The Astraslag TDW Slut Car Thread

Talk about your cars etc here. Keep it sort of sensible and on topic please.
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paulplom
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Re: Epic Collection.

Post by paulplom »

It has cleaned up really well. You'd never think it was a £250 car. Fully serviced every year, cambelt and water pump done and only 65k on the clock. It's got to be worth a grand surely.
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Re: Epic Collection.

Post by FhakeConcern »

Warren t claim wrote: Thu Aug 04, 2022 12:57 am Let's get back to the story.

Today was its first full shift and it clocked up 400 miles since I collected it.

Firstly fuel economy. The Fiesta did about 33-36 mpg around the doors on a normal shift and the Astra seems to be about the same, 35-37 mpg, although I have noticed that the Astra is noticeably better on petrol at motorway speeds. One slight problem is a couple of times tonight I found myself cruising for a couple of miles at 40 mph on urban dual carriageways in third gear as the motor is so quiet.

How is it for work? Having four doors is making deliveries easier, I load the full bags onto the front passenger seat and after each drop put the empty bag on the rear seat behind me. The interior light is brighter than the Fiesta's which really does help. Oddment space is on a par with the Ford although I do miss having a cupholder. The Fiesta had a handy remote boot release which the Astra lacks but as the Astra has a button on the outside of the tailgate we'll call that a score draw. One black mark against the Astra, and all Vauxhalls of that era is the 12v cigarette lighter socket, it only works with the ignition on. This is causing my ancient Garmin to throw a shit fit whenever I turn the engine on and off. It thinks that it is connected to a computer for an update and goes through a full reboot sequence. I'll get around this by wiring another 12v aftermarket socket straight to the battery.

As a driving experience it's way ahead of the Fiesta but then again it should be as even though they're of a similar age the Astra was a much more expensive car when new. The steering is lighter and although it doesn't quite have the feedback and chuckability of the Richard Parry-Jones tweaked Fiesta it does cling on pretty well. The Ford did have a better gearchange though, the change in the Astra isn't bad although it is very Peugeot 306/406 like.

A few pages ago we had the debate of whether the aircon will or won't work so to answer the question I'll give you the honest answer of yes but only slightly. Both myself and Paul agreed that when it was switched on we noticed that the air blasting through the vents was a bit colder than the ambient temperature. It might be worth trying a Halfords DIY regass kit. Has anyone here bought one and had any success with it?

I know that the wheel trims are missing and it'd look 100% better with some but guess what isn't missing after twenty years? Believe it or not the golf tee tyre valve cap removing tool is still present and correct in its rightful place inside the fuel filler flap! Yes I was surprised too!
Warren t claim wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 3:48 pm 16597108707381522576938.jpg
I have used the Halfrauds air con top up kit a couple of times with great results, however once it blew a hole in the condenser (probably just about to explode on its own, i suppose).
Are Kwik Fit still doing the air con top up where you only pay if it actually works? If so that would be worth a go, maybe.
The new wheel trimz make an inexplicable improvement to the point it looks like a different, newer car...
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Re: Epic Collection.

Post by christine »

paulplom wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 4:25 pm Smart. Have you cable tied them on?
Eddie ties . Removable
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Re: Epic Collection.

Post by Warren t claim »

Yes I managed to sort of break it!

I was asked to go to one of our Wirral stores to help out as one of their lads had broken down. I turn up and get loaded up with four deliveries and set off. About half a mile up the road I decide to make a minor adjustment to the steering column whilst driving. Deed done and I push the lever back in position only to hear and feel my keys bounce off my leg and hit the floor. No real problem, I just pull over and take the remaining bit of the key out of the ignition and clip it back together. I put the key back in the ignition and turn it to discover that the engine turns but will not fire. Although it wouldn't be unheard of for a fuel pump to die at 65000 miles, the chances of it failing at exactly this time would be lottery winning odds so I assume that I've managed to trip the security system. I hop out, close the door and hit the lock and unlock button to reset it before turning the key in the ignition again. This time it starts but only for a second before cutting out. I play with the key, taing it apart and putting it back together again only to have the same results.

Even though the key is meant to come apart where it did so the battery could be replaced it seems that I must have damaged it somehow. The sad thing is that only this afternoon I took the spare key off the keyring and left it at home. I phone work to get the driver to collect my four deliveries and ponder my options. The shop weren't prepared to let their one remaining driver do a twenty minute diversion to run me home and back for the spare key because they weren't sure that would fix my car. I phone my breakdown company and they say it's over a 90 minute wait for recovery. I suggest that it may be easier for them to get me a taxi to fetch the spare but they insisted that a recovery agent attended first.

I swallow a brave pill and phone for a taxi. My taxi firm obviously knows me and puts me on a priority booking and sure enough, within ten minutes a Ford Galaxy arrives to do my wait and return job to pick up a key. I don't know the driver and as the fare is a wait and return from a shit part of Birkenhead to the shit estate I live in he's eyeing me with suspicion as any job like this is always a nailed on drugs run. Once at my gaff I sprint in and grab the spare key. All the way back I'm praying that I haven't tripped the body control module. At last we're back at the Astra and £15 poorer I cross the road and unlock it the old fashioned way as the spare key doesn't work on the remote fob. Now I KNOW it'll start but hopefully it'll continue to run for more than a few seconds. Key turned the engine fires into life by doing its usual rev up to 2000 revs for a second. I watch the rev counter and to my delight, the needle drops to just below 1000 revs and continues to idle. Success!

As work was less than helpful I decide to tell them that the body control module has tripped out and I'll be back in work at 11am tomorrow. Fuck 'em. They'll cope.
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Re: Epic Collection. I broke it. (sort of)

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

Have a look on the floor of the car for the little immobiliser chip, it's fallen out the key.
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Re: Epic Collection. I broke it. (sort of)

Post by Warren t claim »

I was racking my brains to remember what the driving experience reminds me of. You'd think either Mk3 Astra or Vectra B but it feels totally different to the Mk3 Astra, which drives like a slightly smaller Mk3 Cavalier, and The Vectra B has a totally different feel at the wheel with worse steering.

It only just dawned on me that it feels like a Mk2 Focus to drive. Similar build quality and steering/handling, probably because they both have electric PAS. The Astra has a worse gearchange than a 60,000 mile Focus but it is better than the gearchange of a 150,000 mile Focus Mk2.
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Re: Epic Collection. I broke it. (sort of)

Post by DodgeRover »

Scruffy Bodger wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:37 pm Have a look on the floor of the car for the little immobiliser chip, it's fallen out the key.
This is what's happened or its got displaced somehow. I did exactly the same with the Omega we had, might have been on your trousers or something for it to start then cut out.
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Re: Epic Collection. I broke it. (sort of)

Post by Warren t claim »

Scruffy Bodger wrote: Fri Aug 05, 2022 10:37 pm Have a look on the floor of the car for the little immobiliser chip, it's fallen out the key.
The thing is, I had the same type key for my Omega Elite and that regularly refused to let me remove the key out of the ignition requiring me to separate the blade from the body of the key but even then I had no immobiliser issues. The refusal to sometimes release its key was eventually sorted when I noticed that it would always let go if I pulled the gear selector slightly backwards a few millimeters when in the park position.
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Re: Epic Collection. I broke it. (sort of)

Post by Scruffy Bodger »

IIRC it's only a small black plastic thing clipped into the key on Vauxhalls that age? When we did the Mk2 Astra with the V6 Vectra transplant we just taped the thing to the transponder so things like that couldn't happen.
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Re: Epic Collection. I broke it. (sort of)

Post by SiC »

Or take the chip out and tape it to the immo ring so both keys work. But don't tell the internet you did that.

Astra G remote central locking will need resynchronizating. Google it and you'll find the dance you need to do. Iirc you put the key in, turn on while pushing the unlock button. Or something like that.
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