Thread: 1990 3.9 as a daily driver

Sounds like you are in need of beeuteys Bosch upgrade.

Maybe have a read of Mercguy's thread about the maintenance additives.

Seems to have brought a bit of life back into his while it awaits an engine transplant.

Could be worth an initial layout to provide a bit of extra longevity.

My 89 3.5 was my daily driver up there (NT) and will be again down here (SA). I found running 95 was the best up there and keeping on top of the little things like greasing and normal maintenance. My biggest problem was dodgy fuel, so I stuck to the one provider. Oh, and my superb ECU! Not that you will have that issue with the 3.9!

until some drunk women wiped my ****box out .... I just drove it .... and added horrendous amounts of fuel (lpg) .... maybe topped up the engines oil level every few thousand kms and thats about it. The poor ****box was generally either towing the block of flats or car trailer .... and driving through the fire trails to work each day.

I must get the ****box box together ASAP ..... I desperately need my daily driver back! I'm rapidly running out of ****boxes that run and drive

seeya,
shane l.

My old 3.5V8 4 speed 4 door was my daily drive for quite a while. Keep the maintenance up and never pass a servo without filling up and you'll be fine.

I treat my 3.9 v8 like any 18 year old treats their parent's car...

i.e. when there's noone around, drive it like you stole it.
I have no desire to baby it, In fact, if you baby something like that, almost with certainty it will reward you with failure of something.

I have 375000 on it and it's still running reliably and gives no mechanical trouble.
I keep my maintenance levels up - these vehicles need everything inspected every 5000km if you want to stay on top of them with 'minimal' ongoing maintenance.
The main issues mechanically aren't really the engine's internals, but I have done a few things to make mine easier to live with.

Here's a list of 10 suggestions, from almozt zero effort to considerable 'prevention' - obviously there are costs and 'costs', but you have to work out what is best for you ultimately. Off the top of my head, I have pretty much nailed everything in the below list off in 4 years, and while I know I could drive to melbourne or brisbane without an issue, it still wouldn't stop me from taking my box of spares... if you know what I mean. I do the same in the Merc's but moreso just carry the spare electrical modules that you couldn't get hold of for a week. Never have issues with the mercedes drivetrains, but I apply the same philosophy of maintenance to everything I own. You can be as ruthless as you like when you understand mechanical sympathy and ongoing maintenance are a harmonious partnership.

1. Buy a box of oil filters (mahle) and simply change the filter every 5000km. Even if you don't replace the oil.

2. use a good quality oil but not the most expensive hyper-synthetic-does-everything-lasts-forever oil. no, it's better to use a cheaper oil and change it every 5000, than it is to use one that costs 10x as much and change it once a year... especially if the internals get dirty (see my cost effective maintenance thread). and trust me, an old 3.9 will dirty up the oil without a few shock treatments. If you decided to flush and treat, then you're up to double the cost of an oil change, but you'll be satisfied with the outcome - when you see the feral crap that comes out of the sump.

3. I would concern myself more with the drivetrain. Specifically, the ensure that the brakes, rotors, hub seals, bearings, swivel housings and CV's are all serviceable and fluids / lubricants have been replaced in the immediate past. (<3mo.)

4. I would make sure I replaced the engine mounts, the transmission mount and transfer case mount. Any regular use is going to strain older mounts which don't normally see that heavier useage cycle. Mine lasted 3 months of daily driving before they all failed almost simultaneously - I had to replace all of them. has now been 3 years and theyre good as gold still.

5. Exhaust leak prevention: I would pull the exhaust manifolds off, chase the heads threaded holes out with a bottoming tap, have the manifolds sandblasted and the flange faces linished straight, and replace the exhaust manifold bolts with studs (commodore / chev) and long brass nuts. Use the disco MLS gaskets. No more exhaust leaks.
Where the starter is, you will need to use the factory bolt on the exhaust manifold, because of the shield etc.
By far this was the most annoying (repetitively annoying) issue I had with mine..... every 3-4 weeks I'd have to retighten the manifold bolts, until I pulled the whole lot out. I have not touched the manifold nuts since (1st heat cycle,retorque hot, retorque cold) Also use 8mm castellated or locking nuts on the downpipe flanges. I used Mercedes (würth) copper plated high tensile ones (because I have them here) and they stay there. Before that I used quantities of large holden brass nuts and loctite. I lost two nuts on the left manifold in 3 days later (used correct hitemp loctite... correct heat cycling and retightening...made no difference) The locking nuts are by far the best solution to the downpipe flanges.

6. Power steering - check and correct leaks. incl seal kit for the PS box and pitman arm balljoint (you can buy an arm with the balljoint, much easier / quicker).

7. Replace the tierod ends for the steering arm and track rod. Wheel alignment and balance.

8. make sure swivel hubs are properly lubricated and not weeping, if weeping, monitor them and keep the gear oil up to them. It usually means you need to check the swivel bearings and shims. If you have one-shot, get rid of it, and convert your bearings to run in oil. Best thing I have done - and makes routine maintenance easier, it's also quicker to replace rotors and inspect bearing wear. (they don't wear in oil) You can use the light GL4 75-85w synthetic, or you can go hard and use 90w non LSD diff oil. Because you're in Darwin, you could possibly even get away with 140w GL4 gear oil... because of the average temps, the oil will still be viscous overnight. Remember you can't use a GL5 oil in CV's as there are nonferrous metals in contact with ferrous metals, and GL5 oils will destroy nonferrous metals with the sulfur content in the oil. One-shot is literally a 50-50 molybdenum disulphide and 75w gl4 gear oil. It's a lot harder to get moisture out of a swivel housing containing oneshot than it is to get it out of a swivel lubed with gear oil.... and the swivels do ingest moisture, so again, gear oil is easier to live with in this style of application, but requires more frequent inspection. I perfer it over the oneshot I used to use.

9. Consider a new steering damper if it is old and tired, also make sure all your radius arm bushes are sound. Super important to ensure all the bushes in the suspension and drivetrain are in good condition. Check the a-frame balljoint - if you have a maxidrive one, grease it up, and while I think about it, regrease your propshaft uni joints, adjust the handbrake drum, and change out your transmission and transfer case oil, and do the diff oil. How old are your dampers (shocks)? I currently run Koni 88's (HD) on my RRC, they are quite satisfactory, but having said that, planned suspension changes will see them changed for some 12" short body bilstein 7100 / equivalent in the near future.

10. Cooling system - make sure it's been thoroughly flushed, and you use a high quality coolant at least. Preferably not that green ****. If you're going to flush and the setup is old, use New hoses on the radiator and to the header tank. New header tank and cap is also advisable, as well as orings on the bleed ports. Heater hoses need to be checked, and that metal one.... it's always a dodgy setup, so consider replacing it - standard holden/chev v8 arrangement two hoses down along the vee to the back, one with a t piece to bleed if you want to replicate the factory setup, or just park it on a hill upwards and bleed it from the radiator - for peace of mind, or use a mityvac, and fill the system under vacuum if you're "pedantic" or have experienced the coolant bubble from hell... either way is pretty cheap insurance. Consider performing a citric acid flush of the block and radiator, but if the insides are heavily corroded or slimed, remove the radiator and do that separately. New water pump and thermostat if your budget extends to it or at least keep an eye on the cooling system. The blue ZF / vaico coolant is a much much better quality, and stopped all the slime buildup in mine. Again, I have bottles of the stuff here, because of the Mercedes. It has never given me any trouble in the rrc - in fact it's probably the best thing - because the system has been dead reliable since xmas 2014 when I put it in! (drained and replaced in xmas 2016, as coolant should be every 2 years)

The bee-utey BIM024 bosch ignition module conversion and distributor rebuild is something you should consider doing as preventative maintenance, as is a new genuine lucas rotor and new distributor cap, leads, plugs. A days worth of effort to do it thoroughly and never look back.

Replace all the vbelts, and check the alternator is putting out the appropriate voltage. if not, get a new regulator and brushes, and consider overhauling it with new bearings as well - absolutely worthwhile for peace of mind. Make sure your battery is in good condition and less than 12 months old preferably. I like the marine batteries, because you can keep an eye on the electrolyte and top up as necessary, but prefer an agm for the second battery (boot).

Lastly, for ease of "telltale" identification, get underneath and give everything a solid clean with a pressure washer, but try to avoid direct high presssure water into mechanical joints / seals etc. Once it's clean and dry, get some lanotec steel seal and coat the entire underside in it. leave it to dry a couple hours.

Consider doing same for engine bay etc.

Now the thing is prepped and about as reliable as it could ever be, sans knowing what the internal condition of the engine is like.

If you have a BWTC, ditch it and get an LT230 replacement.

In 4 years, I have gone through 2 sets of pads, one set of rotors, 2 full sets of hub seals(4 axles), 2 sets of swivel seals, 2 full sets of wheel bearings (4 axles) one set of swivel bearings and shims, approx 30L of ATF (2 full changes on trans, and 4 changes on BWTC) 2 transmission pan kits (filter/gasket orings) 7 or 8 swivel oil changes, 8 diff oil changes about 15 engine oil changes (incl filter), 2 450g tubes of EP2 moly grease (greasegun) One a-arm balljoint, full steering overhaul, HD front trackrod and steeing rod and adjustable HD panhard rod, tierod ends and bushes. A new front bashplate, one ignition barrel lock, 2 starting batteries (1st one was not suitable, nrma get out of jail free battery) replaced headlights with LED's (just because). One new starter motor, 2 alternators (one warranty failure), coolant header tank and cap, 4 brake light bulbs, 2 rear fog light bulbs. fanbelts (twice.

Electrically I went through the vehicle after I bought it with a fine tooth comb. Lots of random fixes for previous dodgy work.
Did the bee-utey ignition mod and dizzy mod.

Everything else has been a modification / upgrade for personal preferences. Everything listed above I consider to be 4 years worth of replacement / maintenance items to ensure reliability based on what I knew about the vehicle when I purchased it, and what I learned about it in the last 4 years.

It's a pretty solid and reliable unit, and while it's not perfect, people still notice it and comment on it. So it can't be all bad.

My headlining needs fixing, some of the centre console plastic has broken (switch surround near drivers knee) and the stereo has given me grief a few times due to the lack of space in front of the shifter, but I'm working on plans to attack all of that next year sometime. Possibly when the om606 goes in.

Pretty sure you're now second-guessing using it as a daily... Just go with it. It'll be fine.

If it leaves you stuck, you can just leave it where it is and walk away..... You wouldn't be the first

Originally Posted by Mercguy

I treat my 3.9 v8 like any 18 year old treats their parent's car...

i.e. when there's noone around, drive it like you stole it.
I have no desire to baby it, In fact, if you baby something like that, almost with certainty it will reward you with failure of something.

I have 375000 on it and it's still running reliably and gives no mechanical trouble.
I keep my maintenance levels up - these vehicles need everything inspected every 5000km if you want to stay on top of them with 'minimal' ongoing maintenance.
The main issues mechanically aren't really the engine's internals, but I have done a few things to make mine easier to live with.

Here's a list of 10 suggestions, from almozt zero effort to considerable 'prevention' - obviously there are costs and 'costs', but you have to work out what is best for you ultimately. Off the top of my head, I have pretty much nailed everything in the below list off in 4 years, and while I know I could drive to melbourne or brisbane without an issue, it still wouldn't stop me from taking my box of spares... if you know what I mean. I do the same in the Merc's but moreso just carry the spare electrical modules that you couldn't get hold of for a week. Never have issues with the mercedes drivetrains, but I apply the same philosophy of maintenance to everything I own. You can be as ruthless as you like when you understand mechanical sympathy and ongoing maintenance are a harmonious partnership.

1. Buy a box of oil filters (mahle) and simply change the filter every 5000km. Even if you don't replace the oil.

2. use a good quality oil but not the most expensive hyper-synthetic-does-everything-lasts-forever oil. no, it's better to use a cheaper oil and change it every 5000, than it is to use one that costs 10x as much and change it once a year... especially if the internals get dirty (see my cost effective maintenance thread). and trust me, an old 3.9 will dirty up the oil without a few shock treatments. If you decided to flush and treat, then you're up to double the cost of an oil change, but you'll be satisfied with the outcome - when you see the feral crap that comes out of the sump.

3. I would concern myself more with the drivetrain. Specifically, the ensure that the brakes, rotors, hub seals, bearings, swivel housings and CV's are all serviceable and fluids / lubricants have been replaced in the immediate past. (<3mo.)

4. I would make sure I replaced the engine mounts, the transmission mount and transfer case mount. Any regular use is going to strain older mounts which don't normally see that heavier useage cycle. Mine lasted 3 months of daily driving before they all failed almost simultaneously - I had to replace all of them. has now been 3 years and theyre good as gold still.

5. Exhaust leak prevention: I would pull the exhaust manifolds off, chase the heads threaded holes out with a bottoming tap, have the manifolds sandblasted and the flange faces linished straight, and replace the exhaust manifold bolts with studs (commodore / chev) and long brass nuts. Use the disco MLS gaskets. No more exhaust leaks.
Where the starter is, you will need to use the factory bolt on the exhaust manifold, because of the shield etc.
By far this was the most annoying (repetitively annoying) issue I had with mine..... every 3-4 weeks I'd have to retighten the manifold bolts, until I pulled the whole lot out. I have not touched the manifold nuts since (1st heat cycle,retorque hot, retorque cold) Also use 8mm castellated or locking nuts on the downpipe flanges. I used Mercedes (würth) copper plated high tensile ones (because I have them here) and they stay there. Before that I used quantities of large holden brass nuts and loctite. I lost two nuts on the left manifold in 3 days later (used correct hitemp loctite... correct heat cycling and retightening...made no difference) The locking nuts are by far the best solution to the downpipe flanges.

6. Power steering - check and correct leaks. incl seal kit for the PS box and pitman arm balljoint (you can buy an arm with the balljoint, much easier / quicker).

7. Replace the tierod ends for the steering arm and track rod. Wheel alignment and balance.

8. make sure swivel hubs are properly lubricated and not weeping, if weeping, monitor them and keep the gear oil up to them. It usually means you need to check the swivel bearings and shims. If you have one-shot, get rid of it, and convert your bearings to run in oil. Best thing I have done - and makes routine maintenance easier, it's also quicker to replace rotors and inspect bearing wear. (they don't wear in oil) You can use the light GL4 75-85w synthetic, or you can go hard and use 90w non LSD diff oil. Because you're in Darwin, you could possibly even get away with 140w GL4 gear oil... because of the average temps, the oil will still be viscous overnight. Remember you can't use a GL5 oil in CV's as there are nonferrous metals in contact with ferrous metals, and GL5 oils will destroy nonferrous metals with the sulfur content in the oil. One-shot is literally a 50-50 molybdenum disulphide and 75w gl4 gear oil. It's a lot harder to get moisture out of a swivel housing containing oneshot than it is to get it out of a swivel lubed with gear oil.... and the swivels do ingest moisture, so again, gear oil is easier to live with in this style of application, but requires more frequent inspection. I perfer it over the oneshot I used to use.

9. Consider a new steering damper if it is old and tired, also make sure all your radius arm bushes are sound. Super important to ensure all the bushes in the suspension and drivetrain are in good condition. Check the a-frame balljoint - if you have a maxidrive one, grease it up, and while I think about it, regrease your propshaft uni joints, adjust the handbrake drum, and change out your transmission and transfer case oil, and do the diff oil. How old are your dampers (shocks)? I currently run Koni 88's (HD) on my RRC, they are quite satisfactory, but having said that, planned suspension changes will see them changed for some 12" short body bilstein 7100 / equivalent in the near future.

10. Cooling system - make sure it's been thoroughly flushed, and you use a high quality coolant at least. Preferably not that green ****. If you're going to flush and the setup is old, use New hoses on the radiator and to the header tank. New header tank and cap is also advisable, as well as orings on the bleed ports. Heater hoses need to be checked, and that metal one.... it's always a dodgy setup, so consider replacing it - standard holden/chev v8 arrangement two hoses down along the vee to the back, one with a t piece to bleed if you want to replicate the factory setup, or just park it on a hill upwards and bleed it from the radiator - for peace of mind, or use a mityvac, and fill the system under vacuum if you're "pedantic" or have experienced the coolant bubble from hell... either way is pretty cheap insurance. Consider performing a citric acid flush of the block and radiator, but if the insides are heavily corroded or slimed, remove the radiator and do that separately. New water pump and thermostat if your budget extends to it or at least keep an eye on the cooling system. The blue ZF / vaico coolant is a much much better quality, and stopped all the slime buildup in mine. Again, I have bottles of the stuff here, because of the Mercedes. It has never given me any trouble in the rrc - in fact it's probably the best thing - because the system has been dead reliable since xmas 2014 when I put it in! (drained and replaced in xmas 2016, as coolant should be every 2 years)

The bee-utey BIM024 bosch ignition module conversion and distributor rebuild is something you should consider doing as preventative maintenance, as is a new genuine lucas rotor and new distributor cap, leads, plugs. A days worth of effort to do it thoroughly and never look back.

Replace all the vbelts, and check the alternator is putting out the appropriate voltage. if not, get a new regulator and brushes, and consider overhauling it with new bearings as well - absolutely worthwhile for peace of mind. Make sure your battery is in good condition and less than 12 months old preferably. I like the marine batteries, because you can keep an eye on the electrolyte and top up as necessary, but prefer an agm for the second battery (boot).

Lastly, for ease of "telltale" identification, get underneath and give everything a solid clean with a pressure washer, but try to avoid direct high presssure water into mechanical joints / seals etc. Once it's clean and dry, get some lanotec steel seal and coat the entire underside in it. leave it to dry a couple hours.

Consider doing same for engine bay etc.

Now the thing is prepped and about as reliable as it could ever be, sans knowing what the internal condition of the engine is like.

If you have a BWTC, ditch it and get an LT230 replacement.

In 4 years, I have gone through 2 sets of pads, one set of rotors, 2 full sets of hub seals(4 axles), 2 sets of swivel seals, 2 full sets of wheel bearings (4 axles) one set of swivel bearings and shims, approx 30L of ATF (2 full changes on trans, and 4 changes on BWTC) 2 transmission pan kits (filter/gasket orings) 7 or 8 swivel oil changes, 8 diff oil changes about 15 engine oil changes (incl filter), 2 450g tubes of EP2 moly grease (greasegun) One a-arm balljoint, full steering overhaul, HD front trackrod and steeing rod and adjustable HD panhard rod, tierod ends and bushes. A new front bashplate, one ignition barrel lock, 2 starting batteries (1st one was not suitable, nrma get out of jail free battery) replaced headlights with LED's (just because). One new starter motor, 2 alternators (one warranty failure), coolant header tank and cap, 4 brake light bulbs, 2 rear fog light bulbs. fanbelts (twice.

Electrically I went through the vehicle after I bought it with a fine tooth comb. Lots of random fixes for previous dodgy work.
Did the bee-utey ignition mod and dizzy mod.

Everything else has been a modification / upgrade for personal preferences. Everything listed above I consider to be 4 years worth of replacement / maintenance items to ensure reliability based on what I knew about the vehicle when I purchased it, and what I learned about it in the last 4 years.

It's a pretty solid and reliable unit, and while it's not perfect, people still notice it and comment on it. So it can't be all bad.

My headlining needs fixing, some of the centre console plastic has broken (switch surround near drivers knee) and the stereo has given me grief a few times due to the lack of space in front of the shifter, but I'm working on plans to attack all of that next year sometime. Possibly when the om606 goes in.

Pretty sure you're now second-guessing using it as a daily... Just go with it. It'll be fine.

If it leaves you stuck, you can just leave it where it is and walk away..... You wouldn't be the first

Withought going off track, what were you gonna put behind the 606? I have 2 vitos here which one day I'm going to put the manual box in my auto (once I sort the fuel problem out). So I'm gonna have a spare 611 laying around, I was thinking of coupling it to the s3. But I was looking for a MFP coversion for it 1st.
Cheers Jim

Originally Posted by Mercguy

I treat my 3.9 v8 like any 18 year old treats their parent's car...

i.e. when there's noone around, drive it like you stole it.
I have no desire to baby it, In fact, if you baby something like that, almost with certainty it will reward you with failure of something.

I have 375000 on it and it's still running reliably and gives no mechanical trouble.
I keep my maintenance levels up - these vehicles need everything inspected every 5000km if you want to stay on top of them with 'minimal' ongoing maintenance.
The main issues mechanically aren't really the engine's internals, but I have done a few things to make mine easier to live with.

Here's a list of 10 suggestions, from almozt zero effort to considerable 'prevention' - obviously there are costs and 'costs', but you have to work out what is best for you ultimately. Off the top of my head, I have pretty much nailed everything in the below list off in 4 years, and while I know I could drive to melbourne or brisbane without an issue, it still wouldn't stop me from taking my box of spares... if you know what I mean. I do the same in the Merc's but moreso just carry the spare electrical modules that you couldn't get hold of for a week. Never have issues with the mercedes drivetrains, but I apply the same philosophy of maintenance to everything I own. You can be as ruthless as you like when you understand mechanical sympathy and ongoing maintenance are a harmonious partnership.

1. Buy a box of oil filters (mahle) and simply change the filter every 5000km. Even if you don't replace the oil.

2. use a good quality oil but not the most expensive hyper-synthetic-does-everything-lasts-forever oil. no, it's better to use a cheaper oil and change it every 5000, than it is to use one that costs 10x as much and change it once a year... especially if the internals get dirty (see my cost effective maintenance thread). and trust me, an old 3.9 will dirty up the oil without a few shock treatments. If you decided to flush and treat, then you're up to double the cost of an oil change, but you'll be satisfied with the outcome - when you see the feral crap that comes out of the sump.

3. I would concern myself more with the drivetrain. Specifically, the ensure that the brakes, rotors, hub seals, bearings, swivel housings and CV's are all serviceable and fluids / lubricants have been replaced in the immediate past. (<3mo.)

4. I would make sure I replaced the engine mounts, the transmission mount and transfer case mount. Any regular use is going to strain older mounts which don't normally see that heavier useage cycle. Mine lasted 3 months of daily driving before they all failed almost simultaneously - I had to replace all of them. has now been 3 years and theyre good as gold still.

5. Exhaust leak prevention: I would pull the exhaust manifolds off, chase the heads threaded holes out with a bottoming tap, have the manifolds sandblasted and the flange faces linished straight, and replace the exhaust manifold bolts with studs (commodore / chev) and long brass nuts. Use the disco MLS gaskets. No more exhaust leaks.
Where the starter is, you will need to use the factory bolt on the exhaust manifold, because of the shield etc.
By far this was the most annoying (repetitively annoying) issue I had with mine..... every 3-4 weeks I'd have to retighten the manifold bolts, until I pulled the whole lot out. I have not touched the manifold nuts since (1st heat cycle,retorque hot, retorque cold) Also use 8mm castellated or locking nuts on the downpipe flanges. I used Mercedes (würth) copper plated high tensile ones (because I have them here) and they stay there. Before that I used quantities of large holden brass nuts and loctite. I lost two nuts on the left manifold in 3 days later (used correct hitemp loctite... correct heat cycling and retightening...made no difference) The locking nuts are by far the best solution to the downpipe flanges.

6. Power steering - check and correct leaks. incl seal kit for the PS box and pitman arm balljoint (you can buy an arm with the balljoint, much easier / quicker).

7. Replace the tierod ends for the steering arm and track rod. Wheel alignment and balance.

8. make sure swivel hubs are properly lubricated and not weeping, if weeping, monitor them and keep the gear oil up to them. It usually means you need to check the swivel bearings and shims. If you have one-shot, get rid of it, and convert your bearings to run in oil. Best thing I have done - and makes routine maintenance easier, it's also quicker to replace rotors and inspect bearing wear. (they don't wear in oil) You can use the light GL4 75-85w synthetic, or you can go hard and use 90w non LSD diff oil. Because you're in Darwin, you could possibly even get away with 140w GL4 gear oil... because of the average temps, the oil will still be viscous overnight. Remember you can't use a GL5 oil in CV's as there are nonferrous metals in contact with ferrous metals, and GL5 oils will destroy nonferrous metals with the sulfur content in the oil. One-shot is literally a 50-50 molybdenum disulphide and 75w gl4 gear oil. It's a lot harder to get moisture out of a swivel housing containing oneshot than it is to get it out of a swivel lubed with gear oil.... and the swivels do ingest moisture, so again, gear oil is easier to live with in this style of application, but requires more frequent inspection. I perfer it over the oneshot I used to use.

9. Consider a new steering damper if it is old and tired, also make sure all your radius arm bushes are sound. Super important to ensure all the bushes in the suspension and drivetrain are in good condition. Check the a-frame balljoint - if you have a maxidrive one, grease it up, and while I think about it, regrease your propshaft uni joints, adjust the handbrake drum, and change out your transmission and transfer case oil, and do the diff oil. How old are your dampers (shocks)? I currently run Koni 88's (HD) on my RRC, they are quite satisfactory, but having said that, planned suspension changes will see them changed for some 12" short body bilstein 7100 / equivalent in the near future.

10. Cooling system - make sure it's been thoroughly flushed, and you use a high quality coolant at least. Preferably not that green ****. If you're going to flush and the setup is old, use New hoses on the radiator and to the header tank. New header tank and cap is also advisable, as well as orings on the bleed ports. Heater hoses need to be checked, and that metal one.... it's always a dodgy setup, so consider replacing it - standard holden/chev v8 arrangement two hoses down along the vee to the back, one with a t piece to bleed if you want to replicate the factory setup, or just park it on a hill upwards and bleed it from the radiator - for peace of mind, or use a mityvac, and fill the system under vacuum if you're "pedantic" or have experienced the coolant bubble from hell... either way is pretty cheap insurance. Consider performing a citric acid flush of the block and radiator, but if the insides are heavily corroded or slimed, remove the radiator and do that separately. New water pump and thermostat if your budget extends to it or at least keep an eye on the cooling system. The blue ZF / vaico coolant is a much much better quality, and stopped all the slime buildup in mine. Again, I have bottles of the stuff here, because of the Mercedes. It has never given me any trouble in the rrc - in fact it's probably the best thing - because the system has been dead reliable since xmas 2014 when I put it in! (drained and replaced in xmas 2016, as coolant should be every 2 years)

The bee-utey BIM024 bosch ignition module conversion and distributor rebuild is something you should consider doing as preventative maintenance, as is a new genuine lucas rotor and new distributor cap, leads, plugs. A days worth of effort to do it thoroughly and never look back.

Replace all the vbelts, and check the alternator is putting out the appropriate voltage. if not, get a new regulator and brushes, and consider overhauling it with new bearings as well - absolutely worthwhile for peace of mind. Make sure your battery is in good condition and less than 12 months old preferably. I like the marine batteries, because you can keep an eye on the electrolyte and top up as necessary, but prefer an agm for the second battery (boot).

Lastly, for ease of "telltale" identification, get underneath and give everything a solid clean with a pressure washer, but try to avoid direct high presssure water into mechanical joints / seals etc. Once it's clean and dry, get some lanotec steel seal and coat the entire underside in it. leave it to dry a couple hours.

Consider doing same for engine bay etc.

Now the thing is prepped and about as reliable as it could ever be, sans knowing what the internal condition of the engine is like.

If you have a BWTC, ditch it and get an LT230 replacement.

In 4 years, I have gone through 2 sets of pads, one set of rotors, 2 full sets of hub seals(4 axles), 2 sets of swivel seals, 2 full sets of wheel bearings (4 axles) one set of swivel bearings and shims, approx 30L of ATF (2 full changes on trans, and 4 changes on BWTC) 2 transmission pan kits (filter/gasket orings) 7 or 8 swivel oil changes, 8 diff oil changes about 15 engine oil changes (incl filter), 2 450g tubes of EP2 moly grease (greasegun) One a-arm balljoint, full steering overhaul, HD front trackrod and steeing rod and adjustable HD panhard rod, tierod ends and bushes. A new front bashplate, one ignition barrel lock, 2 starting batteries (1st one was not suitable, nrma get out of jail free battery) replaced headlights with LED's (just because). One new starter motor, 2 alternators (one warranty failure), coolant header tank and cap, 4 brake light bulbs, 2 rear fog light bulbs. fanbelts (twice.

Electrically I went through the vehicle after I bought it with a fine tooth comb. Lots of random fixes for previous dodgy work.
Did the bee-utey ignition mod and dizzy mod.

Everything else has been a modification / upgrade for personal preferences. Everything listed above I consider to be 4 years worth of replacement / maintenance items to ensure reliability based on what I knew about the vehicle when I purchased it, and what I learned about it in the last 4 years.

It's a pretty solid and reliable unit, and while it's not perfect, people still notice it and comment on it. So it can't be all bad.

My headlining needs fixing, some of the centre console plastic has broken (switch surround near drivers knee) and the stereo has given me grief a few times due to the lack of space in front of the shifter, but I'm working on plans to attack all of that next year sometime. Possibly when the om606 goes in.

Pretty sure you're now second-guessing using it as a daily... Just go with it. It'll be fine.

If it leaves you stuck, you can just leave it where it is and walk away..... You wouldn't be the first

Wow ... I'd just watch the cooling system ... if it seems sus ... get the radiator rodded. And change the oil every 10,000km and check/top up anything. If it drives ok I'm happy to leave the steering alone. If the rack weeps, It'll match everything else (iff the diffs, transfer case, gearbox and swivels last the distance without me needing to top them up to often.......... and they work. I'm happy ).

Me, I'm lazy. If there not leaking enough for me to worry about the cost of filling them back up. They are considered "serviceable".......... Imagine if I worried about every leak in a car running hydraulics

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by LRJim

Withought going off track, what were you gonna put behind the 606? I have 2 vitos here which one day I'm going to put the manual box in my auto (once I sort the fuel problem out). So I'm gonna have a spare 611 laying around, I was thinking of coupling it to the s3. But I was looking for a MFP coversion for it 1st.
Cheers Jim

cdi is a pita, and you'll need a standalone if you're going to transplant it into a series landy. all the mb databus and security modules need to go with the ecu. and insofar as manual / auto, you're still going to need xentry/das to recompile the ecu codes. not straightforward.

606, 722.6, lt230. later on mog u1300 diffs when I have $.