Astrashite

[greengartside]

There is such a thing as having no luck.

 

All this weekend I have been let down and f**ked up by people. First it was the Saxo and 'that' Astra.

 

I sucessfully sold the Ka this morning and that's off to Essex with her new owner, so it was finally time to put the 1.8 Fiesta into action.

 

Off I trot to the garage to fill up with jungle juice, 20 quid of Esso's finest. Pull out of the garage and the fuel pump says bye-bye no amount of cranking would make her fire so a hastily-arranged tow home was in order.

 

So now I'm carless (or carlos for the Spanish viewers) - 'that' Astra seemed a bit more of a necessity.

 

So I bought it.

 

And here she is, in all her shite glory. Flame Pink FTW! Does this qualify for being shite enough?

 

 

 

It's a 1.8 16v Cesaro so it's got a few toys with it, which is nice. The idle is not good, it screams it's bollox off at 2k RPM unless I unplug the electrical plug to the ICV. Does that mean the ICV is knackered? I have noticed the temp gauge barely goes past cold which could mean thermo sensor???

 

Clutch is ok, doesn't seem to slip - just really high. Full year's motty and tax until end of August.

 

...mine for £350. Not bad I think. Now pressed into immediate use as I have work in the morning. Fingers crossed it's a good'un. Seems to be that way.

[red5]

More likely the thermostat I suspect. Does it have the small black ICV? If so just unscrew it and clean it - pref with carb cleaner/equivalent. Looks like the wheels are off a plod spec motor !

[greengartside]

I'm not sure, it's got the long silver ICV which I have took off and cleaned up. Was gunky and it's had a replacement gasket but was airtight. Will check thermostat though cheers

 

Wheels are off a Combo van! The guy who had it swapped them for the original alloys off the Astra

[red5]

Ah ok, the Bosch type. Does it have a 'x' on the end plate?. And clean it, then soak the inside in clean brake fluid, then wash it out again. if it's still random after that it really is tatered !

[Guest]

Looks excellent, I do like a good MK3 Astra, bet the 1.8 goes like a rocket! Get it polished up, doesn't take much to get a red one looking nice.

 

If I recall the Cesaro wheels are those 6-spokes where the spokes aren't flush to the rest of the wheel, but sit inside the wheel rim. See if you can get some, I bet you won't have to pay much more than £50 for a set! Would make it look classy.

[pogweasel]

If I recall the Cesaro wheels are those 6-spokes where the spokes aren't flush to the rest of the wheel, but sit inside the wheel rim.

Incorrect Hirstings.

These are the right wheels for a Cesaro:

[trigger]

There is such a thing as having no luck.

I beg to differ!

 

I once had a K plate Astra 1.4 Si and it was a right hoot to drive until i blew it up.

[greengartside]

Looks excellent, I do like a good MK3 Astra, bet the 1.8 goes like a rocket! Get it polished up, doesn't take much to get a red one looking nice.

 

If I recall the Cesaro wheels are those 6-spokes where the spokes aren't flush to the rest of the wheel, but sit inside the wheel rim. See if you can get some, I bet you won't have to pay much more than £50 for a set! Would make it look classy.

Cheers Hirst, it's pretty damn quick and it's even got bloody rear disc brakes too! I have unplugged the electrical connector to the ICV and it idles perfectly weird!

[pogweasel]

 

I once had a K plate Astra 1.4 Si and it was a right hoot to drive.

SYNTAX ERROR.

My 1.4 astra could never be described as a 'hoot', it was as slow as a glacier, but by christ was it comfortable and reliable. Big mistake selling that one.

[Guest]

Incorrect Hirstings.

These are the right wheels for a Cesaro:

Oh yeah! Haven't seen a set of those for absolutely yonks.

[Pillock]

Does the ECU light come on with the ignition, and then go out? If it doesn't, there's a chance that someone has whipped the bulb out to hide gremlins, and that unplugging the ISV makes it idle OK but put it in 'limp home' mode. Does it pull all the way through the revs with the ISV disconnected?

 

My mum had a mk3 Turdblowa Diesel. Had it as a lease car from new, for three years, and the rear arches were going bubbly in that time. Remember the interior being quite nice though, compared to her Mk2. Yours looks quite nice apart from the wheels, they look tiny!! Get down t'scrappy and get something proper on it

[trigger]

I kid you not, It cost me £350 about 6 years ago and was it brilliant, It had sporty seats and the Si's had a sporty back box as well which had a nice rasp to it.

 

And for a 1.4 MPi it was very quick, The fact i ragged it everywhere didn't help, in the end the cam sensor went and it wouldn't rev over 3000 rpm, I ended up selling it on ebay for £200.

[greengartside]

Pielock - The EML comes on and goes off ok. It stays on when the plug is disconnected but accelerates fine and pulls well. Idles at 1250rpm instead of 2000. Temp gauge sits between the cold mark and quarter all the time, so there's something wrong there I imagine.

I kid you not, there is not a spot of rust on those back arches, save for a little bubbling the size of a 5p piece, amazing. My mate's P-reg Astra is rustier than mine. Wheels will be changed for something better when I have funds! Nice set of 14's or something would suit it well.

 

Trig - I had a 1.4 MPi (82hp) and a 1.6 8v - the 1.4 pissed all over it, was stupidly fast for what it was! This 1.8 seems to be better than both of them, I think it's a de-tuned GSi lump from what I've read.

[Lord Sterling]

Nice one Mr Green, looks a good'un. I do like a good mk3 Astra, driven a few and they were nice.

 

I once had a Red 3-door Astra Cesaro L-reg (L367KSH) this was before I had a licence. Bought it on halves with a mate for a total of £70, clutch was burnt out, no tax, MOT or anything.

[Pillock]

Trig - I had a 1.4 MPi (82hp) and a 1.6 8v - the 1.4 pissed all over it, was stupidly fast for what it was! This 1.8 seems to be better than both of them, I think it's a de-tuned GSi lump from what I've read.

GSi was a two-litre C20XE, yours will be the C18XE so same family but not just a restricted version. Pushes out a not unreasonable 125bhp though.

[greengartside]

This will be my third one now, my previous two (L809 OVF - 1.4 and M744 AMA - 1.6) were both lovely, very comfy and nippy.

I don't know what it is about these shape Astras but there's just 'something' that gives me immense satisfaction driving them. Vauxhall really got these right, then pissed it up the wall in the Mk4.

 

Was your Cesaro a 1.6 or 1.8, Lord Sterling?

 

Oh I forgot to mention mine's only done 82,000 miles! 9,000 of those were in the last four years! Was owned by a giffer since 2001 who did his own servicing too.

[pogweasel]

This will be my third one now, my previous two (L809 OVF - 1.4 and M744 AMA - 1.6) were both lovely, very comfy and nippy.

I don't know what it is about these shape Astras but there's just 'something' that gives me immense satisfaction driving them. Vauxhall really got these right, then pissed it up the wall in the Mk4.

 

 

Not wrong, though the earlier ones were better.

We had two, L75SWV a 1.4 HI-TORQ LS which amazingly still lives (must have a bazillion miles on it by now) took me happily everywhere, and R459APU (dead!) a 1.6 LS run-out model, leaked like a sieve, and rusted but generally OK - but not OK enough to justify being 6 times the price LOL.

 

Mk4's suck donkey cock. Unreliable, uncomfortable and downright dangerous handling with that ghey e-pas. That said, my dad's got one now and he considers it alright - but it is a badermatic 1.6 so not likely to find the handling limits...

[Lord Sterling]

Was your Cesaro a 1.6 or 1.8, Lord Sterling?

Just found the old MOTS (L367KSH), it was a 1.6. I never really owned it properly, I attempted to drive it up a drive without success (Didnt have a licence then)

 

Dumped it on a mates drive and was got rid to the scrapman a week later.

[ProgRocker]

Funnily enough, I saw the advert for that very same Astra on AutoTrader yesterday. I recognised it from the steel wheels that seem to come from a Combo van.

 

I was researching Mark 3 Astras because I might be getting 1st refusal on my sister's N reg Astra. Yesterday, she acquired an 08 reg Mercedes-Benz B200 CDi worth about £14,000! Bit of a leap from a 14 year old Ashtray, doncha think?

[greengartside]

Aha! Well done ProgRocker, you spotted her! I bought it from a guy in Costessey, just off Dereham Road.

 

Yeah that does seem a gigantic leap! But we all know that Astras are much better

[ProgRocker]

Aha! Well done ProgRocker, you spotted her! I bought it from a guy in Costessey, just off Dereham Road.

T'other side of the City from me then. Funnily enough, when I was doing my research I wasn't paying attention to their location.

[greengartside]

Ah, you from 'da eastside innit'? I have got a few mates over that way, extremely close to the football ground in those new builds.

 

Was just convenient that it was in Norwich to be fair, it was dirt cheap and most of all, shite. It had to be done.

[CreepingJesus]

A few years ago, I bought a 16v 1.6 GLS Mk3 on finance - the only time I've ever done so - because I needed something halfway decent. In the 9 months or so that I owned it, I hammered 50k+ miles into it.

Due to family circumstances, I was signed off work for a while, and it turned out the finance insurance wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. Thankfully, it was repo'd; I say thankfully because...

It wouldn't pull over 3000rpm, it wouldn't drive straight, the cambelt was twice overdue, the central locking had a mind of its' own (along with a few other vital electrical items), and the back seat base had a bleached-out patch where a child had hurled on it due to the comedy suspension. In short, 'twas a shed.

But, it polished up well, and most importantly, never ever let me down! I think they were the point at which Vauxhall started to overcome the ability to build essentially tough (if unlovely) cars, and and just build short-term rental fodder instead.

I'm actually slightly hankering after another one. Preferably an early GSi.

[Station]

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.c ... read=82972

 

I put mine for sale on RR, although it could only be less popular if I set it on fire and crashed it into that 'garage play day' thing that happens on there.

[pogweasel]

 

I put mine for sale on RR, although it could only be less popular if I set it on fire and crashed it into that 'garage play day' thing that happens on there.

Hey if you did that I would deffo buy you a pint!

[AXrescuer]

Did I mention that I love Mk3 Astras?

[greengartside]

Just thought I'd give everyone a quick update on the Astrashite...

 

...I have fixed the dodgy temp gauge, was the little gauge sender unit - new one for £8 sees the gauge point between 90 and 100 when hot and a smidge over 90 when driving.

 

Clutch issue has been sorted too. I adjusted it! Luckily it's a manual screw-adjustment on the gearbox end so I just screwed it out until the clutch pedal matched the height of the brake pedal and now it feels 100% better to drive.

 

It drives wonderfully, no nasty clonks or rattles from anywhere - just that bloody idle speed thing to sort out. I'm going to buy* another ICV from the scrappys and see if that cures it, will change the little paper gasket that sits between the ICV and throttle body too while I'm at it.

 

*steal.

 

Oh and I would like to change the awful CAR 200 tape player that's in it, so am on the lookout for a decent CD player to LISTEN 2 MA DUBSTEP REEL LOUD INIT N ANNOY DE PPL OF STH NRFLK.

[Station]

You could have an air leak if it's idling badly. Check the black hose that goes from the inlet to the brake servo, it should have a 'nub' on the middle with another 'straw' pipe going into the bulkhead - this goes to the 'air recirculation' button on the dashboard (the flaps are powered by vacuum from inlet). These break off and cause idle problems. Just listen out for wheezes/whistling when you rev.

Use carb cleaner on your ICV anyway, cap both ends with fingers and slush it around, do it until no black comes out, and then spray some lube in there.

[Gompo]

 

 

I put mine for sale on RR, although it could only be less popular if I set it on fire and crashed it into that 'garage play day' thing that happens on there.

Hey if you did that I would deffo buy you a pint!

I've never done this before but:

 

'+1'

[greengartside]

You could have an air leak if it's idling badly. Check the black hose that goes from the inlet to the brake servo, it should have a 'nub' on the middle with another 'straw' pipe going into the bulkhead - this goes to the 'air recirculation' button on the dashboard (the flaps are powered by vacuum from inlet). These break off and cause idle problems. Just listen out for wheezes/whistling when you rev.

Use carb cleaner on your ICV anyway, cap both ends with fingers and slush it around, do it until no black comes out, and then spray some lube in there.

Cheers Station, I'll go and have a peek at it. Did notice that pipe earlier so I know what you mean.

 

Just a couple of pics regarding the cleaning of the Astrashite. It's just an half-arsed effort just to see what condition could be achieved with it.

 

 

 

Another thing I want to do is to get some original number plates made up for it. I know a guy who does them, but he would need to know the original selling dealer, and because it's got no service book then it's hard to tell.

 

I think it's a Leicester reg, so can anybody throw me some names for Vauxhall dealers in Leicester in 1994? Or has anybody seen a L*** CJF registered Vauxhall with the original number plates on? Would be nice to get some originality back with the car - those plates are pretty worn out now and let it down somewhat.

 

Oh and there's a sticker in the windscreen saying that my mate Gavin fitted me a new windscreen at Autoglass. Shite +1.

 

*EDIT* It's not the pipe as it seems to be on fine. Done the paperclip test and it's thrown up faults 38 and 56. 38 is low voltage on o2 sensor and 56 is ICV short to earth (as it's been disconnected)....