Just bought a LDV Maxus and need some help fixing it up
Discussion
Hi I have google'd all the following but with it not being a popular model (2006 LDV Maxus) I am having trouble finding anything.
Everything seems great with my slightly scruffy but totally usable new to me van but I would like to solve some niggling problems with it.
Firstly the drivers door sags down by about 5mm which is not really a problem but it hit's the body at the wrong height and over time I worry this may cause more problems. After some youtube searching I am guessing it is the door pin that needs replacing is this right?
The temperature gauge on the dashboard does not work. I have checked the fuses and everything is fine so will it be as simple as replacing the sensor on the engine? Any idea of cost?
When locking the van up the central locking locks all doors bar the drivers door which I can lock with the key. Is this an easy fix or am I going to be buying parts?
Also I only got one key with the van but would like a second. A quick ebay scan reveals keys for 175 pounds but I really don't want to be spending that kind of cash as the van was a cheap purchase for me to use for general work.
A bit long winded I know I didn't know of any of these problems when calling the guy about the van and after a 2 hour drive to get there I thought I would take a chance on it as I need a van sharpish and it was going for very little.
On the plus side it drives great and the fuel economy is much better than my little car that it is replacing which is a bonus. Does not seem to like hills though and requires dropping to 4th for long motorway climbs.
All help and input greatly appreciated by the way!
Everything seems great with my slightly scruffy but totally usable new to me van but I would like to solve some niggling problems with it.
Firstly the drivers door sags down by about 5mm which is not really a problem but it hit's the body at the wrong height and over time I worry this may cause more problems. After some youtube searching I am guessing it is the door pin that needs replacing is this right?
The temperature gauge on the dashboard does not work. I have checked the fuses and everything is fine so will it be as simple as replacing the sensor on the engine? Any idea of cost?
When locking the van up the central locking locks all doors bar the drivers door which I can lock with the key. Is this an easy fix or am I going to be buying parts?
Also I only got one key with the van but would like a second. A quick ebay scan reveals keys for 175 pounds but I really don't want to be spending that kind of cash as the van was a cheap purchase for me to use for general work.
A bit long winded I know I didn't know of any of these problems when calling the guy about the van and after a 2 hour drive to get there I thought I would take a chance on it as I need a van sharpish and it was going for very little.
On the plus side it drives great and the fuel economy is much better than my little car that it is replacing which is a bonus. Does not seem to like hills though and requires dropping to 4th for long motorway climbs.
All help and input greatly appreciated by the way!
Coolant temperature sensor should be easy , it is on any car I've done it on but never worked on one of these.
The no power to go up hills without dropping a gear thing - they all do that Sir or at least the 57 plate I rented a few years ago did. A service wouldn't hurt though.
How much did you pay? Not the last word in refinement by any means but should be reliable enough
The no power to go up hills without dropping a gear thing - they all do that Sir or at least the 57 plate I rented a few years ago did. A service wouldn't hurt though.
How much did you pay? Not the last word in refinement by any means but should be reliable enough
Door will need rehanging maybe with a washer behind to stop any sag, should be easy enough. It should be do'able as is, obviously dont pull the door too far away because of the electrics going in through it. If the drivers door is only locking/unlocking on it's own and not on the central locking these 2 may be related. The door locking mechanism will be at the far side of the door from the hinge, and might just have a wire off. Doorcard off should be easy enough
Temp guage, careful on this one, some also operate as a fan switch on the same sender as the guage so might be worth overriding the fan switch if that's the case so you can switch it on and off from the dash. It's 2 wires and about half an hour to fit
Temp guage, careful on this one, some also operate as a fan switch on the same sender as the guage so might be worth overriding the fan switch if that's the case so you can switch it on and off from the dash. It's 2 wires and about half an hour to fit
Cheers guys had a blast at it yesterday and basically rejigged the drivers door lock 'jaws' (?) up a little and the lock post on the body up a little so they don't come together so harshly. Still a few mm out but nothing too bad. Tempted to leave it as is until I figure out a perfect solution.
Drivers door card off is todays task as is trying out spraying white vinegar on offending small patches of rust. I've got some primer spray on the way from amazon and am currently trying to find out what paint code is correct for a 2006 white ldv maxus before I order any rattle can spray paint. It doesn't need to be pretty but I don't want it looking pants either.
So I ordered an oil filter and air filter after sort of not believing the seller about doing a full service. When inspecting the dipstick I found it on the minimum level and the oil, although not looking new though it felt in good condition when doing the basic 'rub between two fingers test'. I know new oil can turn black instantly when mixed with the engine unless a engine flush is used but why service it and leave it on minimum? I just assumed he was telling porkies.
Anyway the upside of this is I did an oil change using good quality oil same as I always do when buying a new motor and found it had a new air filter, oil filter and fuel filter fitted. I still don't get why he did all this and possibly did not change the oil? Especially the oil filter surely you can't do that without having the engine empty of oil? Probably just me assuming black oil is old oil and a vehicles dipstick showing minimum is a precursor to poor ownership experiences. I'm probably wrong, seemed a decent enough guy.
So yep today is door card out and hopefully just find a loose connection which will be an easy fix and if the rain holds off treat the rust patches with white vinegar which I have never tried before.
Oh yes and yesterday I was trying to find the solution to the sloppy gearchange and have kind of narrowed it down to the gear linkages in the dashboard/engine area. So yesterday I stripped the gear linkage in the engine bay and refitted it so it aligns up correctly. Someone had done a right bodge job of not using washers and a piece of wire through the hole for a split pin. I hate to admit it, and even though I used washers to space it correctly and greased it all (albeit with vaseline) I used a bent nail instead of a split pin to secure the gear linkage. It is still sloppy and I imagine further investigations will lead me into the dashboard which I assume is a ballache of a job to get off or into.
Apologies for the lack of photo's but kind of just bumbling through sorting it out for future use and with it not being exotica or an insane turbocharged v8 thread I don't thing too many folks will want to see lots of pictures of my slightly battered 2006 LDV Maxus.
All help and input greatly appreciated by the way I love this forum for it's community spirited help. I really have benefitted from PH in the past from so many helpful members sparing some of their time and knowledge to post here. I hope I can be of more use to the PH collective in the future.
Drivers door card off is todays task as is trying out spraying white vinegar on offending small patches of rust. I've got some primer spray on the way from amazon and am currently trying to find out what paint code is correct for a 2006 white ldv maxus before I order any rattle can spray paint. It doesn't need to be pretty but I don't want it looking pants either.
So I ordered an oil filter and air filter after sort of not believing the seller about doing a full service. When inspecting the dipstick I found it on the minimum level and the oil, although not looking new though it felt in good condition when doing the basic 'rub between two fingers test'. I know new oil can turn black instantly when mixed with the engine unless a engine flush is used but why service it and leave it on minimum? I just assumed he was telling porkies.
Anyway the upside of this is I did an oil change using good quality oil same as I always do when buying a new motor and found it had a new air filter, oil filter and fuel filter fitted. I still don't get why he did all this and possibly did not change the oil? Especially the oil filter surely you can't do that without having the engine empty of oil? Probably just me assuming black oil is old oil and a vehicles dipstick showing minimum is a precursor to poor ownership experiences. I'm probably wrong, seemed a decent enough guy.
So yep today is door card out and hopefully just find a loose connection which will be an easy fix and if the rain holds off treat the rust patches with white vinegar which I have never tried before.
Oh yes and yesterday I was trying to find the solution to the sloppy gearchange and have kind of narrowed it down to the gear linkages in the dashboard/engine area. So yesterday I stripped the gear linkage in the engine bay and refitted it so it aligns up correctly. Someone had done a right bodge job of not using washers and a piece of wire through the hole for a split pin. I hate to admit it, and even though I used washers to space it correctly and greased it all (albeit with vaseline) I used a bent nail instead of a split pin to secure the gear linkage. It is still sloppy and I imagine further investigations will lead me into the dashboard which I assume is a ballache of a job to get off or into.
Apologies for the lack of photo's but kind of just bumbling through sorting it out for future use and with it not being exotica or an insane turbocharged v8 thread I don't thing too many folks will want to see lots of pictures of my slightly battered 2006 LDV Maxus.
All help and input greatly appreciated by the way I love this forum for it's community spirited help. I really have benefitted from PH in the past from so many helpful members sparing some of their time and knowledge to post here. I hope I can be of more use to the PH collective in the future.
Changing the oil filter without dropping the oil is easy. Why you'd do it though is another question entirely. Mind you, I did it way back in the 90's on my old Cavalier as it burned through the oil so quickly (200,000 miles on a 1.6 petrol, and that's assuming the mileage was genuine!), that I figured there was little point in changing the oil, just replace the filter every so often.
Are you sure you're dipped the oil properly? Daft question I know, but you might not have got the dipstick in fully, or the van might be on a slight slope, or it might require the engine being off for half an hour to let the oil drain down. Of course, previous owner might have just decided to fill to the minimum mark for some reason.
Are you sure you're dipped the oil properly? Daft question I know, but you might not have got the dipstick in fully, or the van might be on a slight slope, or it might require the engine being off for half an hour to let the oil drain down. Of course, previous owner might have just decided to fill to the minimum mark for some reason.
Ah you might have a point there. Bit silly really but I was so excited at picking it up that I forgot the engine had been started for the test drive and it was parked up on a steep slope with the van facing downhill.
Still I always like to err on the side of caution and change the oil on anything new to me and the old oil went in an old army jerry can for other uses. The old oil looked ok but had the tiniest amount of sediment in it which was comforting to get rid of.
I'm having a real dilemma of late, I seem to be buying mechanically sound but slightly scruffy vehicles off ebay and tarting them up nicely only to sell them on for what I paid for them. Fun as a hobby but not sure I'm seeing the benefits of my labour. Still I enjoy it and am learning a lot getting hands on.
Still I always like to err on the side of caution and change the oil on anything new to me and the old oil went in an old army jerry can for other uses. The old oil looked ok but had the tiniest amount of sediment in it which was comforting to get rid of.
I'm having a real dilemma of late, I seem to be buying mechanically sound but slightly scruffy vehicles off ebay and tarting them up nicely only to sell them on for what I paid for them. Fun as a hobby but not sure I'm seeing the benefits of my labour. Still I enjoy it and am learning a lot getting hands on.
Edited by pimping on Saturday 10th May 15:53
I had the use of a LDV Maxus at work. You could never ever get it in first gear, so every standing start was in second. I remember going down a steep hill about a mile long near where I live where there is only one road in and out to this house, no problem I thought, I shall just reverse up the steepest bit and use second once turned round. I then found out that reverse had gone as well and I couldn't get enough of a run up to go up in second. Four hours to wait before recovery! I laugh about it now 
Looks like it's the spiritual successor to the old ex-GPO Sherpa my dad bought back in about 1991. First thing I drove for any great period after I passed my test (other than writing my mother's car off 
).
1.8 NA diesel engine, 4 gears, max realistic speed of 50mph, other than on a long downhill when it could be knocked into neutral. quarter of a turn of play in the steering, sliding doors, and plenty of rot, which I welded up and learned some rudimentary mig skills. IIRC, initially the engine could only be shut off by stalling it, until I went and purchased a fuel cut off solenoid from a breakers yard.
It was great fun, and a real lesson in preserving momentum as it was glacially slow, so flat out everywhere and minimal use of brakes was the order of the day. Of course, being a stupid teenager, I had my list of favourite roundabouts, through which momentum induced oversteer could be practiced when it was wet.
). 1.8 NA diesel engine, 4 gears, max realistic speed of 50mph, other than on a long downhill when it could be knocked into neutral. quarter of a turn of play in the steering, sliding doors, and plenty of rot, which I welded up and learned some rudimentary mig skills. IIRC, initially the engine could only be shut off by stalling it, until I went and purchased a fuel cut off solenoid from a breakers yard.
It was great fun, and a real lesson in preserving momentum as it was glacially slow, so flat out everywhere and minimal use of brakes was the order of the day. Of course, being a stupid teenager, I had my list of favourite roundabouts, through which momentum induced oversteer could be practiced when it was wet.
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