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Ean Austral
10th February 2014, 09:40 PM
Gday All,


Our daughter has a 2000 model holden astra 1.8ltr 16v 4cyl. the head gasket is pressurising the cooling system and would say its not far off failing.


It was replaced when we bought the car yrs ago but the mechanic said they are only good for about 60,000ks, and reckon he was about spot on.


My question is, Is this a job the back yard mechanic can do (me). Im very familiar with engines and stripping and rebuilding them, but never don't something this small or a front wheel drive car. Wondering if there are any special tools required.


Will get a Haynes manual for it as she only needs it to last till about November when she heads overseas to work for a couple of years.


Anyone done one of these ,or similar type, am sure its not just a holden engine.


any ideas


Thanks and Cheers Ean

BigJon
11th February 2014, 06:30 AM
I have never heard the 60 000km head gasket story about these. The timing belts do have a limited life span.

It is pretty straight forward unbolting / bolting, the hardest part is probably the timing belt tensioner, which isn't hard if you follow the instructions.
You will need a selection of torx bits because Opel didn't believe in ordinary nuts and bolts.

Davehoos
11th February 2014, 05:12 PM
the head gaskets are a service item with these engines.
In australia you drive it till it needed it then you trade it in.


cant say it has to last 60 000Km but ive replaced broken timing belts with less. common for panel shops to come around to get the air conditioners fixed on bargans they got at repo auctions.


Falcon had headgasket and bolts listed on 4.1 engine for 80 000Km.

LandyAndy
14th February 2014, 07:49 PM
Is it the badge engineered Nissan Pulsar???
If so should be an easy fix motor.
The mother in law had a Nissan version,it broke a timing belt down here.We trailered it to Perth,less than $300 to fix as it was a non interferance motor,no internal damage.My brothers mate(mechanic) did the work and said they are very easy motors to repair/work on.
Andrew

BigJon
14th February 2014, 11:39 PM
Is it the badge engineered Nissan Pulsar???


Nope, 2000 will be a TS. Shockingly bad cars.

Hoges
15th February 2014, 12:50 AM
If you do a DIY job, you need a special tool to wedge the cogged wheels on the camshafts in position for when you set the valve timing, plus a good selection of torx sockets and bits. The camshaft wheel wedges are normally made of a heavy duty plastic and can be bought online from the UK with postage included for less than A$20. I've seen local suppliers charging 3 times that over the counter... Worth perusing the Vauxhall owners / Opel owners websites.

The Astra engines can be operated on quite easily with a set of 3/8" drive sockets... The Haynes manual is pretty informative ... make sure the engine in your vehicle is covered. I did the timing belt and water pump on SWMBO's 2005 AH as a time expired/distance exercise (8 yrs/50,000km). I remember thinking that if I ever needed to do the heads gaskets, it would not be all that much more difficult.

Like all marques you get good and bad. A couple of my kids' uni mates bought TS Astras about 200/2001. One recently told me she had over 270,000 km on the clock with no major issues ...just regular servicing

BigJon
15th February 2014, 11:28 PM
If you do a DIY job, you need a special tool to wedge the cogged wheels on the camshafts in position for when you set the valve timing,

No you don't.

I have done more of these than I care to remember and I haven't needed wedges yet.

Ean Austral
16th February 2014, 10:48 AM
No you don't.

I have done more of these than I care to remember and I haven't needed wedges yet.

I haven't had a close look but can't you use a spanner on the cam to hold whist undoing the gear?

Cheers Ean

BigJon
16th February 2014, 02:08 PM
I have a tool that engages with the holes in the cam gears to hold it while undoing the retaining bolts so I can remove the gears and replace the oil seals (don't skip this part).
The only problem is when fitting the new timing belt the rearward cam (intake) won't sit in the right spot. The tension of the valve springs rotates it slightly clockwise. Using either a cable tie to hold the torx socket / bar rearwards or a couple of wooden blocks on the radiator support panel overcomes this problem without having to resort to cam sprocket chocks.

Ean Austral
21st February 2014, 06:40 PM
Well got the head off today and would say that either the old head bolts were reused and some stretched or they were done up correctly when last done, several of the rear bolts were far looser than the rest and the gasket had damage in that area, so assume thats been the cause, BUT , im no expert so thats a guess from what I have seen,

Judging by a few other things I found along the way, like the torx cap head bolt that holds the timing belt adjuster being stripped out in the centre , and only 4 nuts holding the inlet manifold on, my suspicion is the previous mechanic that did the job.

Anyway see what it has install for me next week when I attempt to put the thing back together.

Thanks for the reply's

Cheers Ean.

BigJon
25th February 2014, 09:39 PM
J, like the torx cap head bolt that holds the timing belt adjuster being stripped out in the centre , a.

Your new timing belt kit should have a new tensioner and bolt in it.