Hold(en) my beer - Monaro, Ute and Commodore content
Discussion
I was so well prepared.
Made no difference, I suspect despite not looking like a problem the O2 sensor is in the way, and it's far too tight to undo in situ.
Cylinder head will be coming off, have undone the intake manifold and drained the fuel from the rails, but a relaxed evening was calling so I've opted for that instead now...
Head off, exhaust manifold finally free 
With the heads off I can easily get to the top bell housing bolts, so I'm going to go that route for pulling the engine out, leave the gearbox and bell housing in there. Any thoughts?
Removing the head is a simple process, undo rocker studs, remove all 8 rocker arms together on the bar they sit on
Undo the 15 head bolts and lift the head off. There are dowels to keep it in place without any bolts in, and it's aluminium so not very heavy
Just took one off for meow for the sake of getting the exhaust manifold out as they've been sold on to another Monaro owner
With the heads off I can easily get to the top bell housing bolts, so I'm going to go that route for pulling the engine out, leave the gearbox and bell housing in there. Any thoughts?
Removing the head is a simple process, undo rocker studs, remove all 8 rocker arms together on the bar they sit on
Undo the 15 head bolts and lift the head off. There are dowels to keep it in place without any bolts in, and it's aluminium so not very heavy
Just took one off for meow for the sake of getting the exhaust manifold out as they've been sold on to another Monaro owner
fred bloggs said:
I feel the pain. I fitted proflow extractors, which are amazing,but fitting them was not something I'd ever like to do again.
And how did you take the photo of your hands ? Do you have a spare appendage ??
The old Dutch tickler And how did you take the photo of your hands ? Do you have a spare appendage ??
Nah, sadly enough, put the phone on 5 second timer and held it between chest and jaw
I thought it was a funny photo though in that you wouldn't think anything of it until realising the camera had to be held as well Sunroof update... Phoned them at 5 today as appointment to replace it is tomorrow at 9am...
Nope, no parts in still. Took my number to phone me back, when should I stop holding my breath?
Would have been nice if they'd actually phoned me to say they couldn't do the fitting, but hey ho...
Nope, no parts in still. Took my number to phone me back, when should I stop holding my breath?
Would have been nice if they'd actually phoned me to say they couldn't do the fitting, but hey ho...
Pit Pony said:
You know that I'd be more stupid than you, and turn up at 8,55 am and watch them squirm.
I've sort of gained the impression over the phone they wouldn't really squirm so much as go "sorry mate, the parts haven't arrived" and blame Webasto for it with zero f
ks to give. I'll speak to the Webasto guy to try and chase it from my end at least, frankly it wouldn't surprise me if they haven't even placed the order for the parts yet...
Received the call... The form wasn't filled out right or not sent off properly or some mumbled excuse, so yeah, it's actually been sent off meow and it'll be about a week before the bits arrive for the sunroof. No surprise there 
Had the day off in preparation for the sunroof replacement, so at least made some engine progress.
Had the day off in preparation for the sunroof replacement, so at least made some engine progress.
Stumbled across these LS engine lift plates for sale in the UK at a great price, one on its way 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264415023352
Also got a Chinesium flywheel locking tool and thought I'd take a punt on a cheap Chinesium harmonic balancer puller that looks like the GM one, I got it off last time with a generic 3 prong puller so will use that as a backup, but this one was only £40 so thought I'd give it a punt as if it works that's pretty cheap compared to shipping one from the states.
Oh and a blowtorch, the pulley bolt needs heat to be able to be undone, it has a locking compound around it, easy to undo if the bolt is heated, next to impossible otherwise
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264415023352
Also got a Chinesium flywheel locking tool and thought I'd take a punt on a cheap Chinesium harmonic balancer puller that looks like the GM one, I got it off last time with a generic 3 prong puller so will use that as a backup, but this one was only £40 so thought I'd give it a punt as if it works that's pretty cheap compared to shipping one from the states.
Oh and a blowtorch, the pulley bolt needs heat to be able to be undone, it has a locking compound around it, easy to undo if the bolt is heated, next to impossible otherwise
Old headers and 2.5" mid sections (2 pairs of mid sections, one decat) have been sold and getting collected tomorrow:
Also gives a bit of perspective to the ridiculous size of the boot before you even fold the seats
The replacement headers and 3" system all shiny (and appreciably lighter) below:
Used the wagon at the weekend, 'sunroof' blew off of course, 2nd attempt clearly wasn't as watertight as the headlining is a bit wet down the passenger side which is a shame, so this evening I seriously upgraded it
Plastic underlayer pulled very taught and taped up flush around the edges. Then a full overlapping duct tape top layer, frankly it's probably better than the inevitable replacement whenever that's done...
After refitting the 'sunroof' in an empty car park when it blew off at the weekend, obviously a stonking great burnout was required. The short first gear of the wagon really does make burnouts effortless as it'll spin those ste ditchfinders up without even trying
Also gives a bit of perspective to the ridiculous size of the boot before you even fold the seats
The replacement headers and 3" system all shiny (and appreciably lighter
) below:Used the wagon at the weekend, 'sunroof' blew off of course, 2nd attempt clearly wasn't as watertight as the headlining is a bit wet down the passenger side which is a shame, so this evening I seriously upgraded it
Plastic underlayer pulled very taught and taped up flush around the edges. Then a full overlapping duct tape top layer, frankly it's probably better than the inevitable replacement whenever that's done...
After refitting the 'sunroof' in an empty car park when it blew off at the weekend, obviously a stonking great burnout was required. The short first gear of the wagon really does make burnouts effortless as it'll spin those s
te ditchfinders up without even trying Jader1973 said:
Not long after I got my first VE wagon (which wasn’t long after they were released) I got stopped at a Random Breath Test. Parting shot from the cop was “Nice car, shame the boot is too small.”!
They were coming out of VZ wagons which were on the LWB platform and the VE boot was shorter because it is the SWB platform.
Yeah I saw some figures for the capacity of the VZ wagon boot, it must echo for quite a while back there! They were coming out of VZ wagons which were on the LWB platform and the VE boot was shorter because it is the SWB platform.
So ahead of the engine even being pulled out, obviously one has to consider bearing clearances and such. General advice to do it properly is to use a (decent) micrometer and bore gauge / telescopic gauge.
As you're talking 0.001mm accuracy, then the price is a bit spendy
https://www.hroberts-di.com/micrometers-c11/mituto...
Still, in for a penny right? I mean frankly if this all goes together and works then I'll inevitably be stroking the engine in the Ute as well later down the line, so maybe I'll get to use it more than once
As you're talking 0.001mm accuracy, then the price is a bit spendy
https://www.hroberts-di.com/micrometers-c11/mituto...
Still, in for a penny right? I mean frankly if this all goes together and works then I'll inevitably be stroking the engine in the Ute as well later down the line, so maybe I'll get to use it more than once
Just working through the ste tyres the only way I know how. Bogged a bit going in to second, must work on that
https://youtu.be/CKhSgfSUUbI
te tyres the only way I know how. Bogged a bit going in to second, must work on that https://youtu.be/CKhSgfSUUbI
The Ute battery was too miserable to start Sheila up this morning (see an earlier post about how I should replace said battery ) so I decided to just take the wagon and cross my fingers my new and improved sunroof wouldn't evacuate...
It made it to work fine, briefly survived a punt up to 80 when I forgot it was just tape so that's a good sign right? It's also appreciably quieter than the sunroof was as there's no buffeting noise
Anyway, the other evening I noticed the AC didn't appear to turn on, so investigated that a bit more on the way in annnnnnd it also just blows 'cool' air out of the passenger side regardless. Joy of joys!
From some googling I imagine it'll be an actuator, which naturally will be easy enough to find but a nuisance to ship from Aus, there's some breakers over here and fortunately all 4 of them are identical so I'll give them a go first... GM part number is 92192343
This website has a fantastic guide to 2 of the 4 (putting this here for my own reference mostly)
https://www.autoinstruct.com.au/manufacturer/holde...
I will try a relearn first and keep an ear out, fingers crossed it's just a relearn needed, but what are the odds of that eh? It seems to change fan orientation fine (so between demist, feet, face) it's just the left and right (and lack of aircon turning on which is hopefully related) blend that's not working, any experienced suggestions as to which of the 4 it might be?
It has a warranty from the dealer so I shall let them know...
) so I decided to just take the wagon and cross my fingers my new and improved sunroof wouldn't evacuate...It made it to work fine, briefly survived a punt up to 80 when I forgot it was just tape so that's a good sign right? It's also appreciably quieter than the sunroof was as there's no buffeting noise
Anyway, the other evening I noticed the AC didn't appear to turn on, so investigated that a bit more on the way in annnnnnd it also just blows 'cool' air out of the passenger side regardless. Joy of joys!
From some googling I imagine it'll be an actuator, which naturally will be easy enough to find but a nuisance to ship from Aus, there's some breakers over here and fortunately all 4 of them are identical so I'll give them a go first... GM part number is 92192343
This website has a fantastic guide to 2 of the 4 (putting this here for my own reference mostly
)https://www.autoinstruct.com.au/manufacturer/holde...
I will try a relearn first and keep an ear out, fingers crossed it's just a relearn needed, but what are the odds of that eh? It seems to change fan orientation fine (so between demist, feet, face) it's just the left and right (and lack of aircon turning on which is hopefully related) blend that's not working, any experienced suggestions as to which of the 4 it might be?
It has a warranty from the dealer so I shall let them know...
Edited by SturdyHSV on Monday 12th October 09:25
Tried a relearn, can hear various actuators moving, some seem slightly slower than others, they sort of creak ever so slightly when they get to the end of their travel, unsure if that's just standard old age creak or indicative of a failure, it doesn't 'click' as if the gears have sheared teeth or anything.
Either way it hasn't fixed it. It also hasn't broken it any further, it is apparently common that when it finds a fault during the relearn it defaults to demist only etc. as that's the 'safest' option to be stuck on, but I still have full temperature, fan speed and orientation control.
Symptoms are basically only the driver's seat gets the specified temperature, the passenger side face vents and the rear vents in the back of the centre arm rest jobber are just blowing basically ambient air temp.
Will try to find a bit more conclusive info on JustCommodores and such as to which actuator(s) this is likely to be that's causing it...
Sunroof survived another commute in to work with another sprint to 80 where I forgot. The wagon does sort of pile on the speed in a fairly unnoticeable way as it's so quiet, the gearbox is so much better than the 4L60E in the Ute, much nicer to use.
Either way it hasn't fixed it. It also hasn't broken it any further, it is apparently common that when it finds a fault during the relearn it defaults to demist only etc. as that's the 'safest' option to be stuck on, but I still have full temperature, fan speed and orientation control.
Symptoms are basically only the driver's seat gets the specified temperature, the passenger side face vents and the rear vents in the back of the centre arm rest jobber are just blowing basically ambient air temp.
Will try to find a bit more conclusive info on JustCommodores and such as to which actuator(s) this is likely to be that's causing it...
Sunroof survived another commute in to work with another sprint to 80 where I forgot. The wagon does sort of pile on the speed in a fairly unnoticeable way as it's so quiet, the gearbox is so much better than the 4L60E in the Ute, much nicer to use.
grumpy52 said:
My mates . 
Built by TWR for a race series in support of F1 in the middle east .
Then imported to the UK where it ended up as a drift school car at Rockingham .
It was bought in very broken condition .
That's so cool, I remember reading about those being at Rockingham, there's a team that runs Holdens over in the UK too, they've just bought over a VF Commodore, presumably ex Supercar Built by TWR for a race series in support of F1 in the middle east .
Then imported to the UK where it ended up as a drift school car at Rockingham .
It was bought in very broken condition .
What does he use that one for, I can't help but notice what looks like a front number plate?
grumpy52 said:
SturdyHSV said:
grumpy52 said:
My mates .
Built by TWR for a race series in support of F1 in the middle east .
Then imported to the UK where it ended up as a drift school car at Rockingham .
It was bought in very broken condition .
That's so cool, I remember reading about those being at Rockingham, there's a team that runs Holdens over in the UK too, they've just bought over a VF Commodore, presumably ex Supercar Built by TWR for a race series in support of F1 in the middle east .
Then imported to the UK where it ended up as a drift school car at Rockingham .
It was bought in very broken condition .
What does he use that one for, I can't help but notice what looks like a front number plate?
It is a full race car in process of development ( aren't they all ) .
It needs the suspension sorting , it had some coil overs modified to fit but they were not up to the job so it's all going to come out and be re- configured. The original set up was like a boat in a storm and had been raced and drifted like that .
Once the suspension is sorted the engine will get some development, 450bhp is not nearly enough .
And yes it has been used to commute to and from work .
Whereabouts is it based? I can't imagine how fantastic that would look heading in to work
So it continues in daily use, and as these things are always of interest, it's looking to be 300 miles to this tank quite easily despite a fair bit of idling / short trips whilst it was parked up not in use and quite a few burnouts
One disappointment compared to the Ute / Monaro, the range readout just stops once you get to the last 1/8th of a tank, whereas the Ute / Monaro will happily keep guessing down to single digits of range.
Also, the trip computer screens are slower to toggle through and the nav / customise pages can't be turned off, just makes it a bit clunky, presumably in the name of progress.
On the plus side the cruise control adjusts in much finer increments
It's such a quiet car inside that I can't help but notice tiny little shuffles or taps or rattles etc, obviously totally drowned out by the stereo (which seems really good) but noises I shall be deploying a rear passenger to investigate at some point.
Jader1973 said:
Have you found night mode yet? Turns off all the instrument etc lights except the speedo.
You press the instrument illumination + and - buttons (the ones above the headlamp switch) at the same time to switch it on and off.
I think the Holden engineers nicked the idea from Saab.
I haven't no, that's very cool!You press the instrument illumination + and - buttons (the ones above the headlamp switch) at the same time to switch it on and off.
I think the Holden engineers nicked the idea from Saab.
monkfish1 said:
The range readout thing is a step backwards. On the monaro, i can confirm its bob on accurate. Had it show zero miles. 15 seconds later under acceleration it stopped!
I've had the Ute down to 3km, running out is good going 
A friend made up a lifting plate as the ebay one the guy said nothing for 2 weeks and obviously it never arrived, will be popping over to Wycombe to pick it up tomorrow and will see if I can get some progress pictures for pulling the engine out!
Anyone know where I could find a (broken in) 320 grit flex hone? Engine builder recommended just a quick flex hone to sharpen the bores up ahead of the new rings etc.
Managed 520km to the tank in the Commo, 70 litres went in so we'll see how the next tank goes
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