Astra Intake Manifold Flap Motor

[davidc1986]

Hi,

I have a 55 Reg Vauxhall Astra 1.6 petrol. The warning light started coming on a few months ago so i took it to a garage and they hooked it up to the machine. It came back with an error on the intake manifold flap motor. The mechanic (who is a family friend) said that unfortunately with the particular model i have you can't replace the motor on it's own so you would have to replace the whole intake manifold. Using official parts that would come to around £700. alternatively i could try and get used parts off ebay etc which would probably half the price. It may seem like a stupid question but does it need fixing? Is it an essential part of the workings of the engine? What could happen if i dont get it fixed etc? The reason for asking is that I've heard from a few people that it isn't essential and shouldn't affect the performance of the engine or damage it.

Thanks
David

[J5MBF]

Flap motors on a Petrol 1.6? Are you sure? Do you have the fault codes to hand?

[callyman]

This guy will know

http://www.snvx.co.uk/

[S7Paul]

I read the same thing before I replaced the inlet manifold on a 1.9 CDTI - that you have to replace the mainfold & swirl flap motor together. However, trawling through the forums I found that no one that had replaced their manifold had bothered with replacing the motor, so I didn't either, and it works fine. I'd be inclined to get a secondhand motor (eBay?) and try it.