It would appear, that my trip down to brisbane and back yesterday, brought up a few underlying issues with my car lol

#1 - Noticed the temp gauge going up and down (1/2 -> 3/4) while stuck in peak hour traffic - thought it was the radiator, as it cooled down when I started moving agian, got back to the bay, lo and behold, the engine has NO (0, zero, nil, naught, none, nada, zilch) oil

That went on for about, 400km-ish with no oil

No oil light came up, so I didn't know while driving.

Theory's on the damage caused to engine (seems to be running fine, put some oil in last night when we stopped and found it had none - no noise coming out, no knocking, leaking or anything weird)

#2 - The air con never seemed to be the temp we set it to, 24, still hot, 22, still hot, 17, is the aircon even on? - Could that be the gas? anything else it could be?

#3 - Felt like the auto transmission "slipped" twice (might just be me) but it felt like the car went back into neutral, woke up and was like WTF LETS GO *v to the room* - What can cause that, how do I fix it >_>

On a side note, 3.5L 'rada 96 model, is 20/50 oil ok?

If the oil light didn't come on, then the pressure didn't get to the critical point - 50psi, ie. there was enough oil in the engine to keep the pressure up. If there was no oil in the crankcase at all, you'd have a 200kg paperweight. To be safe, change the oil and filter, and check the sump plug for metal powder.

With the A/C, I'd say there's not enough gas in the system. Check the sight glass in the regfrigerant canister (which I think is somewhere on the left side of the bay in the KEs), while the A/C is on. If there's a lot of bubbling, then it's low on gas. If you get it regassed, make sure that they fill it wil R134a, not LPG.

Oil - 20w50 might be a bit heavy. How many ks? My brother runs 5w60 in his KE, @161K km, and it runs as smoothly as when we bought it.

*edit*

With the auto, what's the fluid level like, and what sort of condition is the fluid in?

If the oil light didn't come on, then the pressure didn't get to the critical point - 50psi, ie. there was enough oil in the engine to keep the pressure up. If there was no oil in the crankcase at all, you'd have a 200kg paperweight. To be safe, change the oil and filter, and check the sump plug for metal powder.

With the A/C, I'd say there's not enough gas in the system. Check the sight glass in the regfrigerant canister (which I think is somewhere on the left side of the bay in the KEs), while the A/C is on. If there's a lot of bubbling, then it's low on gas. If you get it regassed, make sure that they fill it wil R134a, not LPG.

Oil - 20w50 might be a bit heavy. How many ks? My brother runs 5w60 in his KE, @161K km, and it runs as smoothly as when we bought it.

*edit*

With the auto, what's the fluid level like, and what sort of condition is the fluid in?

How much oil did you top it up with?? if it was only like a litre or two don't worry, just something to check once a week to keep an eye on... regular maintenance is the key.

I agree with veradabeast, if the oil light didn't come on then not a problem... if you lost all oil it would have gotten real noisy....
as for the over temp... I had a Cressida that did that... took the radiator out and had it stripped and cleaned... problem solved..

Steve

That went on for about, 400km-ish with no oil

No oil light came up, so I didn't know while driving.


Whoa...... dangerous. Did you check the oil level before you left on this "long drive"? If not - I suggest you get into the habit. Infact - for the next few weeks I'd be checking the oil level every day or so if I was you. At least til you are sure you don't have a major leak - and you get a feel for how quickly it uses oil.

As for your transmission issue - check your fluid, and a trans flush would probably be a good idea.

Air con - I don't know much about, but best case scenario is it needs a regas, worst case scenario is that the compressor is cactus.

@veradabeast -

the car has done 248,000k now

Over all, we only noticed noise around 200m from my mates place, sounded like a belt flapping or something - first thing we checked was the oil

@veradabeast -

the car has done 248,000k now

Over all, we only noticed noise around 200m from my mates place, sounded like a belt flapping or something - first thing we checked was the oil

a belt flapping.. I had that on a 93' GSR lancer... it was the plastic inner guard unclipping and "flapping in the breeze"lol

Steve

lol, I thought it was the alternator, but when we opened the bonnet, it was coming from the engine itself, we were like wtf

the car has done 248,000k now



Give a 15w oil a try. I used a 15w60 Penrite semi-syn oil in my KR, up until the time she was killed at 300,000. It all depends on wear and tear - Is it smoking at all?

nothing appears to be smoking, simmering, blowing up or melting

If the oil light didn't come on, then the pressure didn't get to the critical point - 50psi, ie. there was enough oil in the engine to keep the pressure up. If there was no oil in the crankcase at all, you'd have a 200kg paperweight. To be safe, change the oil and filter, and check the sump plug for metal powder.

To do this use a strong magnet if the oil is to crappy to see
the metal powder.

The topic is similar enough for me to add my question.

I'm taking my car on an interstate run. It's not due for a service until I get back (due at 283,000, it's at 279,650), but what I was going to do was check oil, water, trans fluid, tyres and lights, as well as take a spare litre of oil and a few litres of water. Anything I'm forgetting?

Oil run is Shell Helix diesel 15W40.

The topic is similar enough for me to add my question.

I'm taking my car on an interstate run. It's not due for a service until I get back (due at 283,000, it's at 279,650), but what I was going to do was check oil, water, trans fluid, tyres and lights, as well as take a spare litre of oil and a few litres of water. Anything I'm forgetting?

Oil run is Shell Helix diesel 15W40.

sounds like you have your bases covered, maybe make sure the spare is pumped up and your jack is working ok?

The topic is similar enough for me to add my question.

I'm taking my car on an interstate run. It's not due for a service until I get back (due at 283,000, it's at 279,650), but what I was going to do was check oil, water, trans fluid, tyres and lights, as well as take a spare litre of oil and a few litres of water. Anything I'm forgetting?

Oil run is Shell Helix diesel 15W40.

It's always good to get your car checked over..... always take water....
I have a pretty extensive tool kit in my car at all times,(I used to have a cressida as my daily driver, damn thing was possessed by some evil spirit,:rant: spare radiator hoses, clamps, even fan belts. plug leads as well as water.
Thing is even with all that stuff in the boot, whatever does go wrong I can generally fix... Have enough tools to be able to strip the engine down and put it back together!!! :nuts:
With my Magna. only tools... I trust the VR-X....... so far....

Can't hurt to check everything before you go..... gives you piece of mind too

Steve

if it had run with NO oil it would've siezed. i think when it goes off the bottom of the dipstick it is still about half full. on most cars the low point on the dipstick is about 1L below the full mark.

as for the temp changing, i'd say your thermostat is probably stuffed, or your radiator needs a good flush out.

#3 - the car only used about 35-40L of fuel there and back (650km)
thats like 5.38l/100k -> 6.15l/100k - does that sound right?

#3 - the car only used about 35-40L of fuel there and back (650km)
thats like 5.38l/100k -> 6.15l/100k - does that sound right?

Impossible,

My festiva uses that much...... lol

#3 - the car only used about 35-40L of fuel there and back (650km)
thats like 5.38l/100k -> 6.15l/100k - does that sound right?

I've heard the 3.5's are very good on fuel on the fwy.... good to know means somethings right with your 3.5!!! :)

#3 - the car only used about 35-40L of fuel there and back (650km)
thats like 5.38l/100k -> 6.15l/100k - does that sound right?

my 1200ish km trip from mackay to the gold coast (with a slight detour thru Monto) resulted in a avg of 10.3L/100km (a/c on, loaded up with a lot of crap)

i didnt think it was possible to get your fuel econ down *that* low in a 3.5L

(on a sidenote, the other halfs old VZ Calais (6cycl NA) used to drop into the low 5L/100 range when cruising up the free/high way - which i didnt think was possible with a motor that large... but i guess the whole constant speed means the motor isnt working hard to keep you moving)

the engine has NO (0, zero, nil, naught, none, nada, zilch) oil

That went on for about, 400km-ish with no oil

No oil light came up, so I didn't know while driving.



Remember the dipstick only measures the "top" 1L or so of oil. So if the dipstick shows empty, it doesn't mean there is literally no oil, it means there isn't enough oil to get a reading on the dipstick.

If it literally had no or bugger-all oil, the motor would have seized within a few minutes of starting, if not sooner.

Subtract what your poured in from the total capacity, that's how much oil was in there.

my 1200ish km trip from mackay to the gold coast (with a slight detour thru Monto) resulted in a avg of 10.3L/100km (a/c on, loaded up with a lot of crap)

i didnt think it was possible to get your fuel econ down *that* low in a 3.5L

(on a sidenote, the other halfs old VZ Calais (6cycl NA) used to drop into the low 5L/100 range when cruising up the free/high way - which i didnt think was possible with a motor that large... but i guess the whole constant speed means the motor isnt working hard to keep you moving)

I think my dads VX calais, supercharged 6, could see as low as 6.5/100km. Even the Holden 5.7/6lt V8's can see 6.xxl/100km on highways - hell, when you're in 5th gear (auto) or 6th gear (manual) and sitting at just a bee's ah, apendage above idle, you wont use that much fuel.

Hi, I used to drive my cars regularly between sydney and Brisbane in between driving them locally for months around town. same problem, oil level dropped. on enquiries at several mechanics and car manufacturers I found out that one gets fuel past the rings which contaminates the engine oil plus other contaminants, acids and condensation. All good reasons for regular oil changes but when you do a long run at highway speeds, the engine reaches optimal operating temperature, high, and evaporates most of the contiminants off through the pcv system. As most engines use oil in normal operation, these contaminants do not put the oil level over the top or full mark, however, when you do take a long run at high speed, the oil level drops and it looks as though you have developed a serious engine problem. In most cases not so. A monthly 100k highway drive will keep this under control. Hope this is of some help

Goodness people! Check and change your engine oils bit better in future..... I can feel the pain from those poor donks!!! :cry:
I wouldn't follow those manufacturer long service intervals - change oil when donk gets "tappy" or oil is more than 6 mth old or driven some 5-7 G km.
And use good qual synth oil.
Sigh - poor engines.