Looking to upgrade to a V8 need help !

[Micks]

Lol mine is going in for a new one on the 2nd, 3grand something later. It's only done 141,000km but its cammed and I don't mind giving it a hard time.

That's excessive for a four spinning box unless off course there is some other beefing up perhaps??

[matt87]

That's excessive for a four spinning box unless off course there is some other beefing up perhaps??

It's a 6 speed and the shop is getting it from Holdens, I know they are around 3 for a crate 6 speed

[Micks]

It's a 6 speed and the shop is getting it from Holdens, I know they are around 3 for a crate 6 speed

Ok thought Holmart had 6L80E's for around $2,150 inc GST? Though could be wrong!

[matt87]

but other things to look for would be the condition rubber couplings on either end of tail shaft, condition of rubber on centre bearing, check cv shaft boots aren't deteriating etc also check gearbox mount. These things can get expensive if they need to be done.

[Smashfist]

Late LS1's are good, not too many issues with them. Occasional sump leak, be wary of lifter noise on cold start (if it goes away after 1-2 sec it's fine though). You shouldn't see issues with piston slap in a VY as they revised the manufacturing process for VXII IIRC. Auto's are pretty tough if they're not skidded all the time, look for firm shifts. Try to get the latest you can afford if going 6 speed, there were a lot of running changes to the manufacturing of the T56 (second gear synchros, reverse gear lockout etc).

Common things are your standard Commodore things - tailshaft couplings as mentioned, rear main/sump leaks (rear main seal part was revised later on), PCV hose has a habit of perishing, heater hoses can rub through on the back of the driver's side head. You get the occasional one with belt squeal that's either runout of the balancer or an issue with the power steering pulley. Make sure you do a high RPM decel to check for diff whine as well.

Apart from that they're pretty solid units. Diffs/driveshafts/boxes are over-engineered and take a fair bit of abuse to kill, so probably not a bad idea to check right up under rear guards for evidence of skids. I've owned 3 3rd gen shell V8 Commodores now and I've picked a fair example each time. I personally like to buy something stock and mod it myself, my current one I picked up dead stock with a full service history and it's been a great car.

I've got 236rwkw in mine (VY Clubsport), it's auto and I give it a fair bit of curry, but I always drive it with mechanical sympathy (warm it up before getting into it, make sure I heat cycle the fluids properly once a fortnight if I'm doing small trips to work, have a scangauge to watch the trans temp), I've had the trans pan off recently and it was VERY clean.

Depending on your budget pick up as late a Clubsport as you can I reckon. I stuck with the 5.7 VY because I don't really like the input lag on electric throttle bodies, and with the price difference between a VY and a VZ I can afford to do a fair few power mods which will more than even out the difference.

[white lie]

IMO auto life comes down to two things. Getting the heat out and regular fluid changes. My auto shat itself the day I picked up my car over 6 years ago. Back then it would have had around 370rwhp. Got replaced with a stocker and has not missed a beat since I've had the car. Has had over 500rwhp going thru it with a 4500 converter and has run countless low 11 second passes with no issues. Change the fluid in the pan as often as you change the oil in your motor and they'll last a very long time.

[Smashfist]

Change the fluid in the pan as often as you change the oil in your motor and they'll last a very long time.

That's getting a little excessive. I reckon go Dex 6 and change it every 40,000-50,000 and you'll be right. Main thing is taking care of it. If you do skids in it until you hit 120-130 degrees on a regular basis and you'll cook it fairly quickly. Highest I've had mine is about 115 and I saw it getting warm (really hot day) and backed off for a k or two until it cooled down.

[blackvussii]

I have a vu series 2 that i bought with around 100k on it about 5 yrears ago. The body was nice and straight and the service book was up to date until maybe 70k pretty much stock apart from a exhaust and wheels. I was maybe a little too keen to buy at the time, just coming into better money after doing a apprenticeship and had been hanging out to get back into a v8 as a bit of a reward after struggling away on peasant wages for 4 years. My faithful old EA had blown its self to bits and I needed to be in something within 5 days. Middle of summer in brisbane catching buses and doing a fark load of walking around all corners of town was wearing thin.
The m6 and clutch folded after about 2 months, had a AWN warranty that chipped in 2k but still cost 3K out of my own pocket. Since then have replaced pretty much everything, the warranty has chipped in another 6 or 7k.
Pretty expensive for a 17k vehicle, learnt to do a lot of it my self since then. Have done a lot of mods, like what it is now and am keeping it for a while cause I really dont want to do a lot of it again.
The motor itself has been great nearly 200k now but lots all of the accessories have been replaced, suspension/bushes, diff, various sensors, cooling system and lights.
I would be looking for a thorough service history, check the rear main seal and sump gasket, Z-bar bushes and how the auto feels. Look for whines going in and out of corners.

If your good on the tools and know what to look at I'd try and find a lightly modded one with lower kms. A lot of people think especially commodores have been flogged if their modded but a lot guys that have good brand name exhaust, intake and tune would have taken the time to put in the right oils etc. in at the right intervals. Thats what I'll be looking for next time.

[white lie]

That's getting a little excessive. I reckon go Dex 6 and change it every 40,000-50,000 and you'll be right. Main thing is taking care of it. If you do skids in it until you hit 120-130 degrees on a regular basis and you'll cook it fairly quickly. Highest I've had mine is about 115 and I saw it getting warm (really hot day) and backed off for a k or two until it cooled down.

With a big converter that is constantly working, it will heat up in no time. I'm not saying to flush the system, just drop what's in the pan and top it up again. I'll fully flush it and do the filter every 20,000kms.

I've known guys to flush it every time they go racing. All of the ones that have 'excessive' fluid changes have never failed, compared to some boxes that are lucky to see 12 months... I know plenty of those!

[Smashfist]

If you're that keen though just put a deep pan and a big cooler on, has to be cheaper than 5L of Dex 6 every service.

[white lie]

Got those

People are quite content to spend $70-100 on engine oil every 5,000kms but not $35 for tranny oil. Doesn't make sense to me given how weak they are compared to these motors.

[concrete_vz]

my vz is 160,000kms lowered 20's was hoping to get 7-8k fro my car and then either a bit on top for new or some change from a vx ss changeover

I don't need to carry anything that's why I purchased a wagon ... no kids to worry bout

[concrete_vz]

Whats a VT SS worth ??

I am looking at a Deal which includes cash my way on a 2000 VT SS with 150k kms

[white lie]

5-7k IMO depending on condition of course

[concrete_vz]

I don't understand why so many vt ss have fff'ed seats don't people know Autobarn sells seat covers