its running, what should i do now??

[orreal511]

Hey fellas, here is my situation, iv got a vn series1 its done 480 000kms. For the last 150 000-200 000kms with no services at all in the last 250 000kms of its life. it was serverly mistreated by my dad, cos he said when it dies ill buy a new car. It never died (go the vn), he has bought a new car, now im thinkin about carrying on the legacy of it, Can someone please take the time out to tell me everything that i could possible do to it, to try to get it back on the right track from being mistreated for soo long. It runs well (from what i can tell), it has a few oil leaks, a major one from the power steering box(im takin that apart tomorow), it over heats. the things i will definatly be doin is, draining the oil and coolant, flushin the both, replace all filters. When i buy oil for it and coolant, it will be the best so i can heal it. stuff like that.

if anyone know what else i can do i would much appreciate it, and if anyone knows the best way to fix a mistreated engine (other then re-build.).

im hoping this commo is one of the ones that does over 600 000kms with no re-build needed.

sorry bout the long post
cheers ben

[Emackulation]

I say, run some engone flush through her and buy some good brand semi-synthetic 20w-50 Oil. Buy a bottle of Injector cleaner and put the WHOLE bottle in the fuel tank with half a tank of premium 98RON fuel (most expensive). Change the fuel Filter before doing this (located under the rear end of the car near the fuel tank). Change air filer, get some coolant and do a flush. Buy some dextron 3 for the power steering and transmission, check the fluid level in the tranny, only check it when hot to get a proper reading, check the colour of the oil too, you want it to be a red/pink colour. That should give you a good start.

[vn calais manual]

a set of plugs wouldnt go astray

[88GreenVN]

+ leads while your at it. ^^^ also what Mack said - good advice

[cracker]

dont touch it! let a sleeping dog lye

[orreal511]

cheers mack, i was wonderin where the fuel filter was, i thort of the injector cleaner just after i posted it. as for the plugs they are old, but the leads are not, but ill hve a look at them anyways.

dont touch it! let a sleeping dog lye

to cracker - why is that, do u no like vn's or do u just think mine isnt worth tryin.

[burnz]

giving the engine TLC to free it up may be it's undoing.
this is what cracker is on about..

[Reaper]

Chop it up with an axe. At'll kill it.

Reaper

[NORTI]

For the overheating, make sure its got coolant rather than water! Also new thermostat is cheap & wont go astry. Check heater taps for corrision while your there, Ive found often that overheating usually means loss of water next, followed by snapped/corroded heater tap. Especially if its been running water & not coolant for sometime.


I also agree with cracker, go easy on the love, you might kill it with kindness

[ScoHar]

If it ain't broke don't fix it, running some flush through the oil will prob end up dislodging the carbon buildup only to fall to the sump and block your strainer.

[immortality]

i'd have 2nd thoughts on the oil flush. i did this on a 3.3 that had reasonable oil pressure, then filled with clean oil. was running sweet, till i got of the motorway and stopped that the lights. engine returned to idle and oil pressure hit 0. it did drive like this for another couple of years however. i'd just change the filter and oil (don't go to thin either) and see what happens

[Zuicider]

i know its a good thing to do to rebuild a car. but trust me do a classic or sumthing. i got my vn off my parents who had bought it new , sum 8 years ago. im still rebuilding it and after 15 grand everything replaced nearly its still a vn and worth sweet **** all.

[Emackulation]

He just wants the car to last, not to rebuild the thing. Regular serviceing is a must. I like oil flush, it worked great on freeing up the **** on my rockers, but I do see your point of freeing up more then you want. Its up to you though, If you intend on changin the oil frequently then I dont see why not to add some flush.

[Morton]

I can't see the harm in changing oil twice in the next thousand kilometers. Gets the gunk out, because you know the first load of oil is going to pick up a lot of contamination early on.

For the overheating, change the thermostat, give her a good double-flush, and bleed all the air out. If that doesn't solve anything, and you're not losing coolant, then switch radiators.

[peter65]

...on top of all of the above... what about flushing the brakes? my vp fluid was full of gunk... so ended up flushing the brakes twice. just did the normal (got most of the fluid out of the master cylinder, then wheel-by-wheel bleeding whildst topping up with nice clean sweet fluid...) and then did the whole job again (getting lots more crap out) about 1 month later... pete

[orreal511]

Check heater taps for corrision while your there, Ive found often that overheating usually means loss of water next, followed by snapped/corroded heater tap. Especially if its been running water & not coolant for sometime.

Is the heater tap the little black canister next to the battery

He just wants the car to last,

, yeh thanks mack, i do just want the vn as a temp car for a few months, i have a pulsar and i hate the lack of space and power.

For the overheating, change the thermostat, give her a good double-flush, and bleed all the air out. If that doesn't solve anything, and you're not losing coolant, then switch radiators.

Yeh i took the fan out today and the radiator looks surprisingly good. Can anyone tell me what the 2 small 8mm hoses are coming out of the right hand side of radiator.

[orreal511]

also i know my way around the engine pretty well, im just not sure on what brands are best suited to the vn. What brand plugs, leads, filters are best suited, my guess is that it doesnt matter, but unno, never hurts to ask.

another problem i have it gettin the key in the ignition, it is a pretty big struggle to get it in. is this and east job to fix and put a new one in, or will i just not worry bout it.

[NORTI]

Is the heater tap the little black canister next to the battery

No, futher back, drivers side nearer to the firewall. Its a metal T shaped connector.

The black canister would be the charcoal canister.

Can anyone tell me what the 2 small 8mm hoses are coming out of the right hand side of radiator.

Id say trans cooler lines.

[orreal511]

cheers norti, big help. also is there a way of tellin if your alternator is working or not, without takin it into a mechanic The battery didnt charge but at the same time the battery is old and has been recharged som many times, so id say it **** itself. i cant take it into a mechanic to get fixed cos i live way out of town. so is there a way of tellin it the alternator is workin or not,

[NORTI]

Yes, multimeter. Signs of dodgey alt is obviously not charging the battery. Lights/stereo dimming etc....

Usually went alt dies its the brushes in the regulator that have become worn, very easy & cheap fix! Undo the plug, unscrew the small black box from the back of alt & fit new one.

Remember to remove the battery leads before doing so.

[DanVN]

To Elaborate Multi-Meter on Battery terminals with engine running should read around 14 volts 12 volts or lower means your alt isnt working =)

[orreal511]

Awesome thanks guys. what is the best way to get the power steering polley off, i just keeps spinin i cant losin the bolt at all. and which bolts do i undo for that the big one or the 4 on the outiside.

[orreal511]

dont worry i found it, i have to put the belt back on, all good.

[Tom_1569]

Awesome thanks guys. what is the best way to get the power steering polley off, i just keeps spinin i cant losin the bolt at all. and which bolts do i undo for that the big one or the 4 on the outiside.

Im not 100% sure caus i've never done a VN one, but i normally remove the whole pump, then bear hug the pulley with one arm and undo with the other, but im all ears if someone has an easier way to doing this.

Alsi I agree with Morton? that theirs no harm in doing 2 services in 1000 or so K's. I have no idea when my car was last serviced, and havent b othered to service it yet caus its hardly driven, but now its going to be daily i will service twice in a 1000 or so K's then drop back to regular 5000k services.

[PaRaDoX]

now its running drop the oil and do brunnnoutzzz till it pops!



services are bull****, all you need is oil changed, plugs, leads, oil filter, fuel filter and a new radiator / hoses for the overheating issue, new thermostat, probbly new air filter

and thats it.. trust me for the price you get charged for a service, u dont get half that done

but OIL & oil filter is essential...!