We have a Magna Advance 2000 V6. I've had some pretty expensive repairs recently that basically involved changing spark plugs and cleaning up the rocker cover. I guess I'm reasonably handy around the house but have shied away from tampering with the Magna because it looks imposing. The recent repairs were so expensive because they had to take off manifolds etc. I have a Haynes guide but there aren't a lot of photos so even that looks a little imposing. So how difficult is this car to service? I've also been told that fiddling with this car upsets the computer and that causes other problems so if anyone can set me straight on this, I'd really appreciate this. Haven't found many videos on magnas so if there's anything out there, would appreciate knowing where.

When i got my verada i had 0 experience with car maintenance of any kind. Once it started misfiring and stuff i just searched the forum and found it would probably be a spark/lead/distributor problem so searched the forum some more for info on taking off the plenum, and ended up changing everything myself(no way i was paying someone for these things). Took me maybe 4 hours start to finish to take the plenum off, change rocker cover gaskets/spark tube seals/all 6 plugs/leads, then put the plenum back on. Theres a number of other things i am going to do myself very soon(trans flush/brake pad change).

Basically, anyone who thinks Magnas are super hard probably haven't searched this forum, though i guess they can be time consuming due to odd placement of stuff(from what i've heard, have no experience with any other car).

We have a Magna Advance 2000 V6. I've had some pretty expensive repairs recently that basically involved changing spark plugs and cleaning up the rocker cover. I guess I'm reasonably handy around the house but have shied away from tampering with the Magna because it looks imposing. The recent repairs were so expensive because they had to take off manifolds etc. I have a Haynes guide but there aren't a lot of photos so even that looks a little imposing. So how difficult is this car to service? I've also been told that fiddling with this car upsets the computer and that causes other problems so if anyone can set me straight on this, I'd really appreciate this. Haven't found many videos on magnas so if there's anything out there, would appreciate knowing where.

Expensive? How much?
I changed front and rear spark plug tube seals, 6 platinum spark plugs and rocker cover gaskets for a princely sum of about $70 in parts.
It was my first time doing this job.
I'm not a mechanic, I'm definitely in the "fiddling with my car" category, haven't had any problems afterwards.

Pfft, I've found the Magna to be a really easy car to service and maintain. Engine maintenance is dead easy (I just don't want to do the trans fluid myself though because I cbf..). Did engine oil myself, dead easy. If something fails, it's either a common fault or an easy fix (usually).

I've had my TH running low on OIL (not sure for how long, checked it before a long trip and shat my dacks) topped it up, no worries.

Engine was making a grinding noise when accelerating, turned out the trans was low on fluid. Topped it up, good as gold.

Engine made a griding noise at a certain RPM, some guy didn't tighten a screw properly and the camshaft gear on the side of the block was rubbing against the block.

Very reliable cars. They'll start playing up if you mistreat them long enough (read: engine oil.. pfft don't need that) but if you maintain them and look after them, and show a bit of car, they'll easily live to see 300,000km or more.

Madmax, where did you get the parts so cheap. I just did the rocker cover gaskets/seals and aftermarket prices varied fron about $60 to $140 a set & genuine about $195. Are you sure you got six platinium plugs in that price, as well.

Tigerzen, don't be afraid of the magna. Repairs are not that daunting although the timing belt change can be daunting the first time although I did that OK. You just need plenty of time and a space off the street to put the car. Most of the work on all car brands is spent cleaning the parts and cleaning yourself.

Madmax, where did you get the parts so cheap. I just did the rocker cover gaskets/seals and aftermarket prices varied fron about $60 to $140 a set & genuine about $195. Are you sure you got six platinium plugs in that price, as well.

$60 - $140 a set? Where from??? I'm with MadMax, mine are purchased from Repco for $35 - $40 each. My car is a gen 2 so it may be cheaper but I don't think so.

With regard to servicing, I'd definitely suggest to give it a shot yourself rather than paying a mechanic $100 per hour.

Thanks guys, that's all really positive. Do you guys use books to help you or are you just mechanically inclined? The statement made by the mechanic is that these cars are more expensive to service because you have to move many parts out of the way to get to eg spark plugs (3 back ones). Is this correct or is he just pulling my chain?

Strange, I charge $27 for a full rocker cover gasket set

Again, your mechanic either is scared of a Manga or not interested in working on it.

As a guide, and lets face it spark plugs are NOT repairs, they are service items either way

Rocker cover gasket front will set you back $100 fitted
Rocker cover gasket rear will set you back $130 fitted
Remember this is for parts AND labour

If you want to do your sparkplugs while at it then this can be done if needed

Second gen gasket kits are generally cheaper yes.

Servicing yourself is fine to an extent but do you know what to check to make sure everything is fine, sure do the odd oil change yourself but do get the car looked over now and again. Heck do you go to your mate to get your teeth checked or do you get your GF's mum to act as your doctor :)

When I bought my Magna, I thought the rear plugs and rocker cover gasket would be a massive pain in the rear end, but once I took it off once (I followed the manual) I was less hesitant and then I found out my own way of how to do it and realised it was a since. Magna's are not hard, I went from not knowing anything about them to doing my oil, plugs, gaskets, belts, tappets and recently just helped my mate remove my motor. Something like my timing belt and water pump I might leave to my mechanic but that only gets done every 100000k's.

Engine made a griding noise at a certain RPM, some guy didn't tighten a screw properly and the camshaft gear on the side of the block was rubbing against the block.


Mine is making a mild grinding noise on acceleration between 1000 & about 1200 rpm & it's more noticeable when the car is cold (i let it warm for at least 30secs when i start it).
Funnily enough i didnt notice it before i had the new exhaust put on...

Mine is making a mild grinding noise on acceleration between 1000 & about 1200 rpm & it's more noticeable when the car is cold (i let it warm for at least 30secs when i start it).
Funnily enough i didnt notice it before i had the new exhaust put on...

check trans fluid, oil level. pop bonnet, listen for where the noise comes from when revving?

Parts costs:

Rockauto.com

Actual prices paid recently (a single delivery):

These parts are not needed straight away, just to add to my stock of spares. lol

Parts for 3.5L:
$2.19 per spark plug, NGK pregapped platinum tipped. 6 BKR5EGP bought.
$26.67 for Felpro rocker cover gaskets (2) and plug tube seals (6).
$21.79 cam belt, goodyear 40287.
$11.53 WIX air filter.
$37.09 DENSO plug wire set.

Lancer:
$18.51 for Lancer cam belt.

$ AU 193 all up, delivered by FedEx to my front door in 5 days.

Doing my first ever cam belt change on my TJ at 111,000 km for the princely sum of about $40 (about $20 for the belt and roughly the same for postage) brought a smile to my face. lol

Mechanically minded? Must be, I've been fiddling with motorbikes and cars since I was old enough to get a license. What I know and can do comes from reading manuals, I'm the "odd one out" in my family, had no one looking over my shoulder to help. Found out I enjoyed it and it escalated from there.
(I do believe my father tried to hang wallpaper once and gave up on that job. lol)

i might have a go at the rocker cover gaskets myself...maybe! lol

check trans fluid, oil level. pop bonnet, listen for where the noise comes from when revving?

what is the proper way to check auto trans fluids? as i mentioned before it only occurs between 1K & 1.2K on acceleration...

check trans fluid, oil level. pop bonnet, listen for where the noise comes from when revving?

Shine a torch down on the drive belts - if they vibrate wildly when the noise occurs, they just need tightening.

Shine a torch down on the drive belts - if they vibrate wildly when the noise occurs, they just need tightening.

ill check them out - would be great if someone knowledgeable in magnas lived on the gold coast :)

Rockauto.com

My old Wagon is coming up for it's 400,000 service and I'll be getting the parts from the USA(probably rockauto) and getting my local guy to do the work although I might get a compression test done first to see how the engine is doing.

Unfortunately Madmagna is on the other side of town to me or I'd have him service my wagon.

ill check them out - would be great if someone knowledgeable in magnas lived on the gold coast :)

I second that. :D

what is the proper way to check auto trans fluids? as i mentioned before it only occurs between 1K & 1.2K on acceleration...

Can't remember if engine oil has a specific guideline, but transfluid should be checked when hot (go for a 20 min drive, enough to get the engine to operating temp) then check trans fluid. I think mine was lower than the minimum. This was causing the engine to make a grinding noise at around 3k RPM I think it was.

It was trans fluid in mine. Just bought a 1 or 2 litre bottle, topped her up. protip, remove the stupid air snorkel. I spent half a hour trying to manuver the squeezy bottle around the snorkel and eventually filling it only to find "oh crap, I can remove that!" (I knew it was removable, I'd done it a million times)

My old Wagon is coming up for it's 400,000 service and I'll be getting the parts from the USA(probably rockauto) and getting my local guy to do the work although I might get a compression test done first to see how the engine is doing.

Unfortunately Madmagna is on the other side of town to me or I'd have him service my wagon.

:) I have ppl come from as far as wa for work so the other side of town is not actually that far to get a proper job done. The only actual issue here is that I don't fit supplied parts :)

Fair enough too. Most mechanics have their own favourite brands with reliability they can trust. Nothing worse than fitting a part from a customer, getting problems with it, then getting into an argument whether the problem is labour or part related.

Rock auto parts are strictly DIY for that reason.

I looked around for the rocker cover set and eventually went to Supercheap who had a few different brands from $30 to $70 per bank. I purchased the $30 set (x2 = $60) which I think were Protex from Brisbane. Repco was $45 or $48 plus the staff at my local Repco leave a lot to be desired so I try not to buy from them. My Mitsu dealer (who is quite good) sold the gaskets & spark tube seals separately which added up to quite a lot.

My Mitsu dealer (who is quite good) sold the gaskets & spark tube seals separately which added up to quite a lot.

One problem I've found with dealer parts is that their stock can be quite old and can have a short service life once on the car. Bought $30 drive shaft boots from the dealer, failed within a short time. $15 boots from the local car parts shop did much better. Worth checking rubber parts from a dealer for hardening, surface cracks etc.