Free from the threat of COVID (for now), I’ve managed to return to the outside world and start to tick off several essential jobs on our Astra. In the last issue of CM, I’d inspected the front brakes and discovered the discs needed renewing. I contacted Autovaux and although they were out of stock of aftermarket Delphi discs and pads that cost around £100, they did have genuine parts in stock for £168. We chose these so as not to hold up the job.
On to the leaking oil cooler –we could have bought a genuine and complete oil cooler housing with everything brand new for around £180. Instead, we decided to replace just the oil cooler and its seals, because these are the parts that fail, and reuse the rest of the housing and its pipework. Total cost £72.
With workshop time and a ramp booked at my local garage, MJ Motors, to help tackle the aforementioned jobs (as well as take pictures), I got stuck into the brakes as the first job, changing the nearside front, only to find mechanic Dan Smith whipped through the offside front in a fraction of the time.
Electronic rear park brake
I had beenof a motor that pulls on the cables for the rear calipers. So I could safely remove these calipers, clean the pads and reassemble them without the risk of trapping my fingers should the handbrake be activated (providing I kept my fingers away from the caliper’s piston).
