CV8 V2 Series II - Known Problems

[joste]

Hi All
Looking at picking up a Series II CV8-R. Was hoping if other owners of this model could point out what to look for in terms of known problems. I'm a bit uncertain paying that much $$ for a car with only 6 months new car warranty left. I guess there is always extended warranty, but you hear so many bad things with those...

Anyway, the only 3 things that put me off this one is I can see rust where the the bonnet protector previously was. Looks like there is also small amount of overspray on the boot. Is it possible it came out of the factory this way? And lastly, the boot doesn't seem to line up properly. More specifically, it appears as if the top enf of the is sunken in slightly. Possibly another factory issue.

Any tips/pointers/things to look out for with this model would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Haze]

Hi mate,

I bought my series II with only 4 months warrenty left. anyway, I have had no problems.

The overspray sounds very sus to me, I would have a closer look at the front end if I was you. I looked at several of them and there are a few dodgy ones around.

If you do a search on this site I am sure you can read about a lot of problems people have had.

I think things like boots and doors not lining up very well are just typical of these cars. My doors line up fine, but I noticed my boot only just lines up as it comes very close to hitting the rear window rubber in one corner.

[joste]

Thanks haze. I will do some searching.
Cheers.

[Dacious]

The lower edge of the doors is supposed to sit proud - on old Monaros it was noted the front wheels kicked small stones at the leading edge of the rear guard/B-pillar. So the door is designed to deflect the stones with a light glance, rather than impacting against the door frame causing chipping and rust. Same with the boot - it is supposed to sit down at the front between the rear guards behind the window, so the window can be slightly larger for rear visibility (a coupe problem) , but water still drains off in the channels. And you still get that beautiful roofline!

Look at a row of Monaros - you'll see the same thing on every one. It's not a mistake. My doors both close with a Mercedes-like snick, seal perfectly judging by the water patterns around the dust seal after washing and lack of wind noise, and both bottom corners sit proud by a couple of millimetres, even though the panel gap is consistent all the way around and they match the pillars and guard profile perfectly above the crease.

The only consistent problem with some Monaros is water sealing from the front wheelwell to passenger compartment - indicated by a wet carpet in the footwells after driving in the rain. This is supposedly fixable. On some cars, the vinyl trim on the doors and inner panels can lift or wrinkle.

Other than that, an SII missed some later revised parts which means it is possible to have oil consumption issues affecting 5-10% of LS1s, depending on who you believe. Check the service history for a replacement motor (good) or oiling issues (bad). It will not affect every car - I know of one VX SS driven hard for 200,00Km+ which still purrs and uses less than a litre between changes. I know of a second with 65,000k which is regularly bounced off the limiter - same thing.

The other issues are what affect all LS1 Holdens: vague shift (but it should select gears cleanly, especially at standstill), brakes on hard-driven examples, the clutch won't take an awful amount of abuse. The alloy engine can be tappety and noisy.

Judging by SI and SIIs I see around, they seem to be holding their appearance very well.

[Bandit]

yeh i have had S2 for over a year now...

no probs so far. better build quality than my ol SS...and seems ok.

so you shouldnt have too many dramas with it...

again if KMs are low (which generally) you will find car will run virtually trouble free...

but nothing known problems as such.

[Jag530G]

The manual gearshift can get quite gummy, just a matter of the dealer getting in and cleaning grease and crap out from around the linkages, makes a massive difference. Tops of door trims lift. Small stones can get into the tops of the front struts and make a cracking/rattling sound when you turn corners. Diff can make deep groaning noises when turning corners, this is diff chatter, simple fix evidently. Front seat can rock a little bit. The rear "Door Trims" (if it were a 4 door) in my car were not fitted in properly. Dealer fixed. Rear High Mount Stop light assemply wasn't installed correctly, causes buzzing/squeaking sound, simple fix. The rear seat belt buckles rattle between the "door trims" and the rear seats. (curiously, the original VT Coupe had the seat belts mounted in the centre of the car so this would not have been a problem if carried through to production)

A guide to how much better the build quality of the Monaro is compared with the rest of the Commodore range can be seen by the fitment of the Fuel Filler lid. on VT/VX Commodores most are appalling aligned. I've never seen a Monaro without a nice flush fitting lid. Holden do seem to make a better effort building them.

[Muzzak]

Apparantly the naros also get an extra lick of clear coat over an above the commies. Giving them more of a luster and superior protection. This could be SIII and above however. Somebody can confirm.

Muz

[planetdavo]

Apparantly the naros also get an extra lick of clear coat over an above the commies. Giving them more of a luster and superior protection. This could be SIII and above however. Somebody can confirm.

Muz
Yep, series 3 on in preparation for export to (acid rained) Europe. Mechanically these are pretty much Commodore, so besides the water entry issue, which should be all fixed by now, just the usual checks for damage and service/warranty history etc.....