De-restricting the airbox on a Astra 1.4

kluivert

Has anyone tried this.

Is it easy to do.

the evil belly

an induction kit would do the job, k&n might do a direct replacement kit for it. it's gonna make more noise though and to be honest if you're trying to pick up more power then you'll need to do something with the exhaust too

kluivert

I was going to de-restrict it by taking out the pipes inside the air box to increase the flow. replacement the air feed pipe on the astra with one from a vectra deisel, same size but the vectra has a bigger intake and add a k&n panel filter to improve responsiveness.

But how do you get the thing apart to get at the pipes of the inside. Am still looking for guides but i might have to go and buy and the bible.

Does anyone have problems with their Astra being slow to respond to accelarating

Seth Brundle

as said, get a K&N induction kit for this. You may also want a heat shield to keep it running ok in slow traffic.
Then get a decent free flow exhaust system.
Then consider getting the car chipped and re-mapped.
However, for the costs involved, it may be easier to get a bigger engined car!

kluivert

I am trying to keep the cost down but try and gain back some performance lost due to its age.

There's one problem with k&n induction kit, cant find one for 1.4 though.
You can get one by Pipercross the viper kit . Still need a heat shield i reckon. I could get one from a gsi.

Getting the car chipped and all that, i would as you said be better off getting a bigger engine.

Am on holidays from monday so ill take her apart very slowly so i dont feckin break it and clean down every thing especially the feckin suicidial bugs that get caught in everything.

Seth Brundle

If you are sure performance is down on normal then sort that out first. Get it to a good mechanic or tuner and see what they say first.
There is no point upgrading the car if it isn't fit already!

kluivert

I have just booked it in this morning with the local friendly opel dealer in monaghan. They're very good up here. Getting the timing belt done @ 71k (abit on the late side) and a few bits but am going to leave a list of problems about this lack of performance with them and get them to call me if they find anything.

But for the time being do you think a good clean out would be a help. Air intake, air box, throttle body (still dont know how to get at it properly) and the front raditor is covered in bugs.

Hey just found a site www.astra-sport.co.uk seems to be alot on it about this problem.

the evil belly

a good clean out can't hurt. induction kits will cost a few pennies anyway. i've one fitted to a 1.4 almera and have noticed a quicker response, i've nothing to back this up only my own opinion from driving it. next step is to free up the exhaust system

Interceptor

kluivert wrote:

Does anyone have problems with their Astra being slow to respond to accelarating

I thought this was the reason people bought Astras? Have you taken the airbox off altogether and driven a few miles to see if that helps? If yes, then go with the induction kit, if no then the restriction is elsewhere in the engine. Or its because astras weigh a ton and make 34bhp...

'c

Scruff

kluivert wrote:

Does anyone have problems with their Astra being slow to respond to accelarating

oh yeah. big time. not too bad in 4th though.
A mate of mine was driving it last weekend and he told me i should get a mechanic to check it out. I didnt say anything about finding it sluggish, it was his on impression and he had an astra himself a few years ago.
Its due a big service soon, the 80k overhaul, so hopefully that'll iron out a few problems.

actually can anyone recommend a good garage to get it done in? i'm in dublin 22.

528i

www.cruiseirl.com

sum lads reckon you'd get around 20bhp from the right induction kit !
If you clean out the car / empty your ashtray / duck-tape the shut lines & wiperblades you should knock afew 10ths off that 0-60 aswell

kluivert

20bph extra is good for a big engine but not for a 1.4L lad.

I want to improve the running of the car rather than the performance.

Ill get her to 200k miles someday like five years down the road probably.

IrishRover

Have you changed the oil lately?
Have you been changing it regularly?

Change the spark plugs, oil and just replace the standard filter and see how it runs then.

If oil changes have been missed over the car's life, running diesel engine oil (such as Castrol GTD) for about 1000 miles gives the engine internals (including tappets!) a good clean. Sounds dodgy, but this has been tried and tested by me and many others.

528i

why would anyone want to clean tappets ? whatever about petrol additives I wouldn't go messing around with the wrong engine oil, that probably some old wives tale for a 1954 diesel 20 (which apparently ran on petrol/diesel/whiskey/boiled eggs and pregnant hippopotamus urine)

IrishRover

Like I said, it sounds dodgy, but it isn't.
It's not an old wives tale either, this is something I have done to several engines and I know of lots of other people who have done this with great results (eg: noisy tappets cured, engine running noticably better, oil staying cleaner for much longer).

The basic principle is that oil designed for diesel engines contains extra detergents / cleaning additives. There is a much less amount of detergent in it than in an "engine flush" additive so it is not harsh and abrasive but instead gently cleans over a longer distance (recommend approx 1000 miles). The process is ideal for an engine where regular oil changes have been neglected.

mukki

what year is the astra??, i have "the bible" for sale,pm me if interested


http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7990510924&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

its got a few engine oil thumb prints, but theres nothing missing or unreadable

mike65

If oil changes have been missed over the car's life, running diesel engine oil (such as Castrol GTD) for about 1000 miles gives the engine internals (including tappets!) a good clean. Sounds dodgy, but this has been tried and tested by me and many others.

The top end should be okay at 70 k though if its had a hard stop/start urban life then I guess some remedial action could be needed. Another top end cleaner is Auto Trans Fluid, stick a litre in for a few thousand miles then change oil.

Mike.

the evil belly

i was thinking of doing something like that to my engine. it's got 125k on it, i've puy 10k on it since i bought it last november and it had a full service after 6k, gonna service it again soon but i wouldn't mind giving it a good going over before the winter. only 2 issues i have with it are the oil light stays on for maybe 10 seconds after i start it but i know it's full of oil, checked it the other day. the other's a rattle as i take off from stopped, think it's the exhaust, i'll have to get on a ramp to check it. i'm basically just wondering what people would recommend to keep it in good nick, i was thinking some of that stuff you out in your tank to clean the fuel injectors etc and an engine flush etc.

IrishRover

I just want to clarify: what I am describing is not an engine oil flush. Engine flush is abrasive on the engine internals whereas running oil designed for diesel engines over 1000 miles is a much more gentle and gradual process.

I have seen pictures of engines with the head off and the pistons and bores have been scored after running engine oil flush whereas ones that have used the diesel engine oil as described have just been clean and in good condition.

It also gently helps clear the oilways and so helps make sure the oil can get where its supposed to go.

the evil belly

would you need to run it on the diesel oil alone or is it a mix of diesel and petrol oil?

IrishRover

the evil belly wrote:

would you need to run it on the diesel oil alone or is it a mix of diesel and petrol oil?

No mixing of oils, just change the oil as you would normally, replacing for diesel engine oil. I've used Castrol Magnatec GTD. Up to you whether you want to change the filter while you're running the diesel engine oil but unless you're really economising you might as well.

By the way, it's possible that the low oil pressure light is staying on due to a sticking or slow to return oil pressure relief valve. I know of someone who had a problem a few months ago with the light coming on intermittently who suspected this as the cause. He ran the diesel engine oil and took his car out for an "Italian tune-up". The problem hasn't returned and the engine has been running fine since.

the evil belly

probably give that a go so, she's due an oil change in about 1500k anyway. oil light only comes on when i start the car from cold other than that all's good. no need for and "italian tune up" though, i'm a firm believer in periodically checking that my rev counter is still working

IrishRover

Good man, let us know how you get on afterwards.