A Problem with my VP V6 need some advice am i going mad

[Full Spectrum]

Hi I'm going to ramble on a bit here, But i will get as much as i know out and hope that you guys might be able to pick my fault something easy or something worse like I'm thinking.
OK here we go.
Of late my engine to me seems to be getting louder, I just had the tranny serves and ask the mechanic about the harmonic balancer and he said it was fine. But when i first start the car warming it up it makes a slight knocking slapping type sound that wont go away for atleast 2min. Then there are times when i start it up when warm and it knocks for 10sec.
Now something new it did in the last week. I had been out all day around and went to vacuum the car. Started it up gave it a touch of a warm as always and moved towards going on the road. Had to wait 30seconds to get onto the road but did, then booted it to zip in front of traffic when i herd what sounded like holes in the exhaust or the manifolds leaking bad and i mean really bad. Power seem to be fine as normal. Pulled to the side of the road and gave it a couple of revs sounded good, then as i pulled away the same sound was there, It was sounding like a XF Taxi on gas with 900,000km and 30 holes in the exhaust. But power was still there. So i decided to stop and have a look at the new GTS, Took 5 min and got back in the car and the sound was gone completely, But what i have felt in this past week since that is it's got good days and bad days. Some days it feels very strong then others it feels weak, It also seems to have run out of puff in higher revs now. It seems like it's lost some power in the higher revs above 4000rpm. It ghugs a touch till you drive off when starting it hot. but all in all it stills drives great day 2 day it's just it's lost some zip that is easy to notice booting it. Fuel economy is about normal it doesn't stink or blow smoke and i just changed the oil. I'm starting to think the engine is coming to a end slowly it's tired been used to tow a lot and just like the old tranny i think it's getting lazy at times now.
One thing i have a gasket going in the intake could that do it?

[cxcxcxvcvcvc]

have you checked to see if your exhuast manifold is is tight against the head onboth sides? or if your exhuast gaskets are ok? you can do this by starting the car when its cold and feel for any air coming out from around the exhuast manifold if the exhuast is loose that could be the cause of the noise and why you might be hereing the tappets. The reason it could be an intermitant fault is as the exhuast heats up will expand and when cool contract. Then again your heads might need overhauling to. but by the sound of it all i think your oil pump is cactus it sounds like your engine is starveing for oil especially up top better get it checked other wise you could be up for another motor. One way i know you can do this at home is when the car is first starting up remove the oil cap carefully put a stick in the head DONT TOUCH THE TAPPETS just sit it on the bottom of the head then pull it out and check if there is any oil on it there shouldnt be alot of oil but enough to keep things running smoth sometimes you dont have to do that if you have a torch then shine it down the oil hole and look at the rockers and see if they are pumping oil at one end also you can get a long screw driver and put it upto the head then the handle end up to your ear and move it along the head this will tell you wich tappets are in the worse nick by listening how loud the sound is hope this helps cheers

[Full Spectrum]

Actually you aren't the first person who has mentioned the oil pump. I think i am lucky with it because i like to sit even when it's warm every-time i got to drive I'm one who likes to let things build up before i take off not just start drive.
The Exhaust I'll back that with my life it's tight as a fish's rear the guys that did it are great. I also had my manifold changed about 12 months ago but I'll give the cold start finger test a go and the oil test.
I'm worried a touch it's over 300,000km now and i lost the tranny 8 months ago so i was thinking it's next.
Today when i went out i got to some red lights and though I'll boot it and see what happens. Very flat on take off till 2500rpm which brought a large amount of power out of nowhere and then top end again it went wondering?. It's been over the past 4 weeks ticking a touch just very small but i have herd it. If the head or heads are toast or even the oil pump and i know the intake manifold is leaking a touch i might be better off getting this engine i have seen fitted for $1000 it was rebuilt in June 04 think thats a good price?.
And thanks for all the help to.

How this if my luck couldn't get any worse My mum left 10 min ago in my car and i had to call her to be careful of the radiator water it's leaking It's one of them radiators that leaks for 2 days and then doesnt for 7 months

[HATER VP]

What compression has it got? Also what grade oil is in there?

[Full Spectrum]

Not sure what compression. But i run Castrol GTX-2.
Also asked my mum how the car ran today. She said it runs real good but a truck came into a lane in front of her and was slow, Everyone was moving around the truck and we don't sit behind them with the crack in the screen, So she gave it some foot and said to me it was very sluggish moving then a big boost of power came from nowhere.

I also went out and stuck the torch in the oil cap to look in the motor, What am i supposed to be seeing as i couldn't see any oil jumping around?.

[vn_lexcen_s2]

u should try and find out where the sound is actually coming from to scratch some possibilities to a few....then take it from there.

[mischf]

stuffed cat

[Full Spectrum]

u should try and find out where the sound is actually coming from to scratch some possibilities to a few....then take it from there.

All i know is it's in the engine and only stay for 2min when warming up first things in the morning, Then when starting it through the day maybe 5-10 seconds then it's normal sounding again.

stuffed cat

New Cat.


Yesterday when i was out i pulled out of a car park and floored it no wheel spin. I got to a corner facing straight full lock and floored it again no wheel spin. It's flat on take off. Then doing about 55 the lights go Amber i thought go for it see what happens dropped back to 2nd gear and flew off. Mid range power seems fine. It's lazy down low which isn't these cars. And runs out of puff above 4000. Which it hasn't ever done before.

[chauvie05]

hi fellow holden people. I need some help please..... we have a vp commodore excutive that was involved in an accident and we are now wrecking it as there is still a lot of good parts, but we dont know what any of the parts are worth. If anyone could please advise me on prices for seats, all electrical parts, motor and a five speed manual gearbox, tail lights and the the piece in the middle of the boot, 3 inch exhaust which is basically brand new, mag wheels and tyres-2 tyres are also brand new, 2 doors on the passenger side, boot lid etc.it will be greatly apreciated thanks from chauvie05

[HATER VP]

V6 or V8??

[Full Spectrum]

Guys please tell me if this sounds like it could have been a problem with power.
My radiator started to leak, So bad that i shit, When i cleaned it out and topped it up with some stop leak and new coolant the coolant was gone it was just rusty type water in it, 24 hours later it's got it's spark back again?.
Went to see the guys that do HM engines about a change over engine, He said let me see your car start it pop the bonnet. He listen to it gave it some sharp revs said to me don't waste your money this engine has got great life left in it it sounds very sharp and strong, I was shocked, But he said it looks like it's running ruff get a real good tune up done to it it's out bad and that will make it run like crap and loose power. But one thing today the car started first thing in the morning and staulled.

[immortality]

give the mufflers a kick and see if they rattle, mine do and it's a little down on power and runs outa puff at the top end too. rattles like abitch when cold but goes away once it warms up. waiting to get enought coin so that i can replace the entire system with a 2.5" zorst

[Full Spectrum]

The exhaust is all good and new this is from the engine forsure, Still does it but out of nowhere the car has come good after i cleaned out the radiator and filled it with coolant. Power is back it's biting hard into the ground again which is good but makes me think WTF is going on here, It starts sick and can stall in the last 2 weeks only first start of the day.

Had some little fun with a guy in a EA S 5 speed today, We were side by side about 60 3 lanes he was slightly in front of me i was the far left he was the middle, Car infront of me and 1 infront of him in the middle, We both had the same idea to zip around into the free middle lane who was going to get there first we went for it was a giggle. We came close to hitting each other which wasn't to smart i must say 2 cars into 1 lane dont fit.

[immortality]

i'd double check the oil pressure by fitting a oil pressure gauge of some sort, possibly a dodgy oil filter, i had one on my 308, did an oil change, put a new filter on and no oil pressure, checked the pump etc, pick-up, nothing wrong, pulled the whole engine down and found nothing, put it back together, new filter and oil pressure i got??? maybe replace the fuel filter also, this has been known to cause problems, flatspots etc

[Full Spectrum]

This is why it's so weird. The things i have done to it and slight little problems have come after these things.

Changed Fuel Reg, Oxygen sensor, fuel filter, Spark plug leads, Throttle body, New exhaust and cat, Oil change with filter. New injectors 12 months ago.
It's funny every since we done the oxygen sensor the car has been a touch ruff on idle at times when it's first started when warm. Now when it's started for the first time it stalls but when you crank it again it's perfect.
I'm even running a 98 Oct fuel this tank.
Filters are cheap i can change that no worries. Couple of the other blokes were also saying something about oil problems might be the oil pump?.

Something i just remembered when my tranny was done 7-8 months ago they reset the ECU, But it was playing up a touch and would race a little for no reason, Also when we did the oxygen sensor the fuel reg throttle body's etc we reset the ECU and the same thing happens, Maybe it's really bad out of tune or something is wrong there?

[immortality]

maybe it's the ECU, by the sounds ofthings it's about the only thing that you haven't changed. you checked for fault codes?

edit: what sort of oil you running, the really thin synthetic probably not that good on the older engine. my missus VS seems abit like this, it never seems to start first crank like my VN does but it runs goodish and i think most of it's problems are related to the tranny thats in really bad need of a service that i've not gotten around too and it's sometimes got a slight mis at idle but i put that down to a bad coil as i've had this problem before and when i replaced one of the coils the problem went away.

[Full Spectrum]

Never checked for fault codes since the engine light went away after changing the oxygen sensor.
I run Castrol GTX2.
I priced the coil pack because my brother said he done one in his old car so i checked that Over $400.
I guess i could even put the knocking down the old age it's over 300,000km now and until i got it it really didn't get regular work done on it, First oil change i did the oil was think crap that looked like it been there for 150,000km,
The car feels fine when driving idles at 700 rpm when in drive gets around fine and doesn't chug, But as soon as you stop it and then go back to drive say 10-20 min later it starts sick till you move off and then it's fine again. All this since the oxygen sensor was changed it's weird. Maybe i should have someone give it a big tune-up even go and see bluechip and have them look into it on the computer.

[andrewownsavp]

Is the knocking coming from the engine like a engine knock could be the tapets

but the sluggishness not sure but best bet is get a diognostic for it and tuned up get it on the dyno with dyno tune up be able to tell most probably

[Shanoqueeb]

try run some thicker oil m8, i had a similar problem and the tapets settled down a fair bit and the engine ran a lot quieter!

[88GreenVN]

Try some engine flush - the old oil may well of been in it for years brfore u got the car. But that will not produce intermittant engine power.

What about the fuel pump. Lack of power could be lack of fuel. If spark is good and the mechanical side of the engine is OK check the fuel system from top to bottom.

[mouce]

I know the coil packs might be expensive, but see if you've got a VERY understanding mate with a VN. Ask if you can get him drunk then borrow his coil packs for a day

It's an easy way to narrow it down a bit more. To me it's sounding exactly like mine did when one of the leads died, sounds like you're down a cylinder (that would explain the lag anyway, and maybe even the 'cold' stalling).

[Full Spectrum]

Is the knocking coming from the engine like a engine knock could be the tapets

but the sluggishness not sure but best bet is get a diognostic for it and tuned up get it on the dyno with dyno tune up be able to tell most probably

It kind of sounds like a GEN3 piston slap.
A mate told me i have done a bit to it and that might be the best thing get it dyno tuned and do it right.

try run some thicker oil m8, i had a similar problem and the tapets settled down a fair bit and the engine ran a lot quieter!

I must admit I'm not sure which oil is thicker, In the old VB i used some older model 300k plus oil in that?.

Try some engine flush - the old oil may well of been in it for years brfore u got the car. But that will not produce intermittant engine power.

What about the fuel pump. Lack of power could be lack of fuel. If spark is good and the mechanical side of the engine is OK check the fuel system from top to bottom.

I always grab a bottle of the engine flush when changing oil it's good shit.
If the noise of the fuel pump is anything to go on it's loud buzzing and never shits up. But i don't have a standard 63 litre tank in it.

I know the coil packs might be expensive, but see if you've got a VERY understanding mate with a VN. Ask if you can get him drunk then borrow his coil packs for a day

It's an easy way to narrow it down a bit more. To me it's sounding exactly like mine did when one of the leads died, sounds like you're down a cylinder (that would explain the lag anyway, and maybe even the 'cold' stalling).

.. I might be onto something, My mum has a very close friend she meet and they get on like a house on fire.. Here comes the good news, She had been telling her about the work i have done on the VP and how it's been a little sick of late, Well **** me dead! Her son is a mechanic and he runs a wreckers it's Xmas. He said next week he will go over the whole thing and tell me what i need done and then I'll tell him what i want done and he said he can get new parts at the prices they pay and he will fit anything i need done. So i hope he can stick a coil pack on and test that out straight away.

[88GreenVN]

Xmas indeed. Ya can be lucky some times.

[Full Spectrum]

I'll know more next Sunday when i see him i hope it's good.
Honestly i would like to change engines but if i have a ECU problem it would be best to find it now then later. Kind of feel it's not mechanical it's something else as it's up and down and really only 1 thing can do that.

[88GreenVN]

My vn wagon had the DFI unit fry itself and 3 other things went west too.
The car would run for a week then stall - then start no problems. Replaced all the bits that are the common to making the car misfire and stall.
As it turns out it was the ECU. Replace it for $95.00 from the wreckers and it has not stalled (2/3 months now).
Ps car runs heaps better now with all the new sensors and bits in it.