Hi second geners,

I have just joined your ranks with the purchase of a 1995 TS Executive V6 manual wagon (to join the Ralliart and 380 - now have a 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen so to speak). I have always wanted a wagon and in this case in order to take our dogs places (not nice having dogs in the back of a sedan with 3 kids).

The vehicle in question is unregistered and hasn't been started in two years. The panels are in very good nick (white) and the interior is not bad. Ok for $500 I guess?

The bad: Has 276000 km. I put in a battery tonight and started it. It started quickly but blows heaps of smoke. Also idles at about 2500rpm. Oil is dark bit no evidence of water. Coolant looks green still. Could valve stem seals cause this much smoke or could I be looking at rings and a big rebuild? I would be happy to do the seals myself but if the problem is biggger, than a second hand engine might be better. I guess a compression tests would be a start? Obviously all new fluids will be in order as long as the engine is salvageable, otherwise will be a waste of money.

Needs 4 new tyres and a few other minor things.

Cheers,

Steve

I would start with the compression test. That will tell you the most quickly. I would let it run for 10mins, see if the smoke gets less and see if the idle comes back down. After that, i honestly would take it to a mechanic and get him to assess.

v6 manual wagon - jealous! Worth the effort to maybe reco or swap the motor. Pretty handy weekend car.

Thanks. Two years is a long time for it to sit. The valve stem seals are probably as hard as rock and leaking continuously. I only ran it for two minutes using the battery from my Ralliart! Need to get it home on a trailer Friday and assess.

Must say, the feel of the bodies of these old girls is still pretty impressive. The doors shut with a nice feel. They certainly were made quite well

Will be a bit of a project.

Steve

I dont know much about your motor, as my TS is the 4banger - but i picked mine up the same way as yours - for 400bucks - similar k's, and a manual. Just as a cheap 2nd car. Mine was sitting for about 5 months. I did compression test first, then replaced rocker cover gasket, 2 tires, battery and water pump, cleaned her up a bit - and it passed rego. And its been going strong for a year now. I've only replaced a CV joint, and a put in a headunit and rear speakers.

Pretty tough cars the 2nd gen. The interiors hold up well, and its still a pretty good drive.

I bought a TS V6 wagon 5 years ago, for $1200. I know from this car that at 230,000 km they don't blow smoke, so yours will be hardened valve stem seals.
Worthwhile to pull the heads off (if the smoking continues) to check for corrosion, check valves, replace seals, etc.

Mine developed the following problems during the last 5 years: (Consider these a checklist for your car)
(1) Distributor "O" ring leaked oil into the valley.
(2) Drive shaft boots, steering rack boots perished. Tie rods replaced due to wear.
(3) Exhaust valve burnt out. (Probably because a previous owner snapped off two exhaust manifold studs on that port)
(4) Auto gearbox reluctant to change to 4th, finds a neutral instead. Only when cold, so I disengage overdrive for the first km or so. Fine after that.
(5) Needed new ball joints and front disc skim last year.

In the car's favour, the aircon (original gas fill) and heater work well, gearbox (auto) changes smoothly once warmed up, electrics all work, interior still ok.

Seeing yours is a manual, the clutch is probably fairly fresh. You might want to ask the previous owner if/when the clutch and timing belt were done.

welcome to the gen2 club.
all you need now is the best magna gen1 wagon

welcome to the gen2 club.
all you need now is the best magna gen1 wagon

I have owned a TP wagon and currently have a TS wagon. Both good cars, but I prefer the TS.

History of car is unknown. The people I bought it off purchased it 2 years ago for a learner/ p plater car but never got it registered. They bought it off someone who has now passed away, therefore the uncertain history. It does look quite clean and tidy all things considered. I backed it out of the driveway to check the clutch (to know it I can get it on a trailer) and the clutch felt good.

Air con seems to work.
Drivers window mechanism broken. Wrecker replacement in order.
Small dent in tail gate. Probably will leave this.

No major visible oil leaks, probably less than my 97000km Ralliart.

Have not looked at suspension/steering components yet but brake fluid and coolant look fairly clean, so that is promising.

If compression checks out, I'll replace the valve stem seals at home. At least only 12!

Will need 4 tyres as well.

The smoke is new to me. With all the comments about Magna's blowing smoke, our previous two never blew smoke or used oil but I always used good oil and replaced every 6-9months. Mind you this one has more kms than our other 3 cars put together!

Suzuki Swift 53000km
2002 Magna Ralliart 97000km - valve gear still looks like new, no varnish. Lots of oil changes.......
380 GT 66000km. More problems than any car we've owned before! All fairly minor though. Seems to have "stabilized"

People make comments about owning 3 cars and they turn up in their $90000 Landcruiser, worth 3 times as much as all ours put together.

Steve

In brought the car home today, changed the oil - a bit milky. I knew the engine had issues but I started it and ran it for 5 minutes. No smoke at all for the first minute of so then clouds of white smoke. Also noticed smoke coming from around the head gasket area on the front bank. Oil quite milky after the run. Head gasket by the looks of things..........Coolant doesn't look contaminated though.

It only cost a few hundred dollars so little to lose, however, what do you all think. Is it worth fixing? If its only the front bank then new head gasket with machining etc would be not so bad. Likely need valve stem seals at the same time. Otherwise, a second hand g672? There would be few of these around the area (Tamworth). I'm not interested in spending that much on it so would be interested on opinions. I am moderately handy mechanically and there is certainly no rush. The body is in great shape so wrecking would be a shame.

Steve

Good luck finding a good 6G72 at the wreckers, those engines are getting quite old now, and you don't know the history of a used one. It would still need new valve stem seals, so buying one would not provide much progress.
Pull the heads off, probably corrosion between the cooling passages and one cylinder is causing the white smoke (steam). Pull the 6 plugs and look for a red/brown/crusty deposit. Weld, skim, new stem seals, good to go.

A TS V6 manual is a rare beast, if the bodywork is good, it is worth spending money on.

I took out the front spark plugs. They don't look too bad. Light brown electrode, a bit of black oily deposit. No moisture. Took rocker cover off - only two bolts on these old girls! Lots of varnish, a tiny amount of sludge, clearly water contaminated oil. Friction surfaces seem nice and smooth.

As the king would have said: off with their heads!

Steve

good to see your putting in the time and cash to keep a non gen3 going
waiting to see a scrap it and buy a gen3 post.

No, already have a gen 3 (Ralliart with 97000km). This will be a bit of a project. Just need some more space!

space what,s that lol i have 9 magna,s at home two at my brothers and three at a mate,s no gen3,s

No gen 1's here. I do first remember riding in one new back in 1986. We had a Camira as a family car and a friend's family had a Magna. I distinctly remembering thinking how quiet and comfortable it was compared to the Camira. Not many
left around here now.

i worked in car rental,s for 20 year,s till 2007 ,drove all spec magna,s gen1 rule,s

Today's job is to move the car out of the way so I can put the battery back in my Ralliart, move the Ralliart and then roll the TS down to where it is likely to sit for the next 6 months. We are currently about to put plans in council for a 3 car garage so until then it will be in the weather. Hopefully will have some shelter by Christmas.

I have PDF workshop manuals for our other cars. Is there one available for the TS?

I have PDF workshop manuals for our other cars. Is there one available for the TS?

See my signature :)

V6 manual wagon is worth the effort i reckon. That may well be the most desired 2nd gen IMHO.

V6 manual wagon is worth the effort i reckon. That may well be the most desired 2nd gen IMHO.

I agree. I had a TS 2.6 manual sedan and a TS V6 auto wagon and one had to go because I had a TJ coming. The sedan went, even though it was younger and in better condition. V6 is better hands down, even more so if a manual.

Thanks Karj!

Maybe I should do a build thread?/

Might call it: "fixing the steam machine"

Hi Steve... I own a '96 V6 Magna wagon. An executive in white. She has a nice set of alloys on her and she's a sweet runner. I bought mine about three years ago. I paid close to four grand for her from a dealer. She only had 178,000km on the odo when I picked her up but I often wonder if anyone did a little "drill in the odo" trick on her to wind the kms back.

The positives:
-Strong brakes (disc all round)
-Body as tough as a tank...as tight as one too. Shut the doors and they "thunk" nicely
-Handles really well...safe as houses, even without airbags and ABS.
-If you push the "power" button on the tranny console she jumps like a cut snake and flies!
-Solid and durable interior
-Good space for my Staffy (which is why I bought the car in the first place...I didn't want my Staffy chewing out the interior of our TJ Solara)
-Great air-con
-Smooth idle.


The "not so goods":
-Bit heavy on the juice if you fang it and heavy overall.
-No airbag/ABS
-A bit of valve noise on a cold start which disappears after about 10 seconds (common for this engine, apparently).
-The need to change the timing belt every 100,000k
-Terrible re-sale value.

Anymore action with your wagon mate?

Nothing yet. Have been flat out with work since I got it and not much time off. Have 3 days off now so will have a bit of a look and make a list of jobs as well as getting ready to take the heads off.

Steve

An update. As predicted the wife has said the car needs to go. She has bought an i40 wagon so the the wagon requirement is now a bit null and void. I have posted it in the for sale section. Car is in Tamworth some would appeal to only a limited number of members. Otherwise to the wreckers it goes......