ZZT86

Colour & odour of oil should give you a clue 😉

Not much gets done to the car until you hit about 90K kms from memory like spark plugs (bitch to swap out) and the fuel filter (easy to do). Definitely suss out whats being quoted & go elsewhere.

I used to own one of these things back in the day & did try the "paper-clip" method - it works, you should give it a try. Or you could try the adapter which would allow you to do other stuff like reset DTC etc.

8 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

It's pretty sad that almost everything that comes out of China is cleverly compromised to appeal to the inner frugality in us who look for "cheap" alternatives. It is this "cheap" mindedness that ends up costing you more on the long term. Being cheap up front doesn't mean it's great value. I'm glad this discussion is becoming louder because ignorant people need to be educated on the traps and pitfalls of buying cheap alternatives.

The other major concern about cheap Chinese cars is their lack of engineering R&D & testing. God knows how safe they really are.

They're a good car with an average motor. Not sure how difficult it would be in ADM cars/looms but a 3S-GE or GTE conversion would be nice 😉 Otherwise just re-build the block.

The tight**** company I work for bought an LDV van almost 12 months ago, at my expense to some degree no doubt. It still goes but when I first laid eyes on it I immediately started to find faults relating to poor quality, like the rear barn doors fit & finish is so bad it opens onto itself due to bad alignment. Ouch paint missing & corroded ! Chinese garbage.

Engine sounds OK despite the rattle/knocking when you re-connect pot 1. I would connect a scan tool to ecu for some clues but it sounds like a conrod bearing failure. I wouldn't drive it.

XV20, good cars 👍

Same to you Rob, you're too kind. Let us all hope things return to normal real quick cos restrictions in life suck.

Merry Christmas & the best to all in 2022 :)

Wow, you're clearly a pro. Pitty about the orange peel, then most cars have it so that's life. Excellent work mate.

He cracks 🤣 me up every time, now batting for Honda, which I agree make lovely cars anyhow 👍

The huge gutter in the centre of the bonnet / hood is so you can see where you're going 🤣 Thems a very big & expensive truck, I could never afford one & personally rather my go-cart HachiRoku ;)

Scary stuff.

I was quoted 4 hours to do this job by my dealer before I bought my Aurion & reckons it's a fairly straight forward job & engine doesn't come out. Like Tony said, they've screwed up somehow, most likely an incompetent apprentice or novice who doesn't know cars. Real scary. Document everything just in case something goes wrong after you get your car back.

Might be a dealer or Techstream thing, personally I have no idea sorry.

From memory there is a speed wire which if connected incorrectly will lock your unit up like that.

I reckon the online thing is great for some things but only as an additional option for car sales & the like. Besides, it's quite an occasion just going to the dealer to see/feel/drive the cars you're interested in, no way I'd buy something like that sight unseen.

Have you connected the wiring loom correctly ?

Gone !

In the midst of a very long awaited deep spring cleaning session in my study I found a pile of Wheels magazines, some I will keep & others I will sell. I also found the attached which I thought someone on here would love to have. It details the cars whole lineup as well as the development & engineering undertaken locally.

The mag is in any new condition, free to a good home, reply or pm if you're interested.

15 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

So so you think the few particles of carbon would be due to doing the 7.5K interval oil changes or from your lockdown time short trips ?

Definitely not the OCI but rather the extra short trips I did which is out of the norm. I have altered my post above for clarification.

I was surprised to see the air filter so dusty but it was OK & conclude dirt didn't get in through there so it can only be the bigginings of sludge formation. We're talking a few spots of 1-2mm in size - that's it. It's great that the 2GR-FE has a canister style oil filter which allows us all to actually easily examine the used filter material.

15 hours ago, Tony Prodigy said:

When you say "driving style", would I be correct in assuming a smooth, non aggressive approach ?

Again I have clarified what I meant but not really driving style but rather the type of driving done, ie: short stints.

It takes approx 15min for oil to get normally hot, ideally to 100^oC or more where it can begin to burn off & evaporate the nasties which help cause sludge like cold start fuel dilution & water condensation. The oils additives pack can only do so much to combat those 2 elements alone.

So unless you're consistently thrashing the motor, driving style as such isn't a worrying factor, rather the type of driving done.

I had one of those but never modded it. I know the scene is bigger in the US for those so maybe try newcelica.org

Amazing. Definitely worth plenty coin. Ask a ridiculous figure & fair chance you'll get more than you expect for it.

Been wanting to add a postscript to this thread about oil changes & regular short driving distances.

Lately, due to lockdowns in "the greatest lockdown city in the world - Melbourne" & due to a lack of work, I haven't done my usual 30-45min driving trip every morning/arvo's 5 days a week but far less & more of the short 10min stints.

My latest 7,500kms was a mix, mostly longer fwy distances but also a lot more of the short & the car was due for a service which I did a week ago. I replaced the oil with Nulon Full Synthetic 5W30 & replaced the oil filter as I usually do & was very surprised to note a tiny amount of sludge/dirt in about 3-4 spots on the filter inner creases.

Engine air filter had also become a little dusty for it's 20K kms but was still fine for another 7.5K km stint.

Goes to prove that even at 7.5K kms on a relatively new car with oil that looked perfect in colour & consistency, short trip type driving is quietly at work in the background wreaking havoc on your engine. I definitely wouldn't go beyond the 7,500 kms OCI if you only typically do short driving stints.

@Novicebutnice  dribble a few drops of the used stuff on that paper towel you got right there for us to get a look of the colour. Looks a bit cherry red on the sides of the bottle which is a good sign.

5 hours ago, Novicebutnice said:

2 bottles of Genuine ATF $150 . . . 1 Pan filter $150 . . . .

Struth ! Not cheap. Having said that, once every 60K kms is much cheaper than a new auto transmission. Well done for looking after your car 😉