We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Does an Astra have a "safe engine"?

My cam belt went on my M reg Astra last week. I w all for having it scrapped then a couple of people have told me that it has a safe engine that stops the thingies dropping through (or something like that). Basically I think they meant that the ?pistons or ?valves would get bent when the cam belt nt.

I have arranged for someone to pick it up for scrap of Saturday but if this is the case and the engine might not be knackered then it is apparently quite cheap to fix.

Comments

  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,623 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Ettenna wrote: »
    My cam belt went on my M reg Astra last week. I w all for having it scrapped then a couple of people have told me that it has a safe engine that stops the thingies dropping through (or something like that). Basically I think they meant that the ?pistons or ?valves would get bent when the cam belt nt.

    I have arranged for someone to pick it up for scrap of Saturday but if this is the case and the engine might not be knackered then it is apparently quite cheap to fix.

    it may be a 'non interference' engine, ie, one where the valves dont touch the piston tops if the belt breaks.

    Whats the engine size and what year is it?
  • Ettenna
    Ettenna Posts: 639 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    It's M/1997 (I think) 1600 automatic.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 33,019 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    M is about 1994. 1997 would be a P or R.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • colino
    colino Posts: 5,059 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    If it's one of the little eight valves, it will be fine it was a lovely engine overdeveloped later.
    Astras/Cavs etc. used to be a workshop race to see who could change and time up quickest. (Well under an hour though your bill wont reflect that!)
  • jase1
    jase1 Posts: 2,308 Forumite
    And by means of contrast, the later 16-valvers were absolute horrors (well-known for throwing belts prematurely due to poor quality tensioners and pulleys), and if it's one of those the engine is almost certainly trashed.
  • Mankysteve
    Mankysteve Posts: 4,257 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Need to know which engine code you've got http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Astra#Astra_F.2FA
  • spacey2012
    spacey2012 Posts: 5,836 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Some have breakable cam followers that need to be replaced, not a big job.
    Be happy...;)
  • cb1979
    cb1979 Posts: 221 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    You may also need a new water pump as i seem to remember the pump turns in the block to tension the belt and they tend to sieze in the block and get damaged when you free them up, also maybe the pump has siezed destroying the cambelt
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 353.5K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.1K Spending & Discounts
  • 246.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 603K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.1K Life & Family
  • 260.6K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.