some VL questions from new member

[harry3]

hello everyone
have recently got a VL berlina wagon, 6cyl auto and have some questions

1) much plastic on my car is brittle and breaks easily, the front bumper top trim broke as I pulled on it, the hubcaps crack when being removed, the top dashpanel cover broke at the mounting screws when I gave it a gentle wobble
is this typical or unusual?

2) the auto wont go up to 4th until warmed up, this takes 5 to 10 minutes, after that the auto works perfectly?? the auto wont seem to change up to 4th a t all in power mode

3) is it possible to drain the auto trans fluid by sucking it out thru the dipstick hole, lots easier than dropping the sump it would seem
BTW the former owner didnt believe in opening the bonnet and cooked the engine thru lack of water, then overheated the exchange engine, needing another new head this time
I have familiarised myself with the bleeder screws
thanks

[rattattack1313]

sounds like the car has baked a bit in the sun....a trip to the wreckers fer u, mate..... tranny needs a filter -fluid replacement...not hard at all.....but u drain it from the bottom of the tranny.......

[VT-565]

well, welcome to the site firstly...as for the plastic on your car, welcome to commodores...no, i found it depends on the life the car has had...ie...lots of sun etc that effects the state of the plastic....concerning the auto, i reckon it might just be in a good need of a service, in which you will have to drop the sump to change the filter....gives a good chance to clean the crap out of the sump too and have a brief look at the innards.....

[gungazza]

it seems that all vls wont change into 4th till thay are warmed up . somebody wrote here a while ago

[vlv8vic]

welcome mate.
1 yep just a bit of sun. alot of commies have the same problem. hubcaps are no fun anyway!

2 ive heard about the autos doing this. a fluid change should help.

the power mode actually disables 4th gear on VL's. 4 is really only an overdrive - good for cruising at 100, when in power mode it wont use 4th and changes at slightly higher revs, this saves fuel through undesired up and downshifting say when just cruising around town. on the open road 4th will save you fuel by running at lower revs.

[harry3]

thanks for the prompt replies

[twason]

it seems that all vls wont change into 4th till thay are warmed up . somebody wrote here a while ago

Correct, a VL auto will not go into 4th until the engine reaches operating temp.
Cheers
TW.

[VLACS]

i thought they were 3 speed trans. and the power was just like 4th gear.

[twason]

i thought they were 3 speed trans. and the power was just like 4th gear.

Good point, the torque convertor locks up and drops the RPM like another gear.
Cheers
TW.

[matteo 22]

just wont to know y my power button dose not work?

[matteo 22]

if some one could get back to me on this one it will help out lots thanks

[VS Omega]

Welcome to the forums! Please be patient.. sometimes it takes a day or two to get the response you're after.. this might sound crazy but if you can provide us with some more details, that will help us help you What is the problem? How does the problem occur?

[ucwepn]

When the button is in it is in economy mode and when out goes to 3 speed power mode (took a while to work out as power light on dash is dead LOL)

[NORTI]

just wont to know y my power button dose not work?

Normally Id say you would need to get the trans looked at. But something happend just recently you might want to try, My brother has an '87 & the power button/4th gear died on him on the way from Ceduna, anyways, he had my Trans computer from my '88 & turned out that when he went to change computer b4 taking it to get fixed, he found that the terminals on the back were damaged, "eaten" I think was the word lol.


Anyhoo try checking the trans computer connectors, not too hard & may save you some money...


D.

[Nobody Actually]

i'm a bit concerned about my auto, it likes to change into 4th while going up hills.

any suggestions?

[NORTI]

turn power on. Shouldnt let overdrive (power off) kick in when climbing hills, or towing etc... not good for the trans! basicly I use mine when Im doing 80k's or more power off & under that, hills, towing I make sure power is on.


D.

[i_want_kw]

so.... someone said when the button is in... it's in economy mode.... wouldnt it make sence to keep it in all-day, everyday? i only push the 'PWR' button in when i've hit high revs on the freeway (95kph +) ... is that right yea? lol
or am i messn wit my transmission and wasting too much petrol?
with my extractors and exhaust i dnt think it'll matter much either way lol

[Nobody Actually]

i'll give that a try, thanx

[ProMaX]

hey yer i recently bought a VL for cheap, he said that u can't put in over drive until after 5-10mins of driving the car... this the exact same thing about the 4th gear?

sorry i no next to nothing about cars

[mitchie]

is there any way i can lower my motor and raise my radiator to stop potential cracking?
and if so how much will it cost

[mitchie]

hey yer i recently bought a VL for cheap, he said that u can't put in over drive until after 5-10mins of driving the car... this the exact same thing about the 4th gear?

sorry i no next to nothing about cars

thats not true im sure u know heaps about cars u silly billy

[Bucket]

mitchie, if u wanna engineer something to that scale, id try to get an overfrlow bottle like on the VR/VS and make it higher than the bleeder screw at the inlet manifold, although im not looking at the car right now so i cant see if it will work.

[VLACS]

man im so confused about this damn power button. either mines ****ed or i just dont get it. when im doing about 100 or so my revs are at about 2500. when i put out power the revs go past 3000 at 100 ks and more. i thought this was meant to drop the revs cos it hasnt

[vlv8vic]

with the power button on it will make the revs go higher.

[harry3]

to mitchie
holden would have done it if it were possible
the commodore wasnt designed to take the RB30 it had to be squeezed in