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Old 16th November 2004, 22:19   #1
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I have purchased a 1996 Opel Astra with an old engine which has done 93000km after selling my Indica V2. I am also having a Ford Ikon Flair. I know that Astra is no longer in production and is expensive to maintain but I was always crazy about the Astra. Personally I believe that the Astra with old 1.6lz2 engine has heavy duty clutch which usually have long life and engine have longer life.I dont know abt the maintainance schedules regarding astras engine.Please tell what all should be done to keep this car in shape. Have I done any mistake for buying a high mileage (93000km) car. At what kilometres should I change the timing belt,fuel filter,oil. Please advice?

Yours truly,
nishweth.

nishweth@sify.com



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Old 17th November 2004, 00:32   #2
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yeah it wud have been better if you had bought an astra with lower mileage...its always better to get a car which has run less...but with the astra out of production...such examples are hard to come by.

Just stick to the normal service schedules and it shud be just fine for sometime atleast...but i guess you will have to start replacing a few parts since the car has clocked such a mileage..

Im not sure when the timing belt and all needs to be replaced, maybe another member can shed more light on this...

meanwhile you can check out the owners manual...it probably has a whole chart about when certain parts need to inspected/replaced.

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Old 17th November 2004, 01:49   #3
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Yeah i would recommend you change ur timing belt asap, they normally have a life ranging anywhere from 50k-100k (very unpredictable) and it realy isnt worth taking the risk coz u might just damage the engine incase it breaks while running.

Normal scheduled services should take care of your maintenance with oil and filter changes every 5000kms along with injector/spark plug cleaning. and also use a pre-engine oil change cleanser like nulon which clears all the smudge coz u never know how long it has been since the previous owner changed the oil.

Incase the suspension already hasnt been worked upon, opels usually demand a new set of suspension arms and shockers by 60k so its possible u might have a new set already in there.
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Old 17th November 2004, 02:10   #4
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Timing belts usually need to be replaced every 50-60k kms to be on the safer side. If your car's belt hasn't been changed as yet then its time you did it ! Otherwise you're good for another 10-15k kms.
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Old 17th November 2004, 12:36   #5
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Hey nisweth,

Firstly welcome aboard T-BHP!

I recently sold my '97 Astra (old engine) as it was just getting too expensive to maintain. Parts were always expensive for an Astra, and now that it's out of production even in India (I think we were one of the last countries to make that model of the astra) its only gonna get harder and more expensive to get parts.

However, since you already got your car, here are a few things to watch out for.
1. Ignition module. This is the main problem of the older astra. This module will go on the blink every 2 years or so, and costs about 3-4 grand to get a new one. It will give you a few signs first though...stuttering of the engine, sudden stalling at traffic lights and not starting.

2. Fuel pump. I got stranded once out in the middle of nowhere when my fuel pump failed. Unfortunatly, this may not give you any warning, so hope for the best! New one costs Rs.12,000.

3. Tie-rods. Although the suspension on the whole is great, tierods have a tendency to get loose and knock soon.

However, I know of people with old Astra's who have never experienced any of these problems, so hope that you got a good car!

The astra otherwise is a great car, solid, great interiors and still looks decent on the streets today.

Rt
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