Hello
My sister has an Astra belmont 1.6 and she has been told by her garage to get a new carb from a scrapyard to replace the existing one because it is knackered. hers is one of the last Astras of this type to be made, therefore the probability of finding a decent carb at a scrappers is low. does anyone know whether we could use a carb from a more recent Vauxhall ie a Cavalier or whether the one fitted is specific to this model ?
Incidentally I wish she would scrap this car due to its flimsiness and get a Vento. Would appreciate any thoughts on the matter....
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I'd be interested to know why it is "knackered" The pierburg carb on these cars is maligned by many, usually out of ignorance. Admittedly a Weber replacement is a good idea, nice and simple but most faults on the Pierburg are normally repairable.
In answer to your question though, any GM 1.6 of the same age will yield a suitable replacement but unless you are lucky will be in a similar state to the one you have at present. What sort of mileage has it covered?
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88 000 miles on the car Andrew, Unfortunately she lives in London so I have yet to examine the Carburettor in question, She has a friendly local garage who told her to get another carb, and they will fit it for fifteen quid ? ?
She says the "problem" makes the car difficult to start from cold, so maybe a manual choke conversion kit would solve it ?
I have never had a Vauxhall, but have had a few VWs with a Pierburg 2E twin barrelled carburettor, these are fiendishly complex and can give problems does Vauxhall also fit these - i thought they used Zenith carbs ?
I'm off to the scrapper's now to try and find a carb from a crashed car - ie one which hasn't been scrapped due to mechanical faults......
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Dave
The auto choke will be the problem with the Pieburg carb on this car. We had the same problem with my son's 1.3 several years ago. There is an overhaul kit available for this carb - it fixes the choke problem. You're more likely to pick one up from an independent parts supplier. I think ours came from Patchway Autoparts in Filton, Bristol.
Ian
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Vauxhall dealers did used to do a repair kit for these carbs that cost around £90. Maybe they don't do it any more.
HJ
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Firstly check that the auto choke mechanism 'sets' when the accel. pedal is depressed. If not, remove the heat mass from the side of the carb and check if the bi-metal spring has not come adrift. It's not rocket science to refit it, use the alternator as a convenient anvil to tap it back into place gently. (You may find that as you remove the housing the spring actually falls out, if so make sure you refit it the right way round so it unwinds as it heats). If all is well there operate the little crank inside the auto choke by hand with the accelerator depressed and check that it operates smoothly. If the choke is all binding up it will need removing and stripping down to ease it with perhaps a little careful use of wet'n'dry. IIf the choke does set properly but the engine chokes itself up immediately after start up the black pull down unit may have failed, ensure that the lower of the two vacuum pipes is sound where it leaves the base of the carb and that the brass tube in the carb is not blocked. Finally it is worthwhile fitting a small earth wire from one of the screws holding the heat mass onto the carb round to the carb body. The bi-metal spring is actually electrically heated with the water jacket maintaining the heat in the mass when you park up for a while to stop the choke coming back on to a warm engine. What can happen is that the unit loses its earthing through the plastic body of the Auto choke and consequently the choke takes a good 10 minutes to come off fully.
Hope this helps.
Andrew
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PS. And don't forget to check for all of these faults on the carb you get from the scrapper, as it will probably have most of them, and maybe a few more beside if it has been sitting around doing nothing for a nice long time !!
Adam
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