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Advice on car please!

blackvxss

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Hi all!
My VF commodore is closing 280,000kms and I’m getting a bit worried. I don’t want to sell because it’s been such a good reliable car with no issues so far but the kms are getting a bit too high for my liking! Any advice on what I can do/ what would be best? :)
keep enjoying it, plenty of 2nd had engines and trans out there if major issues. I have a VZ SS crewman with over 390k on original engine and goes strong and little oil burn for the age,
 

Fu Manchu

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Increase the servicing. Oil changes at every 5000-7500km.
Get the trans flushed and serviced.
Get the diff oil changed.

Keep the interior clean. Wipe down the plastics a bit more.

Plan to replace the shock absorbers. At 280k they’d be a bit average.
Plan to replace the suspension bushes too.
 

J_D 2.0

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Increase the servicing. Oil changes at every 5000-7500km.
Get the trans flushed and serviced.
Get the diff oil changed.

Keep the interior clean. Wipe down the plastics a bit more.

Plan to replace the shock absorbers. At 280k they’d be a bit average.
Plan to replace the suspension bushes too.
Never flush an old transmission. It relies on some of the grit in the fluid to make the clutches grip. Standard pan drop and filter change is all that’s required/advised.

This video from a Toyota technician advises as such, also has plenty of other wisdom to live by if you want your car to last.

 

Commo64

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Hi all!
My VF commodore is closing 280,000kms and I’m getting a bit worried. I don’t want to sell because it’s been such a good reliable car with no issues so far but the kms are getting a bit too high for my liking! Any advice on what I can do/ what would be best? :)
I'd say service the car more frequently and drive it until it dies or something major goes wrong, such as a transmission... Another option is to trade it in or sell it to upgrade to something newer, preferably Japanese and non CVT if you want it to last...
 

figjam

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.................... or sell it to upgrade to something newer, preferably Japanese and non CVT if you want it to last...
Very hard to find something that is not CVT or DCT at present, although some Korean and Jap makers have seen the light and going back to a slushbox with new models and facelifts.
 

Forg

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Very hard to find something that is not CVT or DCT at present, although some Korean and Jap makers have seen the light and going back to a slushbox with new models and facelifts.
The Toyota hybrid stuff seems to last OK.
Taxis seem to have gone from an approach of "car's cheap enough to buy that a reco 'box every 300k kms is economically viable" to "buy a hybrid Toyota".
 

Commo64

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Very hard to find something that is not CVT or DCT at present, although some Korean and Jap makers have seen the light and going back to a slushbox with new models and facelifts.
Yep, that's good that some are going back to traditional automatics... I will make an exemption to the CVT rule as Toyota's are pretty good with their CVT's, and much smoother than let's say a Jatco box...
 

Skylarking

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Never flush an old transmission. It relies on some of the grit in the fluid to make the clutches grip. Standard pan drop and filter change is all that’s required/advised.

This video from a Toyota technician advises as such, also has plenty of other wisdom to live by if you want your car to last.

I like The Car Care Nut and enjoy his videos and his advice but I’m still sceptical about the notion that one shouldn’t flush an older auto as the floating clutch particles are providing grip that the clutches need to grab the gears (while not blocking the fine oil passages and solenoids within the box itself?).

If such was true, given all the businesses selling snake oil remedies within our parts stores, you’d expect to find a transmission fluid additive containing finely ground clutch material for added grip :p:rolleyes: I’ve seen transmission additives that claim to reduce slip. I suspect such is achieved by softening the seals which helps those one way ball values and solenoids work better and this provide the designed pressure to the clutches (none claim any form of clutch material is contained within specifically to aid clutch grip) :oops:

In my view a full flush is the way forward and if an auto then slips with the correct fluid level within, because all the clutch material has worn out and was dumped with the old fluid, the trans is already stuffed and you should be considering a rebuild o_O
 

chrisp

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In my view a full flush is the way forward and if an auto then slips with the correct fluid level within, because all the clutch material has worn out and was dumped with the old fluid, the trans is already stuffed and you should be considering a rebuild o_O

I’m just being my usual pedantic self, so I think it’s important to distinguish between a ‘pan drop’ (my term) fluid change and a ‘full transmission flush’ fluid change. GM (and Holden) use to recommend a full transmission flush which involved a special machine to change over the fluid through the whole system (I think there is a section in the VF service manual that shows the process?). Apparently this caused more issues than it solved (failed valve bodies???), so now they just recommend the ‘pan drop’ method, and not to do the full flush. I can only speculate that the full flush might have been loosening up some build that might have later gotten stuck in the smaller passages within the transmission?
 

hademall

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I’m just being my usual pedantic self, so I think it’s important to distinguish between a ‘pan drop’ (my term) fluid change and a ‘full transmission flush’ fluid change. GM (and Holden) use to recommend a full transmission flush which involved a special machine to change over the fluid through the whole system (I think there is a section in the VF service manual that shows the process?). Apparently this caused more issues than it solved (failed valve bodies???), so now they just recommend the ‘pan drop’ method, and not to do the full flush. I can only speculate that the full flush might have been loosening up some build that might have later gotten stuck in the smaller passages within the transmission?
And with the full flush process, how do you know if the mechanic has done it properly?
 
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