Car maintenance....what should i do next????????

[iwannanewcar]

Hi guys,

I am currently doing some maintenance on my car and was wondering what the next move might be? i have a 1993 vp wagon series 2 witch has done just under 350,000 ks. Generally it runs ok apart from some roughness when its hot weather with the air con running. These are the things that i have done so far......

late last year - new crank angle sensor ( old one stopped working )

last week - new leads, plugs, oil, oil filter, air filter

tomorrow - im going to clean/ flush the cooling system with new thermostat

wednesday - booked in for new fuel pump and filter

im hoping the cooling flush and fuel pump will help make the car run smoother but i do realise that there is only so much i can do to improve a 17 year commodore. i might get the water pump checked over aswell but would like to know what else i should do to help keep the car running well......thanks in advance for your feedback!

[Adds_05]

clean the throttle body,probably got a heap of build up in it

[Krisp]

the roughness from the aircond running might mean the aircond clutch pully is on its way out. flush the gearbox out with a new filter also, check uni joints and suspension rubbers, more so the front strut links and rear upper arms

[FXST01]

Check your brakes and discs, how old is the fluid?

Transmission flush.

[iwannanewcar]

thanks for the replies.........brake fluid is ok but i will check the tranny fluid and see how that is. Didnt think of the throttle body but i will check that also, im fairly sure the throttle body was cleaned maybe 16-18 months ago

[zskinner]

get a new coolant temperature sensor (about 15-20 bucks from holden). very very easy to install, do it while your doing your coolant flush cos otherwise you may lose a little bit of coolant (but even if youve already done your coolant flush still do it, you will only lose a very little bit of coolant if you unscrew the old one out really quick and screw in the new one really quick). also do your oxygen sensor (around about 60-70 bucks from repco or ebay) if it hasnt been done in the past 50,000 kms. both of these sensors will gradually start to die and can have a very large effect on fuel economy. i can ALMOST guarantee that if you havnt changed either of these sensors in the last 50,000 kms that changing them will make a noticeable difference to fuel economy. also wouldnt hurt running some injector cleaner through your fuel system. and if you have some money saved up and wanna go all out, grab some ultrasonically cleaned fuel injectors for like $100 off ebay and throw them in

[iwannanewcar]

just an update....i fushed the cooling system on monday using the method written in the how-to section ( flushing a v6 cooling system ) which worked great!, i took the car to mechanics today and on the way the car became rough and almost cut out, leaving me with no accelaration. at the time i had both air con and fan on, after turing both off it seemed ok but happened again once i turned both on again. the mechanic installed fuel pump with filter, serviced the air con and replaced the brushes on the rear shockers. the car still has a miss somewhere which is frustrating and i'm worried it may run rough and cut out again.....any ideas of what i could checked first as i am fast running out of money with both christmas and a holiday coming up????????? all replies are much appreciated!

[zskinner]

if you've done your leads and plugs, the next most probable things to cause a miss are your coil packs or the ignition module. you can get them in a pack altogether from ebay for a couple hundred bucks

[zskinner]

perhaps even a blockage in your exhaust somewhere can cause missing/hesitation/stalling too......

[Gudgeon Pin]

in regards to basic maintainence, what ya haven't mentioned is the diff oil or the belt, when doing the belt you can check all your pulleys, the idlers are pretty common for wear

[iwannanewcar]

hey guys, thanks for everyones help so far its been very helpful. Today i got my hands on a ignition module/coil pack and put that on but it doesn,t seem to have help with the miss, i also put some injector cleaner in before i filled up with fuel tonight. i'm now pretty much out of cash till after christmas so im hoping the car can stay in good shape till then.. if there is any other cheap things that can be done plz let me know, i'm also gonna look into the other suggestions people have made on here.. thanks again guys!!!

[psshhhht]

also do your oxygen sensor (around about 60-70 bucks from repco or ebay)

mate, where on earth can you get them for 60-70? I went to the local repco the other day and they wanted $115!

[F l a k]

Even a can of upper engine cleaner from a Subaru dealer wouldn't be a bad idea, my VR was noticeably smoother afterwards. Cost about $20 per can though.

[zskinner]

mate, where on earth can you get them for 60-70? I went to the local repco the other day and they wanted $115!

my bad, just double-checked the ebay listing i got the price from and it was only for the vn 1-wire, not the vp 2-wire

[frdhtr]

Hey mate, with regard to it running rough, with that Amount of m's it's not uncommon for them to run rough, could be a lifter not pumping up 100% or even the valves in the cylinder head not sealing 100% either, worst case scenario. Cheers

[ConMan_VP]

a trans oil change and new filter, pull the sump off the trans, oil every where, pull the filter off, put a new one in, sump back on and then new oil.