[ritedhawan]

GTO: Didn't think too much of the original engine (forever to revv), but the updated unit sitting under the hood of your car is far better.

Inspite of the updated MPFI engine in this Astra, compared to the earlier carburetor one. The fact more or less remains the same: that , not only its going to take a while to revv up, but , it takes some time to accelerate. The power and torque delivery of this engine is meagre in comparison to the weight of the car, its pulling-- the power to weight ratio of this car, in itself alludes to the above fact.The best way to drive this car is by patiently moving up its tall gearing. As stated in the review, a driver who employs the 'accelerate-deaccelerate and brake' style of driving will be thoroughly dissappointed by this car--especially , if he thinks that he's going to get some power surge by doing this. No wonder, my younger brother never really relished the urge to drive this car, whilst, my father and I did.
One has driven this car at 160+ kmph, on highway and Yet, one can assure you that it took me more than 5 minutes to reach that speed from zero kmph, simply because one was patiently moving up in speed along with shifting gear-up. It was only in the overdrive gear that one was using upper power band of this car, not in the first four gears. One could have spared oneself the aggravation of being patient, and would have stepped on gas everytime following a gear change, but what could one get out this excecise:- Nothing, except gradually increasing engine revv noise, and drop in FE. Result, if someone wants to get the best out of this car, be patient.

[petroguzzler]

Originally Posted by GTO

I had, and still do, a soft spot for the Opel Astra. Didn't think too much of the original engine (forever to revv), but the updated unit sitting under the hood of your car is far better. Pure European build quality, the first truly premium interiors in a <10 lakh car and beautiful ride & handling. Most people credit the Octavia as being the first affordable premium European car in our market; no ways, its the Astra. Driving one at 150 kph back then was a lesson in high-speed stability (especially since my daily driver was an Esteem).

Excellent report. I really enjoyed reading this one. Thanks for sharing, and do drive safe.

Yep. The opel astra's design is solid and neat. Even today i find the design attractive. It has aged very gracefully.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

Inspite of the updated MPFI engine in this Astra, compared to the earlier carburetor one.

What carburetor? IIRC, the Astra was originally launched with an SPFI (single point fuel injection) engine. It never had a carburetor.

[ritedhawan]

GTO: What carburetor? IIRC, the Astra was originally launched with an SPFI (single point fuel injection) engine. It never had a carburetor.

My apologies, one mistakenly typed carburetor instead of SPFI. Thanks to you for bringing that to attention.

Correction at #18: To replace the word 'carburetor' with SPFI.

McLaren Rulez : Do photograph your car after the next service so we can see it clean and shining

Well, here is brief description as well as some photos after service.

Yesterday, the car went for its 1 lakh 10 thousand km scheduled service at ASC. It was realized after inspection , that a some amount(almost 1/3) coolant was lost due to leakage, thus the priority job was to get rid of any leakage, which one has been told that it has been done away with and that there is no more leakage. Furthermore, the radiator has been flushed and new coolant added. Brief description of service:
Description (Service):
The usual , Air, oil , fuel filter were replaced . Elf engine oil added, and the prices were more or less the same as described in the long review. Elf opel coolant cost: 853/-;
Other:
Radiator conditioning + radiator flushing: 1520/-;
Injector clean: 820/-; Engine flush + treatment: 1300/-;
Car Detailing Job:
Interior dry-clean: 1100/-;
Engine bay PU coating: 950/-;

Photos:-
First 2 photos show engine bay (PU coating ) , the third one shows the rear, and the last two of interiors.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by ritedhawan

Well, here is brief description as well as some photos after service.

Yesterday, the car went for its 1 lakh 10 thousand km scheduled service at ASC.

Which ASC? Opel or Chevrolet? Are you able to get OE parts from them?

[ritedhawan]

Mpower: Which ASC? Opel or Chevrolet? Are you able to get OE parts from them?

Well, i get my car serviced from Regent Automobiles, Okhla,New Delhi. Both Opel and Chevrolet brands cars are serviced over there-- not only there, but every GMI ASC is bound to service cars belonging to these 2 brands. Since, one believes that both these brands are owned by GM. Simply put, the chevrolet ASC do service Opel cars.

As for the query about the original parts. Well , to an extent one is able to get genuine Opel car parts from them , but that is subject to availability. I got some parts from them like ignition coil, radiator, etc. But, some like Fuel pump unit, outer door beading, etc i am unable to get because neither the ASC have it nor they are inclined to procure it--Atleast , thats what it seems to me, after several times asking from them.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

The Opel Astra Club, it was the car I always dreamed about back in my college days. Hmm..too many 'One' in the review.

[sandeep.mishra]

Any spare part delaers you know at Kashmere Gate or Mayapuri ? Also please suggest a reliable mech.

Anyone, please can help me with a gear shifter (New or Old)for my Astra? Mine is a 97 OCt 16NZR SPFI engine. My gear often slips while changing and gets stuck in a particular gear. It used to get stuck in the overdrive earlier but now it gets stuck in any gear of its choice.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Which ASC? Opel or Chevrolet? Are you able to get OE parts from them?

No OE parts are available. It took an ASC of almost 3 weeks to procure a clutch plate for my car. The reason cited was "its being imported from Germany".

[quote=ritedhawan;1899460] Fuel Pump Issue

Please check the electricals thoroughly or try getting a pump yourself from the dealers located at Kashmiri gate. I had a problem with the fuel pump which I got replaced with an after market one only once in last 13 years. I dont think frequent outages of the fuel pump has got anything to do with driving the car in reserve fuel. I tank up my Astra when its near empty and it truns atleast 50-60kms on Reserve Fuel all the time (Once in 15 days). The fuel tank is located below the rear seats, hence the sound.

Originally Posted by GTO

What carburetor? IIRC, the Astra was originally launched with an SPFI (single point fuel injection) engine. It never had a carburetor.

Is it possible to convert a SPFI unit to an MPFI one ?

[ritedhawan]

sandeep.mishraAny spare part delaers you know at Kashmere Gate or Mayapuri ?
sandeep.mishraAny spare part delaers you know at Kashmere Gate or Mayapuri ?

sandeep.mishra: Any spare part delaers you know at Kashmere Gate or Mayapuri ?
sandeep.mishraAny spare part delaers you know at Kashmere Gate or Mayapuri ?

To be specific, there is no one dealer in kashmere gate that can provide you with all Opel astra parts, let alone new , genuine ones. But, you can try out kashmere gate market, who knows you may get the part you want. Usually, in our case , the first place we go for a part replacement is ASC. If they have it , well and good.If they dont -- which seems to be the case,sometimes-- my brother and i take the problem part with us to kashmere gate market and search the market for it. Sometimes, our search leads us to the part or not. In the latter case, we come back to our preferred mechanic , and tell him that its better that he employ his source to get us the part, whether new or salvage. Most of the time , the part procured by our preferred mechanic's source is salvage part.

sandeep.mishra: Anyone, please can help me with a gear shifter (New or Old)for my Astra? Mine is a 97 OCt 16NZR SPFI engine. My gear often slips while changing and gets stuck in a particular gear. It used to get stuck in the overdrive earlier but now it gets stuck in any gear of its choice.

I experienced, a grinding sound whenever i shifted gear. Sometimes, around 90k k.m. on the meter, the gear would get stuck at reverse. the car service was due around that time. I went to the ASC, for periodic service and told them of this problem. They told me that they have replaced the transmission oil, with service done. One never had problems with gear change after that.

sandeep.mishra: Is it possible to convert a SPFI unit to an MPFI one ?

As far as i know, it may not be possible. At some points there is whole lot of difference between a single point fuel injection [SPFI] and multi-point fuel injection [MPFI]. Even if it were possible, the non-availability of parts will make this exercise in futility.

[evo]

@ritedhawan : What a fantastic report. I learnt a lot today both about the unique features that the Astra had long ago and about how to keep an old car well.

P.S. : I love the Wodehousian way you use "one" as a pronoun

[Pani]

Yes, only people who have driven this car know what a gem it is while others can only crib.

Nicely maintained car buddy.

[myshanks]

Dear Friend,

I have the same model and I have been finding ways to stop Sun Roof water leakage. I tried opening it and could not fine the drain pipe which is supposed be. Can any one help me please

shanks
Mysore

[ritedhawan]

myshanks: I have the same model and I have been finding ways to stop Sun Roof water leakage.

One of the ill's about the sun roof in this car which I forgot mention, but you have highlighted it well. My friend, I too have the same problem in my car though on account of negligence on my part, I forgot to mention this 'negative' about my car. Yes, the problem gets accentuated especially in the rainy season. Water gets accumulated in the plastic fitment that has the open/close sun-roof button. Inundated to such an extend that during the rainy season it either spreads around or falls drop by drop on the plastic area near the gear lever. Whenever, one is driving in the rains , one gets the spare cloth and keep it spare just in case, one may require it to wipe off water accumulation on or near about gear lever.

One does remember, about asking my preferred mechanic to deal with this 'sunroof water accumulation' problem and he told me that he could rectify this problem but at the same time, cautioned me that he wasn't sure that the sunroof may work well after that rectification . I was apprehensive, that after the rectification job who knows the sunroof may work or not! Thus, one advised my preferred mechanic not to do anything about it , since the sunroof was working well and moreover the problem is restricted only in the rainy season. Someday, if the problem really gets out of hand , perhaps one may set about dealing with it. But, for the time being the problem remains as it is.

[ritedhawan]

An update , one would like to add about my car. As I have already pointed out the 'camber issue' in one of the negatives about my car. Due to this perrenial issue , one couldn't get wheel alignment done satisfactorily and consequently the car would pull to the right even after alignment done to an extend. The worst thing was that after 20 to 25 k k.m , one had to replace front tyres because the inside tread of tyre would get eaten up relative to the outer tread, caused due to uneven wear and tear of tyre due to the 'camber issue'. About 10 days ago, one went to our preferred mechanic for some odd job, and during conversation with him . He apprised me that he has finally thought of a solution to this issue in my car.Now, the fact of the matter is,I have been bothering him about this problem for past one year. I was fed up changing tyres due to this problem for some time.

I would like to state before hand , that i dont know much about how steering systems work and as for suspension systems of car , i know about shock-absorber, steering link, ball joints, bushes and as for camber, Macpherson setup, wishbone setup etc , i am not sure about its working.So getting back to that day, During that conversation he told me that I was having this problem in my car because this car doesnt have a camber. Since, alignment could not be done satisfactorily therefore the car would still pull to right, and after some time the uneven wear and tear of front tyres. Our preferred mechanic told me that he has a solution in mind and that one would have to keep the car with him for a week. I agreed, since I was optimistic that something positive would come out of this exercise.

Yesterday, I got a call from our mechanic to get the car. I went to him and he told me, that he has created a camber for this car and installed it and has changed the bushes and other things. He told me something about these things , but it was all a bit un-intelligible to me.Anyways, he advised me to get wheel alignment+balancing and camber adjustment done at a specified tyre shop. I went to that tyre shop and got the job done. When I drove the car after that job, there certainly was marked improvement in driving this car. The car wouldn't pull to the right, even though when one took a u-turn there came a slight 'tuck' noise from front left but it was all well. As for whether this so called 'Experiment' has been successfull in dealing with the uneven ear and tear of the tyres. One would have to drive this car for next 10 to 15 k k.m. and then the inspection of the front tyres would determine whether this experiment has been successfull or not.

[ritedhawan]

Update 1.22 lakh k.m. In the first week on Feb. , had to take the car to an excursion on [Delhi-Shimla-Delhi, same day].

(.) A day before, took the car out to get a K&N Air Filter for my Opel AStra costing Rs. 5680/-. Why installed that in my car? Well, One was fed up with the stock air filter, which would get a lot dirty. Since, most of the time the car would hit Highways [Especially those in Haryana] and had to get the air filter cleaned every 2000 k.m.Not in the least, did one care for the performance aspect of installing a K&N Air filter on my car. The above [the stock air filter getting dirty a lot] was the sole reason to do away with it.

(.) Other thing that was required was 2 new tyres. Got the Michelin 185/70 R14 installed for [2x3844.44= 7688.88/-] + [alignment/wheel balancing=250/- ]+Taxes. During alignment, the concerned person pointed out to me a fact that got me curious!. He told me, that the car front shockers had leaked as there was clear indication of it. Now, for weeks before this, one did felt that there was something wrong with the shockers. Jolts were sometimes felt in the car even though not that harsh. It had been 3 months since the last one[the 2nd hand shocker set,i meant ]had been installed, therefore, one choose to disobey the advice given by the person.A stupid mistake, one would curse oneself the next day, as all along the trip , jolts would be felt from the chandigarh to shimla stretch and back. Everytime, reminding me the stupid mistake , one commited not heeding to the advice of that concerned person.

The day following my rattled up drive back to delhi, took the car to my preferred mechanic. Who told me that shockers had been busted all along, and after thorough inspection told me that transmission oil was leaking slowly . The seal within would need replacement, as for damage. Well, the sump guard took the brunt and one end got loose. AS a matter of fact
, i saw the leaking transmission oil drop by drop in shimla, had me anxious just as the loose sump guard from one end.

Expenses for suspension job:
2 front shockers= 4000/-;
Setting up shockers+setting suspension+other suspension related expenses=1700/-
Transmission oil seal=500/-
Transmission oil= 400/-
Engine Oil Castrol magnatec, topped up=1250/-
Sump guard retrofitted.

Got the car yesterday,Thankfully, everything is o.k. now.