Corsa C - headgasket failed?

[Moose McAlpine]

I removed the circlip to see what why the shaft was binding then noticed the splines are misaligned
View attachment 510575

They're not misaligned, they're munted.

 

[Smallfry]

Where are you now ? I have got a pair of spare driveshafts. (I think)

And a gearbox.

 

[Nomad]

Where are you now ? I have got a pair of spare driveshafts. (I think)

And a gearbox.

Amazing offer thank you but me and the car are in Portugal
(I'm flying back to the UK in a couple of week, have smuggled a mig welder onto a plane in a suitcase before but I suspect a gearbox + the long driveshaft will be a bit too difficult to hide in my luggage)

I'll be at the motor factors tomorrow for a top mount, will price up a new driveshaft while I'm there, will likely just buy new to move the project along (assuming prices are sensible).
Plan-B is to order from Autodoc in Germany, great prices but delivery often tales 3 weeks,,
Autodoc shows a new splined hub for £50, complete driveshaft for £80. Will see what my local shop can get & prices...

My local friendly mechanic is on the way, if he has a Corsa driveshaft in his scrap bin I'll cannibalise that for the splines and that will fix my problem without buying a new shaft... my luck has to change sometime

 

[Smallfry]

Could try J&R driveshafts here in UK. Great products and cheap, but I expect shipping and taxes will kill it.

If you get stuck, I could cut the inner joint and boot off the shaft and send it, but again postage costs ...............

 

[badabec]

Put a rubber ferrule on the end and call it a walking stick.

 

[Nomad]

Mu local place has ordered a £25 top mount with bearing, and a £45 CV shaft end both should be here tomorrow.
I'd prefer not to spend £££ but sometimes it's worth it just for an easy life.
Will see what I find once I get these bit fitted.

Status update: since buying the van I've done a test drive around a carpark, reversed it off a recovery trailer, done a coule of 3 point turns to get it in & out of the garage ... I've drive it less than a mile in total and can't help wondering what I'll find after a decent test drive.

 

[Nomad]

New strut top mount & bearing are fitted and working they should (ignore my earlier post saying the bearing was missing, the old bearing was fitted but seized and it's so small I thought it was just a washer when I looked !)

New UJ was collected for the gearbox end of the driveshaft, all looked good and a trail fit went into the gearbox very smoothly.
The I checked the splines on the driveshaft and noticed new UJ has "medium splines", the shaft (and old UJ) have "course splines", no way they will mate up
Another trip to the shop to see if they can find a UJ that fits

The hub nut on the driveshaft has mashed threads so that will be getting replaced at the same time as the UJ....

Is it progress? Maybe ...

 

[m_c]

<pedant mode>
They're CV joints, not UJs. The two are very different things!
</pedant mode>

There were several different driveshaft options, depending on engine/gearbox, and the hub size.
It's usually not that much more expensive to get a complete driveshaft than just a single joint, but knowing the number of splines on each end narrows the choice.

 

[Nomad]

The new driveshaft end had the wrong spines so it got returned.
New full driveshaft fitted, all good

Refilling the gearbox oil wasn;t fun and deserves a rant on it's own so ... https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/things-that-bug-you.80614/post-2632198

I also spent a few hours cleaning inside. My guess is the roof lining was recently removed and the metal that was hidden has 20 years of gunk on it.

Before & after .. slow work but it’s coming up nice

 

[Nomad]

Updates on this. Some progress + more niggles.

Van is now just about ready for inspection.
The last big hurdle is the engine management light (EML)

Diagnostics show 3 faults :
* Radiator 3-speed circuit fault (it’s winter, I’m happy to drive without)
* Air pressure sensor on alternator fault (since when do alternators need air circuits??)
* Aircon fault ( as above, it’s still winter ...)

I don’t think any should cause an inspection failure but they all put the EML light on and that’s a failure !

I can use diagnostics to clear the faults but they come back in seconds.

Grrr

Comments about find a different test station are not needed, I’m in Europe and my local testers are all “by the book”.

 

[Smallfry]

Got any codes ?

This all sounds aircon connected to me. Probably the system is depressurised. All wants dumping anyway, if fitted.

Cant see that this would put the EML light on though

 

[Nomad]

Codes below for info :
P1105 / P1105(72) point to a pressure sensor mounted on the valve cover.
Quick search says this is related to MAP/BARO sensor https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dtc+p1105+opel+corsa+combo+diesel

P0482 - radiator fan fault, 3 speed circuit fault (wiring is a mess but I think I've found a suspect fan relay in the fusebox)

P0539 low aircon pressure (I need to confirm if this triggers the EML - possibly it's a red herring)




Thanks for the help, I'd be happy to bin all the aircon but that would still leave the light on...

Away now to check a few more things and see if the light is triggered by all the faults or just some of them...

 

[Smallfry]

Codes below for info :
P1105 / P1105(72) point to a pressure sensor mounted on the valve cover.
Quick search says this is related to MAP/BARO sensor https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dtc+p1105+opel+corsa+combo+diesel

P0482 - radiator fan fault, 3 speed circuit fault (wiring is a mess but I think I've found a suspect fan relay in the fusebox)

P0539 low aircon pressure (I need to confirm if this triggers the EML - possibly it's a red herring)


View attachment 525818

Thanks for the help, I'd be happy to bin all the aircon but that would still leave the light on...

Away now to check a few more things and see if the light is triggered by all the faults or just some of them...

Mine has only got a single speed engine fan ...... on or off. So maybe its an overseas spec ? Can't see that this would trigger EML light.

If you never want to use the aircon, just put some air in it. Will put the light out ....... until it leaks again.

I have absolutely no idea what a dual alternator fault is. AFAIK there are no pressure sensors on the vacuum system. Have you disconnected the EGR solenoid ? Might be that.

 

[Smallfry]

Bit of further digging says that P1105 faults on these are the MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor.

This is on the belt end of the engine on top of the manifold itself, awkwardly placed under a lifting bracket. Its quite small and has a green label ISTR. Try unplugging it and cleaning the contacts ?

 

[m_c]

Fan fault will bring on the EML on these, and is the first fault I'd look at.
Usual problem point was the wiring for the fan relay box (mounted in front of the main underhood fusebox), as the main splice used to corrode and fall apart, but I've occasionally seen some of the control wires fail, or the fan be seized and cause the fuse to blow.

P1xxx (and P3xxx) codes are manufacturer specific codes, so you really need to check the manufacturers description for them, and not just pick the first Google result or rely on what cheap code readers tell you!
P0xxx, and P2xxx are (E)OBD standard codes, so should have a similar description across all manufacturers, if they're meeting the correct standard.

 

[Nomad]

Success, the EML light is out

1. Fix fan fault (swap in temp relay, possibly dud original relay or dirty contacts in holder).

2. Fix P1105 Alternator/ BARO error.
Break the cover off the BARO/MAP sensor to find a mesh gauze. Quick squirt with carb cleaner. Done !

3. Aircon.
Unplugged plug + snapped wire found on pipe by aircon radiator.
Insert plug, splice wires.

Beers



Odd that the diagnostics still show the BARO & Aircon errors but the critical EML light is now out.
Todays prize is shared between @m_c and @Smallfry for 1 fix each.

Thanks once again for all the replies & help

 

[Nomad]

Bit of further digging says that P1105 faults on these are the MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensor.

This is on the belt end of the engine on top of the manifold itself, awkwardly placed under a lifting bracket. Its quite small and has a green label ISTR. Try unplugging it and cleaning the contacts ?

I found conflicting info about P1105 MAP fixes so I suspect the design changed every couple of years
Not looked too hard where you suggested but I found what I think is the MAP on my car ... it's now parked up for the day and I'm celebrating

Will try to look around the belt are next time I'm working on it

 

[m_c]

A blocked turbo pressure control solenoid filter wouldn't cause a MAP fault at standstill (it might trigger a fault, but it'd be far more likely to be an over/under boost fault).

However I just looked up P1105 for a Corsa C, and it's showing as an Oxygen Sensor Open Circuit fault, which doesn't apply to that engine.

Edit - forgot to mention that if you're using a generic fault code reader, it could be picking faults that are meant to be ignored.

 

[Smallfry]

Success, the EML light is out

1. Fix fan fault (swap in temp relay, possibly dud original relay or dirty contacts in holder).

2. Fix P1105 Alternator/ BARO error.
Break the cover off the BARO/MAP sensor to find a mesh gauze. Quick squirt with carb cleaner. Done !

3. Aircon.
Unplugged plug + snapped wire found on pipe by aircon radiator.
Insert plug, splice wires.

Beers

View attachment 525839

Odd that the diagnostics still show the BARO & Aircon errors but the critical EML light is now out.
Todays prize is shared between @m_c and @Smallfry for 1 fix each.

Thanks once again for all the replies & help

Solenoid highlighted is for the EGR.

 

[m_c]

Solenoid highlighted is for the EGR.

Right enough, the boost pressure one is down the back of the engine on these (it's been a good few years since I worked on a 1.7!), however it still wouldn't cause that fault code description at standstill.