I recently purchased a 1996 Vauxhall Astra 1.7 Diesel turbo GM engine, which is suffering rapid engine overheating. Basically after a cold start the engine overheats within 10-15 minutes running stationary, the top hose is red hot and bottom hose cold, no circulation. The gauge is in the red and water boiling in the tank. It previously had a head gasket fitted due to overheating, the water pump has been checked, not worn and free running, and the thermostat renewed. I have removed the thermostat and just fitted a new radiator thinking it might be blocked. The electric fan does operate. I have tried flushing system, but it appears there is a massive air lock, are there any special filling procedures or bleeding points on this model? I have run out of idea?s any advise would be much appreciated.
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my 75 turned over but rfused to start. The ECU has flooded with rain water, as it happens, but the message coming back from the diagnostic analysis read along the lines of 'Fault Code not recognised' so the auto electrician cannot assure me that this is the sole problem. He's also installed a cam centre but it's doubtful that this had anything to do with it, as it made no difference as far as the diagnotics were concerned. The car has been starting in the garage even before any of this was done. I'll take it back today rather than keep throwing money at it. Can anyone illuminate the situation for me? Read more

HI
Dont know if anyone has ever had this problem, on my Vectra Sri (2.5 V6) 1999, with 87k.
I noticed that i was loosing power steering fluid, and topped up the system, until i could then see after driving the car, small drops of the fluid dripping from the drivers side just behind the wheel from the rack itself.

Now the steering is fine, no play etc, no noises, nothing the car is just tip top, apart from this leak.
Iv been told that it must be leaking from the metal pipes that feed the steering rack, as the nuts may just need a tweak and tightened up, or that you can get a washer kit for them and may need that.

Im not sure as i know nothing about these, except that at first my only answer was a new steering rack ,and thats gona cost around the region of 500 quid fitted. As its the V6 you have to drop the subframe to get the rack in and out.
But id be surprised if it needed a change as theres nothing actually wrong with the current rack, only this poxy little leak.

Which means i now cant re mot it until curred. Anybody experienced these?

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On another motoring forum I saw this

''1. I will ALWAYS park at the empty end of the car park, away from everyone else.

2. Even at the supermarket I do this, AND park across 2 spaces.

3. In pay and displays, I will generally do the first and often the second - BUT I buy 2 tickets. Therefore the 2 spaces are MINE for the "rental period".

1 and 2 are now habit, and 3 is VERY amusing when the jobsworth turns up - believe me I have stood and watched as he busts a gut to get to the car as quickly as possible to put a ticket on.
When he's nearly done I saunter back and ask him what's wrong.
He says "contravention of parking order blah, blah, blah, not parking within marked bay, blah, blah blah".
I ask him to check the ticket in the screen, he realises there are 2 but still says he cannot rescind the tickets - quick phone call to his office normally sorts it out.

Despite all this I have a few dings from the work car park

Steve''

I found this interesting since we regularly have debates on 4*4's on this forum. I have no thoughts on 4*4 other than they are status symbols that we don't really need. I feel this is what drives people to hate 4*4's, due to a mixture of envy and a feeling that they are plain excessive. Why do people need to drive around in V8 Range Rovers?
Taking the issue of excess into consideration I feel we now live in a society that wants to make car ownership inclusive and there is a feeling that everyone however poor should be able to afford a car. That is why taxes, like the petrol tax, that hurt the people at the bottom of the ladder are seen as to high, or if they rise, hurt the most vulnerable. There is thus a strong inclination that everyone should be able to buy a given minimum of personal transport no matter what. However this goes hand in hand with a dislike of seeing others conspicuous consumption. The average person can see the sense of choosing a reasonable car like a ford focus over a poverty condition car like a peruda kelisa. What most people can't see is why a person should choose a range rover V8 over a ford focus.
The above post that I have quoted shows exactly the kind of behaviour that one could consider excessive and look down upon. Yet the poster has broken no laws, and has paid society for his imposition of taking up 2 parking spaces. I consider his behaviour as socially odious for the same reason why people don't like 4*4's. That is we consider a parking space as a right and we try to provide one for every car on the road. Thus letting 2 people park in an area is more than twice as valuable than letting 1 person take up 2 parking spaces. The person taking up 2 parking spaces is preventing someone taking their 'rightful' parking space.
The same goes for people who drive 4*4's like the range rover V8, we understand our resources are finite, but we all have some concept of what excessiveness is in cars. It is this that have lead 4*4 drivers to be 'targeted' by the government.

What we need to do is to ignore the rubbish about 4*4's destroying the environment and passing laws specifically to get 4*4's off the road. The reason being this is that 4*4's have become the icon of excess, hence the new 4*4 taxes being muted.
Instead we need to tax truly excessive cars, from 4*4 like the range rover to saloons like the Mercedes S-class. If we want to prevent odious excess we must cut taxes for the cleanest cars that consume lets say less than 40 MPG. Almost every need is met by cars producing less pollution than this from superminis to MPV's. For every 1 mpg less than 40 the government sticks £1,000 on to the sticker price through tax.

Apart from making dubious recommendations about how to curb excess, I think I posted this thread to ask
1. What people think about people behaving 'excessively' on the road and if they can think of any other examples.
2. Do people hate 4*4's since because they have become icons of excess?

Almost every reason of owning a 'chelsea tractor' could be seen as the owner being excessive in one way or another, unless they live on a farm etc.

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Torque means nothing without RPM Read more

Is it me or was unleaded petrol once 95 octane and super unleaded 98 ?? I've noticed that both appear to have dropped down to 94 and 97. Any reason for this ? Read more