Reading on a Vauxhall forum regarding the vectra cdti there is many many complaints by members of thermostats not working or not getting to temp fast enough.
It seems the cdit 1.9 diesel 120/150bhp do suffer with stat problems, But vauxhall seem to deny any problems.
Due to the cold weather my cdti is much slower to get to temp on the way to work on a morning which is down a hill 7 mile journey, But going home after the night shift up the hill it gets warmer much faster due to the hill climb.
Any other cars suffering thermostat problems? The default is to open the stat rather than been closed and having overheating problems which is a sensible thing but they seem to be stuck open.
Petrol cars do warm up much faster than the diesel due to engine design but this is a tad slow today.
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Last thermostat problem I had was 30 years ago on a Mini.
Judging by the large adverts of spares fror GM cars on the back page of Car Mechanics, GM appear to cost cut vital components to the bone...
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I have only had one thermostat fail, on a Datsun 160B, so a good few years ago. I often do a 7 mile downhill trip, in winter the engine is not fully warm, on return it is warm half way into the trip. In summer a couple of miles in any direction warms it up, (1.6 diesel).
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>> Petrol cars do warm up much faster than the diesel due to engine design but
>> this is a tad slow today.
>>
Even many petrol Vauxhalls seem overcooled to me, SWMBO's Zafira temperature gauge hardly moves off the end stop this time of year, unless you're stuck in traffic for minutes on end, then it eventually climbs to the middle before the fan kicks in.
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>> Even many petrol Vauxhalls seem overcooled to me, SWMBO's Zafira temperature gauge hardly moves off the end stop this time of year,
If it uses the same rad as the Astra-G, then its not surprising. Vx used a "one rad fits all models". So the 1.6 engine uses the same rad as the 2.2.
Not been unknown for people to block off the lower half of the rad (ie, below the bumper line) with lino, or other waterproof type material.
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1972 was last thermostat that failed for me - 1965 Triumph Herald 1200!
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The thermostat failed on my 2 litre petrol Mondeo back in December. It was taking ~7 miles for the gauge to start moving and ~12 miles to get fully warm.
New thermostat fitted and and it now warms up within a mile or so.
Cost ~£250 fitted...
To quote the mechanic "If it was a Morris Minor it would have cost £5 in parts and taken 5 minutes to fit". The mondeo thermostat has electrical fittings and costs over £100 before VAT.
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>> 2 litre petrol Mondeo ... New thermostat fitted ... Cost ~£250
Eek! I changed the thermostat on my Escort (1.8 Zetec E engine) last year, it cost around £11.
I changed the thermostat on a T-reg 2 litre petrol Mondeo (also a Zetec engine) a few years ago for the same parts cost. The common problem with both was that the rubber sealing ring supplied with the new thermostat wouldn't seal properly, so I had to re-use the one from the old component. Both cars are still holding up.
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>> >> Even many petrol Vauxhalls seem overcooled to me, SWMBO's Zafira temperature gauge hardly moves
>> off the end stop this time of year,
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>> If it uses the same rad as the Astra-G, then its not surprising. Vx used
>> a "one rad fits all models". So the 1.6 engine uses the same rad as
>> the 2.2.
>>
Yeah, I suspect it's the same rad, the engine is the 1.8 125bhp so mid range I guess, working a bit harder pulling the heavier Zafira around. IIRC someone over on the BR a while back actually went to the trouble of replacing the thermostat on their Astra G and it still did the same.
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My diesel-engined Panda, only a 1.3 so working harder, can take a similar amount of time to warm up.
I don't think your car has a fault, it's just a reflection of the greater thermal efficiency of the diesel engine.
The only problem with it, for me, is that the heater takes ages to put out any heat.
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Luckly the Vectra cabin gets the heat before the engine so to clear the windscreen, The heater can be piping hot and the temp gauge not even moved.
The temp gauge starts at 70c usually sits between 80-84c
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Fitted a new stat into my Xantia 2 weeks ago when had coolant drained to change water pump - old (10 years / 110k miles) had gone a bit baggy and running temp had dropped to 75°C. New one was £19 which I thought a bit steep, but that's a lot cheaper than the one discussed above!
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My 1993 Astra 1.4 needed a thermostat in 1995. Came to more than £200 and the experience with the dealer is part of the reason I've not considered a Vauxhall since.
More recently, one of the two thermostats went in my Gaggia Classic coffee maker. A new one cost £12 and I fitted it myself in 15 minutes.
Incidentally, I can't be the only one here who has no idea what an 'Astra G' is. It may be a useful shorthand among those in the know but it's hardly common currency like 'Golf Mk IV', so I don't think it helps the discussion. Where will it end - Stu referring casually to his latest 'Matiz 36DD'?
}:---)
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Some Mk3 MondeoTDCi had a problem, not with the main thermostat but with the small thermostat on the water pump which used to stick open and the car would take an age to warm up. The one I had warmed up quick enough, within 2 miles. But at normal temperature (according to the gauge) and after a long run, the coolant in the expansion tank was never hot.
The last thermostat I changed on a Morris marina was £2.50
Last edited by: Kithmo on Wed 26 Jan 11 at 13:13
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Doesn't help that makers have dumped engine temperature guages - on old ones you knew things were "right" just with a glance. I'd prefer one of them them to the econometer that BMW now offer.
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>> Doesn't help that makers have dumped engine temperature guages - on old ones you knew things were "right" just with a glance. I'd prefer one of them them to the econometer that BMW now offer.
Number_Cruncher thinks gauges are unnecessary and just confuse us because we don't understand what they mean. He thinks lights are good enough for us and stop us from worrying our silly little heads unnecessarily. Same with oil pressure gauges. Apparently a light that goes on when the engine has already started to eat itself is good enough.
Perhaps he's right in the case of a majority of drivers. But I hate the patronising, cheapskate way instruments are arranged these days.
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I agree with you - it would be easy enough to arrange a choice through MFDs that most cars have.
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...He thinks lights are good enough...
I believe car designers think warning lights are better for those drivers who, er, don't understand the offside rule.
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>> I can't be the only one here who has no idea what an 'Astra G' is
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Astra#Astra_G.2FB
Correct information from wikipedia for once :)
Astra D, E, F, G, H, I are similar designations to MkI, MkII, MkIII etc. The reason they start at D (the 1979-1984 shape) are because the Astra name was unique to the UK at the time - Opel continued to call the model the Kadett, and there were three generations of Kadett before the 1979 one. Opel renamed the European model as the Astra from the F generation (Nov 1991) onwards to bring their pan-European model names into line - hence why we got the Vectra and Corsa names a generation after their European models were introduced.
The newest shape Astra is the I.
Last edited by: Dave_TD {P} on Wed 26 Jan 11 at 13:18
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The previous Kadett to "C" being the same as a Chevette. I know, I ended up in a ditch in one.
So they promoted the Kadett name to the next class up in 1979 when the car we know as the mark 1 Astra was launched. The Chevette carried on in the UK until 1984
So, what did Opel call their Chevette shaped car between 1979 and 1984? Or did they simply not market the Chevette shape at all outside the UK? Was Opel superminiless from 1979 until the launch of the Corsa/Nova in 1983?
Mysterious............
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>> So, what did Opel call their Chevette shaped car between 1979 and 1984? Or did
>> they simply not market the Chevette shape at all outside the UK? Was Opel superminiless
>> from 1979 until the launch of the Corsa/Nova in 1983?
>>
>> Mysterious............
>>
I'm not 100% sure without Googling but I think it was the 'Kadett City'
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The chevette was better known as chuv it as this is what you ended up doing.
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>> what did Opel call their Chevette shaped car between 1979 and 1984
A quote from wiki: "Although Kadett C production ended in 1979, the Chevette was produced until January 1984. Unusually for Vauxhall models, the Chevette was imported to Germany starting in 1979 to satisfy the needs of the rear wheel drive traditionalists and was quite a success for a year or two. This import version, however was never officially badged as an Opel or a Vauxhall - being named simply as 'Chevette'."
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Well I don't know what a Golf Mk IV looks like without Googling...Astra G = 1998 - 2004 model. The one that's supposed to look like a hamster, apparently.
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Thanks chaps. So I had an F; the G looks like a Honda (I think - but I can see the hamster resemblance too) and the H and I...? Poor old Vauxhall - so low on confidence that they keep trying new house styles in the hope that this time they'll hit on something. If it weren't for driving schools buying those enormous Corsas, would they have a core market at all?
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Thermostats any problems. - madf
