One for the car mechanics

ewal · September 2023

We inherited a 2009 Astra from my in-laws, which wasn't being driven, the plan being for it to be my son's first car when he passed his test - which he did this week.

I had it in the garage because the engine warning light came on. It also seemed to lack power. It was a camshaft sensor, however the mechanic said the oil was filthy, as if it had never been changed. I think it's more likely a result of the car sitting for months on end, not being driven.

I had it in for a service and mot today, and again the mechanic commented on the state of the oil and filter. I got them to flush the engine and even after doing this, they said to keep an eye on it, because they can't be sure they got all the gunk out.

So is the only practical solution to do more frequent oil changes until things settle down? I'm still doubtful the engine is running as smoothly as it should...

Chalky · September 2023

What engine is it?

vivalacoulter · September 2023

You could always treat this service as the “flush”. Drive it on a nice motorway journey a few times, cover a couple of thousand miles and then pop it in for another oil and filter service and I’d say that’s more than enough.

If it’s diesel then the oil will look black almost instantly.

boogieman · September 2023

If it’s been sitting for a long time it’s good practice to change the oil anyway as it could be full of moisture. As above, I’d run it for a while and then have the oil changed as a precaution. Might be worth putting an oil additive in as well.

Danny1969 · September 2023

What's the coolant like ? is it nice and clean
Is it petrol or diesel ?
Have you got a code reader ? if not it's worth getting a cheap one and it can give you some pointers and clear previous faults.

ewal · September 2023

Chalky said:

What engine is it?

It's a 1.6 petrol - an Astra Club so pretty basic.

I've just taken it for a blast up the motorway - definitely more power there than there was before the service.

I'll get another oil change in a couple of months and hopefully that'll do the trick.

ewal · September 2023

Danny1969 said:

What's the coolant like ? is it nice and clean
Is it petrol or diesel ?
Have you got a code reader ? if not it's worth getting a cheap one and it can give you some pointers and clear previous faults.

Not sure about the coolant. The engine fault light isn't on now. Just the 'spanner' one if anyone knows their Vauxhalls.

All the codes have been related a camshaft sensor which has been replaced. But the mechanic said the sensor area was contaminated with the gunky oil.

blobb · September 2023

Italian tune up should do the trick. Get it hot.

Devil#20 · September 2023

Get it on a long run and drop the oil whilst it's still hot and all the shite is held in suspension in the oil. Should be fine after that. Keep the oil and mix it with a bit of diesel or parrafin and use it to paint your fence.

SteveRobinson · September 2023

Devil#20 said:

Get it on a long run and drop the oil whilst it's still hot and all the shite is held in suspension in the oil. Should be fine after that.

Don't forget to put some new oil in tho'.

Chalky · September 2023

ewal said:

Chalky said:

What engine is it?

It's a 1.6 petrol - an Astra Club so pretty basic.

I've just taken it for a blast up the motorway - definitely more power there than there was before the service.

I'll get another oil change in a couple of months and hopefully that'll do the trick.

If they've put flushing agent in it and let it run for 15-20 mins then it should be fine. If it still gunky then I don't get why they didn't repeat the flushing. Telling you to "keep an eye on it" sounds odd, maybe just covering their arse.

Ah the Vauxhall spanner light - surely the most useless warning light ever. Mines been on for years....

GuyR · September 2023

We have a similar age 1600 Vauxhall in our family. Spanner light is always going on/off, as is the engine light.

Once they get to that age, the warning light cluster starts doing a fair impersonation of a Christmas tree. Ignore it if the engine is running well.

Emp_Fab · September 2023

Seriously, if the engine hasn't had regular oil changes and it's in as bad a state as the mechanic says, it really needs a full strip down. If it's not worth that then I would use oil cleaning additives and keep changing the oil every couple of months until it stops coming out black.

Either way, it might seize one day.

Kittyfrisk · September 2023

Chalky said:

ewal said:

Chalky said:

What engine is it?

It's a 1.6 petrol - an Astra Club so pretty basic.

I've just taken it for a blast up the motorway - definitely more power there than there was before the service.

I'll get another oil change in a couple of months and hopefully that'll do the trick.

If they've put flushing agent in it and let it run for 15-20 mins then it should be fine. If it still gunky then I don't get why they didn't repeat the flushing. Telling you to "keep an eye on it" sounds odd, maybe just covering their arse.

Ah the Vauxhall spanner light - surely the most useless warning light ever. Mines been on for years....

I thought it was an advisory feature. Most Vauxhall owners are spanners...

RiftAmps · September 2023

I really wouldn’t be that concerned…just change oil every 6months/6000miles as usual and get on with your life.

Those engines are pretty robust from a mechanical standpoint, they can take far more abuse than a little funky oil.

Petepassion · September 2023

Vauxhalls of that era and later tend to suffer with various engine management issues, so not the best.
This is a separate issue(probably) to the oil.
If it has been neglected in the past, then it may take more than one flush to totally free it of contamination. So maybe run it for six months then give it another oil flush and change, then oil and filter changes according to the manufacturers specifications thereafter.
We see a lot of Vauxhalls with engine management faults.

If you want reliability go Japanese, Korean or Ford, but the Fords do rot a fair bit quicker.

ewal · September 2023

Cheers.

I inherited the Astra from my aging in-laws as a first car for my son. It's a 2009, has less than 40k on the clock, and cost a lot less than it's worth. More than happy to tolerate a few teething issues!

Day to day I drive a very dull Kia. Quite enjoying having a slightly problematic second car to exercise my mind ;-)

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