Andy's awful autos: never raced or rallied!

[egg]

On 5/8/2019 at 4:54 PM, Andyrew said:

I'm not total Sure I've not looked at or driven the car myself.  a misfire and lack of power I believe was the issue. It was left at work, coil was changed but this made no improvement. A trusted mechanic came to conclusion of a failed ecu. 

Ecu was sent off no fault was found. Ecu refitted, symptoms still the same. Ecu was sent back to company and they  retested the unit and came to the conclusion the ecu is beyond repair. 

Both my pez Mk4's died from hard to identify engine issues, one possibly ECU.

Despite that, in my opinion underrated against the Focus. I prefer the slightly more conservative approach of the car. 

And the ECO4 is a bit of an economy legend. MK4's are becoming a bit of a 'spot' as they are rapidly dying.

Well bought and improved.

[mrbenn]

Nice job on the arch! Would look like I'd applied it with my feet had I done the job.

I remember talking to the service guy at a Vauxhall dealer on Anglesey years ago who commuted from somewhere in Cheshire in one of these, said the economy was amazing. His round trip was over 100 miles a day.

Was over at my mate's yesterday looking at his mk4. We've got a replacement ECU on order in a bid to try and cure the hesitation/misfire. If that doesn't work then its curtains, sadly. Seems like 50% of the time it runs absolutely perfectly and will pull to 6500rpm smoothly, rest of the time it's in limp mode and twats around like a.... twat. Even a simple key off/on at traffic lights can sort it out. I've driven it a bit and it really is a nice car when behaving.

[Andyrew]

Ecto4 is such a finely tuned handling machine, image the annoyance it's been not being able to use that lotus designed floor pan to it's full rip roaring potential due to a broken spring for the past 450 or so miles. 

Being a parts guy I ordered up a spring, and set too it. Later Finding for some reason the top nut will not shift on the shock, off the car, tapped, wacked, impacted, penetrated. Nothing. 

So again, being a parts dude and getting parts cheap through my work , new springs, new shocks and top mounts were not ordered, instead the tight arse option was taken and some second hand struts purchased on the bay of e for £25. 

Sorted.

 

 

 

[Andyrew]

8 hours ago, sierraman said:

How did you get such a good finish with silver. It always looks terrible when I spray it.

That photo really flatters it. It's pretty shite in person!

[sierraman]

Fuck it at least you gave it a go. Well done. 

[2MB]

I’m so glad you’re making a good car out of this where I failed to have a working car for most of the time I had it. Broken spring and dead battery maybe a sign the curse is still going, Hope that’s the last of it. 

Re the handling, I think magazine journos call it safe understeer, not sure I agree 

[Andyrew]

1 hour ago, 2MB said:

I’m so glad you’re making a good car out of this where I failed to have a working car for most of the time I had it. Broken spring and dead battery maybe a sign the curse is still going, Hope that’s the last of it. 

Re the handling, I think magazine journos call it safe understeer, not sure I agree 

I get a good car vibe from it, something about old motors that just plod along. They have a certain charm and faults are just the norm really. 

The battery was old and we must sell 20+ springs a week for Vauxhalls at work. So a busted coil wasn't much of a surprise. 

I love the fact I can go scrap yard rummaging again too!

Handling wise I think the 175/80/14 balloon tyres combined with some worn in suspension doesnt help ? but it's comfy. 

 

[Andyrew]

The little things. 

Something that bothers me is scruffy plates. I also have a strong dislike for boarders and fixing screws, I've always just stuck plates on.  So at work I decide to treat ecto4 to some new nametags. 

Much better.

 

[Dan302]

I love MK4 Astra's and I think I prefer them to Focus's (which is awkward as I've got a focus) I had an 8v MK4 which I paid £200 for and I liked it, would love a Dti flavour one, especially with my 60 mile a day commute.

[Andyrew]

Had a few spare hours today so I took a little trip to the scrappy with a mate to pick up some bits. Just a couple of parts to tidy up some damaged areas. Yesterday I also 're painted the arch as I looked too patchy  and had a run in the clear.  This time it came out okay for a rattle can and today I gave it a little bit of compound to get the shine up. Good enough for now. 

The arch damage originally starts along the rub strips on the doors, these had some big scratches in them so I nabbed a better pair 

 

 

 

[Andyrew]

New trims fitted, one big scratch taken care off.   Arch is a bit wobbly for my liking but it was a rush job with a DA so I can live with it. 

 

[Andyrew]

Some rough calculations seem to suggest it's averaging 59mpg 

So today a Cam belt kit, and aux belt ordered in to work,  I've taken the lazy option and I'm leaving the car with a friend to fit it whilst I'm off on a jolly to Wales for 5 days of green lanes in a mates Suzuki. 

The belts fitted will be about £140 all in which is a lot for a £170 car but it's piece of mind and if it does snap it's game over for the ecto4. 

Plans for ecto4 to be going to Edinburgh and Cornwall later this year justify the cost. 

 

 

 

[Andyrew]

So at 146600 miles a new Cam belt has been fitted along with a new aux belt 

As we had a nice day yesterday with the sun blazing I decide to smarten up the front corner of the bumper. With the heat and wind the basecoat dried a bit to quick from the Can and most was blown away. so on the corner it's a bit tiger stripey it was done relatively quickly so it's a good enough repair for now. The clear ran but I nibbed this out tonight and whipped over with some 2000 grit and a blob of compound.  

 

 

[sierraman]

Nice work there mate. 

[Andyrew]

6 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Nice work there mate. 

Cheers dude

Will do the other side and the other wheel arch when I can get it in the workshop as the yard is a bit windy/dusty/buggy for painting.  

Handily the filler, primer and laquer were all free samples to test from work so the only thing I needed to buy was a can of basecoat. 

 

 

[New POD]

On 5/15/2019 at 9:07 PM, Dan302 said:

I love MK4 Astra's and I think I prefer them to Focus's (which is awkward as I've got a focus) I had an 8v MK4 which I paid £200 for and I liked it, would love a Dti flavour one, especially with my 60 mile a day commute.

My son has a W reg 1.6 16v club with 60k on it. He was given it 5 years ago by his grandad with 19k on the clock. I have first refusal. 

Its red. But parked in a garage for all but 3 years. The last 2 years underground. 

[Andyrew]

Decide to Wang a new cabin filter in as it's often overlooked.  Had a GM part number on it so possibly many moons old unless it's had dealer services. 

It was in dia need of a change. Charcoal filter filter fitted because swanky.  The housing was a bit clagged so some hot turbo vac action was needed ( I can hear beko rubbing his thighs from here )

Car wasn't overly dirty but had some shite splattered on it so a quick wipe over with some autosmart tango got it shining again. Cleans up well this old motor

 

 

[Dan302]

Looks really tidy! Theres a YouTube channel (torque steer iirc) where the lad did a series of videos detailing his dad's filthy 270000 mile Eco4.

[mrbenn]

2 hours ago, Andyrew said:

Decide to Wang a new cabin filter in as it's often overlooked.  Had a GM part number on it so possibly many moons old unless it's had dealer services. 

It was in dia need of a change. Charcoal filter filter fitted because swanky.  The housing was a bit clagged so some hot turbo vac action was needed ( I can hear beko rubbing his thighs from here )

Car wasn't overly dirty but had some shite splattered on it so a quick wipe over with some autosmart tango got it shining again. Cleans up well this old motor

 

 

Looks great. Nice to see it getting some love, mk4 Astra is a great car.

Was over at my mates to replace the ECU in his mk4 today. Early days but the running issues seem to be sorted. I've got my fingers firmly crossed, currently 30 miles down and all seems well. It's a lovely smooth engine, love the 8v torque. More relaxing than my 16v Focus imho.

[Andyrew]

Fuel filter and oil filter changed as well last night. I'd already  done the oil with the pump but the filter housing was on tight so I got the breaker bar on it and crossed my fingers. Happily it gave way with no fuss. 

I've done just over a thousand miles in this now and it's great on the motorway. Being a 1.7  it's not underpowered and it is very comfy and quiet at 70+ on my personal test track.  

 

 

[Andyrew]

12 hours ago, mrbenn said:

Looks great. Nice to see it getting some love, mk4 Astra is a great car.

Was over at my mates to replace the ECU in his mk4 today. Early days but the running issues seem to be sorted. I've got my fingers firmly crossed, currently 30 miles down and all seems well. It's a lovely smooth engine, love the 8v torque. More relaxing than my 16v Focus imho.

Fingers crossed indeed. 

The woman at works one is still dead. It was put up for sale and someone apparently offered 450.  I'm guessing they didn't read the whole add before the offer as it's still here. 

I may make a scrap price offer and swap alot of bits over as it's very tidy inside as expected with how low the mileage is. 

 

[Andyrew]

After singing it's praises yesterday and giving it a clean out after a tip run this morning the ecto4 returned the favour by seizing the passengers front caliper whilst whipping down the a5 to Milton Keynes . That distinctive smell of cooked brake pad and the plume of smoke from the passengers wheel when I came off the slip road.  Deja vu as the Carlton I use to have did the same thing on the same bit of road!

Limped to the car park and left It too cool off. Hub cap had gone really soft and was untouchable. I'd previously noticed some sqeaks from the brakes after a longer journey so this hasn't come as much of a surprise, I was going to strip them down for a clean and grease up tomorow night!

Once cool it drove home fine. Will strip it down, Wang some new pads in and Change the brake fluid.  Check if the wheel bearing has been boiled to death and give the caliper a once over or swap for a spare that a mate gave me for free .

 

All Vauxhalls are . . . . 

[Andyrew]

[Andyrew]

Stripped the brake down that had a stuck pad and as expected it was a build up of shite around the pad ends on the carrier. Cleaned and filed smoother I shoved the old discs and pads back on, not ideal but I couldn't tell on the way to the workshop if the disc had warped. 

Upon stripping down the sliders pin cane undone concerningly easily. The video shows why. Seems the thread in the casting is not more. Balls.  Time for some bodging to get home 

 

[shedenvy]

In the past I may have been known to helicoil a caliper slider pin into a carrier with no long term ill effects.  M9 from memory - ebayed it from the states.  I don't know if it got cleared out in the house move though.  Not sure why I didn't just buy a caliper carrier.

Fantastic rattle canning BTW, what is your tactic on blending into the original paint?  I've tried feathering in the primer, then the colour with a little overlap and then the clear coat with a bigger overlap still.  Looks awful until I wet n dry and polish then it's as good as the colour match.  I'd be very happy if i'd done that arch though - looks flawless in the photo.

 

[Andyrew]

I think A helicoil is the best option for now. 

On these the carrier is part of the strut and hub mount, it's all one piece. A good and bad designs I suppose. 

 

[Andyrew]

25 minutes ago, shedenvy said:

In the past I may have been known to helicoil a caliper slider pin into a carrier with no long term ill effects.  M9 from memory - ebayed it from the states.  I don't know if it got cleared out in the house move though.  Not sure why I didn't just buy a caliper carrier.

Fantastic rattle canning BTW, what is your tactic on blending into the original paint?  I've tried feathering in the primer, then the colour with a little overlap and then the clear coat with a bigger overlap still.  Looks awful until I wet n dry and polish then it's as good as the colour match.  I'd be very happy if i'd done that arch though - looks flawless in the photo.

 

Exactly the same process, any rattle can clear always seems to dry to a dull finish and needs a buff after a few days cure time. 

I always try to paint to the nearest edge to hide the blend, luckily with he Astra there's alot of edges to paint to. With the only blend being between the reg plate and bonnet. 

In person I think it's a fairly obvious repair but to most people it needs pointing out and goes unnoticed. I'll do a more in depth write up when I do the other side but it sounds like you are already doing it as I would.

I've heard of people using cutting compound on the basecoat to blend in a repair but ive never tried it myself. 

[Andyrew]

So today I nipped into the scrappy and handily a near identical Astra had turned up. Assume it had been an Irish car as it was branded opel. I relieved it of said branding. I scouted around and found A pair of steel rims to get some tyres wanged onto so I can take the winters off untill winter time.  A wiper linkage that doesn't wobble around like a cock in a sock and a nearside whole hub, the drive shaft was free as I didn't have a big enough socket with me and lorraine the woman I know there said to not worry about it. The wheel bearing doesn't look too old either handily, 

[Andyrew]

To the workshop then to fix the fabulous ecto4.  I'll undo the crown nut first whilst the cars on the floor.  I don't have  a deep enough 30mm socket. FAIL!

screw it I'll fit the Opel grill to see if I'm digging it.  

FAIL! seems the opel uses a shorter bonnet pull catch because the chrome v isn't present. 

I'll nab the catch when I'm next at the scrappy. That explains why all the aftermarket grilles I've seen over here have the little dodad sticking out. 

 

[davehedgehog31]

4 minutes ago, Andyrew said:

To the workshop then to fix the fabulous ecto4.  I'll undo the crown nut first whilst the cars on the floor.  I don't have  a deep enough 30mm socket. FAIL!

screw it I'll fit the Opel grill to see if I'm digging it.  

FAIL! seems the opel uses a shorter bonnet pull catch because the chrome v isn't present. 

I'll nab the catch when I'm next at the scrappy. That explains why all the aftermarket grilles I've seen over here have the little dodad sticking out. 

 

You can bodge this if that way inclined Sir;

 

https://z22se.co.uk/resources/modify-bonnet-catch-astra-g.37/