New car, some questions

Mathiasb

Hi lads,

I just bought an Opel Astra 1998, 1.4 16v. Driving it on the M50 the oil light comes on, then goes away again, every now and then. Is this a known problem or is it likely to be fixed by an oil + filter change?

This is what I'm thinking of doing:
* Oil + filter change
* Air filter change
* New spark plugs (not sure which ones to get - does it matter much?)
* The central locking works on all except one door, not sure how to fix this yet?
* The engine seems to be low on power, but maybe it's just me?

Is there anything else I'm missing? cheers!

O.A.P

Did you look at the dip stick before you started driving it ? When the oil light comes on its not a good idea to keep driving. I have the same car for the last 9 years and it never had power so its not you its the car, although maybe yours is worse but if it is I think you would not need to ask.
You should sort out the oil light problem first , if your lucky its just a little low on oil .

Mathiasb

O.A.P wrote: »

Did you look at the dip stick before you started driving it ? When the oil light comes on its not a good idea to keep driving. I have the same car for the last 9 years and it never had power so its not you its the car, although maybe yours is worse but if it is I think you would not need to ask.
You should sort out the oil light problem first , if your lucky its just a little low on oil .

Yeah I checked it, the oil seemed to be of an OK amount, not super dirty but not exactly clean either, hence why I'm replacing the stuff.

Since you have the same car, any other "gotchas" that I should be worried about?

Thanks

O.A.P

As I said sort out the oil thing first before you go spending money.
The timing belt has to be changed every 40000 miles if you dont know when it was last done get changed now. The fuel filter is one you left out and might never have been changed. I cant remember what plugs they take but ask at the motor factors they will know, they are under the coil and deep in the engine you will need an extension on the plug socket.

swhyte027

O.A.P wrote: »

As I said sort out the oil thing first before you go spending money.
The timing belt has to be changed every 40000 miles if you dont know when it was last done get changed now. The fuel filter is one you left out and might never have been changed. I cant remember what plugs they take but ask at the motor factors they will know, they are under the coil and deep in the engine you will need an extension on the plug socket.

I really don't think the op should be doing any of this judging by the last couple of posts

O.A.P

I hope Im wrong but I think when he finds out what is causing the oil light to come on he wont bother doing any more.

O.A.P

Double post sorry

Mathiasb

swhyte027 wrote: »

I really don't think the op should be doing any of this judging by the last couple of posts

Hm, not sure what you mean?
Anyway I'll try to get this sorted this week and get back to this thread

d o'c

as above,
get the oil light issue addressed before planning spending on the above items.

the oil light is meant to come on when oil pressure (Not oil level) drops to a critical level.
IF it's a genuine low pressure warning, then there is a mechanical fault inside the engine, oil pump, bearings etc...

but
A simple fault with the block sender unit, a bare wire touching the body can give a false warning.
however going by the amount of times you've seen it flash, if it was a genuine warning the engine would have thrown a leg out of bed by now.So it might just be a false warning.