Hi all,
I just joined up due to picking up a white 1996 Magna TS wagon V6 auto....nothing flashy, just the thing to get me to work, uni, I can park in shopping centre car parks and tow my motorbikes with it. Its in pretty good condition, 180,000 km, LPG, super cool air con... all I need really with 3 sweet bikes in the shed I guess! Picked it up yesterday in typical Adelaide 35 degree weather, cranked up the aircon and it goes really well! Only thing I noticed is that at traffic lights in drive with foot on the brake it really rumbles like low idle, being new to autos I thought it might stall so popped it into Neutral till the lights go green, is this normal for higher Kms TS V6's? Ill be in it tomorrow for a bit so ill leave it in Drive at lights and see- I think itll be fine.
So to those of you with TS's with higher Ks what tends to go wrong? I will get a proper service on it , past is a bit patchy.... so is taking it to a Mitsi dealer a bit over the top at this stage, or taking it to Kmart auto for example a bit more sensible for age of car and price of servicing?
Thanks

Hey,
Welcome.
You've got yourself a great, reliable old car there.
I have a 1994 white TS sedan with over 250,000 on its original engine and transmission running dual fuel (LPG).
They are very reliable IF they are looked after. You might want to take it to your local LPG specialist as that can sometimes get "out of sorts". No big deal, just maintenance. The mechanic shoud just check the gas mix and possibly make a couple of minor mixture adjustments to sort it out.
Are you running it as dual fuel or gas only? This does make a difference with some cars.
A general health check for the engine and a transmission service would probably be money well spent.
It's great to see others enjoying the 2nd generation of Magnas. They do seem to go forever if you get a good one and look after it.
Let us know how it goes.

Welcome. I've only recently (couple of months) joined the Magna bandwagon, I got a nifty TH Exec. It's a 3rd gen, although they all drive similarly. Goes fantastically, does the job, and packs a bit of punch if you need it ;)

Mine rumbles a bit too in Drive when it's stopped, which I can only put down to something requiring adjustment, or me just being used to higher-end fancier cars. Still pleased with it.

The_Guru, I use the petrol to start it up then switch it to gas, I had a nice TE v6 with gas a few years back and that did it all for you, youd start it up and it would start on petrol then automatically switch to gas. Before that I had a Vk V8 commodore performace pack that I specially built up with gas heads ported polished etc ran full time LPG- at 4.5 k a litre kinda had too!
This TS runs OK on petrol maybe a miss occuring on take off at the moment gona have a look tomorrow maybe injector cleaner will help, but gas is smooth and powerfull! Id like to go thru plugs and leads but as the gas is running so well Im inclined to think they are in a good state, once again older fuel, I did get it from a car yard could have been sitting round a while! Im totally up for maintenance so Ill get it looked over next week- does the TS require the Diamond trans fluid or is that for later models?

I've owned a TS V6 for a few years. Bought at 230,000 km.
Repairs so far:
Rebuilt drive shafts.
Skimmed front discs.
New front ball joints.
Cylinder heads rebuild with new seals due to a burnt exhaust valve.
New steering rack boots.

Generally reliable, although overdrive in the gearbox often fails to engage when cold, or within 200 meters after starting hot.
Lots of stuff is original, exhaust system, starter and alternator, aircon gas for example.

Hope this helps when you have a look under the car.

In regards to placing it in neutral at the lights, whats people's opinions on this? Is it better to leave it in drive and let it grumble or click it up into neutral and then click it back to drive before giving it any revs (no powershifting at the lights) :) I sometimes feels to me as if the car is 'fighting itself' when left in drive with my foot on the brake.

oh nearly forgot, the stereo has been replaced by a sony CD deck that is actually quite well installed i must say.... but that means no immobiliser too I have central locking that I believe is factory that works at the lock on the door however on the key ring there is a key pad fob 1 button, no way of opening it up to get to the battery, and it doesnt work ie doesnt activate the locks. So is the key pad stuffed and can I replace it or is because the radio is gone and the immobiliser with it the key pad wont work with the central locking ? bit confused

Cool buy. I've got a 4 banger TS manual that i use as my commute car. Good solid thing, though i wish it were a 6. Has 290,000 on the clock now. Still drives really well. Actually thats one thing i've noticed about old magnas - its how smooth they drive for an old car. Keep looking after it, and it will look after you.

I leave my car in drive when stop at traffic lights.

Me too.

As you can get a faster take off when lights go green. Er no hooning I swear :)

This 'rumble'???
Is it a noise, or a noise associated with vibration through the coloumn and dash?

SHOOT, the 'rumble' is more about the revs being so low that it is trying to stall.... turn the a/c off and up the idle goes, turn the a/c on and down it goes to nearly stalling! its fine every where else when driving, switch the a/c on while idling and there is a noticible drop in the revs.

It's a good idea, starting on petrol, then, when it reaches normal operating temperature (so that the evaporator is working efficiently) then switching over to LPG.
If your LPG mix is a little bit out it can cause the low revs under load (when you put the A/C on). Too lean and it can't carry the load. It's not a lead, or plug issue. It's not bad fuel.
I don't think the remote was standard, so you're on your own there. Good luck with that one. My TS is an SE (not a Verada so I'm not certain about the remote).
If your idle speed fluctuates I have an idea or 2, but if it is constant, just struggling, I would get the LPG mix checked. Seriously, it should take about 5 mins at an LPG mechanic to sort out.

SHOOT, the 'rumble' is more about the revs being so low that it is trying to stall.... turn the a/c off and up the idle goes, turn the a/c on and down it goes to nearly stalling! its fine every where else when driving, switch the a/c on while idling and there is a noticible drop in the revs.

Sounds like a prob with the idle up motor. Mine does the same thing to exactly what you've described.