Why cars need oil changes

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat May 10, 2014 11:16 am

Nicked from French Car Forum;

http://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/v ... 90#p408103

Vauxhall Meriva came in for service and mot and reports that the oil pressure light comes on in traffic and engine really noisy.

Turns out the owner had not serviced the car for years and 36000 miles. The chain is loose, looks like the tensioner has failed.

bb1boy · Post by **bb1boy** » Sat May 10, 2014 11:21 am

Holy macaroni!

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat May 10, 2014 11:25 am

I'd guess it's full of water because a breather got blocked with gunky oil and so the condensation just kept building up.

If it's still 'basically' running ok, they'll probably get away with a really good engine flush and new tensioner, but the engine will be noisy and not very long in the tooth - the bearings will have badly worn...

And all that for the sake of a couple of hundred quid over a few years

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:17 pm

its because people don't do that sort of thing anymore and the manufacturers don't really want you too.

lets face it how many cars have you bought that still had the original brakes on it or shocks. and when you bought it did you look past these things I bet you did if an enthusiast can look past these things imagine what ordinary drivers ignore

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:23 pm

now this is an example i can relate to, my mrs has a meriva, i bought it to sell on about 2 years ago with a rattle from the timing chain with only 67,000 miles on it. its a common problem on these 1400 engines where the hydraulic tensioner becomes weak and the chain rattles intermittently so gave it an oil change but it was still the same. bite the bullet and fitted a full timing chain kit new water pump while its off anyway and yet another oil change. all good. about a week later my mrs smart car engine melted a piston so she had the meriva as a replacement. the meriva is now on 78,000 miles and is rattling like a noisey old diesel. moral here is dont use an ultrapart timing chain kit on an engine that already has issues with a genuine part. 67,000 mile from the genuine part and only around 7,000 mile from the after market part before it started rattling again.refunded by my local motor factors for the parts but its a fair bit of labour to change it. i'll either part x it for something else or wait for it to go bang and fit a red top in it

mercutio · Post by **mercutio** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:25 pm

get a red top in it

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:27 pm

sleeper

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:40 pm

just built this for the cav 4X4 thats due a feature, would look lovely in the meriva and i haven't fitted it to the cav yet

would be the only part worth looking at.

Cutz · Post by **Cutz** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:55 pm

that engine looks fine to me

Post by **Donald** » Sat May 10, 2014 12:59 pm

I'd hate to see how these cars with supposed '100k service intervals' cope.