mk3 astras

[x Alex x]

bought one today as it was to cheap to turn down and i need a car after selling my '05 primera which i didn't really like.

picked up an ex police 98 s reg astra 1.4 with an LPG conversion for £275, plenty tax and test too.

trying to find out a bit about them but not having much luck.

i don't even know what engine's in it, it's probably the painfully slow 59bhp version

it says eco-tec on the engine cover and it does like like a 16v but i'm not too sure.

anyone else know much about them like what goes wrong on them etc? it's only on 93k miles and has probably been serviced well in the police, still might drop the oil on it in time

 

[AppleSei]

www.mk3oc.com All free

Some good knowledgeable people on there just like here

 

[x Alex x]

ah nice one mate cheers, every other club i've tried to find demand a fee straight away

 

[AppleSei]

It was free when i signed up 3/4 years ago but things might've changed

I had a 1993 1.6 LS it had 161k on original engine when it went to scrapyard in the sky, unfortuneatly someone tried to nick it and broke the steering on it which is why it went to car heaven, nothing wrong with engine it was as sweet as a nut

 

[x Alex x]

they seem pretty decent cars, if this one goes i'll get £100 scrap and probably a couple of hundred for the LPG gear so i can't loose.

it's stood for a couple of weeks so needs a good run out, seems to be steaming a fair bit from the exhaust, hoping they aren't HG prone

x14xe engine in it i beleive, better than i though 88BHP :O (16v)

 

[x Alex x]

total heap of **** LMAO nice whiteish smoke under load, HG/stem oil seals? gunna run it till the end of the month, pull the tax off, sell some parts off it and scrap it

 

[AppleSei]

Do a compression test on it to see if HG has gone

Suprised you didnt spot it during the test run - the signs wouldve been obvious

 

[x Alex x]

Do a compression test on it to see if HG has gone

Suprised you didnt spot it during the test run - the signs wouldve been obvious

i just took it round the block, to get it to smoke you've got to put your foot down, couldn't have driven like that where i drove it, would have had to go out for a good few mile and didn't have much petrol in it.

it'll show low comp if it's the HG or the stem seals wont it?

 

[AppleSei]

i just took it round the block, to get it to smoke you've got to put your foot down, couldn't have driven like that where i drove it, would have had to go out for a good few mile and didn't have much petrol in it.

it'll show low comp if it's the HG or the stem seals wont it?

yeah compression will be down if its the HG there will be other signs like rough running, overheating and a 'mayo' substance on the oil cap

It could always just be condensation and the LPG fumes if its been stood a while, if it was an oil issue it would be blue smoke coming out of back

Round the block isnt a test if it was running low I wouldve brought the seller along and gone to petrol station and asked them to stick a fiver or something in it so you couldve had a proper run - am sure you know that though

 

[x Alex x]

yeah compression will be down if its the HG there will be other signs like rough running, overheating and a 'mayo' substance on the oil cap

It could always just be condensation and the LPG fumes if its been stood a while, if it was an oil issue it would be blue smoke coming out of back

Round the block isnt a test if it was running low I wouldve brought the seller along and gone to petrol station and asked them to stick a fiver or something in it so you couldve had a proper run - am sure you know that though

oil and everythings fine, no over heating on a half an hour run.

and yeah i know, it was raining and the car was £275 so i'm not too bothered, i can get £120 scrap sell a few bits including the lpg kit and probably turn a profit. probably run it till the end of the month, pull the head off and have a look, got nothing too loose really as it'll just get broken if it's dead.

 

[AppleSei]

oil and everythings fine, no over heating on a half an hour run.

Not the oil sorry, the oil stem seals, blue smoke would be coming out of back if there was a problem with anything to with the oil or oily areas, as its white smoke id probably rule out it being that

Dont know if you can sell the LPG second hand dont know what the rules are regarding things like that - they have to go through allsorts of safety tests and be fitted by a specialist i think though, ive never seen a second hand LPG unit be sold

 

[x Alex x]

Not the oil sorry, the oil stem seals, blue smoke would be coming out of back if there was a problem with anything to with the oil or oily areas, as its white smoke id probably rule out it being that

Dont know if you can sell the LPG second hand dont know what the rules are regarding things like that - they have to go through allsorts of safety tests and be fitted by a specialist i think though, ive never seen a second hand LPG unit be sold

you can sell them no problem, i've bought and fitted one myself, the only test is a £50 safety test making sure the tank is mounted properly and can stand a massive 30g impact

 

[x Alex x]

stuck a tenner in the LPG tank, it's down on power on LPG as if it's on 3 cylinders almost, no smoke at all now though. strange.

going to do some research on the LPG system, hopefully a simple fix, maybe i just got a bad batch of petrol, didn't put diesel in (i don't think) although i was in a rush getting to work

 

[x Alex x]

turns out it had too much oil in, 3 litres too much by the looks of it, drain it all out, put 4L back in and she's fine now

 

[payney1]

turns out it had too much oil in, 3 litres too much by the looks of it, drain it all out, put 4L back in and she's fine now

blimey 3 litres too much oil

Being an ex cop vehicle you may want to give the inside a damn good valet, you never know who's been in the back or what's on the seats or dash lol

 

[x Alex x]

blimey 3 litres too much oil

Being an ex cop vehicle you may want to give the inside a damn good valet, you never know who's been in the back or what's on the seats or dash lol

maybe a slight exaggeration lol but still quite a bit, already done but it probably hasn't been a copper car for many years now.

turns out the LPG system in it is a factory fit jobby, can fetch a decent price, more than what i paid for the car

 

[payney1]

maybe a slight exaggeration lol but still quite a bit, already done but it probably hasn't been a copper car for many years now.

turns out the LPG system in it is a factory fit jobby, can fetch a decent price, more than what i paid for the car

Ah so it was one of the dual fuel cars that vauxhall created many years ago, win win win situation by the looks of it then

 

[x Alex x]

Ah so it was one of the dual fuel cars that vauxhall created many years ago, win win win situation by the looks of it then

yep that's right soon as it dies i'll pull the kit off and some other bits to buy the next, i love banger motoring