Evoke 3 L - V6 engine life span .

[Terry57]

Just a general question. Im just wondering how many KLM'S one could expect to get out of this engine if it was correctly maintained. ?

Mine has 200 K on it and feels like new still.

Thanks

 

[gossie]

A million kms easy using correct oil and filter often.

 

[Terry57]

That is what I wanted to hear.
Mines just run in then.
Thanks.

 

[Big Red VF-SII Go-kart]

I came across an SV6 in Broadbeach, QLD a few weeks back, 487,000km and still going!! It was a lurid jet black with an overkill of red detailing everywhere, but still no complaints from the ex-Nimbin geriatric driving it...

A VF isn't broken-in until around 100 - 120,000km. You'll need routine replacements of things as the car ages (coolant pump, idler pulley; belt can last 250,000km, as the VZ Alloytec (previous car) was heading for... Holden has in the past made some quite impressive statements about the VF engines getting up to 900,000km or so, maintained to the book and looked after (which does not include hooning or mods!). Consider that if you are towing and travelling a lot, that could have some bearing on engine life, especially if it means prolonged increased operating temperatures.

 

[Terry57]

My VF will usually have 1200 Kilo hanging from the back but all fluids changed early and all maintenance sorted. I'm 63 and by all estimates should die before the VF. Such good news as I hate spending big money on my car.
Cheers.

 

[Big Red VF-SII Go-kart]

My VF will usually have 1200 Kilo hanging from the back but all fluids changed early and all maintenance sorted. I'm 63 and by all estimates should die before the VF. Such good news as I hate spending big money on my car.
Cheers.

Oh bollocks, sweatheart! Geez, I see you've already busted the tow ball on your gypsy wagoon (see that sign? Alternative Way...no relation to 1 Alternative Way in Nimbin, where I lived for a time in the late 1980s??).

 

[Terry57]

Very well spotted my friend and lucky I was booked into Nimbin Caravan Park which is a mear fart away. Some crusty local spotted me his towball so banged it on and camped up. All good. Alternative way is on a nasty angle and that put enough pressure on the ball to snap it clean off. Sounded like a shot gun going off.

 

[Skylarking]

@Terry57, good that the 3ltr is chugging along without issues and that the trans cooler is keeping the auto honest... but have you thought of upgrading your ball hitch to an off road style that gives more articulation? Such a hitch may have avoided the failure you had (though if your going to have any failure, Nimbin and it’s pot culture is probably the place to have such occur).

Below are two articles, one of many articles on articulated 4x4 hitches one can find on the www... some food for thought...

https://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/do-you-need-an-off-road-hitch-this-guide-explains-all/

https://www.caravancampingsales.com.au/editorial/details/top-5-caravan-tow-hitches-120354/

or if you like videos, here’s one that discusses one brand of 4x4 hitch

As for how long an engine will last, that’s much like asking how long is a piece of string. But what you can be sure of is that if you don’t maintain the engine (car) according to the harsh usage service schedule, it wont last as long as it was designed to last (which gets shorter and shorter with each design cycle)

 

[Terry57]

Yep, that would of done the job. Thanks

 

[Big Red VF-SII Go-kart]

Those big, heavy duty, complicated and expensive hitches are unnecessary unless your car is 4WD, the van is over 2t in weight (the longer and taller they are the greater the stress on the drawbar and towball) and requires very considerable stability, among hardware upgrades like more powerful electric brakes. Not sure if the Evoke has anti-sway technology in it like the SV6 (?). Poor quality towballs are abundant, all made in China. On the VZ wagon I had, the towball was stamped Made in England, which was novel, and never game me any iota of trouble on my first 'round the block' trip with a 17.5ft Jayco poptop in 2011 (6 months). I didn't go anywhere near Nimbin on that trip -- haven't been there since maybe 1986 (the row of 5 timber units with bullnose, wild west verandahs, have long since been demolished on the corner -- 1 Alternative Way, and replaced with something more modern and respectable, if somewhat architecturally jarring for a place like Nimbin. The road that brought your van to grief however was popular in the day for naked village urchins skateboarding and billycarting, with icecream containers stuck on our heads (mine too...) as stackhats!