Hold(en) my beer - Monaro, Ute and Commodore content
Discussion
In another PH Readers Cars crossover episode, TheAngryDog popped over on Sunday, gave him a hand replacing some seals on the brake calipers he's had painted. We were intending to replace the intercooler on his Mini but ended up chatting most of the day instead 
Also managed to fix the Ute door which had stopped opening again like it did just before the MOT last March. I'm starting to wonder if they touch Sheila inappropriately as seems to only be an issue just before the MOT!
Also took him out for a little Monaro experience (including getting petrol, a key element!) and the most fitting adjective was "brutal"
I think it feels a fair bit worse from the passenger seat due to how much it squats, the noise etc. but good to hear from an owner with an already fast car obviously
Have secured some front AP calipers / discs too for a bit of a bargain price, will be a while before I get them, but that'll be a nice braking upgrade, 6 pot front with 365mm discs
Also managed to fix the Ute door which had stopped opening again like it did just before the MOT last March. I'm starting to wonder if they touch Sheila inappropriately as seems to only be an issue just before the MOT!
Also took him out for a little Monaro experience (including getting petrol, a key element!) and the most fitting adjective was "brutal"
I think it feels a fair bit worse from the passenger seat due to how much it squats, the noise etc. but good to hear from an owner with an already fast car obviously
Have secured some front AP calipers / discs too for a bit of a bargain price, will be a while before I get them, but that'll be a nice braking upgrade, 6 pot front with 365mm discs
Thanks again for the looking over and changing of the seals on the calipers!
Your car is a brutal assault on the senses. Where my M5 is a scalpel, your Monaro is a sledge hammer
As a passenger it's like nothing else I've ever been a passenger in. Thanks for run!
I'd love to add a VXR8 to my stable. Maybe I will come remortgage time if I can get it past the wife
Your car is a brutal assault on the senses. Where my M5 is a scalpel, your Monaro is a sledge hammer
As a passenger it's like nothing else I've ever been a passenger in. Thanks for run!
I'd love to add a VXR8 to my stable. Maybe I will come remortgage time if I can get it past the wife
Edited by TheAngryDog on Monday 3rd April 13:53
So someone local posted over I the HSV & Monaro section that they had a suspected head gasket failure. Leaking rusty looking water out from under the head.
Took it to his local garage, who said they'd take both heads off, send them to be skimmed etc. £2k + parts.
Now LS head gaskets just don't go. Ever really. They're multi-layer steel from the factory, and even with all the stupid boost and nitrous people throw in them, they don't really fail, so I thought I'd go have a look, and worst case changing one isn't that hard anyway.
Was hard to see, but was sure there was some coolant up behind the power steering pump, which is higher than the head mating surface. I checked my pictures from when I took mine apart and sure enough there's a core plug on the front of each head.
So we drove it back to mine, and I'm taking a bit of a look. So, this is what a standard one looks like! Even just driving it into the garage, it feels like a different car, (better in many ways!) but totally different to mine.
So plan was just to take the PS pump and its bracket off to check the plug on the front of the head. Intake pipe off.
Belt off (15mm on the tensioner to release) and 2 13mm bolts, top and bottom of the pump to get that off. It's a 16mm to undo the hard-line and a flat head to loosen the reservoir feed into the pump. Naturally PS fluid escaped doing this, so that'll need a top up.
And then two 15mm bots to remove the PS pump bracket that bolts to the head.
Looks like the culprit to me! That's a 32mm (possibly 1.250" but we shall see) plug, about £3.
Took an hour from start to finish, of which 20 minutes was finding my T30 bit to get the base of the airbox out. Have ordered a couple of plugs (both 1.250" and 32mm) to replace, will take a few days for delivery frustratingly.
It looks like it has a little crack / pin hole in it, I cleaned it up a bit and you can see it weeping out. Will likely have to get it up on the quickjacks to drain the coolant into a bucket at which point I'll regret leaving a gearbox and such down one wall
In other news, a bargain set of AP front calipers / discs popped up on Facebook, so I snapped those up and they arrived yesterday. These are 6 pot calipers and 365mm discs I believe.
So once they go on, I'll put the old Monaro fronts onto the Ute (I have a new set of discs already too) so that'll be a decent upgrade for the Ute for free
Engine is on 2,350 miles now, so this oil in it is on about 1,350, so going to change it once more and see what it looks like. Possibly heading over to British Motor Museum on Tuesday for the first Gaydon gathering of the year so would be nice to get the oil changed tomorrow (family stuff today...)
Took it to his local garage, who said they'd take both heads off, send them to be skimmed etc. £2k + parts.
Now LS head gaskets just don't go. Ever really. They're multi-layer steel from the factory, and even with all the stupid boost and nitrous people throw in them, they don't really fail, so I thought I'd go have a look, and worst case changing one isn't that hard anyway.
Was hard to see, but was sure there was some coolant up behind the power steering pump, which is higher than the head mating surface. I checked my pictures from when I took mine apart and sure enough there's a core plug on the front of each head.
So we drove it back to mine, and I'm taking a bit of a look. So, this is what a standard one looks like!
Even just driving it into the garage, it feels like a different car, (better in many ways!) but totally different to mine. So plan was just to take the PS pump and its bracket off to check the plug on the front of the head. Intake pipe off.
Belt off (15mm on the tensioner to release) and 2 13mm bolts, top and bottom of the pump to get that off. It's a 16mm to undo the hard-line and a flat head to loosen the reservoir feed into the pump. Naturally PS fluid escaped doing this, so that'll need a top up.
And then two 15mm bots to remove the PS pump bracket that bolts to the head.
Looks like the culprit to me! That's a 32mm (possibly 1.250" but we shall see) plug, about £3.
Took an hour from start to finish, of which 20 minutes was finding my T30 bit to get the base of the airbox out. Have ordered a couple of plugs (both 1.250" and 32mm) to replace, will take a few days for delivery frustratingly.
It looks like it has a little crack / pin hole in it, I cleaned it up a bit and you can see it weeping out. Will likely have to get it up on the quickjacks to drain the coolant into a bucket at which point I'll regret leaving a gearbox and such down one wall
In other news, a bargain set of AP front calipers / discs popped up on Facebook, so I snapped those up and they arrived yesterday. These are 6 pot calipers and 365mm discs I believe.
So once they go on, I'll put the old Monaro fronts onto the Ute (I have a new set of discs already too) so that'll be a decent upgrade for the Ute for free
Engine is on 2,350 miles now, so this oil in it is on about 1,350, so going to change it once more and see what it looks like. Possibly heading over to British Motor Museum on Tuesday for the first Gaydon gathering of the year so would be nice to get the oil changed tomorrow (family stuff today...)
Didn't go to Gaydon in the end, was raining all afternoon and meant to continue. Have no issue driving the car in the wet but standing in a cold car park for hours whilst it rains is a bit much
That Ute above...
it's what I would do it money was no object, but even the intake / throttle on top of one of those blowers is thousands ( I have looked) so it's completely unrealistic any time soon!
So the £3 part arrived on Thursday and I got around to having a tinker today.
When I took the radiator cap off, this literally started peeing out, so I managed to drain a decent amount just with a funnel.
Once it was low enough, I got a pry bar to hammer the old one out, naturally it didn't twist like the youtube videos so you could pull it out, it just jumped straight into the head fortunately nowhere it can go though...
This will be why it was leaking then...
I used some physics to drain some more out without having to resort to jacking the car up and undoing the radiator drain...
With that, I'd read it's a good idea to put some locktite (or a specific core plug sealant...) around the hole to help it seal. I have some "lock+seal" loctite stuff so cutipped that around the opening and used a socket to tap the new plug in.
This of course being the one thing I didn't take a picture of... I noticed the top coolant hose wasn't really on well so I sorted that, had a bit of a test drive and it did the reduced power safety mode that had been mentioned.
Read the codes, and as expected, it's the throttle body. The P2135 is the main one, the GM diagnostic process for this fault is basically "if it does it randomly, replace the throttle body"
Dropped it back round and all is well
I have to say, driving a standard one (with exhaust admittedly) reminded me of how nice they are originally, it doesn't feel like the same car as mine main things were... comfy arm chairs, smooth at idle, effortless clutch so can just waft away, and yeah, it's just a big comfy wafter, it was nice. My god the enormous fuel economy too, they're so efficient
Helped focus my mind on what I'll do with the Ute, namely put that manual in it, sort the suspension out and get a less droney exhaust on there and it'll be a really nice cruiser
That Ute above...
it's what I would do it money was no object, but even the intake / throttle on top of one of those blowers is thousands ( I have looked) so it's completely unrealistic any time soon!So the £3 part arrived on Thursday and I got around to having a tinker today.
When I took the radiator cap off, this literally started peeing out, so I managed to drain a decent amount just with a funnel.
Once it was low enough, I got a pry bar to hammer the old one out, naturally it didn't twist like the youtube videos so you could pull it out, it just jumped straight into the head
fortunately nowhere it can go though...This will be why it was leaking then...
I used some physics to drain some more out without having to resort to jacking the car up and undoing the radiator drain...
With that, I'd read it's a good idea to put some locktite (or a specific core plug sealant...) around the hole to help it seal. I have some "lock+seal" loctite stuff so cutipped that around the opening and used a socket to tap the new plug in.
This of course being the one thing I didn't take a picture of... I noticed the top coolant hose wasn't really on well so I sorted that, had a bit of a test drive and it did the reduced power safety mode that had been mentioned.
Read the codes, and as expected, it's the throttle body. The P2135 is the main one, the GM diagnostic process for this fault is basically "if it does it randomly, replace the throttle body"
Dropped it back round and all is well
I have to say, driving a standard one (with exhaust admittedly) reminded me of how nice they are originally, it doesn't feel like the same car as mine
main things were... comfy arm chairs, smooth at idle, effortless clutch so can just waft away, and yeah, it's just a big comfy wafter, it was nice. My god the enormous fuel economy too, they're so efficient Helped focus my mind on what I'll do with the Ute, namely put that manual in it, sort the suspension out and get a less droney exhaust on there and it'll be a really nice cruiser
teCraikeybaby said:
SturdyHSV said:
Didn't go to Gaydon in the end, was raining all afternoon and meant to continue. Have no issue driving the car in the wet but standing in a cold car park for hours whilst it rains is a bit much
I also came to the same conclusion.FNG said:
Craikeybaby said:
SturdyHSV said:
Didn't go to Gaydon in the end, was raining all afternoon and meant to continue. Have no issue driving the car in the wet but standing in a cold car park for hours whilst it rains is a bit much
I also came to the same conclusion.SturdyHSV said:
Didn't go to Gaydon in the end, was raining all afternoon and meant to continue. Have no issue driving the car in the wet but standing in a cold car park for hours whilst it rains is a bit much
That Ute above... it's what I would do it money was no object, but even the intake / throttle on top of one of those blowers is thousands ( I have looked) so it's completely unrealistic any time soon!
So the £3 part arrived on Thursday and I got around to having a tinker today.
When I took the radiator cap off, this literally started peeing out, so I managed to drain a decent amount just with a funnel.
Once it was low enough, I got a pry bar to hammer the old one out, naturally it didn't twist like the youtube videos so you could pull it out, it just jumped straight into the head fortunately nowhere it can go though...
This will be why it was leaking then...
Well that was an easy repair - no plans to replace any of the others? (I tend to take the view that if one has gone others won't be far behind in terms of corrosion)That Ute above...
it's what I would do it money was no object, but even the intake / throttle on top of one of those blowers is thousands ( I have looked) so it's completely unrealistic any time soon!So the £3 part arrived on Thursday and I got around to having a tinker today.
When I took the radiator cap off, this literally started peeing out, so I managed to drain a decent amount just with a funnel.
Once it was low enough, I got a pry bar to hammer the old one out, naturally it didn't twist like the youtube videos so you could pull it out, it just jumped straight into the head
fortunately nowhere it can go though...This will be why it was leaking then...
B'stard Child said:
Well that was an easy repair - no plans to replace any of the others? (I tend to take the view that if one has gone others won't be far behind in terms of corrosion)
The other one looked fine condition wise (it's clearly visible on the front of the head on the driver's side, unlike the passenger side which is behind the power steering pump mount) but a fair point, would have probably been a sound idea whilst the coolant was already drained out!At least that one will be obvious if it starts to weep and can be swapped over without touching much else.
As it isn't my car and was just doing it as a favour, I leant more towards the view of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" as I didn't want to introduce any problems that I'd then feel responsible for sorting out!
SturdyHSV said:
B'stard Child said:
Well that was an easy repair - no plans to replace any of the others? (I tend to take the view that if one has gone others won't be far behind in terms of corrosion)
The other one looked fine condition wise (it's clearly visible on the front of the head on the driver's side, unlike the passenger side which is behind the power steering pump mount) but a fair point, would have probably been a sound idea whilst the coolant was already drained out!At least that one will be obvious if it starts to weep and can be swapped over without touching much else.
As it isn't my car and was just doing it as a favour, I leant more towards the view of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" as I didn't want to introduce any problems that I'd then feel responsible for sorting out!
A few random updates...
No, no, I haven't Had a visit from samjeev, the 86 is very cool indeed!
The good lady also finished taking her old engine apart, this being a 1.6 4 pot piston vs my original LS2 piston.
For a 4 pot, my god that little iron block was heavy! No plans to rebuild it or anything, it was just a bit of an educational tool for her to get to take an engine apart and learn / get a better visual feel for how an engine works etc.
Mileage on the Monaro coming along nicely, and I managed to pick up some AP Racing 6 pot front calipers and 362mm (I think) discs so it's time to put it back into the garage (British weather...) and swap those on and do an oil change.
That makes it basically 2,500 miles on the engine, and 1,500 miles on this oil. Obviously a bit keen but I'm trying to be kind to it!
They look enormous. The Monaro front brakes should then fit onto the Ute, I have some new front discs I've had for ages, so will pick up some pads when I swap those onto that.
Naturally parking it in the garage meant an excuse for a cold start video and some idle chopping in a confined space
Will get an oil analysis done if I'm feeling brave, and think it's time to drill a small hole in the throttle blade. Although an electronic throttle, it's the stock GM ECU, and the idle adjustment table only has so much range available to add / remove air to make it idle.
Because of the stroker, and the cam, we're already taking up a lot of this adjustment window just to get it to idle, meaning there's no much room left to help it catch the revs when they drop.
A little hole in the throttle blade will mean there's more air available at idle and will effectively shift it back towards the middle of that adjustment range, meaning idle control should be better (after a tune adjustment!)
Oh and after 10 years I need a new numberplate, because the font is too small on this one, as I was kindly informed by a gentleman from the constabulary at the PH Sunday Service
No, no, I haven't
Had a visit from samjeev, the 86 is very cool indeed!The good lady also finished taking her old engine apart, this being a 1.6 4 pot piston vs my original LS2 piston.
For a 4 pot, my god that little iron block was heavy! No plans to rebuild it or anything, it was just a bit of an educational tool for her to get to take an engine apart and learn / get a better visual feel for how an engine works etc.
Mileage on the Monaro coming along nicely, and I managed to pick up some AP Racing 6 pot front calipers and 362mm (I think) discs so it's time to put it back into the garage (British weather...) and swap those on and do an oil change.
That makes it basically 2,500 miles on the engine, and 1,500 miles on this oil. Obviously a bit keen but I'm trying to be kind to it!
They look enormous. The Monaro front brakes should then fit onto the Ute, I have some new front discs I've had for ages, so will pick up some pads when I swap those onto that.
Naturally parking it in the garage meant an excuse for a cold start video and some idle chopping in a confined space
Will get an oil analysis done if I'm feeling brave, and think it's time to drill a small hole in the throttle blade. Although an electronic throttle, it's the stock GM ECU, and the idle adjustment table only has so much range available to add / remove air to make it idle.
Because of the stroker, and the cam, we're already taking up a lot of this adjustment window just to get it to idle, meaning there's no much room left to help it catch the revs when they drop.
A little hole in the throttle blade will mean there's more air available at idle and will effectively shift it back towards the middle of that adjustment range, meaning idle control should be better (after a tune adjustment!)
Oh and after 10 years I need a new numberplate, because the font is too small on this one, as I was kindly informed by a gentleman from the constabulary at the PH Sunday Service
SturdyHSV said:
Thanks for having me once again!You're part of a very exclusive club that have seen the 86 running, and that club is likely to stay exclusive for a while longer yet!
I need to update my thread, realising how long ago it was that I updated it is giving me emotional whiplash
Samjeev said:
SturdyHSV said:
Thanks for having me once again!You're part of a very exclusive club that have seen the 86 running, and that club is likely to stay exclusive for a while longer yet!
I need to update my thread, realising how long ago it was that I updated it is giving me emotional whiplash
Whoever reads that is going to get the full samjeevcoaster of emotions!
Lovely stuff.. the AP’s are awesome, I had them in my Monaro. In hindsight, I wonder if I should have kept that car and gone in search of power!
Your entanglement at the PHSS has resulted in me ordering a full size plate for my Mustang. Much like you I’ve got a 3/4 which went from my Monaro > VXR8 > Mustang.. but I guess that sooner or later it’ll draw some unnecessary attention..
No doubt that it’ll feel great to be 100% compliant with that bit of the Highway Code
Your entanglement at the PHSS has resulted in me ordering a full size plate for my Mustang. Much like you I’ve got a 3/4 which went from my Monaro > VXR8 > Mustang.. but I guess that sooner or later it’ll draw some unnecessary attention..
No doubt that it’ll feel great to be 100% compliant with that bit of the Highway Code
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