My £1,300 2.5 tonne box of unreliabilty
Discussion
So.. 2004 Full fat 4.4 V8 Vogue with 137k on it and lpg (that may or may not work)
I'll list all of the goodies it has and the bits I need to sort (that i'm aware of) below but all in i've paid £1,300 for this and knew of a couple of faults.
The good bits;
It moves (10m so far)
It is black and has ivory interior
It starts straight away
It has lpg
The rear airbags were replaced 2 years ago
It has a parrot bluetooth kit that actually works so I can stream music (I was going to fit an android unit but that's the last thing i'm doing now)
Rear facelift lights (no awful orange)
The guides and associated bits were replaced 2 years ago (according to a hand written piece of paper describing the car)
It has rear aftermarket screens that as far as I can see are really good picture quality and even came with a dvd (What film is it?)
EVERYTHING inside the car works
It has matching Pirelli tyres all round which pleases me.
The not so good bits;
It has a vanos style noise on idle
The front of the car slams to the floor 5 minutes after turning it off
The cheap t
ts before me decided to silicone the cam covers instead of using gaskets
No idea if the lpg system works or even how to use it
The rear boot only opens on the key
Battery light is permanently on (new battery recently 100ah)
Boot looks like what I can only assume the previous owner ran a dog grooming business out of it
Old cars make me feel itchy when they're not chemically cleaned
Rust on N/S/R wheel arch
Plans are;
Take it to my garage so they can plug it in and see what the issue is with the suspension and set about sorting the cam covers out and get it valeted so I don't feel so sick.
Budget is tiny as, I don't really think it's worth spending £1k or whatever on it unless I can guarantee it won't die.
PICS!!!!
I'll list all of the goodies it has and the bits I need to sort (that i'm aware of) below but all in i've paid £1,300 for this and knew of a couple of faults.
The good bits;
It moves (10m so far)
It is black and has ivory interior
It starts straight away
It has lpg
The rear airbags were replaced 2 years ago
It has a parrot bluetooth kit that actually works so I can stream music (I was going to fit an android unit but that's the last thing i'm doing now)
Rear facelift lights (no awful orange)
The guides and associated bits were replaced 2 years ago (according to a hand written piece of paper describing the car)
It has rear aftermarket screens that as far as I can see are really good picture quality and even came with a dvd (What film is it?)
EVERYTHING inside the car works
It has matching Pirelli tyres all round which pleases me.
The not so good bits;
It has a vanos style noise on idle
The front of the car slams to the floor 5 minutes after turning it off
The cheap t
ts before me decided to silicone the cam covers instead of using gaskets No idea if the lpg system works or even how to use it
The rear boot only opens on the key
Battery light is permanently on (new battery recently 100ah)
Boot looks like what I can only assume the previous owner ran a dog grooming business out of it
Old cars make me feel itchy when they're not chemically cleaned
Rust on N/S/R wheel arch
Plans are;
Take it to my garage so they can plug it in and see what the issue is with the suspension and set about sorting the cam covers out and get it valeted so I don't feel so sick.
Budget is tiny as, I don't really think it's worth spending £1k or whatever on it unless I can guarantee it won't die.
PICS!!!!
NeilyWheelie said:
Congrats on the purchase and a timely thread.
I've just picked up a 4.4 in Adriatic Blue over parchment leather for same kind of money and was going to do a thread on it soon.
Mines got that permanent warning light on the dash too....the low fuel one!
Please tell me yours has 'issues' too?I've just picked up a 4.4 in Adriatic Blue over parchment leather for same kind of money and was going to do a thread on it soon.
Mines got that permanent warning light on the dash too....the low fuel one!
ChocolateFrog said:
Those cam covers look a pig of a job to put right.
Are they leaking? If not I'd be tempted not to touch them.
I'm having a dilemma at the moment. A FFRR similar to this and a slush fund or TEN times as much on a Land Cruiser Amazon.
I think it's leaking onto the exhaust. I haven't really looked at it today but my transport guy gave it a once over before I paid the money and noticed it. Are they leaking? If not I'd be tempted not to touch them.
I'm having a dilemma at the moment. A FFRR similar to this and a slush fund or TEN times as much on a Land Cruiser Amazon.
I have a feeling, I'll be asking the garage to do it for me providing the labour cost isn't too bad. I assume 3/4 hours in a garage would be about right?
SebringMan said:
Prins is decent. But if it's not working, I'd be suspecting an installation issue, and that can take alot of time time to sort out. As in wiring rectififcation.
My LandiRenzo was the same here. The parts (bar the vaporiser diaphragm rupturing) were ok. The rest however was installed terribly.
I have no idea if it works or not. My LandiRenzo was the same here. The parts (bar the vaporiser diaphragm rupturing) were ok. The rest however was installed terribly.
I haven't driven it and the little switch thing just has one red light so I'm not even sure if it's turned on (is that a thing?)
Managed to take it out just now and it's not too bad actually.
My main focus is this ticking noise.
When driving, it gets louder/faster as the revs go up and as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, it disappears almost completely.
Does this sound like vanos?
Not sure where it is but with the bonnet open, it sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine where the belts are..
My main focus is this ticking noise.
When driving, it gets louder/faster as the revs go up and as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, it disappears almost completely.
Does this sound like vanos?
Not sure where it is but with the bonnet open, it sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine where the belts are..
Steviesam said:
Nor me.
OP, has the oil been changed? Could be thick old oil (or the wrong type)?
Apparently it was changed not long ago and when I look on the dipstick, the oil does look fresh. OP, has the oil been changed? Could be thick old oil (or the wrong type)?
I will be doing a full service on it when I actually get a chance.
Another note, I had the suspension up to the mid point and disconnected the battery and it has slowly gone down again at the front so suspect it is indeed the airbags.
njw1 said:
As said, I've also not known a vanos system to make a ticking sound, if the sound is coming from where the belts are I'd run the engine (for not very long!!) with them removed to see if the noise disappears.
Edit; Another thought I just had; Is the viscous fan catching on anything? Perhaps you aren't getting the noise on the over-run as the engine mounts are worn and allowing things to move around slightly.
Or perhaps it's something to do with the LPG system...?
It does sound as though something is hitting something. I'll try and record the sound tomorrow. Edit; Another thought I just had; Is the viscous fan catching on anything? Perhaps you aren't getting the noise on the over-run as the engine mounts are worn and allowing things to move around slightly.
Or perhaps it's something to do with the LPG system...?
Edited by njw1 on Tuesday 1st October 19:24
CAPP0 said:
Front airbags are comically easy to replace. Even if you've never done it before it shouldn't take more than half an hour per side. And they can be had cheap too - £125-ish each for some cheapies (I wouldn't necessarily recommend them but then again on a car of this value.....). The better ones are "only" £250-ish a side (which I appreciate is a lot on a £1300 car!).
The LPG - may just be empty from what you say? Try lobbing some in.
But the knocking/ticking - that doesn't sound good. Does that engine actually have Vanos? That's quite a heavy knock; could definitely be a hydraulic lifter but those usually clear once the engine is warmed up. Could almost be an end knocking, which if it is is probably terminal on a car at that price.
Which is why I need to get that diagnosed first before I spend £300 on airbags.The LPG - may just be empty from what you say? Try lobbing some in.
But the knocking/ticking - that doesn't sound good. Does that engine actually have Vanos? That's quite a heavy knock; could definitely be a hydraulic lifter but those usually clear once the engine is warmed up. Could almost be an end knocking, which if it is is probably terminal on a car at that price.
Need to find someone who knows these engines and won't mess me around.
HedgeyGedgey said:
Sounds like the dreaded bottom end knock 
That would be just my luck if it was.Hoping it was a hydraulic lifter but after changing the oil I tried to bleed the lifters but it hasn't changed it.
Seems a bit better on a cold start but still loud when driving.
If it was the bottom end, would it continue to do it when you left off the accelerator?
As soon as I take my foot off when driving, it's completely silent and only starts tapping again under load.
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