The Joy of Running an Old Shed (Vol 2)
Discussion
7 5 7 said:
Jees, makes running the older, slower, thirstier 1.8 Ecotec's or 1.8 VVT N/A engines - even more appealing compared to these newer petrols, especially for a shed.
My 2008 1.8VVT unit has been absolutely solid in reality, in its 154,000 miles.
In fairness, the 1.8 VVT's are renowned for valve and sprocket issues which are very labour intensive to fix. But there's no doubt the older, simpler engines were more reliable.My 2008 1.8VVT unit has been absolutely solid in reality, in its 154,000 miles.
Edited by 7 5 7 on Saturday 27th April 07:43
r3g said:
In fairness, the 1.8 VVT's are renowned for valve and sprocket issues which are very labour intensive to fix. But there's no doubt the older, simpler engines were more reliable.
Good point, they can do in that respect. But yes they do seem a modern cockroach by comparison to many 'modern' things.Quite happily jump in mine and do hundreds of miles a day, which many on this thread know I do alot of...
Would probably run the same engine again, and stump up the extra tax just for peace of mind.
7 5 7 said:
Good point, they can do in that respect. But yes they do seem a modern cockroach by comparison to many 'modern' things.
Quite happily jump in mine and do hundreds of miles a day, which many on this thread know I do alot of...
Would probably run the same engine again, and stump up the extra tax just for peace of mind.
Yes I think a lot of these horror stories you hear are due to neglect with the servicing or 'cheaping out' by using supermarket 10w40 instead of the correct spec and then things like the oil pick-up filters get clogged up with crap and end up knackering the engine through starvation. It's really a lottery whether or not you end up with a good one that's been looked after mechanically.Quite happily jump in mine and do hundreds of miles a day, which many on this thread know I do alot of...
Would probably run the same engine again, and stump up the extra tax just for peace of mind.
The olden days of (injection) petrol cars are over when you could pretty much guarantee any issues were either down to : plugs, leads, coil pack, ICV, MAF or lambda sensor - all of which were cheap and easy fixes, generally speaking.
My trusty 190k 2007 C1 just keeps on going although I've not kept up with keeping the underbody clean of winter salt and so it's definitely going to need welding at its next MOT to get it through. Mulling over whether to bother as it's starting to go soft at the front end of the sills too when I had it up on the ramp yesterday, so probably £500 of welding. I think it's destined for the scrapyard in the sky as the alternator is noisy, exhaust is blowing, clutch is high and the bodywork has a lot of scratches, dings and dents
. I'll be replacing it with another for sure though 
. r3g said:
My trusty 190k 2007 C1 just keeps on going although I've not kept up with keeping the underbody clean of winter salt and so it's definitely going to need welding at its next MOT to get it through. Mulling over whether to bother as it's starting to go soft at the front end of the sills too when I had it up on the ramp yesterday, so probably £500 of welding. I think it's destined for the scrapyard in the sky as the alternator is noisy, exhaust is blowing, clutch is high and the bodywork has a lot of scratches, dings and dents . I'll be replacing it with another for sure though .
I think you've had a good innings with that, as much as I don't like to scrap cars, this maybe the best thing for this little C1, unless you can do it all yourself it's not worth it if you can get a lower mileage/younger replacement for shed money still...which I am sure you can.. I'll be replacing it with another for sure though . r3g said:
My trusty 190k 2007 C1 just keeps on going although I've not kept up with keeping the underbody clean of winter salt and so it's definitely going to need welding at its next MOT to get it through. Mulling over whether to bother as it's starting to go soft at the front end of the sills too when I had it up on the ramp yesterday, so probably £500 of welding. I think it's destined for the scrapyard in the sky as the alternator is noisy, exhaust is blowing, clutch is high and the bodywork has a lot of scratches, dings and dents . I'll be replacing it with another for sure though .
Make a great farm car for kids to razz around in, at least until it split.. I'll be replacing it with another for sure though . 7 5 7 said:
r3g said:
My trusty 190k 2007 C1 just keeps on going although I've not kept up with keeping the underbody clean of winter salt and so it's definitely going to need welding at its next MOT to get it through. Mulling over whether to bother as it's starting to go soft at the front end of the sills too when I had it up on the ramp yesterday, so probably £500 of welding. I think it's destined for the scrapyard in the sky as the alternator is noisy, exhaust is blowing, clutch is high and the bodywork has a lot of scratches, dings and dents . I'll be replacing it with another for sure though .
I think you've had a good innings with that, as much as I don't like to scrap cars, this maybe the best thing for this little C1, unless you can do it all yourself it's not worth it if you can get a lower mileage/younger replacement for shed money still...which I am sure you can.. I'll be replacing it with another for sure though . 
. It scrubbed up really well and the electrics all fine once dried out, so doesn't owe me anything .Anyone know much about the Volvo petrols from 20 years ago? Looking for a petrol estate or SUV tow car and Volvo 2.4 engines are appearing on my radar Need min 140 hp, not rust (which is ruling out everything Japanese and Korean from checking MOT histories) and not be a money pit.. V Max £4k.
greenarrow said:
Not a shed yet, but is the Astra K 1.4 Turbo engine one to avoid? I understand there were issues but they might have fixed in 2017.
Bearman 68 - over to you!!!
I've got an astra J GTC 1.4T 2015 Bearman 68 - over to you!!!
So far, at 96k with oil changes every 6k because paranoid.
the coolant reservoir split. Caught it in time.
the coolant pump failed. It was making bearing failure noises, and I was waiting for the garage to book me in when I saw steam. Caught it in time.
There's a small oil leak. Can't work out from where.
You here about head gasket failures but I reckon that's down to running without coolant (mine is a model with no level warning FFS)
And cam chain tensioner failings. Hence my oil changes being twice as regular as the schedule.
Changing headlight bulbs is fun.
Pit Pony said:
I've got an astra J GTC 1.4T 2015
So far, at 96k with oil changes every 6k because paranoid.
the coolant reservoir split. Caught it in time.
the coolant pump failed. It was making bearing failure noises, and I was waiting for the garage to book me in when I saw steam. Caught it in time.
There's a small oil leak. Can't work out from where.
You here about head gasket failures but I reckon that's down to running without coolant (mine is a model with no level warning FFS)
And cam chain tensioner failings. Hence my oil changes being twice as regular as the schedule.
Changing headlight bulbs is fun.
Are you going senile Pony? You wrote all that already at 7.34am.So far, at 96k with oil changes every 6k because paranoid.
the coolant reservoir split. Caught it in time.
the coolant pump failed. It was making bearing failure noises, and I was waiting for the garage to book me in when I saw steam. Caught it in time.
There's a small oil leak. Can't work out from where.
You here about head gasket failures but I reckon that's down to running without coolant (mine is a model with no level warning FFS)
And cam chain tensioner failings. Hence my oil changes being twice as regular as the schedule.
Changing headlight bulbs is fun.
RenesisEvo said:
Speaking as someone who works with OEMs, there's never an intent to make things 'difficult'. It actually suits them to make it easy. Often it comes down to compromising the packaging for some other reason. Some companies are better than others when it comes to prioritising servicing. Sadly, with often low expectations of some parts being taken out (e.g. the washer bottle), some things that need attention later in the car's life can become difficult. Bigger OEMs have people or even whole teams who's sole job is to analyse the accessibility and ease of removal of various parts for servicing. I have seen examples of absurdly difficult and complex operations (e.g. remove twenty bits to access x) because it was too expensive or made something else difficult. Sometimes things get changed last minute (rules, regulations, something failed, someone high up wanted something else) and what was a great solution suddenly becomes a poor one.
The assembly sequence is designed to suit the plant, not the garage or customer, and can lead to some arrangements that may seem, from the outside, utterly bizarre or frustrating. Sometimes it works the other way - for example there's a grommet on the MX-5 mk3 door that, when removed, gives perfect line of sight to a bolt that would otherwise appear to be an utter swine to access. When you apply the logic 'how was this put together' and work backwards, things get easier. Sometimes.
Which is all completely understandable. Until you think that Toyota and Mercedes must be under the same constraints, and with the same issues. But Toyotas are straightforward to work on, rarely fail, and are simplicity itself to service. I've removed the engine in a Toyota quicker than removing a battery in a Merc. Why the difference? It must be because one cares about servicing, and the other doesn'tThe assembly sequence is designed to suit the plant, not the garage or customer, and can lead to some arrangements that may seem, from the outside, utterly bizarre or frustrating. Sometimes it works the other way - for example there's a grommet on the MX-5 mk3 door that, when removed, gives perfect line of sight to a bolt that would otherwise appear to be an utter swine to access. When you apply the logic 'how was this put together' and work backwards, things get easier. Sometimes.
greenarrow said:
Not a shed yet, but is the Astra K 1.4 Turbo engine one to avoid? I understand there were issues but they might have fixed in 2017.
Bearman 68 - over to you!!!
Engine seems pretty OK to my mind. They have a tendency to blow HG, but mainly because Vaux make the big water junction on the gearbox side of the engine out of bio degradable plastic. Which degrades, turns into powder, but not before catastrophically dumping all the water. Compounded by no coolant temperature gauge. (IIRC). Bearman 68 - over to you!!!
The solution is a £30 replacement of said junction, so do this, and the engine should be OK.
C-J said:
I hope he is OK- I don't recall seeing any of his 'shed fleet expeiences!' posts for while.
Sorry, I've been busy, so so busy. I have a genuine fear that shed fleet might be in financial trouble simply due to the terrible terrible cost of the insurance quote this time around. Renewal is due the 1st May, and as ever the broker has only just replied last thing on Friday night with a crazy crazy quote - nearly 35% of our turnover, leave alone profit.
Not much obvious reason for it either - we don't insure road risks, and it's only the family and business partners that drive - 1 small claim in 15 years, and the quote is nearly 10 fold higher. I genuinely wonder if they have put a decimal point in the wrong place.
So I have a weekend of worrying what is going to happen to the business, and the hundred odd cars we have, without being above to make phone calls, or otherwise actively engage with the problem.
We also have 2 people in the workshop actively relying on us to pay wages. It's worrying times.
It's ironic, as the fleet itself is running pretty quietly, 40 odd MOT's in the last 6 weeks, with only minor work needed on anything. 2 breakdowns (snapped imput shaft on a gearbox, and an Astra head gasket failure), everyone paying, no-one behaving particularly badly. Cash flow, and profit is pretty good, and the fleet continues to grow at a car or 2 a week. It should be a quiet time, right at the start of the gliding season too. All sent to try us I suppose, but it does feel like another watershed moment in the life (or otherwise) of the business.
Bonefish Blues said:
They're pretty predictable old hectors tbf. Whilst you're underneath, do the fuel filter too - forgot to mention it.
Will do, the old boy, had really started to not use it, went from 7K a year down to only a few hundred the last couple, so will give it a good looking over and some TLC, I'll probably only do 5-6K or so myself, so hopefully can avoid any of the electrical ABS CEM etc issues that can see these cars off!I updated last week on my sub 1k Touareg still trooping on and it continues to do so.
I even treated it to a replacement radio as the screen on the original had gone white. Very annoying.
Much better, and only £40 off eBay.
In other shed news the £200 TDi A2 passed its MOT a few weeks ago, needing only a spring. Nice.
It’s no looker, but it continues to plod along reliably. The gearbox really needs doing as it’s crunching into third on the upchange and won’t go into 4th on the down change
I have a JDD box from a polo to fit to it so it should return better MPG with the longer 5th gear
An old photo from a few years ago when I owned it first time round, sadly it’s covered in lacquer peel now
I even treated it to a replacement radio as the screen on the original had gone white. Very annoying.
Much better, and only £40 off eBay.
In other shed news the £200 TDi A2 passed its MOT a few weeks ago, needing only a spring. Nice.
It’s no looker, but it continues to plod along reliably. The gearbox really needs doing as it’s crunching into third on the upchange and won’t go into 4th on the down change
I have a JDD box from a polo to fit to it so it should return better MPG with the longer 5th gear
An old photo from a few years ago when I owned it first time round, sadly it’s covered in lacquer peel now
Insurance is doing strange things to most of us.
Mine's up 40% on renewal for no reason.
Also thinking my shed is now getting expensive on road tax and petrol, compared to 12-year old sheds I could buy for £3,000; if I choose carefully (i.e. sub 120 CO2 and >55mpg) the new one could pay for itself in 5 years.
Mine's up 40% on renewal for no reason.
Also thinking my shed is now getting expensive on road tax and petrol, compared to 12-year old sheds I could buy for £3,000; if I choose carefully (i.e. sub 120 CO2 and >55mpg) the new one could pay for itself in 5 years.
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