First week of VT ownership - the good and the bad

[johnaau]

We bought a 1998 VT Acclaim last week, and spent most of today sorting out a few issues.

First thing we did was get the A/C regassed, just as well as the temperature today was 30C+. $79 well spent.

Next thing was to go to Pick and Payless at Blacktown, first time I have been, and it is now my new favourite place. $2 entry and you can spend all day in there looking for parts, which are pretty cheap. We bought an electric aerial, a seat back pocket, and a bunch of minor parts to replace various broken or worn bits and pieces to bring the car back up to a very good standard.

Unfortunately in the carpark the car wouldn't start for a little while: it would turn over, start for a second and then just die. It did it several times. Then I started it and kept the accelerator down a little and it started and stayed started even when I took my foot off the accelerator. Any ideas on this problem? Could it be the extreme heat?

I then spent the afternoon fitting the parts and giving the car a through wash. I also found about $5 in change in the car too.

The aerial was not a fun job. I bought an electric aerial but when I pulled the wheel well plastic off I found ours was a manual aerial. I saw there was an electrical connector there for the aerial so I thought I would give it a try. I was pleased when the electric aerial worked perfectly. If I had to do it again I would take the wheel off for better access but I was too lazy.

One thing I noticed today when driving the car for the first time since we bought it and brought it home was that there is a bit of hesitation just off idle as you accelerate from stand still. It's hard to explain but it just doesn't pull away instantly. Once moving it seems to drive smoothly. I don't remember this in the other Commodores I test drove. Is this normal or is there anything I should check?

Aside from the starting problem I am very happy with the car. It looks good, is nice to drive and powerful, sounds nice, and there are so many parts available cheaply. I think I will enjoy the car once I get these issues sorted.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[calais24/7]

if it starts when your foot is slightly down, and has a problem taking off, you could have a slight miss, it should only be a minor thing, but there are a few parts that can cause it.

 

[*uwishn*]

i reckon leads and plugs will fix her.

 

[FstStig]

Plugs, leads and a throttle body clean should do her some good, also give your plenum a clean. You will be surprised at how much build up and crap gets in there from the PCV and EGR.

 

[Kernal]

Or the fuel filter. Where did you get your ac regased? I need mine done as well.

 

[som]

You're getting all the right advice.If after all of the above it's still not A1 then I would try a coil pack.Hopefully you know someone with a VT,X or Y in which case you may be able borrow one from their car for a few minutes.They are easy to remove and if your car runs great with the borrowed pack then you'll know that you need either--- 1 coil ,3 coils or a DFI module (that's the base that the coils bolt onto) or,at the very least,all your connectors may need a clean.Ideally you would replace the pack cos then you can be pretty sure ,that if you only replace one coil for example,that it won't be long before you'll have to replace another and then another and eventually the DFI.It's definitely cheaper in long run to replace them as a pack.Good luck

 

[Vlt_Calais]

good advice above, i'm a mechanic so should know.
also just check for a blocked 'cat' catalytic converter because these models are know for running rich amoung other things

 

[lout]

idle problem where you need foot down a bit and hesitate on take off sounds more like throttle position sensor

 

[johnaau]

Where did you get your ac regased? I need mine done as well.

A/C regas was done at Stage Co, 47 Third Ave, Blacktown NSW - (02) 9831 3288 - They have a special until the end of the month for $79 and did it while we waited.

 

[johnaau]

Today I spent more time thoroughly cleaning the interior. I also had a look at the throttle body based on some of the above advice. I noticed it needed quite a bit of force to move it from the closed position but then moved smoothly, this didn't seem right and I couldn't improve it with cleaning. So back to Pick and Payless to see if this was normal or to buy a new one. First car I looked at did exactly the same thing so I thought it might be normal but then I had a look at a few more cars and they were nice and smooth. So I took one off and bought it for $45. Put it on the car and it now feels nicer - I think at least some of the hesitation I was feeling may have actually been due to the initial force required to push the accelerator down that first bit. Haven't been for a test drive yet so will see how it goes and also see if it improved the starting problem.

All of the throttle bodies I saw, including my original and the one I bought were absolutely choked with oil residue. I guess it would be a good idea to pull off the manifold and give it a thorough clean. Is this hard to do?

Thanks again for all the advice. I will try and check out all of the things suggested. But how do you know if your cat converter is blocked?