VP Cooling and Locks

[002]

Hi Guys,

First post here. I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about cars because I don't. I have two main problems with my VP V6 Auto:

1) It overheats easy. I have taken it to Natrad here in town and he said my radiator is stuffed (has transmission oil in it and it's not mounted properly). He quoted me $393.40 for the following:

$265.40 - New Radiator
$44.00 - R/R car/can? - cant read his writing here - dunno what it means either.
$44.00 - flush
$40.00 - glycol - dunno what this is either - haha I suck.

Anyways I was wondering if this seems a bit steep. I mean, I can get a radiator shipped to me for under 200 from eBay would I be better off doing this and then paying someone to put it in? Also I'm sort of under the impression that my fan isn't kicking in when it is supposed to. Is there any way I can test to see if my radiator fan is working, besides letting the car run til it's hot?

2) My second problem which isn't as urgent is the locks. Yesterday I couldn't unlock my car for the life of me and I had to pay my brother 20 bucks to break into it for me while I was work. I've read that the locks on VP's can be troublesome and sometimes it can be caused my solenoids on the rear doors? I have peeled the plastic off on the rear door too have a look and I was just wondering is the solenoid the rectangular plastic box near the top of the door or am I looking at the wrong thing? Is it a pain in the arse to change these and what is the likelihood that they are the cause of the door locks playing up. To further elaborate on the door lock problem - the Passenger side if I try turn the key it just keeps on turning and turning. The driver side is the only side I can unlock from and it SOMETIMES works, sometimes doesn't. When it doesn't, it's just really hard to turn the key and the lock will SLOWLY rise to a certain point but won't pop up and the door wont open.


I know this is an ambitious first post but I hope you guys can shed some light on any of this for me.

Thanks in advance.

[stockhorse]

Sounds like conecting rod has come off passenger door lock......easy fix.
Radiator sounds like average price.Where are you located?

[002]

Located in Bundaberg, QLD

[Morton]

$265 for a radiator is a blatant ripoff. Even Ripco don't charge that much I think you'll be getting done if you have the work completed under that quote.

E-Bay radiator: $130
Autobarn Coolant Concentrate: $35
D.I.Y. Flush: $0
Trans Fluid: $30

Total: a lot less.


As for the locks? NFI

[Just_a_stocker]

The key turning and turning in the lock sounds like the barrel to me.
The little slides insdie the barrel are not springing back to catch in the position so they just stay stuck down and catch onto nothing.

Have you tried to fix the problem by spraying WD40 or somthing into them? -IF SO DO NOT DO THIS AS IT WILL MAKE THE INSIDES STICKY.

The box your talkin about is the solanoid, found up the top on the back and down the bottom on the front.

As far as I remember they operate independantly of one another and if 1 goes only one will go.
I would look into replacing the one on your drivers side door. when it doesnt work it will be hard to open the door proprly because it can hold the latch closed and hence lock the door.

If your pulling it apart your self you can usually operate the locking system with a key and you should be able to veiw if the solaniod is actually working or if it is being jammed by a lock mechanism fault.

If you decide to replace it , it can be a bastard as they have the screws on the inside which means you have to remove the whole door lock unit from the door to get at them.

An easy fix is feel down the door till you feel the solanoid unit and feel the 2 screwholes that hold it in, you wont feel any screws because they are on the other side.

once you have determined where the screws reside take an 8mm drill and drill 2 access holes from the other side the just fit a screwdriver in there and unscrew them, easy as chips and saves you pulling the door gear out.

A replacment will just have a plastic wire plug on it like the old one so unplug the old one and plug in the new one.


Radiator can be fitted yourself.
-drain coolant
-undo hoses
-undo trans line
- remove fan and shroud
- remove clips from either side of the radiator
- gently wiggle radiator out
- put new radiator in and do it all up.

-fill it with coolant till it will take no more
- jack the front of the car , till front wheels are about 5 mm off the ground
- get a hose and bottle
- tape the hose to the end of the bottle and then to the radiator
-undo the bleeder screw on top of the thermostat housing
- hold the bottle higher so it has a bit of 'head height'
- fill the bottle and let it push through till it flows out the bleeder screw.
- close the screw when you get a bit of airless flow out of it.
- open the radiator cap, run it for a minute or so,
- close it
-put some in your overflow bottle.

but after writing all that its probably better to have the block flushed by the radiator guys if it bad.
you can flush your own block by turn the heater vent to full ,put some cleaner in it and running for about 15 minutes (i would only do this with the old radiator), empty it , then run a hose through it.
not a 100% method but a lot of people do it.

cheers

[S1ncla1r]

gud mate ya bro is charging ya $20

[levymetal]

you can test if the fan itself works by bridging the black and white wires on the aldl connector
check this link, it will also tell you other problems as well!
but this still won't tell you if it's kicking in at the right time or not
http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/...lts-vn-vp.html

[Abborg]

Your lock problem can usually be fixed by getting a new key cut to code from a good locksmith, these keys get very worn and stop working properly.

[Just_a_stocker]

Your lock problem can usually be fixed by getting a new key cut to code from a good locksmith, these keys get very worn and stop working properly.

Im thinkin if the key spins in the lock then the key works, its the barrel thats is jammed.
Good idea to get a new key anyway.