Is it worth fixing???? A little help plz!
Hi guys,
Just got my 1993 Vp series 2 station wagon back from the mechanics and they had a list of things I need to repair, I'm tossing up if its worth fixing or just let it go and hopefully I will be able to buy something abit better in a few months. The car has just clicked over to 350,000kms
the report said.....
-Front brakes due in 1,000 to 3,000kms
-Front calipers require overhaul
oil leaking Rocker cover gasket
-Valley gaskets
-Transmission cooler hoses
-Power steering hoses
Transmission mount split
Engine mounts sagged
Any advice would be great.........
Look at the value of the quote and then do a search on line to see what you get for the same $. If you can get $50 for a trade in then you're laughing.
It really depends on how good the car is overall and if you like it. You could fix all or most of those things yourself and it would not be overly expensive. Also go out and test drive something like a VY or a VZ and then decide. I had a similar choice with my VN and decided to get a more comfortable and safer car.
I had a old hilux before i bought my ute, an it was going to cost me more to fix the ute up then what it was worth, so i just decided to get a decent car, you wont regret getting a decent car cause it wont/shouldnt let you downOriginally Posted by wortus
<- 245rwkw Holden V8
Then theres people like me that spend all that money that would go into a new car on replacing all the old parts with brand new parts!
Often making brakes, suspension, gearbox, engine, paint etc newer then a new second hand car anyway but in a car I love. I couldn't buy a new second hand car in better mechanical condition then my 20+ year old vn right now.
The Daily VN T5V6
LSD : SS Kit : Calais Rear : Calais Dash : Climate Control : Power Windows : More...
355 VN GRP A REP
All New Suspension : 322mm Brakes : 3.45 LSD : T56 Gearbox : Group A Kit : More...
that's pretty minimal work to keep an 18 year old car going on the road, at a quick glance and guess i'd say there's about $150-$250 worth of parts if you can do the work yourself should take 2-4 hours if you aren't to sure what your doing, maybe a full afternoon with a few mates and beer involved , it's all pretty easy basic stuff that a gregorys manual would cover
Do you like your car? Fix it, if you feel it's time for a change, then change cars. That list isn't much of a big deal to fix.
If your short of cash go to u pull it/pull a part whatever its called in your state, You will find everything u need except gaskets buy them new and fix it your self. I know ppl that dont buy sh#t like brake pads and hoses, They just throw em in the tool box when buying something big from the wreckers!
Nothing better then sitting back after fixing your own car and thinking about the money ya just saved on labour!
yep and putting another set of oil soaked hard as a rock, brittle 20 year old trans lines will fix that issue, also i don't think i've ever seen a 2nd hand v6 engine mount that was really useable again either, they all sag over time........ as for brake pads, i guess unlike your friends i tend to think brakes are a fairly important feature in any car, not so much that i like to be stopped but i've seen plenty of twits pull out from side streets in front of me and i've managed to not run up their arse cause i don't care about spending $50 on a set of pads.... as for discs sure if they're serviceable use em, if they're majorly below minimum say they're 17mm thick i wouldn't, you don't have to fix it all at once, pick the worst thing and fix it 1 thing at a time, if it's not pouring oil out just a few drops on the concrete after parking over night that can probably wait till your cashed up... if you're putting a liter of p/steering fluid through it every week then it'd obviously be cheaper to spend $20 on enough hose and new clamps to replace it than keep going through oil......
gearbox mount, i see they're on ebay b/new for $35 including postage.... i'd get under the car and make sure that's what the mount looks like before ordering though as commies do have 2 different ones for the v6's from memory
if the engine has a gap between the sump and the k-frame then you could maybe get away with those engine mounts a bit longer, all depends how badly they're sagged though
but at the end of the day if you're happy driving it, can afford the few hundred bucks to fix it, it's a clean car and it'll end up cheaper than buying a new car.. why not fix it
unfortunately they're now at that age where rubber is deteriorating in hoses, mounts and suspension from age/oil etc, if you get another car of the same era you may end up with the same issues.
Last edited by Jxw; 14-12-2011 at 05:26 PM.
Can you fix all the probs your self if so that will save you some $$
Too many projects.....
Donating Member
I do this with my oil too, didn't know it would be a problem.
On a more serious note. The things you have listed to fix are not big problems, You would save an amount of money if you could do some of it yourself, if you can that is. Most people on here are happy to help so if your trying it yourself have a search and you should find a few things.
Na not joking mate, Maybe they're crack addiction might have something to do with using second hand brake pads lol!
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Depends on what you want to do if you can afford it i would just trade it in because sounds like your over it.
Thanks for all the help so far guys,
I've given it alot of thought since posting this thread and I've decided to fix the car up, Even if I do get a new car I can still make abit of a project out of it. I am no expect with cars but have managed to do a few things with the help of this forum and I think it could be abit of fun. What would be the best order to do these repairs in terms of keeping it on the road? as much as I would like to leave it in the garage, my wife still needs to drive it while I'm at work. Once again thanks heaps for the advice, this forum is great!
i'd probably go for the brake pads first.
by overhaul i'm guessing a kit for the calipers
if all the rubber boots look ok when you change the pads, no obvious signs of fluid leaking and not seized i'd skip that for down the track, just grease the slides lightly when you change the pads, if they're perished and missing bits then i'd spend the $15ea (or close to that price) on the caliper seal kit and be careful installing them, they're pretty straight forward but the oring that seals the brake fluid on the piston just needs to have particular attention paid to it so it doesn't get put in twisted or on a weird angle (i'd find it hard to do this wrong but i've seen it happen).
use some rubber grease (not normal or copper grease as this can damage rubber) to push the piston back in once it's installed (don't need to over do it just a thin smear to help reinstall the piston).
Just be sure to check and make sure there is no brake fluid leaking after you're done.
i'd probably look at the gbox mount next, the rest may not be a major issue so long as the oil leaks are just weeping and not pouring out.
trans cooler hoses are a 5 min job, new hose and put new hose clamps on, could use the old clamps but i like to replace them when i do something like that for an extra couple of bucks and you atleast know they're not going to strip or fall apart when you put them on and tighten them up it can help to put a bit of inox/crc/wd 40 on the worm drive, this can help stop new clamps binding when being done up, if you're not running an external oil cooler it's not important what way they go onto the radiator's cooler, if running an external oil cooler and using the radiator's cooler also you want the fluid flow to first go through the radiator then the external cooler.
P/steer lines, Where is this leaking? high/low pressure side? back of the pump? You can get a pump oring/seal kit for about $13 on ebay if it looks like the pump is the culprit (doesn't contain all orings you may need to drop into your local repco or autobarn for the small ones that go onto the hose ends or the res oring), low pressure line is much like the auto cooler pipe, couple of clamps and a new piece of pipe. High pressure line is a bit more trouble as the pipe is crimped onto the ends (easier to buy a new one or good second hand one) It could just be the pipe fittings need tightening up.
rocker cover gaskets, once again 5 min job, straight forward and easy, might even just be that you need to tighten up the rocker covers.
valley gaskets and intake gaskets, probably take a couple of hours. the rest do at leisure.
grab a gregorys manual it'll cover most things, i've heard bad reports about haynes manuals that say they're not as good (even though the same company owns them now)
Last edited by Jxw; 22-12-2011 at 04:58 PM.
They must be a bit short of work or needing money for Chrissy presents
I agree I couldnt make a new car better than my 56 year old Chev either and the value goes up not down.x2.... just drove my calais home after a full makeover. its got the wet look now
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