly to show I wasn't just looking for this to be done as cheaply as possible, and partly to hopefully demonstrate that I sort of know what I'm talking about/do care about whats happening to it while under their care. They laughed when i mentioned Circoli thermostats and said they were glad it wasn't just them that had blacklisted them. Apparently they did three on one car, all of which leaked profusely and Circoli refused to honour the labour costs despite agreeing grudgingly that the parts were crap. The garage just sucked up the lost labour costs which i thought was fair of them and they resolved to never use a Circoli product again.

 

I asked them to slop pink 5yr replacement coolant in since they'd be half draining the system anyway so thats one less thing to worry about.

 

When I get it back on tuesday evening I'll see what else wants looking at. Potentially an air filter, pollen filter and maybe plugs, but the new belt will go a long way to giving me peace of mind.

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The garage rang earlier to say they'd got it in bits but that the aux belt was in a rather grim state and did I want it replacing at the same time since it was all apart anyway, I said please do, and while its all apart its probably worth doing the tensioner at the same time, and I'm happy to pay for this too.

 

If the belt is tatty/original then the tensioner will be too so might as well get it all done in one hit.

 

they've stopped play for today as they can't get hold of a tensioner until tomorrow morning, not massive hardship though as we have the other car to get around in.

 

Does anyone nearish to the south coast happen to have a pela pump or other type of vacuum fluid extraction device available to borrow? I'd like to change the ATF and as this gearbox seems to be designed by someone with a double-digit IQ there is a dipstick with markings for 'cold' and 'hot' on it, meaning I should stand half a chance of draining and then refilling it with the correct amount of new fluid.

 

Bonus points if anyone can confirm what type of ATF is needed for what i believe is an AW81-40LE automatic gearbox? Or even confirm that the 4-speed autobox attached to the GM family-1 1.6 engine in a 2004-2005 Daewoo Lacetti is indeed an AW81-40LE?

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The garage rang earlier to say they'd got it in bits but that the aux belt was in a rather grim state and did I want it replacing at the same time since it was all apart anyway, I said please do, and while its all apart its probably worth doing the tensioner at the same time, and I'm happy to pay for this too.

 

If the belt is tatty/original then the tensioner will be too so might as well get it all done in one hit.

 

they've stopped play for today as they can't get hold of a tensioner until tomorrow morning, not massive hardship though as we have the other car to get around in.

 

Does anyone nearish to the south coast happen to have a pela pump or other type of vacuum fluid extraction device available to borrow? I'd like to change the ATF and as this gearbox seems to be designed by someone with a double-digit IQ there is a dipstick with markings for 'cold' and 'hot' on it, meaning I should stand half a chance of draining and then refilling it with the correct amount of new fluid.

 

Bonus points if anyone can confirm what type of ATF is needed for what i believe is an AW81-40LE automatic gearbox? Or even confirm that the 4-speed autobox attached to the GM family-1 1.6 engine in a 2004-2005 Daewoo Lacetti is indeed an AW81-40LE?

I'm in Port Solent and have a Pela you can borrow.
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Well procured. Interesting to read comments 'service paid for when MOT'd but oil thick black.

 

Sometimes I wonder if it isn't the 'garage' but often more the Customer.

 

I was s good in a service reception recently, chap came In to collect his wheels which had just been MOT'd. The eight fault codes had been cleared, presumably to clear the EML glow. The driver then referred to a misfire and the conversation then ensued. Proprietor recommended a full service and the punter replied that a full service was due because he had to add oil to it recently, so on that basis, it was ready fir a service.

 

I just stood by and listened as it wasn't my place to offer an opinion.

 

I always laboured under the missaprenehinsion that one added oil to maintain the level in between manufactures specifications throughout the life of the car, or, added oil when it started to rattle. I never knew that the requirement to add oil was an indicator that a service was due.

 

Anyway, your Daewoo, quite rare now. All a concept perhaps a bit ahead of its time, car dealers that don't take a. Cut, that'll be the Daewoo

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I suspect you're right, and the chap we got it from just never serviced it. My wife doesn't drive much but still puts 4-5k miles on her car each year. The previous owners only put about 2k a year on it, so may have taken the approach that with that low a mileage it didn't need servicing that often, or ever.

 

I like to cultivate a good relationship with garages and make clear that I do my own work where I can, though I try to do it in a pleasant way - making conversation about car things at MOTs and that sort of thing. What I hope is that a garage would point out little things to me that I may not have noticed rather than try and pull the wool over my eyes and either charge for things that aren't required, or say they've done something when they haven't. I also like to think that most people are mostly honest most of the time.

 

I suppose there are lots of people out there who have no interest in how a car works, and if it goes wrong they pay someone to fix it for them. Much like me and dentistry. I kind of get the concept, but I'm not going to do my own root canals.

 

Were Daewoo always part of GM, or did they start off as an independent/state run car maker before being bought out?

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Garage phoned earlier, they managed to track down the tensioner and its back together again now. I can't get there before closing time today so will collect and pay for it tomorrow.

 

I had a good chat with them and explained my surprise that the tensioner was different to an equivalent Astra or anything else with a GM family 1 1598cc engine - they said that was their initial thoughts too, but a load of the not-engine bits are completely different and tracking them down can be a bit 'challenging' it seems.

 

Anyway, in the conversation they did say that they were glad I'd agreed to go whole hog on the belts as they'd usually get the reaction of 'it'll do, its not broken yet has it' from lots of customers with predictable results. Anyway, thats one less thing to think about for the next 4 years anyway.

 

They also laughed because they were sent a Circoli thermostat by mistake by the factors, and they called them back and patiently explained that 'the customer has explicitly said not to fit one of these' and got a different one. Not sure what at this point, but its not a Circoli one at least!

 

So, there we go. I need to address the potentially overfilled ATF and vactan, prime and paint a scrape on the rear door next. MOAR 2 FOLLO white good enthusiasts.

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Got the Lacetti back in exchange for some hard cash, not too bad all in, all things considered. Also got the peace of mind knowing that most of the service jobs are done now.

 

I'll start preparing the scuff on the rear arch bit photographed and a plan formulated on sorting it. It'll probably follow the same structure as the rust treatment on the Celica sill since that seemed to go well enough. Also how badly can I screw up flat white? 

 

I am also keenly planning the fitment of the Rally Giant spotlights I've had in the garage for about 2 years on a bracket I'm going to make from sheet ally. I'm not sure whether to make 2 really basic C-shaped brackets, or one big one that both spots mount on. I'd like to sandwich whatever I do make between the number plate and the backing moulding, the moulding is held to the bumper with 4 stout hex-head screws, and then the numberplate screws to the moulding with 2 strong looking anodised bolts through those funny metal clips. 

 

I'll get some pics tomorrow unless it rains and draw some options for feedback.

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This is the next item on my to-do list.

 

post-5525-0-83479500-1551558463_thumb.jpg

 

I'm not actually entirely sure what caused this, the door itself is fine, no marks whatsoever. however the pain is scratched through to bare metal in lots of places and its starting to rust, letting the side down rather. My plan is to do what I did with the Celica sill and grind it down to clean metal, Vactan it, prime it with zinc primer, rub it back, rattle can it several times, sand that back and then finally lacquer it a few times. For this I need a clear weekend, with a forecast of warm, dry, still weather. So about June?

 

After losing my bottle, I'm reasonably sure that there is no low fuel warning light - the gauge went down and down and down until it was below the red line and still no light so worth keeping in mind!

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This is the next item on my to-do list.

 

DSC_0040.JPG

 

I'm not actually entirely sure what caused this, the door itself is fine, no marks whatsoever. however the pain is scratched through to bare metal in lots of places and its starting to rust, letting the side down rather. My plan is to do what I did with the Celica sill and grind it down to clean metal, Vactan it, prime it with zinc primer, rub it back, rattle can it several times, sand that back and then finally lacquer it a few times. For this I need a clear weekend, with a forecast of warm, dry, still weather. So about June?

 

After losing my bottle, I'm reasonably sure that there is no low fuel warning light - the gauge went down and down and down until it was below the red line and still no light so worth keeping in mind!

I know my car has a low fuel warning light, because it was on when I bought it. With a range of zero miles. It's never been on since. I usually fill up as it gets to a quarter full.

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