lol

Stig, trust me this car is not about speed or handling, although It will be getting new shocks and a drop. Its just about cheap fun motoring and having a low cost family motor. Hell knows how you took that astra round a track, the steering is so vauge and the rear beam suspension is so slow and cumbersome. kudos to you.

Have to admit, I must be getting old,coz its nice to have a car you can just jump into and go, no playing with bits, or swaping wheels etc unlike the Celica.

Want to get a sticker made up for it, saying "my other car is a Celica Gen4" with the club logo though, maybe we could get em for the shop??

My other car's a Vauxhall,
but today I'm in a hurry!

I like the other idea, now to make it look cool

You are correct re the steering etc, even in production racing you are allowed
to to improve stuff, but that series they were stock. Just when you thought you had a good
one, they would swap it out

It's a reliable & economical motor, 5 doors etc so a good choice

WELL!! 6 months in.... and we have a problem Houston.

Bloody head gasket gone, we drinking water and starting like a bitch prodded with a cobra.

Good news is the fact that parts are silly cheap.
Jus ordered via an online vauxhall site.
Timing belt kit
Head gasket set
Head bolts
Coolant temp switch
oil filter
air filter
plugs x 4
fuel filter
I have oil already.

For £69.00 delivered tomorrow.
going to see what the head is like, may get it machined locally.

As we are car nuts will update the thread with the work.

So now both my cars are off the road.... so much fun not.

wow, rich that is silly cheap for all that!

yeah, I just hope they are okay quality.

It should be a much nicer job than doing on on the celica.

I am so hoping the head will be straight and its just a poor / old gasket, if the head needs a skim then it adds to the cost and time.

Parts turned up.

most of it is AC delco the OEM supplier, so I am well chuffed.

Only pain is the head bolts.



I do not have these bloody Star sockets, so thats a trip out to get one...

Hate buying new tools, as I always end up buying other stuff as well

Plan is to do the work Friday this week.

i hate them bolts too! used to do a few opels and the odd bolt would break on opening them!

**update**
Spent all day yesterday on the car.
Head gasket had only slightly gone on the edge of cylinder 4.
Was a pain to tension the timing, silly fiddly set up.
Not quite running perfect though. I replaced a dodgy coolant temp sensor, which sits in the intake manifold. This has had the effect of sending the idle soaring.
So I am going to swap back the old one and look to maybe replace the rad temp sensor ( the gauge under reads all the time, which in turn means the car is running to rich ).

All fun and games.

And still no Celica on the road.

Big thanks to Doug for poping over and ing and Steve and family for saying hello to. Sorry could not spend more time with you.

wow that's cheap! E code socket head bolts?

yeah, bloody pain they were, never had to deal with them before, so did not have the sockets, had to go grab a set. just to use on my cheap daily!! grr.
still as you say, cheap spares, imagine how much that would have cost from mister Toyota

fark Rich. i wish my head gasket job was so cheap!
sorry to hear though, not exactly how you pictured the run about car ay

Well its getting more expensive all the time,
The throttle potentionmeter has started playing up, it was fine before, but now its idling all over the place.
£26 to get a new one
Hadlight flasher stalk has also stopped working £7.00 for a new one again
MOt due 23rd
Celica stuck off road... gah, this could get messy.

Sounds like a PITA !! Get a Nissan Micra

At least parts are cheap.
ordered the replacement sensors.
fingers crossed this solves everything
Steve, Once we get the car though its MOT a change may well be on the cards.
Depends if I get this marketing job or not.

this morning I swapped the following
Crankshaft position Sensor
Idle Control Valve
Potentiometer
which entailed a few fiddly bits, such as taking out the EGR etc
But that fixed it!
Also replaced the indicator headlight stalk, so I can now flash my lights again
So nearly ready for the MOT
Wash, swap one tyre round and then fingers crossed.
Few pics.
old vs new

idle control valve

Crankshaft signal sensor

old potentiometer
halfway though

Finished!!


Fingers crossed for the MOT
I love pattern vauxhall parts, change from £40 for all the above new bits!! imagine that lot from mister T!!

wish the oul celica was that easy to get around! lots of room in them astras.

yeah strip out the air box and Battery and you can almost stand in the engine bay.
Its even better underneath, spoiled working on this compared to the tight celica.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!! Why have star drives, E series bolts and normal metric bolts...
I have to use so many more tools on this car than Trinity.

Makes no sense what so ever.
The sensors bolted in with 8mm, two different star drives and and allen bolt!
Its like they just used what ever was to hand?

still I will be happy if we get a New MOT on Tuesday

they are pretty alright. grandfather had one, lovely run around thou, there known for there headgaskets

Nice and easy Rich, did it take long?

Do you prefer complicated jobs that are more of a challenge for you or ones like the astra?