97 Carina E 1800i, Whine Above 4000 Rpm, Clunky Gear Change

[mmhh]

Hi all,

Posted here a long time ago about an alarm issue which I solved in the end by just not using the remote CL and locating the alarm sounder and disconnecting it to avoid any annoying midnight alarm incidents.. suprisingly there is no immobiliser.. anyway, I'm digressing here..

Firstly, I must say, great car! Not the fastest acceleration or the best handling, but a quick top end, got it up to about 120 on the Autobahn in germany, would sit there all day long, albeit drinking petrol like it's going out of fashion..

I've had the car 2 years now and racked up 20k plus in that time, currently at 130,000 miles approx.. Been to Berlin and back from the UK in the middle of winter (-10 or lower at night, still started on the key every time), and this summer drove from London to Utena, Lithuania (only 50km from Latvian & Belarussian borders)

I think driving it through Poland might have taken it's toll though - Potholed A roads & LOADS of slow moving trucks, which really if you're going to get through poland in a day, need to be got past.. So, it did get a bit thrashed...

I've started to notice that if I put my foot down hard, say, dropping it down to second at around 30-40mph to get the acceleration needed to overtake in a tight spot, there is a slight whining noise over the normal engine sound.. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience of this being a pre-cursor to some serious engine trouble..

I mean, I know I've probably thrashed the hell out of this car driving it halfway across eastern europe and back, and not treated it with the respect it probably deserves, but I'm just wondering if my engine is going to be on the way out soon..

the Clutch is getting pretty worn also, and I'm starting to get a bit of difficulty selecting 1st or second sometimes.. no actual grinding, just a fair bit of resistance on the odd occasion.. so I guess my question is this: is it worth soldiering on with this car, or have I maybe had the best out of it and it's time to start looking around for another (avensis mk 2s look quite nice actually - I wonder if they are as sturdy as the carina)..

I'm thinking that new engine, clutch AND gearbox might be a pointless exercise although I do love this car, just had the brakes done before the Lithuania trip and all the anti roll bar linkages, had a new radiator end of last year, but I'm imagining that unless I'm doing the work myself, I could pick up another carina or a mk1 avensis for the same money as new engine, gearbox & clutch.. any thoughts?

[clarkey76]

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i just bought a 1.8 si the handling is twice as good as my 1.6l it only has 72k on clock and i payed 450 pound if i was you i would use second hand engine if not buy another one keep using it if it runs my 1.6 made all sorts of noises but never broke down did have problem with alarm got cat 1 fitted now in si they are great cars i have driven at least 17 diffrant cars

to destruction all with in a year had 3 cars not make it past a week but my carina that my dad owned lasted me 3 years with trashing and was rammed off road hit curb so hard that the rim was split but tire did not punture and nest mot there was nothing wrong with suspension unbeliveable stick with carina