Good evening,
I would like, if I may, to tell you a tale of woe about a certain 1992 1.7D Astra. Yes, that one....
I used it to visit my kids oop north at the weekend and, despite the problem I am about to relate, was a joy to drive - no, seriously!
I came across stationary traffic on the M6 just south of Birmingham. The temperature needle climbed faster than you can say "antidisestablishmentarianism". Generally the temp gauge only shows just above cold, and during this traffic jam climbed to 90 degrees.
I suspect a dodgy thermostat. Where is it located on the 1992 1.7D lump? I could do with taking it out and testing it before I troll down to my local bona garage (with resident mechanics Julian and his friend Sandy). And if it needs a new one, how much are they? I am (perhaps naively) thinking that if I can take the old one out then I can put a new one in?
Cheers (as always) for your help.
Rob
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Rob,
No idea where the thermostat is situated - sorry; but for the price of a new one (around £10, or less than a fiver from Autovaux) it's hardly worth the bother of testing it. Use the oportunity to also flush out the cooling system and fill with fresh antifreeze.
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Thanks for that Dave. I really must get a Haynes manual!
Cheers
Rob
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That Astra won't know what's going on, first it gets an oil change and now someone is going to change it's coolant! Very out of the ordinary! :-)
Blue
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Rob
Thermostat changing is pretty straightforward (even I can do it) but I suspect you'll need some decent circlip pliers to get the thing out so you should add that to the cost. Don't forget to buy a new gasket for the housing--it may not come with the thermostat. But anyway, is 90 degrees too hot? Is that as far as it went? Maybe a radiator flush is all it needs, followed by a new radiator a few months later no doubt...
Chris
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My 306DTurbo regularly climbs from 80 to 90 degC when i hit traffic after a quick run, it's just what happens i think when you cut off the 70mph+ air flow into it. It soon comes back down again once you get moving, or if it gets very hot when the fan comes on. I bet your thermostats fine really, i assume it came back down after you got past the traffic jam?
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If you do need to change the thermostat then bear in mind that from VX the difference in price (for my cavalier anyway) between a thermostat on its own and a thermostat & housing was only about 3 quid (12 vs. 15)for my cav.; maybe the Astra is similar. Changing the whole thing was an awful lot less hassle.
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Rob:
I've not been around here all that much lately - Surely not that Astra?! Please reveal more, a newfangled Forum Search (possibly incpmpetently executed) didn't reveal anything about the source of your new machine!
I may be completely wrong of course but:
1 - 90 degrees C doesn't sound excessive to me
2 - Is the cooling fan kicking in as it should? I think that might be a more likely cause of unusually high temperatures in stationary traffic.
And a question that may help me and others help... Did the temperature rise inexorably or just get to 90 and stop rising?
Andy
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I've not been around here all that much lately - Surely not that Astra?! Please reveal more, a newfangled Forum Search (possibly incpmpetently executed) didn't reveal anything about the source of your new machine!
Andy S, if you goto the following link, all will bcome clear.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=14196&...f
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Andy (and others),
Thanks for all your help so far. The Astra is question is rather famous on these august pages. Follow Dave's link, or type HF Astra into the search doo-dah. All should become clear.
In reply to you, Andy -
1 - 90 degrees doesn't sound too bad to me either. It normally only registers just above cold under normal driving conditions.
2 - I don't think that the cooling fan kicked in. I couldn't hear it, but then again I did have Barry White on rather loud (see HF's post...)
The temperature needle rose very quickly - I could almost see it rising. As it isn't my car and I didn't want to break it (jeez, my life wouldn't be worth living) I turned the heater on to hot and the needle soon dropped again. It also dropped very quickly once I came off the motorway and took a scenic detour through Birmingham.
I'm actually inclined to believe that there isn't actually anything wrong. I'll run the engine for a while when I get the chance and see if the fan kicks in, then report back.
Thanks all for your help, and welcome back Andy!
Cheers
Rob
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I'm with Andy S. Check that the cooling fan operates correctly. It may have a 2 speed fan which is only ever needed when things get really hot. Having said that, 90 deg is about normal anyway. Have you lost any coolant?
If you feel you need a new thermostat, give my regards to Julian & Sandy, amusing characters from the wireless that they are.
H.
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Stranger in a strange land
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I had no idea my Astra was so famous!
Andy S - just to emphasise that it is still *my* Astra. Can't really go into detail here about why RTB was using it, DD would tell me off. But if you happen to come to the BR meet-up...
Blue - poor car certainly doesn't know what's hit it! I don't think it enjoyed its long trip though, particularly as it had to suffer some particularly hideous music in the process ;)
Everybody - unfortunately I'm not capable enough to do any of the checks people have suggested myself, and so cannot offer any feedback to your useful advice. Personally, from certain things said, I'm tempted to convince myself that nothing needs to be done. But that's probably a bad idea. Will get all suggestions tested and report back.
Thanks.
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HF: Having read the post DD pointed out to me, I understand! Ain't the BR great!
Unfortunately my wife will not let me come to the BR get-together. She seems to think that I should spend the weekend of our wedding anniversary with her! Hope I'll get to a meeting eventually though.
All the best,
Andy
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Hi Andy,
Thanks for your post.
Yes, the BR is fantastic!
>>She seems to think that I should spend the weekend of our >>wedding anniversary with her!
How incredibly selfish of her! ;) Surely a BR meeting is the perfect venue for a romantic anniversary celebration?
Seriously, after the roaring success that I'm hoping September 7th will be, there will be many more meetings in future. Look forward to seeing you at one of them, and in the meantime have a very enjoyable anniversary weekend.
Better return to topic - Rob has not had a chance to check anything yet, but we'll report back asap.
HF
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