What goes wrong with VT/VX V6s?

[Marco]

Starting a new job soon which may mean longer hours...so I'm pondering getting a cheap-ish car to drive to work on those days when I won't be able to catch the bus. Thinking that a VT-VX V6, maybe with LPG conversion, might be the go as they seem cheap as these days - maybe an Acclaim so I get the side airbags, ABS and TC.

Most of the ones on Carsales etc seem to be at the 150-220k mark; are there common things that go wrong with them?

[Big_Valven]

On mine... nothing?

Although, most of them are renowned for the odd steering rack, and above 150,000ks with original suspension, some new shocks and bushes all round (even original ones) will really freshen it up.

[Crusty]

Chewing out rear tyres - camber kit can fix that to some extent. Head gaskets and rocker cover gaskets can be rather common although rocker cover isn't a big deal, head gasket can be a tad expensive.

[zorro]

I found with ecotechs replacing the pulley tensioners every 15000klms, otherwise whats written above is pretty much spot on

[vecommo]

Provided they are serviced and maintained correctly you cannot go wrong with one of these. My sister has a VY1 exec, got it at 48,000km, now has 170,000km and the only thing that has ever gone wrong with it was the alternator at 150,000. Every other part on the car still original.

[planetdavo]

Cars are generally quite reliable.
Motors are quite long lived. We see the occassional inlet manifold gasket leaks, usually putting oil into the coolant. Neglect an oil change too long and the pickup screen will block up, destroying an engine. Occassional head gasket, but not too often. Oil leaks, pulley squeaks and ignition leads breaking down are fairly common.
Fuel gauge senders are notoriously unreliable.
Front engine mounts fail often.
Front castor bar bushes fail often.
Diff noise is fairly common as they get older. Sometimes even not so old.
Rear tyre wear in VT and VX series 1. VX2 were much better with control links.
Power steering pumps leak pretty often. Racks a bit less common, but still a bit.
Auto transmissions occassionally fail.
Front wheel bearing hubs get noisy.
Door lock actuators and window regulator failures are fairly common by now.
Cylinder heads can be prone to cracking when fitted with LPG. Many don't, so perhaps the level of maintainence is to blame for this one.
Occassional other electrical failures like sensors, taillight sockets and other things.
Generally speaking, fairly reliable but with the odd thing now and again to annoy you!

[RAWKUS]

IMO in comparison to other cars of this class, they can't be beat.
Cast iron ECOTEC motors live long. Standard roller cam, so good valvetrain for longevity. Electrics are main things that may need replacement such as coil pack, alternator, crank angle sensor etc (if balancer lets go, usually through oil contamination if the front seal leaks). Very easy things to fix. The engine management system has an easy to use diagnostic system if something in that department goes wrong. Good value for money if maintenance has been kept up.
I found the engines like Magnatec oil also. Nice quiet startup.

[L-iam]

friend just picked up a VT sedan for 3500.

its got 220 on the clock and seems to be awsome. does 250km / day taking people up the hill to work on the mines in collie.

[VX2VESS]

crank angle sensors are common

if it cuts out sometimes, hard to sart sometimes, not running that well its probably the crank angle sensor.

pretty easy to fix, just have to remove the harmonic balancer and replace it

[payaya]

Reliable cars but I heard horror stories on gas????

[planetdavo]

Reliable cars but I heard horror stories on gas????
Yep, cylinder heads can crack pretty severely and best to keep a spare half a dozen airboxes in the shed.

[CLUBRED]

Our S/C VT Calais, almost hit 200,000:

- Cracked front strut towers (against the body at the top)
- Engine mount
- ABS Module
- Coil pack
- hates rear tyres (on 17's)
- Few pullies
- Shockies
- Developed diff bounce pretty bad, all fixed.
- And of course the steering rack.

[RRossi]

I have a VT S1 as a daily,


and everyone is right on the money,Mine has done 240xxx, only major thing was the radiator split, but I change the oil every 3 months and make sure she is running tip top, she goes in this monday for a spray job, the body needs a bit of work, but the only reason I spending money on her is she is reliable old girl and starts first time every time.....Touch wood! lol

but I wouldnt get a GAS one, I think they economical as is, compared to my SS


RR

[CLUBRED]

On the economy thing, I have driven the Calais to as low as 7.8L/100, its a bit of a competition to see who can beat eachother in our family, I own the top two spots with 7.8 and 8.2 :)

[Harvs82]

Whilst I didn't have a VT I did have a VS V6 which has the same engine, and I found it to be very reliable. As others have mentioned, make sure its been serviced regularly and on time, skipped oil changes are bad news as the pickup clogs up very easily. I always ran 20w 50 oil in my V6, changed it every 5000km and it never burned a bit. The only oil it did loose was through the rear main seal leak, which is pretty much standard on any commodore. The other thing is that the V6 requires a specific coolant, which is much stronger than the premixed stuff, so its important to use the correct grade coolant. Failure to do so will result in a leaking heater core, leaking radiators and water pump failures. On the cooling side of things, when I sold the car it still had the original heater core and radiator, with the water pump only being replaced for the first time after 12 years and 190,000km, so I put that down to using the correct coolant. Alternator was also completely original, although it was showing signs of wearing out. The only other thing to look out for is a clapped out auto, if its been flogged then you'll be up for big dollars for repairs.

Overall, the old V6 can take quite a beating, providing that its been properly maintained, and they do tend to last a very long time and are generally reliable.