Corsa-B.uk - Vauxhall, Opel and Holden Corsa B Owners Club

Hi all bought a 1.2 sxi 16v x reg for my girlfriend recently and have spent a small fortune on fixing it i didnt pay alot for the car as i knew it needed the timing chain (kit) replacing, so far ive changed the coilpack/plugs, lamda sensor, fitted a blanking plate (egr), changed oil/filter, fuel filter and 2 new tyres, the problem im having is or should i say symptoms are when the car is started it revs high 2500-3000rpm for a few seconds with abit of a clangin sound then drops to just over 1000rpm (no clangin sound) then i have to wait for a few minutes for the revs to drop under 1000rpm before i can set off otherwise the car bogs down and wont go anyway (no eml at anypoint) also driving when the engine warms up the eml comes on mostly when putting your foot down but can happen when going up hill 3/4 gear, it seams to come on more often also when there are passengers in the car, any help would be much appreciated p.s im aware this could be a maf sensor but as there £82 id thought a second opinion would be a better bet thanks.

I had pretty similar symptoms bogging down on hills etc it was maf.. That doesn't mean it's definitely maf but if you can get yourself one of those little usb data loggers and leave that plugged in it will record the intermittent eml then you can find the fault code on a laptop or computer. Hope that helps

The clanging sound is a pretty peculiar. Have you tried just running the engine then running up to 3000 revs and see if the sound is there? If it's not then the changin is coming from something to do with you start up procedure. Did you do the timing chain? I know these can get pretty rattly..

Thanks for the replies i have just ordered an op-com diagnostic and the "clangin" sound was a poor discription on my half its more of a tappety sound, i have done some research on this and its normal in cold weather supposedly (only does this on start up for a second or two)the timing chain kit was done at perrys (peugeot) but the problem existed before then n the guy at the garage plugged his diagnostic in n said it was the lambda sensor so replaced that with a bosch one but still the problem exists **UPDATE** went on the motorway today and couldnt go faster than 60mph : /

Maf. almost certain of it. Yeah the tappety sound is pretty normal mine does it. Can do it on tick over now and then. An oil change and good service usually makes it stop but Im waiting for the warmer weather first haha

The noise will most likely be the tappets, there's probably nothing wrong with them it just takes the oil a bit longer to circulate in the cold, mine does the same during the cold

The problem sounds like either the maf or idle control valve, the going up hill problem would make me lean towards icv but it's really a 50/50 chance of being either unfortunately since they give the same symptoms

Try unplug the maf and see if it's better or worse

Where abouts are you? I've got opcom if your anywhere near Liverpool I can try and read it for you? I've had a nightmare with diagnostics myself lately trying to find an apparent second diagnostics plug under the bonnet that sounds like it might not exist haha so I feel your pain

Thanks for the replies guys, the op-cpm i ordered arrived today and it was the maf sensor after all problem solved but have come across a massive headache the oil light was flickering so changed the oil pressure switch but when undoing it the engine block threads came out with it whoever put the one in before must have used a breaker bar, so im at a loss as what to do now think a box of matches and a can of petrol should fix it.

Try a t piece with a larger thread, rethread the block to the new larger size then block off one of the parts of the t piece and put the oil sensor into the other part. Only thing I could think of off the top of my head other than a new block but there may be other methods. How badly damaged is the thread? I don't know how well this would work so might be worth a second opinion but plumbers use something call ptfe tape when using compression fittings.. Take th new oil pressure sensor and wrap some of this tape around the threads (it needs to be wrapped tight so that the thread will still be there through the tape) this may take up the 'slack' in the damaged thread. I might even try running a tap back through the hole to make the thread in the hole as clean and defined as possible, clear any swarf out of the hole before you do anything a magnet and a cloth will get most of it better than pushing it into the engine block ha.

Had a quick check on some Internet forums and gave my dad and uncle a quick call (both mechanics, engineers and have been fiddling with motorbikes and engines since long before I was born haha) neither can see a problem and I found a thread on which a few people commented saying it should be fine. So I think that may be your first port of call see if you can make a seal with that tape and just be aware of it and check once a week to be sure it doesn't leak. This tapes about 50p btw.

Thanks for your help have just done what u described and all seems to be well ......fewww! went through all the gears upto about 4000rpm just to put some pressure through it and seems to be holding up no leaks as yet will check it daily, thanks again for the advice much appreciated : )

No worries bud glad you got it sorted