About a fortnight ago we took the KR Verada off the road for good. It was a complete lost cause, the steering rack failed and the car was letting off carbon monoxide like you wouldn't believe, with an imminent loss of brakes apparent when stopping. Since I had to work on the following Tuesday, and I can't drive, I bought Mum a replacement car with the last small amount of cash I could find. Ended up buying a 1998 Daewoo Nubira for $750. We quickly inspected over the car, checked the tyres, coolant level, oil levels, took it for a test drive and all was well. I was satisfied anyway.



The Problem...

On the Monday, I noticed one of the coolant hoses had come off the thermostat housing and the housing had a crack in it. I swapped the thermostat housing with a new one on the Tuesday and it went fine afterwards. On Wednesday, Australia Day, I found out that disaster had struck as I saw the temperature needle begin to climb. Narrowly avoided a blown head gasket. Turned out to be a pinhole leak in the radiator. Fair enough, sealed it back up and took it for a run. Seemed fine.

Today... the engine overheated again. On refilling the system and running the engine it seems that after fixing the thermostat housing, and the radiator, there is now coolant spraying out the back of the engine somewhere from below the EFI manifold. It lost a tank and a half (separate coolant tank on these) just driving to Elizabeth Shopping Centre and back to Elizabeth Downs. I can't easily trace the leak, and even so fixing it would require taking a fair bit of the fuel system and intake off first. Nulon's Radiator and Cooling System sealer has been powerless against it.



So now...

It's screwed. The worst part is Mum works in the city and I work at Evandale. She drops me off each day. The day's round trip from here to workplaces to schools and so on is about 2 and a half hours, which is about 18 times the run that i'm hoping the car will last for. Easy for her to train it in, but Evandale is a lot harder considering my starting time. Factor in the brother has to go back to school this week and we're in some serious shite.

I haven't a clue what to do. :( It's a case of "when doing your best just wasn't good enough", although I don't have the option to call it a day in this case. I'm only 19, but already have the primary role of supporting this family so a loss of job - and a loss of job is entirely possible knowing my manager - for the sake of a bad car would be devastating.

I've started looking at the listings for Mitsubishi Magna First and Second Gens again, because contrary to popular belief I haven't ever had an Astron II motor fail. Nothing so far. Even so i'd be topping out at about $400 maximum if I were to purchase it this week, failing the ability to pay it off or something. I have a $770 electricity bill due at the end of this week as well (we're a low to average consumption household as well, not sure what happened there) so that removes the ability to stretch on that amount.

I suppose borrowing something until the end of the week would be an option as well, at least to buy me some time, but last I checked lending out cars wasn't even close to being the in-thing these days. Maybe if it was the 70s but today... doubt it.

I could have tried to register the KF and used that as well, but it's still pending a vehicle inspection at Regency Park and I don't know how much luck, if any, i'd have of rushing that through.



Any ideas? Because i've sure as hell run out of them.

Sorry for the down note of this post but I had to do or at least ask something, and this place is the only SA specific place that I frequent. The fact you guys know about cars is a bit of a bonus as well I suppose.

On the upside, at least I now know what type of car to never, ever consider purchasing again. Shame I couldn't have picked up on that two weeks ago.

chemi weld

If my KH runs you can borrow the TR I guess? Just changed the oil too. When would you need it by?

We'll have to see, have to try taking the Nubira out tomorrow, although i'm 90% sure i'll be stranded by 5:00. If the engine self-destructs after that, i'll let you know.

Failing that, Chemiweld could do it I suppose... i'll bet though that this car has plastic fittings (at least, I wouldn't be surprised) and as such it'll be fairly well useless on it.

Can't be that hard to pull the manifold off and see where the leak is coming from. I'd persevere with it, gotta be cheaper to fix than buying another car, assuming you haven't already cooked it.
Inspect all the coolant hoses too. Replace any that have gone hard, as they will be the next to split.

iirc these engines have a plastic pipe that runs along the back of the motor into the water pump
said plastic pipes have a habit of splitting but are relatively cheap to replace on a DIY level
i'd jack it up and have a squiz from underneath

Check the coolant crossover line that connects to the back of the throttle body, this might be the problem. Apart from that I don't recall any other cooland lines back there.

Might want to get this moved to the tech chat forum aswell, you might get more ideas :)

iirc these engines have a plastic pipe that runs along the back of the motor into the water pump
said plastic pipes have a habit of splitting but are relatively cheap to replace on a DIY level
i'd jack it up and have a squiz from underneath

I can see a plastic pipe running around the back of the motor which is connected to the radiator top hose. You could be onto something here. I may have to take one of these engines apart at the wreckers when I get some free time.

Neo, actually didn't expect many tech responses for a Daewoo motor on these forums, was thinking about just swapping the car over actually (I was expecting major engine damage after the second overheating), but it could be moved to the tech forum I suppose.

Moved

See.... we do watch and listen :D

Or welch plug, heater hose... there's a few common causes on these buckets.

Opinion: spend the $400 on fixing the cooling system for the moment until you can get back on your feet. Try to find a mechanic who is understanding of your situation, and is prepared to repair only enough of the car to get it reliably back on the road for the moment. You buy a first or 2nd gen magna at such low cost, there's a high chance of it also needing some further work.

Hope all turns out for the better for you mate. :)

Also, if you need to limp around... don't fully tighten the radiator cap, so the system doesn't build up great pressure.

Moved

See.... we do watch and listen :D

:thumbsup:

I tried a shot of Bars Leaks Cooling System sealer to see if that would help the issue. Ran the engine for 15 minutes, and no leaks. Took it for the drive to work the next morning and by the time we reached Payneham Rd, it was leaking again. However it did seal the system as advertised- it sealed the radiator cap shut.

Damnit. lol

Had to use a bottle opener (the twist off clamp type, not the beer bottle style) to open it. Under the cap, who would have guessed, a completely empty coolant bottle.

$400 would probably cover the cooling system service. I can't guarantee the head gasket isn't damaged though. In addition it doesn't idle right, and hisses from the back of the engine as a result of a suspected vacuum leak. Try tracing it though, everything runs through or under something else. I wouldn't be surprised if the timing belt hasn't been changed either considering I can't find any sticker suggesting it has, and the belt has no brand names on it. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing since I can't tell what a factory fitted belt looks like. Either way the belt is $51, but if I want to do it properly and make sure it doesn't stuff up again, it's $450 for the kit.

Looks like i'll be coming away from this one $600 out of pocket. It happens. (Prefix the last two words with "Sh"). Maybe I can sell parts from it to recover the costs. Once the costs are added up for everything it needs, we're already well into 2G territory and even low end 3G Magna territory if labour is included, and labour will be included, I guarantee myself trying to change a timing belt with no prior experience would just result in 16 bent valves. (As you can tell, I have no confidence when it comes to dealing with vital components)

Chemi Weld is the worst thing you can use to be honest

The best bet is to run the car and see where the leak actually is and even try and patch it up if you can

I am sure there must be someone here on AMC that could give it a quick bo peep for you, even to give you an idea of what you need to get to fix this car, sounds weird but as much as they are a cheap heap, the Nubira is far more reliable than any astron powered magna, they use a holden engine which has been used in many generations of holden and seen the test of time

Lets hope the bars has not clogged up the rest of the cooling system and killed any hope of repair

To me, I think any hope of repair was killed the second time it overheated. Or when the catback exhaust came off. Hard to pinpoint the exact moment. Humour aside, by all means if it can be fixed on the cheap, then great, but with the exhaust in the state it is, the multiple cooling system leaks (one at the back, one at the thermostat housing, at least one but probably two in the radiator, it has more burst water mains than Adelaide) and with no guarantee the timing belt won't let go in the next 2000kms necessitating several hundreds to change it beforehand, i'm finding it really difficult to honestly want to keep this car. I still have yet to do a thorough check of the various other parts of the car, gear oils, clutch and the like as well.

Personally i'm a bit wary. If not of that Holden engine, then of this car in particular. When we had the TR a few years back, it was a general rule around the house that the Magna was never serviced, and the Chrysler got top priority. (Great rule, kudos to Dad on that one) That said the car made it up to 235,000kms before we sold it to a friend, and it's now up to 265,000kms. Broken down once for a leaking water pump at 260,000. Either we got really, really lucky with that Astron 2.6L or this A16D 1.6L has been subject to horrible neglect in the first 130,000kms of its life. I still have to reach a bitter conclusion in that i've bought what is essentially a lemon in either case though.

If I can keep it running until Saturday, which I should be able to, then i'll take a closer look.

All that said, I do appreciate your advice Mal, and the advice of everyone else in this thread and I check everything usually just minutes after reading each reply and suggestion, even if it means getting under the bonnet with a torch at 2:30 AM to look. So don't get me wrong, I did legitimately hope for a solution and i'm still getting by day by day, but it won't be until the weekend I can start making the big decisions or pulling things apart.

Side note, good to see a temporary loss of internet connection can result in an accidental double post.

You do realise that with a few bits from pick a part that the KR may not be such a lost cause, just a thought

KR needs an exhaust and power steering pump, probably heads as well, and maybe brake calipers. Suspension on the front end is a bit old but otherwise good (although maybe Pedders aftermarket struts are just a bit softer than usual).

Have been thinking about rebuilding it actually. Couple of hundred bucks and a few weeks under the bonnet... i'd need the KF Verada on the road but I think I can arrange for that to happen within the next fortnight at the most.

I hadn't considered resurrecting the KR considering the number of issues it had, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take it in and start looking at it. I don't have much to lose now anyway.

Either way you have a bit of work on your hands. Dont worry about the suspension for now, But the rest is pretty easy to fix. P/S pump $40 from wreckers, Exhaust, surely theres someone in SA wrecking a sedan who you can get one off cheap? if not, go to an exhaust shop, I've had many different cars in our local one, and for say, muffler removal, $40, or to pop in a cat with flanges about $50. Small money.
I unfortunately dont carry any SOHC parts anymore but if I did i would of sent em right up. I might still have a SOHC P/S pump though, i will need to get back to you on that one.
Vacuum leaks can be traced back easily with some soapy water in a spray bottle, give that a shot if you havent already.

Priced up some parts. It's $66 to fix the exhaust system on the Nubira, along with $66 for a radiator, $51 for a basic timing belt, and i'm not sure what other fittings need to be changed but most of those will have to be genuine since i've found reusing second hand plastic fittings is a bad move. No places other than Holden have been able to source these parts for me at this stage. If I factor in $100 for hoses and fittings (which I personally think is too low) the total would be at least $281 not counting the labour to change the timing belt, which may be needed since I would need access to model-specific tools to do it.

In contrast the Verada KR needs a brake leak fixed (probably calipers), which is $22 a corner. Exhaust manifolds are $19 per side. Power Steering Pump is $55. I would need to change the stem seals as well which is the hardest part. Timing belt is good. Cooling system is good. Tensioners are good. Standard filter/caps/leads changes will apply. Depends how hard it is to fit some of these parts on as well. Long story short, I could probably repair the old car for the same amount.

What it then depends on is fuel consumption. The 3.0L V6 was very heavy on fuel, about $20 a day (to the city and back) which is probably the result of defective fuel and ignition parts, but I don't know what the standard fuel consumption rate of the 6G72 SOHC is either. Google Maps tells me the route is 32.3kms one way, 64.6kms round trip. Doing some calculations based on 20L a day, that's 31L/100kms.

Now I know that's not right. lol What should I expect to get that figure down to by changing out the ignition and fuel system components, assuming those fix the issue?

What is needed then to get the KF up and running, surely can not be that much

Why does it need to go to the pits, was it registered in SA before or interstate. if interestate, make sure engine is clean and all they do at Regency is a number check to make sure is not stolen, have been there and done that in SA before, is not a big thing to do so long as the car looks presentable

Another possibility, if you need parts for either cars maybe source a written off nubira or magna/verada. Search pickles and you should be able to get one reasonably cheap.

What is needed then to get the KF up and running, surely can not be that much

Why does it need to go to the pits, was it registered in SA before or interstate. if interestate, make sure engine is clean and all they do at Regency is a number check to make sure is not stolen, have been there and done that in SA before, is not a big thing to do so long as the car looks presentable

Previously registered in Queensland. That's all, engine is clean, it runs well and is leak free from what I gather. It did drip once a couple of weeks back, but it has yet to do it again and the car has been run since then, oil level is spot on. Checked with the SA Department of Transport about 6 times (Paranoid much?) and the VIN number, engine number and previous plate number have checked out clean multiple times. I think it'll be fine. It has some panel damage but nothing that even comes close to suggesting structural damage, just some stuffed paint.

Valitank, your suggestion is a good one and I have considered it a number of times, but I already have 3 cars in what is essentially a 2-car driveway, which could be a problem. :P

Maybe store it for a while at a friends house if possible? Strip what you need, then sell the rest to wreckers or scrap and make some money back. Could work out very cheap!

Could you park the car to strip where you originally had the 3rd gen against the house, and the 3rd gen where it is by the gates when I last saw you, then theres room for the daewoo and 2nd gen out the front? You can still borrow my TR if you want, just to drive not to strip for parts, if not one of my girlfriends friends needs to borrow a car too, let me know if you definately don't want to and I'll lend it to them.

Well, technically it would work, but i'm still not that crazy about the idea of having 4 cars packed in there. I don't think either car needs an entire parts car worth of parts, and since I may hopefully be moving out of here in a few months time (fingers crossed it's closer to Firle) the fewer full cars I can pile up, the better. Doesn't seem like such a huge issue if I don't considering the cheapest wrecker in Adelaide is 5 minutes up the road.

Some good news is that i've stopped having to fill it up every half day, it does the full day's travel on whatever's in the radiator. Probably more, but i'm not about to risk it. Top it up at night and it's good to go for the next day. Now I just need to make this last another week or so. I think I can pull it off.

TiMi, if someone else needs your car for a while then by all means, I wouldn't want to stop you from doing so purely because our car happens to have mood (or temp) swings. I don't think it's going to get much worse from here, and it's usable for now. Worst case scenario i'll stick my head under the bonnet of the Nubira at the wreckers and see if I can grab a few things off it.