Shite(ish) Van Bought for very little.....IT'S ALIVE!

[0ldCh0d]

Hi Y'all....

 

Today......I bought a Van......A Vauxhall Astra Van, 2005 vintage, 1.7 cdti.....Long M.o.t Until June 2017, a mere 168,000 miles on the clock. I bought it for a less than a 3 figure sum, On the grounds that the fuel pump is suspected to be borked.....WCPGW??.... lol. But, I like to take chances now & again & well......this was one of them.

 

I apologise in advance for the epic photo failure, It was NOT me that took them.

 

However, Here it is,,,,,For less than £100.......Well bought or not??

 

 

 

 

[vaughant]

VERY well bought IMO, no matter what's wrong with the pump it's a vauxhall so piece of piss to either convert or replace anything mechanical.

 

Good little vans and don't seem to rot too bad.

[vaughant]

Oh and:

 

" XBOX N 100 CUOPIED GAMEZZZ 2NITE M9".

[0ldCh0d]

I don't have much experience with these van's (astras), I just bought it because it was cheap & had a decent mot (With no OMG advisories etc).

 

Could some one tell me how easy or hard the pumps are to change on these 1.7 cdti engines? I definitely want to get it up & running, because it will be a handy thing to have, for tip runs, car parts etc... 

[scaryoldcortina]

17 cdti? There is a control box (DCU?) bolted to the back of the pump, 99% of the time it's this that is borked and not the pump. Plug and play to replace, no coding.

[jonathan_dyane]

These drive bloody well. It's the Isuzu engine and the pumps can't be hard to find.

[0ldCh0d]

17 cdti? There is a control box (DCU?) bolted to the back of the pump, 99% of the time it's this that is borked and not the pump. Plug and play to replace, no coding.

 

It is indeed a 1.7 cdti. I have only looked at replacement pumps on the bay of E, they seem relatively cheap. However....I did not know about what you have just said scaryoldcortina. Is it worth trying to replace that bit first then? instead of the pump?

[scaryoldcortina]

I just checked up, I was thinking of the 1.7 DTI. **SORRY**

 

Get it code read and confirm it's actually the pump stopping it working.

[0ldCh0d]

I just checked up, I was thinking of the 1.7 DTI. **SORRY**

 

Get it code read and confirm it's actually the pump stopping it working.

 

Lol...it's cool. So it does not have the thing on the back of the pump that you mentioned then? 

[scaryoldcortina]

Nope. Completely different engine despite only having one letter extra in the model name.

 

unless of course you do have a DTI engined one, I seem to remember most vans that age were.

 

Take a photo of the engine...

 

 

edit, thanks ebay!

 

 

CDTI

 

 

DTI

[Kiltox]

I bought an 03 plate one of these for £50 the other month - really must get it on the road.

 

Thinking about putting a bonkers engine in it

[0ldCh0d]

Nope. Completely different engine despite only having one letter extra in the model name.

 

unless of course you do have a DTI engined one, I seem to remember most vans that age were.

 

Take a photo of the engine...

 

I have not got it brought back to mines yet, that is happening on Monday. However, i will take pictures of the engine on Sunday, because that is when i go to sort out the paperwork etc... So, it could be a DTi & not a cdti?

i just thought the 1.7 in these was the same engine as the old cavalier 1.7 td lump......

[0ldCh0d]

I bought an 03 plate one of these for £50 the other month - really must get it on the road.

 

Thinking about putting a bonkers engine in it

 

I used to dream of doing that to my old Nova SR (Back in the day mind & i wanted a vectra 2.5 V6 in it) But...i never got round to that. Now However............Hmmmmmmm....lol. But no, i will try get the thing sorted out, because the oil burner appeals to me.

[twosmoke300]

Both Cdti and dti are loosely based on the old Isuzu 1.7 diesel but the dti uses an electronically controlled mechanical pump .

The cdti is full common rail .

Scary is correct about the control box (edu) on the dti . There is a chap called the edu exchange that repairs them for less than 100 quid and I've fitted a few of his units with no issues .

 

Good motors but the small bore coolant hoses split all the time so plenty of cooked examples out there

[0ldCh0d]

Both Cdti and dti are loosely based on the old Isuzu 1.7 diesel but the dti uses an electronically controlled mechanical pump .

The cdti is full common rail .

Scary is correct about the control box (edu) on the dti . There is a chap called the edu exchange that repairs them for less than 100 quid and I've fitted a few of his units with no issues .

 

Good motors but the small bore coolant hoses split all the time so plenty of cooked examples out there

 

Thanks for the heads up twosmoke300, I just need to find out if it is a cdti or a dti. Scary reckons on it's age, it is more than likley to be a dti...

 

Edit- I just checked out the reg number, it comes back as....Astravan Envoy CDTi....which, if i have read & understood the posts correctly,

does NOT have an edu on the back of the pump?

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I fancy one of these

[MrDuke]

Useless fact of the day - a Nissan Bluebird bonnet will just fit in the back of these, along with a couple of front wings. You will not, however, be able to squeeze the front doors in, although they can be roped to the roofrails, sans bars, without any damage. So that's worth* knowing.

[beko1987]

I've helped a neighbor change split coolant hoses on his 07 one of these. The one that comes out of the thermostat and down the side of the engine. Was an afternoon of swearing and grazed knuckles but we did it in the end! The main arse was all the hose clips were fitted before the engine went in, so inaccessible to us without 20 minutes if swearing per clip to rotate them enough to get pliers on to squeeze them

[beko1987]

He also had issues with it cutting out when warm, was traced to some sensor somewhere, but he had to take it to somewhere with tech 2 to get it all read and troubleshot

[0ldCh0d]

He also had issues with it cutting out when warm, was traced to some sensor somewhere, but he had to take it to somewhere with tech 2 to get it all read and troubleshot

 

That is what happened to this one, it just cut out & would not start again. I will investigate on Monday when it gets hauled to me, but the person i bought it from said it is the fuel pump that is suspect.

[beko1987]

Neighbors one wasn't the fuel pump, it was a sensor (can ask him which if it helps). When Stone couldn't would run fine, get a few miles up the road then die and not fire again. Was only doing it when warm. Let it go stone cold again it ran, I spent an hour looking at it stroking my chin and making 'aaah' sounds, as I don't understand how high pressure fuel systems work...

[0ldCh0d]

Neighbors one wasn't the fuel pump, it was a sensor (can ask him which if it helps). When Stone couldn't would run fine, get a few miles up the road then die and not fire again. Was only doing it when warm. Let it go stone cold again it ran, I spent an hour looking at it stroking my chin and making 'aaah' sounds, as I don't understand how high pressure fuel systems work...

 

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you beko1987, If you could find out that would be cool, it would be helpful to know incase it is not the fuel pump.

[scaryoldcortina]

Best thing to do is find someone competent to read the codes and check through the sensors with a scope before starting to swap parts. Crank sensor would be a good place to start given the symptoms (poor hot start/cuts out sometimes/now won't go at all) but on a common rail diesel the cam sensor and the fuel pressure sensor also cause similar issues.

 

Air leaks often stop them dead too - pinholed delivery pipe (under the van) and duff seals on the fuel filter for example.

 

Basically, don't just assume it's the pump, because it often isn't.

[0ldCh0d]

Best thing to do is find someone competent to read the codes and check through the sensors with a scope before starting to swap parts. Crank sensor would be a good place to start given the symptoms (poor hot start/cuts out sometimes/now won't go at all) but on a common rail diesel the cam sensor and the fuel pressure sensor also cause similar issues.

 

Air leaks often stop them dead too - pinholed delivery pipe (under the van) and duff seals on the fuel filter for example.

 

Basically, don't just assume it's the pump, because it often isn't.

 

Thanks for the advice scaryoldcortina. I will organise it to get scanned first. The person i got it from said it had been going fine until it just cut out & would not start again. I will post up some pictures of it once it is here with me. I take it a basic code reader will not do anything?

[scaryoldcortina]

It might give you a starting point, an eobd reader should be capable of getting any stored codes from the engine.

[0ldCh0d]

Thanks scaryoldcortina, i will have a go at it tomorrow once i get it here & the battery is charged.

[0ldCh0d]

Good News..., The Shite(ish) Van Bought For Very Little.......Has.......Arrived. & it is in way better order than i expected for a 166,000 mile Astravan.. Bodywork is very good for it's mileage, & so for that matter is the interior. It Also has a pretty decent service history as well, which i was not expecting.

 

The engine bay is also in good order, nice red coolant, relatively new battery (which is currently on charge,as this was flat from trying to turn it over after it cut out & not starting) & no signs of any oil leaks etc.

 

Today, i was told about something that you do with the pedals??, that you can do with astras, something about fault codes on the display? So, tomorrow, with a fully charged up battery, i intend to try this pedal thing & see what happens. Failing that, i have a basic code reader, that i can use.

 

Oh, & the engine in it is the 1.7 cdti (as pictured above) & Not the DTi. I will update with pictures tomorrow. 

[0ldCh0d]

Update on the van.......Not too good.  Today, after all the shitty wind & rain had gone, i decided to mess about with the van.

 

The fuel gauge said that it was pretty much empty, the fuel light flashing aswell (which on these mk4 astras, mean running on fumes) So, i went away & bought some of Mr Morrisons finest white diesel for £7.

 

I then returned to the van, opened up the fuel filler & proceeded to pour the diesel into the tank..........it was at this point i became aware of a noise, like someone pouring water on the ground.......So, i stopped putting the fuel in & looked underneath the van........Diesel was pissing down, over the rear axle etc....WTF???

 

Upon further investigation, some fuckwit has cut the filler pipe completely at the tank, i guess to drain the diesel out of it???.......so, i have a tank full of air pretty much.

 

To say i am annoyed is an understatment, however, i need to get this sorted, so tomorrow...weather permitting, i am off to the scrappys & see if i can get a complete fuel filler pipe/neck.

 

Bah Humbug....

[DodgyBastard]

The autoshite way is just to make a new filler using old bits of exhaust welded together.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

What a twats trick