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[VT-VX] VX Commodore Service How To Detailed

Irukanji

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Thread dig, haters gonna hate.

On the fuel economy bit, I was getting 7.7L/100km on the highway(Bendigo in Vic to Perth) in a 98 VT with about 270k on the clock. Fully loaded however, probably 300kg in stuff plus me.

Fuel filter should be done whenever the recommended replace time is. I need to do mine shortly as the car is hesitating on acceleration, presumably from those unleaded tanks across the desert which haven't been cleaned in 30+ years(and the junk which gets sucked into the car). Getting close to 1000km/tank from a Commodore on the highway is pretty nice, lets you avoid most of the expensive fuel stops(Border Village, $2.04/L, Eucla $1.86/L, November last year).

If you do the oil every 10,000km or so, you could just about remove the plug, remove the filter, then stick the plug in with a new washer("gasket") and the filter half full and be done in under an hour. If it's been a long time, better to let it drain, top it up with some cheap oil, run it for 15-20 minutes, then drain it again and refill with fresh oil and filter. Depends on the colour when it comes out the bottom. Black = long time, gold(like honey) = almost new, somewhere in between = probably a mixture of the two.

Coolant should be done every 200,000km I think, but when you do the coolant it is probably best to do the thermostat, flush the entire system with clean water, replace the top/bottom hoses(and the heater hoses if you run the heater often).
 

Sabbath'

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Coolant should be done every 200,000km I think,

When the life of most coolants is based on a 3-5 year cycle unless you're a courier 200,000 isnt going to happen for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time. Every 60,000-75,000km would be a better timeframe.
 

edals

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Every 200,000 ??????? !!!! No No, Every 5 years or 200,000kms for Nulon Long Life Coolant. Holden Pretty sure say every 2 years or 60,000kms in the car manual.
 

JRNZER

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My sump plug must have shrunk.
Used a 19mm on it and it wasnt going on the plug tight enough. Only gave it a few turns and now its just rounded enough to have to take it to a workshop to get it off.
 

aussieakito

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There are 2 different sized sump plugs.
If you have some multi grips you could get it off your self but make sure you have a spare one handy.

When i went to do it on my sisters car it was so bad that i had to weld a nut onto the plug to get it off.

When you have the new one always use a ring spanner. Not an open ended one.
And try not to use sockets as they tend not to sit on the plug properly.
 

edals

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Try and Use a Flat Sided socket, Best option i found :)
 

Irukanji

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Also recommend taking the MAF out and giving it a good spray with CRC Electronics Cleaner or the MAF cleaner(if you can find it). If you're unsure, it should contain hexane or isohexane and nothing more(check the MSDS). It evaporates quickly. Car was running like ****, suspected fuel filter and replaced it, still ran a bit bad(hesitation or what have you on acceleration), cleaned the MAF and now it runs better than when I got it.

Best way to do the air filter is to check it every few months. If you drive through areas with lots of bugs, the filter will get clogged with bugs. If you notice, only 1/3rd of the filter will be full of bugs, so you could turn the filter around and give it a shake out if you're so inclined.

Should replace the little washer when you do the oil, the old one leaks if you reuse it too many times. Buy multiples from Repco, because sometimes they don't have them when you go to do the oil.

If you have a stock height VT(and I guess VX), and you're like me and have a jack which doesn't get high enough for the stands to get under it, just drive it up on 2 bits of wood(about 10cm total height). Plenty of room to slide under to do the fuel filter and get a bit more clearance for the sump plug.

Just my 2 cents
 

Clovance

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Mate do u have to remove the old oil filter gasket ? Is there any at all? I cant remeber that i did that and now my filter is leaking because i didnt think about removing an old gasket first unfortunately... Maybe u should mention it in ur howto, just for people like me who just forget it...
 

aussieakito

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Mate do u have to remove the old oil filter gasket ? Is there any at all? I cant remeber that i did that and now my filter is leaking because i didnt think about removing an old gasket first unfortunately... Maybe u should mention it in ur howto, just for people like me who just forget it...

The gasket is part of the filter, it comes off with it and goes on with it,
If you tightened your filter to much or even not enough, than that could be why it's leaking. Also if you didn't lube the gasket first with some oil it can also cause a leak
 

Clovance

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I did tighten it by hand as far as it went. And im not that strong. So i dont think i could have overtoghten it. And yes i put some oil on the new gasket. So why is it leaking then? I dont get it
 
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