diesel corsa brakes

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Thu 17 Oct 2002 21:45
diesel corsa brakes - t.g.webb
Today, only a few days after its first MOT at 4 years/50k miles, my 1.7 Corsa lost its brakes just after I pulled out of a tight parking slot in Belfast.

I noticed that the brake pedal stayed firm but that the battery discharge light stayed on, there was no useful residual braking left. I managed to find a larger slot around the corner and gingerly put the car in there, then I called the AA. They were excellent and got me to a local Vauxhall shop who confirmed the AA man's diagnosis that the alternator/brake servo unit drive belt had failed.

Simple enough, but there seems no reason why this fault wouldn't happen on the highway, has this happened to anyone? It would be a desperate situation.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 17 Oct 2002 22:06
diesel corsa brakes - RichardP
I think that the 1.7 corsa has the GM 1.7 DR engine (60HP) and not an Isuzu unit. Both the 1.5 and 1.5TD cars feature the Isuzu engine. The GM engine has a separate vacuum pump located by the right hand side of the engine's cam cover (it does on my old 1994 Astra 1.7d anyway). I once had a vacuum leak with this car and lost the operation of the cold start device, brake servo and the ventilation air recirculation system. The brakes still worked , albeit at about 50% efficiency. I doubt that the brakes of this car would stop working altogether if only the servo packed in.
Reply | Report as offensive | Link