VXOC Astra-J/GTC

I've owned this car for a year now so thought I would put together a thread of the mods I've done to it.



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Before I went shopping for the astra, I test drove the new civic 1.6 diesel. The ride was better than the previous generation but still pretty poor.

The 1.6 motor was OK but I didn't think there was enough power to keep me interested very long.

Other cars I were interested in was the focus 2.0 zetec S and the seat Leon FR 150. Both of them were fairly recent to market so prices were a bit more than I was willing to pay.

I saw a photo of the vx line on auto trader and knew I had to have one. Had a choice between a red and a white and ended up with the white one. My missus dislikes red cars.

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I bought the car up in Belfast because there are no vauxhalls in Ireland, only Opels which tend to have small engines.

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Tapatalk fail.....not sure why it wants to keep quoting my previous text....... Help

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nice ride

Love the stance of the vx line. Good choice on the vauxhall badge! Did you have to reregister it?

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(14:th-Mar-2016, 23:39:58)bhalay207 Wrote: [ -> ]Love the stance of the vx line. Good choice on the vauxhall badge! Did you have to reregister it?

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Thanks. Yeah had to pay import duty and re-register it.

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Did it work out more expensive?

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What are your thoughts on the Astra over the civic? We are looking at a 2010 Type S GT 2.2 I-CTDI to replace our Astra lol

(15:th-Mar-2016, 06:52:50)bhalay207 Wrote: [ -> ]Did it work out more expensive?

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Cost me about EUR 2500 in import duties. Still worked out a bit cheaper buying it in Belfast, with lower mileage, better service history and of course the vx line coolness. I've not seen any others in Ireland but there is a guy on the FB group who has a silver one. Lives North of Dublin.

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(15:th-Mar-2016, 08:19:25)Jj0063 Wrote: [ -> ]What are your thoughts on the Astra over the civic? We are looking at a 2010 Type S GT 2.2 I-CTDI to replace our Astra lol

Haha. OK here goes.

The Good.
GT spec has glass roof which is really great especially for passengers in the back. Servicing costs on my Civic cost me next to nothing over 4 years 60 k miles. 2.2 Diesel is good motor. A civic needs to be driven as opposed to the astra which drives itself more or less. I fitted a x car link with SD card, USB, aux in for music. All in it is a great car and hasn't aged at all. Clever use of space and massive boot.

The bad.
Diesel clutch will die if you remap it to 170-180 HP according to what I have read on the civinfo forum. Long distance journeys are killers even on the motorway. Its not that the suspension is massively firm but the ride is very jingly so you end up bobbing up and down. Astra suspension is light years ahead.

Performance wise I would think the 2.2 civic and 2.0 astra are much the same. 1.8 needed to be worked hard to get the best out of it.

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So the first mod I decided to get on with was to replace the rubber pedals with some shiny alloy ones.

I am surprised that vauxhall didn't bother to add them to the vx line in the first place. It bothered me as I had them on the civic. Found a set on eBay for 40 quid.


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Thought I might get myself a set of wind deflectors as well. Found some G3 ones online.

As it turns out, they were rubbish. They never fitted properly and the gap between the window and the deflector was so big that my cleaning brush used to get stuck in the gap and leave scratch marks which I could see from inside the car. My OCD appears to be getting worse with age.



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Nice, car looks super cool in white and I like the VX line kit on it

(15:th-Mar-2016, 18:29:08)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Nice, car looks super cool in white and I like the VX line kit on it

Thanks Andy. Looks great when it's clean but a right handful trying to keep it clean.

Alloys are also not the easiest wheels to clean. Fortunately, they were refurbished by the dealer to a darker titanium colour so can go unnoticed for a while.

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After owning the astra for 4 months and getting used to the power, I decided that the car could do with a bit more urgency as I felt it was a bit lazy on occasions.

To remap or tuning box. I didn't want loads of additional power just enough to enjoy the car a little more. Only a few companies in Ireland offer remaps and none has a dyno that I am aware of. (at that time anyway)

So i did some homework on the tuning boxes available out there and narrowed it down to the bluespark and racechip offerings. (Dtuk was pricey etc.)

Eventually went with the Racechip one which is entry level tuning box. Easy to fit and it really sharpens up the response. Less laggy etc. It certainly pulled a lot better than it did without the box. I left the settings the same as they left the factory. Good investment for 100 quid. 20% power improvement. Rated at 209hp, 418nm. (dialed into max performance setting no doubt )



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Subsequently, with some encouragement from , I have dialed in the settings to performance level 2 which transforms the car totally. It is super responsive and pulls like a train.

No exhaust smoke so I am happy about that too as I suspected it would smoke if I messed with the settings.

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When I bought the car, the only extras fitted to it were the front and rear parking sensors. Rear ones work fine but the front ones are embedded in the number plate and go off driving passed parked cars on the side of the road.

First thing I do when I start the car is turn off the stop/start and then turn off the front parking sensors.

Moving on, my car didn't come with the bluetooth module or USB port which irked me somewhat. I have the cd400 audio system. I explored a few retrofit options for these items but they really cost an arm and a leg for them.

I also quite fancied a sat nav so decided to buy the S160 M072 unit from China. Via iceboxauto in the UK. The unit itself is easy to fit and covers all the bits and pieces I was after. No brainer for 300 quid.


Sound quality is pretty good. Sat nav uses iGo my way software. Unit also has bluetooth, 2 USB interface , sd card, inputs for reverse camera and dvr.

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A few photos of it.

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I also decided to buy a wireless reverse camera from eBay for 28 quid. It works pretty well.

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I thought it might be handy to have a proper mounted usb port so was kind enough to source me one off eBay for 20 quid. Bargain as it connects seamlessly to the head unit.


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Looks very good

I've also replaced the standard gear knob with the astra vxr one. Great looking bit of kit.


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A couple of other photos. the finished product

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That is the brodit proclip and custom brodit holder. I also have a standard Samsung S6 holder but needed this one after I put a otterbox commuter cover on it.

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Last but not least, I replaced the crappy G3 wind deflectors with the team heko ones. I'll take a photo of that tomorrow.

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Vx line badges custom made for the car. Must be worth at least another 5hp.

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With vx line badge.

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Looking great mate 


You're doing all the things I want to do when I manage to grow a set of balls to ask the missus for some cash (blood + stone) Love the VXR gear knob, will add that to my list. How is the satnav on the headunit, I have always been a bit sceptical of the look of some that I have seen? too used to Garmin I suppose.

Thanks. I find it's better not to tell the missus. I make sure nothing gets delivered to home. The sat nav is alot better than I expected. I'm no sat nav guru though.

Personally I like Google navigation with traffic the best. Pity it doesn't work on this unit, even tried side loading it.

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I like the VX line stickers, where did you get them from ?

(17:th-Mar-2016, 16:44:56)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]I like the VX line stickers, where did you get them from ?

Got them from racing-decals-uk on eBay. They are custom, order some decals off their website (I ordered vxd ones) and then email them with a picture of what you want. I found the vx line image on Google images.

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Saw these after a quick search...

£14.99... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Carbon-Effect-Ta...B013ZKTO8K



£4.99... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OPC-LINE-VAUXH...2023791366

Yeah I've seen those 2 before. 1st doesn't really float my boat (not sure why) and the 2nd one would be a bit odd around here in Dublin being on a vauxhall. Local astras are mainly Opels and a few opcs around to.

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I'm thinking of getting some smoked indicator side repeaters. Not sure I would go for the really dark ones though as they look pretty dark.

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OK so I ordered some smoked repeaters off ebay. 16 quid. Will be delivered in the next few days.

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cool i bet they will awesome but for that pric if you dont like em, then you havent lost much

Ill be interested to hear what you think of the smoked covers when they arrive and are fitted

This might be of interest to someone who has a 2.0 Cdti or someone looking to buy one.

I religiously record all of my expenses and fill up records using acar app.

After 11 months of ownership and 15k miles these are some facts I have.

Mpg.
Best 49
Worst 43
Ave. 46

Bear in mind my travel is about 80% motorway and the other 20% is enthusiastic driving.

Ave. Litres per fill up. 49.9
Ave. Miles per fill up. 504

Racechip has been in over the last 9-10k. No noticeable difference in consumption. I possibly give it a bit more welly.



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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:00:45)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]cool i bet they will awesome but for that pric if you dont like em, then you havent lost much

Agreed.

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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:03)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Ill be interested to hear what you think of the smoked covers when they arrive and are fitted

Will do. Decided not to go for the darker/black ones. Preferred to be seen during the day and not just at night.

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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:55)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]This might be of interest to someone who has a 2.0 Cdti or someone looking to buy one.

I religiously record all of my expenses and fill up records using acar app.

After 11 months of ownership and 15k miles these are some facts I have.

Mpg.
Best 49
Worst 43
Ave. 46

Bear in mind my travel is about 80% motorway and the other 20% is enthusiastic driving.  

Ave. Litres per fill up. 49.9
Ave. Miles per fill up. 504

Racechip has been in over the last 9-10k. No noticeable difference in consumption. I possibly give it a bit more welly.



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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:00:45)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]cool i bet they will awesome but for that pric if you dont like em, then you havent lost much

Agreed.

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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:03)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Ill be interested to hear what you think of the smoked covers when they arrive and are fitted

Will do. Decided not to go for the darker/black ones. Preferred to be seen during the day and not just at night.  

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Interesting on your MPG, mine to start with was giving around 44mpg, then I changed my working hours to travel non rush hour and it increased to around 51mpg, since fitting the racechip I have been averaging around 53mpg

I do tend to use the acceleration up to around 65mph and then switch on the cruise control to and from work

I am toying with the idea of fitting an induction kit, (either a dbilas or an open filter on a js performance silicone intake tube) however, both are a bit extreme and involve removing the airbox........................

(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:19:11)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]

(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:55)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]This might be of interest to someone who has a 2.0 Cdti or someone looking to buy one.

I religiously record all of my expenses and fill up records using acar app.

After 11 months of ownership and 15k miles these are some facts I have.

Mpg.
Best 49
Worst 43
Ave. 46

Bear in mind my travel is about 80% motorway and the other 20% is enthusiastic driving.  

Ave. Litres per fill up. 49.9
Ave. Miles per fill up. 504

Racechip has been in over the last 9-10k. No noticeable difference in consumption. I possibly give it a bit more welly.



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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:00:45)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]cool i bet they will awesome but for that pric if you dont like em, then you havent lost much

Agreed.

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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:03)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Ill be interested to hear what you think of the smoked covers when they arrive and are fitted

Will do. Decided not to go for the darker/black ones. Preferred to be seen during the day and not just at night.  

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Interesting on your MPG, mine to start with was giving around 44mpg, then I changed my working hours to travel non rush hour and it increased to around 51mpg, since fitting the racechip I have been averaging around 53mpg

I do tend to use the acceleration up to around 65mph and then switch on the cruise control to and from work

I am toying with the idea of fitting an induction kit, (either a dbilas or an open filter on a js performance silicone intake tube) however, both are a bit extreme and involve removing the airbox........................

In fairness, I havent really been on any long trips more than 200 miles so for me to drive conservatively for 500 to 600 would be a big ask. I reckon I could get up to 55 ish under the right conditions. I've got that on shorter trips before but have not managed to behave myself for the rest of the tank.



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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:19:11)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]

(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:55)marcus Wrote: [ -> ]This might be of interest to someone who has a 2.0 Cdti or someone looking to buy one.

I religiously record all of my expenses and fill up records using acar app.

After 11 months of ownership and 15k miles these are some facts I have.

Mpg.
Best 49
Worst 43
Ave. 46

Bear in mind my travel is about 80% motorway and the other 20% is enthusiastic driving.  

Ave. Litres per fill up. 49.9
Ave. Miles per fill up. 504

Racechip has been in over the last 9-10k. No noticeable difference in consumption. I possibly give it a bit more welly.



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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:00:45)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]cool i bet they will awesome but for that pric if you dont like em, then you havent lost much

Agreed.

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(22:nd-Mar-2016, 17:01:03)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Ill be interested to hear what you think of the smoked covers when they arrive and are fitted

Will do. Decided not to go for the darker/black ones. Preferred to be seen during the day and not just at night.  

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Interesting on your MPG, mine to start with was giving around 44mpg, then I changed my working hours to travel non rush hour and it increased to around 51mpg, since fitting the racechip I have been averaging around 53mpg

I do tend to use the acceleration up to around 65mph and then switch on the cruise control to and from work

I am toying with the idea of fitting an induction kit, (either a dbilas or an open filter on a js performance silicone intake tube) however, both are a bit extreme and involve removing the airbox........................

I have mixed feelings about induction kits. Have tried the odd filter along the way but heat soak is a killer. I lived in a warmer climate back then so even worse. Used to fit all my cars with k&n panel filters but don't bother anymore.

Had one on my Civic and didn't notice that the auto service centre had binned it on an earlier visit to them and replaced it with a standard one. It obviously didn't make any difference. Haha.

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Some egg on my face here with these figures. Whilst the mpg figures before and after the Racechip are similar in general terms, I decided to recalculate them and work out exactly what the difference is.

Standard
7k miles
Ave mpg = 46
Min mpg = 49
Max mpg = 44

With racechip
8k miles
Ave mpg = 44
Min mpg = 45
Max mpg = 43

So Ave mpg has dropped by 2. Probably because I might drive a wee bit more enthusiastic these days.



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I can understand why the figures might have dropped, its so easy to build the speed up and have some fun with the box fitted

I try my best to keep cruise control on to and from work, but, sometimes, its hard................

If its any consolation my wifes 1.0 Picanto only gets 30.8mpg, however, she only travels 3 miles a day !

(23:rd-Mar-2016, 10:15:59)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]I can understand why the figures might have dropped, its so easy to build the speed up and have some fun with the box fitted

I try my best to keep cruise control on to and from work, but, sometimes, its hard................

If its any consolation my wifes 1.0 Picanto only gets 30.8mpg, however, she only travels 3 miles a day !

Haha. Yeah driving a car isn't just about mpg. got to have some fun too.

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Smoked side repeaters arrived today. Fitted them to my filthy car. Major service on Tuesday so let's hope they give it a wash. before after

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Side shot Wednesday with hekos and smoked repeaters...

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So I booked my vauxhall into the local Opel dealer last week for a 40k major service as I'd had the car a year and had still not serviced it. (done 16k in the year)

Anyway, thought I remove the Racechip beforehand which I did. I'd also registered for the vauxhall service club some time ago and Opel were happy to accept my service club card for 25% off the price.

They also did a couple of software upgrades which we're due and all in it cost me EUR 290 which included rear brake pads. Pretty good deal I thought.

I am not sure exactly which software updates were done but one of them must have been mapping related because the car is much more responsive to drive. It's so improved that I haven't even put the Racechip back in for the moment. I'm also seeing better mpg as well which is a bonus. Happy days.

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Great news on the software update improving performance 

Very interesting that a software upgrade has improved things, do you know when your car last visited a main dealer for a software update ?

I took the box off of mine a couple of days ago (now sold to another user here) and noticed that I was lacking some go straight away

(8:th-Apr-2016, 08:16:26)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Very interesting that a software upgrade has improved things, do you know when your car last visited a main dealer for a software update ?

I took the box off of mine a couple of days ago (now sold to another user here) and noticed that I was lacking some go straight away

Yeah, I was trying to figure out why it wasn't done. The initial 3 services were done by the main dealer (last was Mar 2014) but I bought it from a company who previously had a vauxhall franchise. They did a half arse job on a service when they sold it to me in April 2015 so clearly didn't do any software updates. I say half arsed because the air filter was filthy when I checked it once I had got home.

Moving on, it looks like there was a software update around mid 2014 which I didn't have.

Anyway, driving to work this morning I changed my mind and will indeed put the Racechip back on this weekend.
Probably more out of curiosity than anything.

I am still toying with the idea of a remap. EUR 250 with before and after dyno runs. Company 60 miles away has just got a dyno. Have avoided them previously because they didn't have a dyno. I'm running out of excuses not to do it.


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(8:th-Apr-2016, 08:16:26)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]Very interesting that a software upgrade has improved things, do you know when your car last visited a main dealer for a software update ?

I took the box off of mine a couple of days ago (now sold to another user here) and noticed that I was lacking some go straight away

How's the vxr search going?

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New toys to try out this weekend.

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whick karcher is that, i replaced mine that blew up after 10 years abuse, i bought a k2 but its pants

(12:th-Apr-2016, 20:21:00)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]whick karcher is that, i replaced mine that blew up after 10 years abuse, i bought a k2 but its pants

Yeah K2 isn't great. After my second K2 died on me (not sure the first one was called a K2 though. Was the small one. ) so decided to buy a K4 full control. Much better and managed to get the driveway done as well. Useful upgrade. Bought it from argos. K5 upwards is pretty pricey.

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I bought the k2 as I was skint, I then won 50k on a online monopoly gold scratch card, so I'll be getting a better karcher when I get back on the road,

Come Friday, I may well have a happy ending to my long running saga with my coolant leak.

My car is booked in at the local Opel dealer to have the Inlet manifold gaskets replaced. The dealer has been kind enough to get the factory to pay two thirds of the labour cost despite the car being well out of warranty. (Not to mention its actually a vauxhall which I imported into Ireland)

I've had quotes which range up to 650 pounds excluding parts and this is in fact only going to cost me 100 euro all in now. Happy days.




coolant lying on top of the Inlet manifold
the offending gasket.

This is a cambelt off job to get to the manifold.

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Oh wow good result then mate! Sounds like a big job then! At least it will be sorted at last!


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(4:th-May-2016, 20:35:39)Tonto Wrote: [ -> ]Oh wow good result then mate! Sounds like a big job then! At least it will be sorted at last!


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Yeah I won't need to continue with 2 pints of Halfords finest pink coolant per week...

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Haha I bet!


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will they replace cambelt as well

(4:th-May-2016, 21:39:59)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]will they replace cambelt as well

I believe not even though it is advised by some dealers. Car has 35k on it. Cambelt is due 60k or 100k depending on where you get your info.

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Id be tempted to pay extra for the belt

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(4:th-May-2016, 21:53:29)mrtc Wrote: [ -> ]Id be tempted to pay extra for the belt

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Yeah then it's the water pump too.. I'll see how flush I feel on Friday and then decide.

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That's quite a leak going on there, hope the work goes to plan tomorrow

(5:th-May-2016, 07:28:30)andy2174 Wrote: [ -> ]That's quite a leak going on there, hope the work goes to plan tomorrow

Hope so. It was a bugger trying to find that leak as it is under the engine cover and I stumbled upon it by chance when I was fitting the tuning box.

I knew I had a leak somewhere but thought it was expansion tank or cap related. (possibly a coolant pipe)

Still had to spend some time on the net trying to find out where the fluid might be coming from. Decided it had to be the lug on that gasket so had to buy a cheap endoscope to make sure as it is out of sight.

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Glad you sorted it out but it is very common for the egr cooler gaskets to leek also so if it still happens get that checks out