stuttering 96 astra

corcaigh07

ive tried loads of things to try and recify my astra. the car, simply put, isnt running smoothly with the revs going all over the place. last sunday, i was leaving the car alone to warm up a bit when the car almost stalled on its own. when im driving it, it can feel like the car is running on dirty petrol in the lower gears(its not)Ive been to several mechanics but they never seem to find out the problem or care for that matter. so far, i have:

changed the HD leads along with the distributor cap and rotor arm(helped a bit)
changed the spark plugs and gapped them.
tried fuel injection cleaning spray
tried fuel additive.

what now???

mickdw

Do the revs go from very low to about 2500? Did it recover when it almost stalled? Has this started suddenly or happened over time?

bazz26

Not sure if this is the cause of your problem but that model Astra was known for having a faulty fuel pump.

corcaigh07

mickdw wrote: »

Do the revs go from very low to about 2500? Did it recover when it almost stalled? Has this started suddenly or happened over time?

i dont have a rev counter but its usually idling quite high. it recovered after the near stalling yeah. its been happening over time. it kinda stutters in revs idleing, not smooth.

and bazz, i have considered it to be the fuel pump but the mechanics(more than one) have told me no. i would tend to not believe them though.(halfords were the ones that changed the leads and plugs!) i might try and test it myself though im not very good at being a DIY mechanic!!

also, about a week and a half ago, i topped up the oil. im 99.9% positive i didnt over-fill it but afterwards it started sputtering very badly and i had to take a different car with me to college. it cleared up again in like 2 more drives but it was pretty worrying.

any ideas?

Celtic Mech

I know..different car and all that, but the older VW's has a common problem with carbon build up around the butterfly Valve. I actually had this problem myself...the car would be sitting at traffic lights for example, the revs would drop way down and nearly stall (would actually stall on occasions) and then pick up again to a higher rev. Extremely frustrating. I found out from one of the lads i know who is fairly handy with the cars, that the solution to it is abouy 10euro worth. Go to your local motor factors and pick up a can of Carbueretor Cleaner. Get access to the carb/ butterfly valve and, if possible remove it and thoroughly clean it as directed on back of can etc.
This may not be the solution to the problem, but then again it could be. Worth a shot.

craichoe

corcaigh07 wrote: »

ive tried loads of things to try and recify my astra. the car, simply put, isnt running smoothly with the revs going all over the place. last sunday, i was leaving the car alone to warm up a bit when the car almost stalled on its own. when im driving it, it can feel like the car is running on dirty petrol in the lower gears(its not)Ive been to several mechanics but they never seem to find out the problem or care for that matter. so far, i have:

changed the HD leads along with the distributor cap and rotor arm(helped a bit)
changed the spark plugs and gapped them.
tried fuel injection cleaning spray
tried fuel additive.

what now???

Could be a dodgy lead on the distributor cap ?
Sounds plausable since you went at them and it slightly improved.

leex

Is distributor cap itself ok? This model is known to be affected by wet. My wife had a 95 Vauxhall Astra some years ago and it had a special cover for the Dist. cap. They are also known to crack.

Were the leads put back on in the correct order?

corcaigh07

craichoe wrote: »

Could be a dodgy lead on the distributor cap ?
Sounds plausable since you went at them and it slightly improved.

think all those leads, not just HD, were changed and since the problem has been there before and after, id say its ok.

leex, the cap should be perfect, its brand new and fitted ok. leads had to be fitted in the correct order cause it wouldnt start if they werent!

i think the work halfords did improve the spark a good bit cause the leads were old and cracked, the rotor arm was knackered. also failed to mention the air filter was changed-nothing big but the old one was filthy!

Celtic Mech, that sounds very similar to my problem. before i used to drive by holding the car with the clutch but now i use the handbrake for fear itll stall and roll back! ill try it over the weekend, dont have a clue where that valve would be but wont be long before i do!

Celtic Mech

Take the plastic cover off the engine....If you can Locate the Air Filter it is then just a case of removing it and you should see the valve under it. at a guess it is about 3 to 4cm in diametre. You can push down one side of the valve to open it, but just be careful of the fingers as its spring loaded to closed and quite a strong little spring to get your fingers nipped by! If at all possible remove the whole valve assembly so it can be taken out to clean. It should just be a few Allen bolts most likely and an electrical connector so wont be too difficult to do.

mickdw

Id say clean the throtttle body as explained above. If the butterfly valve doesnt close properly when foot is off accelerator, the car gets confused and all sorts of problems show up.

corcaigh07

mickdw wrote: »

Id say clean the throtttle body as explained above. If the butterfly valve doesnt close properly when foot is off accelerator, the car gets confused and all sorts of problems show up.

sounds good, thanks guys. hopefully ill get around to it this weekend. ill report back Monday!

CPG

Sounds like a coil problem to me, happened to a friends Astra last week, EXACT same symptoms.

corcaigh07

can you tell me more about it CPG? sounds more than interesting....was it the same model astra?

mickdw

Wouldnt be so sure about coil if its reving etc. that just usually causes rough running.

astraboy

OP, if you've tried all the other fixes I would be 99% its the coil. I had a 96 1.4 astra a couple of years ago with the same problem. The car would stutter and nearly stall when it was warmed up. I changed the coil(about 100E for the part, 5 mins to swap it over) and the problem was solved. Worth a try if you've checked the plugs, leads and distributor.

domania

mickdw wrote: »

Id say clean the throtttle body as explained above. If the butterfly valve doesnt close properly when foot is off accelerator, the car gets confused and all sorts of problems show up.

again I agree I had the same problem with the same symptoms as yours and cleaning it cured the problem. It's got to do with build up and the engine can't breathe so the rev jump all over the place. Eventually the car floods the engine and it stalls.

Take the cover off the air filter and within you'll notice the little valve. You should also see loads of gunk all over it if there is build up.

corcaigh07

right ill check the butterfly valve first and work from there. after that, its probably the coil. thanks for the response, didnt think so many people would be willing to help. if its just build-up, ill be laughing! il let you know how i get on and ill keep away from the lazy mechanics!

corcaigh07

couldnt find the butterfly valve, i looked under the air filter but saw nothing of note.(does my 96 definitely have one?) cleaned the hell out of the fuel injection again but no success. its now currently being checked out by a mechanic. hes going to at least replace the power steering pump thats been annoyingly whining for a while.

i had a word with him about the coil but he reckons it costs 300 euro for the parts and that it might not be the coil anyway. i might look into getting 2nd hand parts. the cars in good shape but i only bought her for 1000 euro over a year ago so its not worth replacing expensive parts.

astraboy

I'd walk into an Opel garage and check the price of a coil, on my 1.4 it cost under 100E, not that was 2 years ago but it should not have jumped to over 300E! The coil is a simple swop, basically unplug the old one, plug in the new one. Took no more then 5 mins in the Opel garage I went to. Where you based?

corcaigh07

just saying what he said! he also said its normal for a car to stutter like it does because of the fuel injection rather than a carb(dont believe him) at least hes extremely cheap, he did my timing belt a while back for around 50 euro!

im down near bantry, co.cork and student in cork city during the week. theres an opel garage in bantry alright but i wouldnt put it past them to be robbing SOBs, i had my brakes done there once and they charged about 250 quid with about half of it going to labour.
ill ask them next time i can.

corcaigh07

latest on this, the car is running a bit better now, the mechanic smoothened the revs out a bit, changed oil, filters etc. gonna ring barrys of bantry tomorrow and price that coil. if that is the solve all, it would be money well spent despite the car not being worth too much

corcaigh07

found out a coil only costs 91 euro!even more surprising was that barrys of bantry have only ever sold 2 of them! the car is going well at the moment so might just hold off for the time being, especially with 4 new tyres due soon

kluivert

Not to put a spanner in works but check the EGR value, when it gets dirty its causes the car the rev highly and lowly and stall.

corcaigh07

not at all kluivert, thanks for the suggestion.