DJKOR

You can if you want to, but I usually advise against having the engine running when you are flushing the PS fluid. Following the instructions I have given will flush most of it out anyway. There is this pretty neat thing that happens... it's called siphoning. If you really want to be anal, you can get a basic key cut (not the transponder key that you normally use), and when your return line is disconnected, you turn the key from ON to START for a few seconds or more. This is turn the PS steering pump with the aid of the starter motor only but won't have the engine running because the engine doesn't start with a basic key like that. But realistically, you don't have to go that far.

Once it is all drained, you will be looking at around 500mL-750mL to completely fill it all up again. I buy my PS fluid in a 5 litre bottle so I can flush it a couple of times. Option one would be the best. This is what I've written up before: Suck all of the old fluid out of the reservoir, top it up with new fluid, start the engine and rotate the wheel to full lock a few times, turn the engine off and repeat until you've used the bottle. That method can do the job, but its just diluting down old fluid till it's changed... and can take a while to get it completely swapped. Not that I'm saying it's a bad method, but I guess it depends on how serious you are about it. My method is to jack the front of the car up, then lay out some old rags under the front of the car and the PS reservoir (process can get messy). Then (with the car off) disconnect the power steering fluid return line from the cooling loop at the front of the car and let it drain into an old container. Try and keep the disconnected ends aimed into the container then go and turn your steering wheel from lock-to-lock (still with the car off of course) a few times or so, holding it on lock for a few seconds each time. Then connect the pipes back up and top up your PS reservoir with new fluid. Then, while leaving a funnel in the PS reservoir, have a bottle of PS fluid in hand, start your engine, then quickly be prepared to top up the reservoir as the fluid is taken from it. Once it's to the point that the fluid in the reservoir remains level, put the cap back on the reservoir and turn your steering wheel from lock-to-lock making sure that you go slow as you reach the end then gently and very, very briefly tap the stop at the end. You will hear your revs increase slightly. Make sure you don't old it at the end... just a tap quicker than a second is all you need. Once you have done one lock-to-lock of the wheel, check the level in the reservoir to make sure it is on (hot) low or above. If lower, top it up till it is on (hot) low. Then go back to the steering wheel and turn from lock-to-lock several times and then turn off your engine. From here, you can do one of two things: 1) Repeat the draining procedure. This is if you really want to flush the system. I would personally do this as PS fluid is not expensive and this is not that time consuming. Or 2) Lower the front of your car back onto the ground and top your PS reservoir up between hot low and hot full. That's my way of explaining it. As you can see, I'm not great with written instruction.

Did you at all notice a charge light while driving? That usually indicates that the alternator is not operating as it should. When was the last time you had your battery replaced? If it has been around 5 years, it could probably just be the battery and only that. It may have just happened to be on it's last legs today. Not saying this is the cause, but I know how some people out there just try to rip you off. And the price he quoted you sounds to me like a bit of a rip-off. It's been a while since I've had to buy an alternator, but I'd be expecting half of that for one to be purchased and fitted. But I can't really comment there.

Planning on getting your throttle body bored out? I didn't measure it, and I don't really want to take it off to do so. It shouldn't be much smaller. I would estimate to be about 2.95 inches ID. I was completely aware of this prior to approaching this. For the record, the K&N SRI is a 3 inch outside diameter as well and it's internal diameter would be the same as this MAF adaptor. When fitted to a N/A Aurion, there appeared to be no issues at all. On my TRD though, the 3 inch MAF adaptor was not working so well and was in fact causing a power loss. This seems to be resolved with the 2.7 inch reducer. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I'm getting the reduced restriction in flow was probably causing the MAF to not read normally and the reducer has increased the velocity so now the MAF can read what it should be. So the internal diameter of this MAF adaptor being slightly smaller than 3 inches isn't a concern for me it would appear. Seems like the TRD responds better with a smaller diameter than the N/A Aurion. Win in a way I guess if you own a TRD and are concerned that the 3 inch OD is too small.

I (heart) FWD's too! I know exactly what you mean. All Commodores sound like that when you close the doors. It has that more solid sound to it when it latches. Well, there goes another.

If you have an Xperia X10, I'm sure you would think differently . That said, the noticeable effects are that the phone is usually a little zippier. The battery saving is just an extra. I've tried it already, but just didn't work for me. I guess that's why there are so many apps out there. Everyone is different. I just found this keyboard to work best for me and for a couple of bucks, there certainly aren't any complaints from me. Yeah. I have it installed. I only use it to 'show off' what it can do. Apart from that, it just feels a little gimmicky to me.

Yeah... I get some whine: :lol: :P But in all seriousness, this engine does sound different to most. I found that you do get some different sounds but nothing that would indicate a fault. The engine does have it's unique sound, but it's just the sound of smooth revving. About the only noticeable thing on my last Aurion was that it exhibited some gearbox whine, but mainly only in first gear. You could hear it when accelerating up hill from a stop when the windows were down. Otherwise, any other 'whine' was too quiet to notice. Nothing to worry about. Nothing is going to break on you.

You can only keep dreaming with that one. It doesn't surprise me at all that this is not a recall item. If you notice, recalls are only typically done for safety related issues. This issue does not affect the steering ability of the car and therefore does not fall into the recall category. It is therefore treated on a repair as required basis.

Phone: Sony Xperia X10. Yes it is running Android 1.6, but it still runs well. What phone do you have Jeff? AppBrain was good (for me) at first... then I just didn't really like it. Not that it's not useful, but I find that the Market does just what I need. Plus AppBrain uses the Market application when downloading stuff anyway, so I just don't see the need. It's all a personal thing though. I don't have too much on my phone, but the applications which I have downloaded and use frequently are: ASTRO File Manager - The name is obvious as to what it is, and damn it is good. Handcent SMS - Definitely much better than the standard Messaging application. Smart Keyboard Pro - A paid keyboard application but a bloody good one. Xperia FlashLight - Self explanatory Battery Snap - Used as a homescreen widget for battery monitoring. Also opens up to a great interface with dynamic discharging/charging graphs and stats. Bluetooth File Transfer - Awesome Bluetooth file sharing application. Advanced Task Killer - Always running in the background to kill apps running in memory every time the display turns off. Good for saving battery and improving phone speed. Startup Auditor - Only ran once but always there. Used to prevent programs auto starting when you reboot your phone. Useful for such applications like Moxier Mail that just don't want to die once opened on startup. Beautiful Widgets - Paid application that has some neat widgets. I use it for the clock/calendar/weather home screen display as it is quite nice.

Good stuff mate. I've been considering getting some Pedders Coilovers myself, but then I think 'is it really worth it?'. Not in the sense that yes they are great, but more along the lines of, what am I really going to use them on.

Steve... I can only think of one issue. Say your stereo is powered up prior to starting. When you start your engine, would the power cut from the head unit long enough to make it start all over again? Just test this by pressing the start button firstly with your foot off the brake, let the head unit load, then put your foot on the brake and hit the start button again. If your head unit goes back to stage one, I guess you will need to work on that a little more. I considered this with my original Auspack unit (where it took it like 15 seconds to load the disc contents), but the power cut to the stereo which is experienced during starting the engine was enough to make the head unit start the loading all over again.

Haha same with me. The very first time (ages ago), didn't check if the old seal was still on. Started engine and oil was dripping everywhere.. Done that as well. I remember when I started the car then checked the engine bay for leaks and saw a huge mess in there, then saw all my oil all over the garage floor. Was quite angry with myself after that. Had to get on my pushbike and ride a few k's to the nearest Repco and get some more oil.

This thread is somehow making me laugh. I think it's all the argument between FWD and RWD. All I want to say is that if you are going to complain about FWD and understeer, then don't go blaming the car.

It's your choice what you think will suit. This is why you get personalised plates. You shouldn't be concerned about making it look good to everyone else's standard, rather you are using it to express yourself. Personally, I would choose simple colours like silver text on a black background or vice versa. This is more generic but blends in the most. But that said, any other colour combination can work if you think it looks good. I've seen black cars with all different colour combinations and anything goes really.

OMG... I think I just came.

If only I could get that guy to do my TRD. Edit: Damn that is a detailed site (no pun intended). Quite useful... if only I could manage following all the tips. That Grit Guard 2x4 method looks pretty smart as well.

To be completely honest, revenue raising or not, I say if you get caught speeding by a mobile speed camera as detailed on that article, you get what you deserve. This rant stems from trying to drive in Sydney. Despite all the fixed speed cameras, nearly every bloody motorist over there is in some kind of a rush.

Welcome to the forum. You should become familiar with a topic located at the very top of this board titled: The TOCAU Aurion FAQ In it you will see (in particular, the first bit of bold text): Obviously if you are out of warranty, getting this fixed for free is not going to be easy... if you can even manage to convince them.

I got mine from the eBay seller 'pamelam2006blue' (eBay store: performancechromecarandtruckparts). One product listing of the one I purchased is: 3"POLISH ALUM.AIR INTAKE SYS-MAFS ADAPTER/TUNING KIT Currently US$34.49 + US$11.26 standard shipping. So with the crappy way PayPal does it's currency conversion, you would be looking at about AUD$56 landed.

Try following this. You basically remove the two screws from the bottom (don't say you can't find them) and then everything slides down, which is easier said than done.

Bad choice of words mate. Sigged now. Why? Pretty sure my words 'choice' were fair. Nevermind then. Probably good that you can't see what I'm referring to.

Mate, there is about 1 cm between the 'full' and 'low' marks. You fluid then should be between these two marks which is acceptable. That's why they have a low and full mark. You can top it up if you really want to, but it's up to you. So long as it is somewhere between the low and full level when cold or hot (check the appropriate marking) you are more then fine. At your currently mileage, a power steering flush isn't a bad idea, but it's not absolutely necessary. The type of fluid you use is a personal preference thing as well. As long as it is a Dexron 3 or greater fluid, you will be fine.

The metal oil filter referred to here is like what you showed here in you link. This is your typical oil filter. The other type of filter is the cartridge style which goes a little something like this (where you replace the element on the inside only):

Bad choice of words mate. Sigged now.

The fuel gauge in these cars can vary quite a little, but most of the time I can guarantee you that the moment your cruising range says 0km and your needle is right on the empty line, you will have at least 10 litres left. After the many tanks of fuel I put into my Aurion ($11,000 spent) I had never come across a case where I could fit more than 60 litres into a tank when the needle was on the empty line. Usually if you driving isn't always constant (not all highway driving etc), the gauge may be slight more inaccurate.. but just a little. Using my attached photo for reference, my needle hit the empty line (as well as the cruising range saying 0km) at around 601km on the trip meter. As you can see in that photo, I had travelled another 51km and I filled up at a servo another 2 or so kilometres away. When I filled up, I only put 59.86 litres of fuel into the tank. So at that going rate, with my needle lower than the empty line, I still could have travelled for another 100km. So whenever your fuel gauge shows empty, there is no need to panic because you will have a bit of fuel to hopefully get you to the next servo. A little bit sidetracked, but I found a sweet spot with my car. Between 80-90km/h at constant speed it seems to be it's most efficient. This was an average figure after driving for about 210km. I reckon if I kept driving non-stop at that pace, I could have maintained that consumption. I have found my trip computer to be off by about 0.1-0.2l/100km on average, so even with that factored in, it's not bad for a supercharged V6: