Hello everyone!

I bought a 92 Magna TR SW about 2 months ago, and travelled from Grafton (NSW) to Darwin with it.
I did a radiator and oil flush, fixed a leak on a radiator hose, changed the tyres.

There are still quite a lot of things that are far from perfect (old and very soft suspension, noise in the gearbox, possible problem with the alternator,...) but the most urgent work would be my rh front brake and CV joint.

The first makes a hell of a grinding noise when I drive and brake (I am not sure whether the rod or the disk[or both] need replacing, obviously the pads do), the latter is "simply" broken.

I really don't know much about that kind of repairs and am VERY low on money, so I call for the Magna owners in and around Darwin for an advice about a good mechanic to whom I can turn to, that would not try to take advantage of my lack of knowledge in this trade, and who would be willing to help me do the repair in a safe but cheapest way as possible (maybe get parts at wreckers...)

My situation is not easy, I travel with my girlfriend, but we had to stop in Darwin to find a job (which we haven't got yet) and are sleeping in our car near a lake since we got here :D

Anyway, I will go in a few garages and wreckers today to get a better idea of the prices (I have seen one already who told me $ 5-600 for the rods, pads and labour, but I am not sure he meant just for the rh side, or if changing both sides is "mandatory" and goes without saying)
But I don't really know about the prices for CV joints.

Thanks in advance for any advice, it will be much appreciated. I don't want to lose this nice car that allowed usto travel 8000 ks quite comfortably.

Cheers !

mate want a good mech in darwin only few places to go.. peckys is the number one... mate aint gonna get any better in darwin trust me lived there most my life... only moved to melbourne 2yrs ago.. feel free to pm me with anything u wanna know bout the place...can hook you up with just about anytthing

well peckys is good and very honest.. wont charge you for what you dont need and wont charge you a different rate if you are clueless to cars.. is a very well known mech in darwin... and works on prob 80% of any hotted up car in darwin

want cheap you can try redline preformance...

want dodgy C&H autoline. talk to wayne..

HighTech is also not to bad but is more in to the rotarys

Thanks to all of youse for your answers, especially Headake for all your advices.
I'll go to Pecky's tomorrow and ask there, but if he's as good as you say, I guess he'll be booked up for a while, and I have only waited for too long already.
These problems are really holding me back on my search for a job, as I try not to drive too much atm.
Still, I drove to Palmerston today and asked at Ultra Tune, which may have a slot for me this week, and their prices seem "reasonnable". (about $700 for the 4 brakes pads / Disks machining, and a new shaft for the CV joints)

I'll go and check at Redline Perf as well, and I hope I won't need to try the dodgy one :D
And I won't hesitate to pm you if I need to know something else about the city, it's just that my internet access is limited, for instance I am now on the carpark of Palmerston McDonald's :D

Thanks for the welcoming, but I won't be a NT member for very long, I'll probably stay till the end of august max, my gf and I are travelling, and we have still many things to see in Oz before we leave :)

Cheers !

mate my dad gets his mazda serviced and looked after at the ultra tune in palmerston... he says they are good... is old and picky so thumbs up there

stay clear of anything kerrys... really... dont buy a car off them or get it worked on there.. kerry holden kerry nissan kerry anyhting dont touch them

How mechanically minded are you? if not then ignore this otherwise read on

Changing brake pads is not that hard, I don't know much about 2nd gens but on my 3rd gen its easy and shouldn't be any different.
Do it yourself costs (approx based on 3rd gen parts as a reference ):
Brake Pads Front & Rear $100
new discs front & rear: $240
Tool Set: $70
Brake Piston compressor (makes life easy): $30
Magna Haynes Manual: $60 (step by step guide)
you may also need a jack, wd40

Changing CV joints is a PITA if you're not used to fixing cars.

Changing the pads is easy as taking the wheel off, undoing 2 brake caliper bolts, replace discs, compress piston, replace pads and put it back together. Advantage of the above is you now have tools for your next repair

Having said that as you're messing around with your brakes you need to have some level of confidence and be handy with a spanner as you don't want to get it wrong.

One thing I just thought of with getting it repaired is to ask for a written quote that way you limit the nasty phone call or when you go to pick the car up they mysteriously charge you for other things that needed repair, at least that way you can say this is what you quoted me on paper and that's all I can afford.

If you intend on keeping the car buying the Haynes manual will be well worth the money as you can then do the service yourself and fix various other things.

I might be able to help you out by replacing your pads, but cv's are outta my league. Try Auto Kare in Coconut Grove too.

BTW, saw you car down at Lake Alexander the other day, parked at backpacker village. Haha.

I just went to Pecky's today, and as I tought they are booked up for a couple of weeks, as is Top End which they advised me to go to.
I then stopped at NT Auto Repairs, and after talking with John there, he has been able to squeeze me in as early as tomorrow morning. He seemed nice when we talked and I'm sure he'll be able to give me some advices about the other things I'll have to worry about. When I was at Ultra Tune yestie, I saw their mechanics where quite young, and seemed a bit careless, singing around and stuff :D And I prefer to go with an experienced mechanic (Well, he could also be more experience at cheating then, but I'll risk it :)
Anyway, the price is the same, about 700$ for the 4 brakes (Bendix pads and machining), plus a new drive shaft, gearbox oil and labour.

@Bparfait: Thanks for all the tips, but I really wouldn't feel confident to do it myself yet. If I can have a look when they work on it tomorrow I'll probably be able to do it next time. Anyway, I'll come back to your post when I need to. And I will really consider buying the manual, can I get that in shops like Supercheap, Automart and stuff, or do I have to order it ?

@Rulke: Thank you very much for the proposition mate, but I'll go with the mechanic this time, as I really need to have it all fixed asap (I don't want my shaft to break when I drive,as a friend told me it happened to him :D )
And it is very possible that you saw me at the Lake (which is actually FRENCH backpacker village, I feel that I'm back in France and that really annoys me but I don't have a choice) even though there are a few magnas SW. Mine's a white one, with NSW rego and posters on the back windows. Come say hi [or Bonjour, you may also need to bring your passport, the carpark is in the process of becoming an extension of our embassy) if you drop by there again, I've got warm white goon and water :D !

Cheers all !

I borrow the book from the local library when I need it believe it or not.... otherwise places like autoone and repco should sell them.

All right, so I got my brakes and my drive shaft fixed today.
Actually, my front disks were quite fine, but my rh rear one had lost about 50 % of its width, quite scary, but still much less than what my bank account lost today :D...

Now, I need to get a hold on a kind of "cap" for my gearbox (the part that is the closest to the rh brake, behind a panel), as mine is cracked and leaking... But the mechanic warned me that they could be difficult to find as most of the magnas are auto, he was quite surprised to see a manual :)

Oh, and I'd also need an alternator, mine is apparently overcharging my battery, cause it to overheat and actually steam at times (also, that seems to "confuse" my power inverter when I use it while driving)

So I guess I'll have to go and check at the wreckers, before leaving the city next week, and go try my luck around Broome to find a job.

Again, thanks to all of you for your answers, I'll definitely come back to thee forum whenever I need a tip ;)

Cheers all !

ha ha havent been in darwin long then have you if your unsure about an aj

ARMY JERK.


Oh i c i only really spend weeks at a time up here.