Vauxhall Astra diesel starting problems

Windsor70

vax2002 wrote: »

Does it make this noise when the engine is hot.
DMF was it a vauxhall part or a after market version as the after market versions have the shelf life of fresh prawns.
My Mondeo has had the DMF removed and replaced with the old style flywheel a few years ago and has not had a problem since and all this twaddle about vibration is rubbish, you can not spot or feel any difference .

Thank you everyone that has taken the time to reply. Vax2002, it does still make that crunchy noise when he starts the engine, for example we dropped my daughter at work, which is a 13 mile one way journey and it took the same three attempts to start the car. It kind of vibrates the whole car and sounds awful. I dont know if this is in any way related but he also notices another noise which is apparently something to do with the turbo and only does it at certain rev levels.

OH took car to Vauxhall people and they looked it over and said that it is possible that the garage who did the starting motor did not use a proper vauxhall starting motor and this can cause sparks in the engine.

Harveybobbles, your initial diagnosis is exactly what vauxhall have said. They too think its the DMF on its way out. OH got car about July this year from a secondhand dealership, there were problems with the car so OH took it back. The dealership did the brake pads, coil springs and DMF (well they said they did). We dont trust the dealership anymore as over the past months we have found more problems with car, and have just resigned ourselves to sorting them out. We trust our local garage though, surely they would have put the right starting motor in??? They have been really great, and wont undertake any work on our cars that they dont think needs doing. Are Vauxhall correct in what they say about authentic parts can be used?

harveybobbles

Vauxhall are just using scare tactics about genuine parts to be honest.

getmore4less

Failing DMF damage stater motors.

Changing the starter motor only lasts a short while if you dont change the DMF.

If the starting is worse on a cold day glow plugs are likely cause

age, mileage, price, warrenty how long have you had it and how many miles.

Might be too late to reject the car or get trading standards involved if you have used other places.

Given you can get Astras dirt cheap I would be carefull on how much is spent.

Windsor70

getmore4less wrote: »

Failing DMF damage stater motors.

Changing the starter motor only lasts a short while if you dont change the DMF.

If the starting is worse on a cold day glow plugs are likely cause

age, mileage, price, warrenty how long have you had it and how many miles.

Might be too late to reject the car or get trading standards involved if you have used other places.

Given you can get Astras dirt cheap I would be carefull on how much is spent.

Thank you Harvey Bobbles and Getmore4less for replying. I spoke to OH about rejecting the car but he feels that he has invested so much money in the car that he has no choice to keep it. His car is going back to the garage up the road so they can have a look at it again and I guess they will be able to see if the second hand dealer really did change the DMF or not.

I totally agree with your Getmore4less, astras are such a popular make that they can be picked up cheaply, its just a real shame that my OH picked up a dodgy one, its even been involved in an accident which he was never told about!! Not much we can do about it now, I guess, but hopefully tomorrow gets to the bottom of everything.

Thank you again for your replies, I very much appreciated each and every one!

rugrats

Hello, Thought I would jump in on this forum albeit 6 mths late! We to have the same starting issues with our 1.7 CDTI Astra estate.
Husband got stranded 2hrs away, the car got him there but wouldnt start on his return and now seems to be having the same starting issues every other day. It turns and wants to fire but he has to hold the key right around for ages to get it to react.
We thought it was dodgy fuel picked up in Holland on holiday. We have since googled and tried the Glow Plugs by testing them with a volts metre (as suggested). Glow plugs apparently are fine as the ohms came back with a good number!(bit techy for me).

Does anyone know if this is just a Vauxhall issue, I have a Diesel VW and have not had any issues?
It was suggested online about changing the injectors which is an expensive job, anyone else suggest anything or has found the cause to the problems?

Thanks in advance

interstellaflyer

IIRC, on the Astra, if it's dodgy glow plugs, the car with spanner warning light on the dash should light up.

rugrats

OK, Thanks. Abit blonde but whats IIRC? Have you come across this problem before and managed to get it fixed?