Merva A (Corsa C) front subframe replacement?

At an average of under 5000 miles per year surely it was never sensible for your Dad to have bought this car in the first place. Throw it away and put the budget for running costs, repairs, and insurance towards paying for taxis as necessary.

There is always a clue in the question eh. ;-)

Quite, from Mum when Dad died nearly 7 years ago and she quite likes seeing it and being driven about in it.

Is the other point.

Looking about I can get a s/h subframe for about £100 and would do the work myself with help / guidance from my mate (and his garage).

Now, whilst it's no drivers car and not particularly economical (old

8V lump) or cheap to TAX, it's pretty clean inside and out, has a towbar (that I fitted) and is pretty good for carrying stuff (rear seats fold down nearly flat and there is no lip at the hatch).

According to Fueleo, we don't do 4k miles per year but most of those wouldn't be easy to do any other way (because we are carrying stuff or people (typically Mum)), especially towing etc.

Plus I have nice Thule Aero bars and foot kit and the detachable swan-neck towbar etc ... ;-)

Fairly news disks and pads all round, heat exchanger rad, we rebuilt the sub-loom in the tailgate and the ecu has been re-manufactured.

Daughter is hoping to get her Corsa C to 200,000 miles (I think she's about 3k short) and as the Meriva A is built on the Corsa C underpinnings (even these subframes are identical) ...

As / when the Meriva does die, I think I'd like another estate (after my Sierra) but have no idea what? Focus petrol (I don't want a DMF)?

We aren't car snobs and wouldn't really care what colour or spec it was, as long as it was reliable, easy to maintain and cheap and easy to get parts for if required.

I could dig the electric car out and that would be ok for some of our (very) local trips but like a hire car, no real use for towing.

Cheers, T i m

Around here a taxi costs 1.80 per mile, so 5000 miles per year would cost

9000 pounds. Most recent new price of a Meriva started at 15K. For the taxi money you could have bought a new car every two years, and still have 3K in change.

Owning a car for 5000 miles a year is a perfectly sensible thing to do.

Theo

it is an easy job with a lift and an underhoist high lift jack, should come off within an hour.

Wouldn't you need an engine support bar as well?

;-)

According to Fuelio we used £625 worth of fuel last year. It's just cost us £160 to insure (Comp, Mrs, daughter and I), ~£45 MOT and £270 TAX (£1100 Total). If you allowed another 400 quid /pa for servicing and repairs you are up to £1500 and if that's over 4000 miles then it's less than 40p/m all in (so as you say, quite a bit less than a Taxi), there when we want it 24/7 (more or less ) and able to do things that we couldn't do with a taxi (like towing or leaving it full of stuff for the dump overnight). I guess depreciation would add more to that but in this case we were given it (7 years ago) so it doesn't really owe us anything. ;-)

The only time using a taxi would make sense for us would going into the smoke and not having to pay the congestion charge and parking but we are a 5 min walk to a train line into Liverpool street so ...

Cheers, T i m

Check. I have to choice of 2 or 4 poster?

Mate has one of the transmission jacks?

Cool. So, would we need to support the engine do you know MrC or is that on it's own body mounted mounts and can we generally leave most of the other stuff in place (like racks / steering rack) whilst we drop it down?

Do these subframes *all* generally go in the end or can it be a function of luck / location etc? I ask because I was wondering what chance a s/h replacement would also be rusty (inside) and so should I get a new one (£275 v 100)? I think I remember the likes of Mini subframes failing fairly regularly, especially the rear where they weren't covered in oil?

I mean, we don't live near the sea or regularly run a ford so unless there was a water trap in there of some sort? [1]

Cheers, T i m

[1] I was thinking of running Waxoil (as I have 5l) though a second hand one if we go that way?

I cannot remember whether the engine is mounted on the subframe or the chassis rails. if the subframe then you will need either an overmounted engine support or under hoist support for the engine gearbox. If I am removing a subframe it is usually to change the clutch, so I use an over the top engine support frame. The rack can be cable tied in position during the change. There are several vehicles where the design traps water in the mounting bolt tubes of the subframe. I would look for a secondhand one, as a new one might well be a lot.

The latter I think in this case (from what I've read elsewhere re sf removal).

Understood.

Well I got a look underneath today and you may be close. It's showing a small rust hole (about the size of a 5p) right beside the downward facing l/h/s steering rack mounting bolt, partly under the nut. The plan is to remove the nut and weld a cup shaped large 'washer' to the surrounding section (as there is enough spare thread on the bolt to do so), paint / Waxoil etc.

Basically, the rack is held in alignment where the bolt goes though the section at the top and is only held downwards by the nut) along with gravity etc).

I have a few lined up at around £100 and new for £275. Hopefully we won't need to go that far though, subject to the application of the reinforcement plate etc. I wonder of this also has a tube through the section (to shop it being crushed)?

Cheers, T i m

£2.22 per mile (£1.38/km) around my way BUT with an additional initial charge of £3.80 to £5 (depending on time of day/night)