About to drive from Syndey to Brisbane and back again..........

[shmickmik]

Before we left i wanted to make sure everything was alright and not going to muck up on the way there.

The only issues i have with teh car are:

1) Never overheats when driving, but when sitting in maccas drive through or westfield carpark for too long, she starts to over heat. The fan kicks in but the temp slowly rises up to the red. Radiator?

2) The brakes have this squeeling sound that goes away when i apply the brake. Its not the pads as i changed them, but most likely the hubs. I was going to change the hubs and bearings at the same time

3) I had to buy a redback replacement exhaust as the muffler on mine blew a hole in itself :S Now THIS exhaust is rattling against the car somewhere. 3 Rubbers are holding it on. The big one in the middle, and 2 smaller ones at the back. Am i missing something?? Its REALLY annoying.

4) I have a S1 Auto VN.. and for some reason i am loosing water. Only a small amount here and there.. Its still annoying having to refil the radiator and overflow bottle EVERY time i open it up. My parents car never gets touched and after a few months the coolant is still full! A few DAYS and i have to put in a few 100ml. Grr so annoying.

5) When starting the car in the morning.. sometimes it takes 2mins for reverse to engage. Most times its instant.. others it could be 10seconds. It only does this when cold.

6) Rattles RAttles RATTLESS!!!!!! I am pretty sure teh jack in the boot is one o the main offenders... but i feel as if the car will literally fall apart whenever i run over a maccas cup............ maybe not that bad lol but speedhump, driveway entries etc.. makes the car feel like a tin can. Not exactly anything to worry about but one of the things i KNOW will shit me on the way up there.

7) I should have put this as Number 1! This is THE most annoying thing... When going anywhere over 90km.. RIGHT niext to my ear is a big air leak coming from the door seal/window. Its a blowing/whistling sound and i dont think i coudl put up with it for 12hours... i felt the rubber and its really soft and weak. Are they meant to be tough and hard? Just so i know which one to pull off at the wreckers.

i THINK thats all lol.. I guess i was just hoping to attract the bored bastards at work or at hoem doing nothing who might want to help me out? Anyway im off to bed :P

Thanks for reading this far!

[greenfoam]

Put a container with 20 litres of water in the boot, take your credit card make sure the oil levels are good and drive it around the world. Brisbane to Sydney and back is only a short drive really. You probably do that every couple of weeks putting around the suburbs.

Re rattles. It's mind control practice

[MAC-VN]

the rattles with exhust
i had same problem
u have to put a lil rubber or anything thts about 1.5inchs
in between the two rubbers at the back to push the exhustt down

[shmickmik]

yeah i noticed that hey.. I had to take it out to make attaching the rubber hangers alot easier. But i got it back in. I notice if i push down on the exhaust tip with my foot the noise goes away.

It doesnt happen ALL the time. I can start the car in the morning and it will rattle like mad for the rest of the day. Or sometimes i start teh car and it doesnt rattle, nor does it make a sound for the rest of teh day :S

This car is WIERD... depending on HOW it starts, you can tell if its going to run rough as guts or smooth for the rest of the day.

I want my RB30 :'(

[GAMBLR]

with the exhaust i had the same problem. i had to put a rear resi on for the inspection, and at certain times i could hear a vibrating sound from underneath. turns out the resi was vibrating against the chassis. dunno how to fix it, cos my old system went back on not long after
CC

[shmickmik]

Hmm i can't really stick anything between the exhaust so my choices aer limited. I notice the rattle goes along with the vibrations from the engine. Im sure once i go rb30 most of the problem will go away... because if its still around when the rb goes in i am going to go mental lol

Thanks for your tips guys, keep em coming

[Fun_Bucket]

It's a Commodore,so, all you should really need is, Ciggertates , some music, some Starbusrts Jelly babies, and possibly something to drink

[MasterOfReality]

Don't worry about rattles, its a Holden

Just think of it like your car is talking to you.....effective communication from the road.

I drove mine from Wollongong to Brisbane and got out with sore legs and back. The rattles drove me nuts but driving with the window down masks a lot of it, plus then I could listen to my exhaust.

[Calaber]

It's a Commodore,so, all you should really need is, Ciggertates , some music, some Starbusrts Jelly babies, and possibly something to drink

It's a SERIES ONE Commodore - that means it rattles as standard. There were a rough and unrefined car that needed lots of development after their release, but they were also indestructible.

Exhaust rattle - spacer between rear tailpipe hanger and bracket, doesn't get heat affected and keeps tailpipe clear of rear bumper.

Water leaks and overheating - probably related. Find and fix the leak. As advised, carry plenty of water just in case.

Air leak - old rubber will be compressed with age. Needs to be replaced, but you can also remove it carefully, glue extra layer of rubber to door opening to fill the gap, , then refit door rubber.

Slow engagement of reverse - tired transmission. Mine did it for over 170,000 km and it still worked well.

Squealing brakes - could be cheap pads which are too hard and glaze over quickly. If this is the case, you will NEVER get rid of the squeal unless you get rid of the pads and put decent ones in.


Finally, take the New England Highway. Roadwords up and down the Pacific in a number of locations mean many hold-ups. Did the trip a couple of months ago and about one hour was spent at road works.

[cameron20020]

YES i had the drivers window whistle issue aswell...
turned out to be the window (not door) seal in my case, i ended up sticking some foam with adhesive on one side in the slide thing it goes up, so it had a decent seal again...

and some silicon sealant holding the door seals
but with the loosing water, id blame the water pump, thats what i did, changed mine, and now same coolant level since 3 months ago

[cameron20020]

and CHECK YOUR BLOODY TRANSMISSION FLUID...
it should be pink, if its not, then dont even think about driving it

mine used to take a while to get in reverse while cold, and wouldnt change gears properly till warm, and one day i lost 4th gear, then 3rd the next day, then 2nd a day later, and 1st on the way to my mates workshop

prettymuch was on its way out after 283000k's

[Calaber]

and CHECK YOUR BLOODY TRANSMISSION FLUID...
it should be pink, if its not, then dont even think about driving it

mine used to take a while to get in reverse while cold, and wouldnt change gears properly till warm, and one day i lost 4th gear, then 3rd the next day, then 2nd a day later, and 1st on the way to my mates workshop

prettymuch was on its way out after 283000k's

My old VR Berlina had 179000 k's when I bought it and it was slow to engage first after reversing from my garage.

I changed the trans oil and filter every 20,000 k's, didn't abuse it, though it was used to tow occasionally, and when I sold the car at 335,000 k's, it was still running ok. The slow selection remained but never deteriorated in the four years I had the car.

[cameron20020]

My old VR Berlina had 179000 k's when I bought it and it was slow to engage first after reversing from my garage.

I changed the trans oil and filter every 20,000 k's, didn't abuse it, though it was used to tow occasionally, and when I sold the car at 335,000 k's, it was still running ok. The slow selection remained but never deteriorated in the four years I had the car.

i forgot to mention that me, and the pensioner owner before me abused it a fair bit, a few stationary rotating wheels here and there , also i recently found out he only changed the trans fluid 3 times durring the cars life...

point being calaber is right, look after it, dont fang it too much and it;ll last a long time