greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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While I'm at it, people with broken cat brackets might like to know that if
you shout at vauxhall helpline they can be shocked into giving you a new cat!!!
Broken cat bracket is very common on 1.0 L car, basically it's shoddy
manufacturing. Vaux standard fix is to saw the wire bracket off and replace
with a metal strap. When it happened to me, I phoned their helpline and told
them just what I thought of their crap build-quality cars, and after threatening
to write to autoexpress and post all over the internet they coughed up a complete new CAT, worth about 500 quid, fitted free by their dealer. So, if
it's happened to you, give it a try. They know full well what the fault is
and they should have had a recall to fix it, instead they leave their
customers in ignorance to "find out the hard way."
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!
I'll never buy another bloody Vauxhall, though.
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MikeH
Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 03
User status: Offline
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What were the symptons of this fault? A rattle maybe?
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Greasemonkey
Member
Registered: 17th Apr 02
Location: Drives a Tractor
User status: Offline
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You say you will never buy a vauxhall but over the last few weeks i been driving all manner of cars, VW, Fords, Audi's, Renaults, Fiat's etc and i still find my corsa GSi more pleasurable to drive, parts for vauxhalls are dirt cheep too, i seen ya post about prices of parts well a new thermostate on me dads audi cos him £85 makes vauxhalls seem a better deal.
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greebo2
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Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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It can cause a rattle but you need to check visually. It's an MOT failure.
If you open your bonnet and look just below and to the front of the engine
you can see the top of the cat which is a metal drum with the oxygen sensor cable sticking out of the top. Look halfway down the drum and you will see
a bent wire clamp welded onto the front of the cat drum which is bolted to
the engine body behind the cat. The wire clamp is roughly quarter inch
diameter steel wire. It usually breaks on one side, just to the side of
the weld; its metal fatigue, they never tested the design properly.
If you can see a gap in the wire either side of the weld, it's broken.
I've been amazed at how many people with 1.0L cars I've looked at have had
broken clamps without them knowing (until the MOT, IF they spot it, and a
lot of MOT's don't). It's probably the same on the 1.2 litre car, although
I'm not certain.
To fix it, they replace the wire clamp with a metal strap, but it's worth
trying to get a new cat because the cat only lasts 5 years or so so you
prolong the life of the car, and it costs a fortune to replace (at least
500 quid last time I looked, probably more now as their prices seem to
be rocketing). Try having a look at corsa reports on www.carsurvey.org,
you'll find a number of people reporting broken cat bracket and some people
on there have reported they've got new cats from vaux for this fault.
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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£500 for a new cat???? I dont think so...
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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How the hell can you see the cat from the engine bay??? the cat on my 1.6 sits just below the drivers seat area, so how on gods name is it visible from the engine bay?
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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The 1.6 is totally different from the 1.0 engine, have a look under a 1.0
bonnet you twonk.
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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well obviously, but according to my haynes manual, the cat sits in the same place as all other models!!! Sure you are not looking at the exhaust manifold down pipe???
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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Cybermonkey, you're right, it's not 500 quid. I knew it was something like
that, though; I've just phoned main dealer for a quote: parts and labour,
new CAT, it's 405 pounds. That's on the 1 litre car. If you don't believe
me get a quote yourself.
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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that sounds more reasonable. my dealer can supply a cat for £320 but thats without labour
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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Sounds like you've got the pre '97 haynes manual. Get the post 97 manual
that covers the 1.0L 12V engine, it's there. The cat is integral with the
exhaust outlet from the engine, mounted vertically at the front and just
below the engine. The reason it's so expensive to replace is they also
have to replace the integral exhaust pipe, the cat is not separately
orderable. Another rip-off.
Yeah, I got this car coz people with the 8V engine corsas had said they were
good and reliable, and they probably were. It's the newer engines that are a
rip-off. They're shipping parts that they know will break after a couple
of years, and then you pay hundreds of pounds to fix it. Have a look at
other people's experiences on www.peachorlemon.co.uk or www.carsurvey.org.
I'll never buy another bloody vauxhall.
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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greasemonkey, tell him to buy jap. My mate's corolla is H reg and the only
thing he's ever needed to replace is the battery and brake pads. That's it.
Another mate's celica has similar reliability, so is someone elses 300ZX.
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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I bet yur dad's audi cost 20 odd grand or more though, not 3 grand like a
nearly-new corsa. The prices of the parts I posted are out of all proportion
to the value of the car. Mine is worth about 2 grand, according to glasses.
A new cat is a quarter the value of the car. A new air mass meter is
a fifth of the value of the car. That's not cheep parts by any means.
What a rip-off.
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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I have not had a single problem with my Corsa 1.6 since November 2002, apart from it needed new tyres and an air vent which was blocked. Thats it.
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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Check out www.peachorlemon.co.uk and www.carsurvey.org. I am not alone
by any means.
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Cybermonkey
Member
Registered: 22nd Sep 02
Location: Sydney, Australia
User status: Offline
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yeah there are about 20 or so entries complaining about the car, but there are many thousands who have had nothing but good driving with their corsa.
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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There sure as hell ain't thousands on those sites saying it's good as opposed
to a lemon. On peachorlemon the lemons outnumber the peaches by about
2 to 1. Go have a look at it. It's a shite car.
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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By the way, 'cybermonkey', do you work for vauxhall, or a dealer, by any chance?
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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No answer, eh???
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M4tt
Member
Registered: 18th Apr 03
Location: Potters Bar
User status: Offline
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i ahd a 1.0 and it was a shite, had loads of problems with it, i bought it new and got rid oafter 2 yrs.... bought andother corsa though, a 9 yr old 1.4 16v SRi and it has been nothing but peacful non-stressful motoring 
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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Yeah, I may do something similar. Are the pre 95 GSI's any good?
Spotted one near here for 3 grand, think it's '94. Any idea what goes on 'em?
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dousey
Member
Registered: 21st May 03
Location: Selsey, West Sussex
User status: Offline
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quote:
Originally posted by Cybermonkey24
that sounds more reasonable. my dealer can supply a cat for £320 but thats without labour
Still well expensive. I can get a cat from the local auto factors for £110!
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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Pretty good, m8. Is that a cat for a 1L? I think the 1L is
particularly expensivo coz of integral exhaust connecting pipe,
other corsa cats should be cheaper. I think 320 is well expensive.
This is supposed to be a cheap car.
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ainsley_brader
Member
Registered: 24th Mar 02
Location: Tattershall, Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
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The bracket is not an mot failure!
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greebo2
Member
Registered: 21st Aug 03
User status: Offline
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Wo! Dealer told me it was!
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