Got a mate looking into buying a manual 4 cyl TS with 85,000 on the clock. I was wondering that servicing costs are like considering the next one or the one after will have the timing belt replaced. I know my service cost around the 800 mark for a TF V6. Anything obvious he needs to keep an eye out for?

Yeah tell him a V6.

Manual or auto the V6 is a much better car than the 2.6 fours.

The TS 4 cyl has a chain, bloddy expensive to change, i got mine changed at 150,000 km. When that gets changed you should get a new oil pump aswell and that sets you back close to $1000, or probably more, i cant remember as i had used car waranty up to $1000 and i got my injectors cleaned at the same time,

Actually i just loked at the receipt and it was $1400 for chain, pump, injector clean and service. That was prob overpriced by the way cause the place i had to take it charges too mch

Timing Chain kits for the 4cyl cost $130-$160. This includes; Timing Chain (2 chains), Balance shaft chain (single chain), and guides....not sure whether u get the lash adjusters, i think u do.
Labour is what stings u in the ass for this work. If you know someone who can do it then yur laughing.

$1400 for the work that u described is wayyyyyyyy too high.

Yep they are chain driven. But because it is a hellishly long chain they require replacing as often as belts. About every 100,000. Some will get more km's out of there's.

Price wise remember labour is going to kill you as the motor will be taken out by the mechanic to make life easier for them. (I'm sure there's going to be some gynocologist who could do it with taking it out :bowrofl: )

Tell your friend to have it checked by a mechanic who REALLY knows 4 cylinder Magna's and can give a quote for it's problems. This will help in talking down the price.

I'd check for any tapping noises from the top end. grinding noises from the chain, water pump noises and bubbling in the radiator (cracked head or blown head gasket) check for any smoke from the exhuast. A good idea is to get it to operating temperture and stop on level ground. Hold the accelerator for a minute at quick idle (no more than 1500RPM) then give it a good hard rev. If blue or white smoke comes out buy something else.

Out of interest I scored my engine rebuild for $1400 when the head blew. A replacement head was $1200 odd so it was a no brainer really.

Oh and always check the head liner at the windscreen for water damage as it indicates and serious problem.

Above all good luck.

I have bought and sold a heap of tr and ts 4cls over the years. I find they are a pretty well made car and I also have found they often require little work for resale. (big leap forward from the gen1)

rust isn't that common but it does occur check around the windscreen and rear window and also around the taillights and wagon rear windows. check sills, floors and front support rails for hits and damage, check for rattles in the passenger seat backrest.(very annoying). engine mounts-the one between block and firewall and the top front fail often. does it have a full service history, especially coolant changes every 2 years. if the radiator has water or rusty muck in it don't bother with it, (i have one apart atm because of this, head service and new welch plugs)
I have found that the life on the timing chain varies depending on how the car is serviced and driven. I have seen them last the intended 250-300'000km. and others rattle and even fail at under 200'000km, if it doesn't rattle and your friend keeps up the oil changes and uses quality filters it should last the life of the motor (mitsu's theory anyway). i have looked at timing chain replacement in a gen 2 and unlike a gen one there doesn't appear to be enough clearance to remove the timing case in chassis,you can't get the engine mount plate off the timing case. on a gen 1 with a/c timing chain replacement is a 9 hour job in the vacc repair time books. so $450 labour @ $50/hr. expect a lot more if the engine has to come out. The biggest problem is oil pump failures i've seen a few 4cyl magnas that have had oil pump or pump drive chain failure and destroyed the motor. they also have a habit of blocking the oil pickup. also the lifters can get noisy. idle speed control motors can fail and the seal in the distributor can fail letting oil in the distributor, also check the boot on the distributor/cas plug for wear and corrosion. If your friend is looking at a 4cly auto for the fuel economy, don't! you will be lucky to get over 500km out of a fill in an 4cyl auto magna (except te) manual TS's get about 600-700km a tank.
6cly auto magnas, falcons and conformadore of the era use about the same amount of fuel as the 4 cyl auto magna.

Pretty much everything has already been said..
I agree that a 4cyl Auto is CRAP on fuel economy... you get better in a V8!!!
you are better putting in origional guides when you do a timing chain change... origional ones just seem to last longer.
Parts are not too bad .... just labour costs...
My mate and I can change out the timing chains etc in around 6 hours... you dont have to remove the engine. ... heck you can get away without removing the head in a lot of cases as well.
Remember that the TR/TS is a heavy car... compared to the TM-TP and they have a similar motor.. the main difference is the size of the plenum inlet chambers... these got bigger on some of the later cars.
there were also a few "special" motors... generally they had black rocker covers... they have a better head on them and have more power... (I have only ever seen ONE!... )
Oh and 85k on the clock............. You are kidding me right?
the car would be a 93-95 model... so that is 9-10yo... so that means 9.5k-10k per year!!!!...
(This is even better than a little old granny who only drives the car to church on Saturdays... :D) thats only 25km/day ( I do 100km/day :( )
Look at the wear on the clutch pedel and brake pedal.... see if the rubber has been worn down and by how much...
On a car of only 85k then you should see some wear but not through to teh metal or flush...
on a higher KM car you will see it to the metel and not much left.
you need to see previous rego forms (they will have KMs on it) to see if the KMs are for real.
check the CVs (check the boots to make sure that they are not cracked/split... and if they are then replace them asap. boots and grease are only $18 each... new CVs $300 for the pair.)
Depending on how much they want for it... Id still consider a TE if he can.
The TE uses a belt instead of a chain... and my TE manual has a bunch of get up and go.
(oh and I will be selling it soon with or without mods)
Haydn

Price wise remember labour is going to kill you as the motor will be taken out by the mechanic to make life easier for them. (I'm sure there's going to be some gynocologist who could do it with taking it out )


DEFINATLEY dont need the motor out to do this, last time i had it done, cost me 500 bux, not to bad but they did an absolutley crap job of it, (this was one of thoes times i couldnt be bothered doing it myself, never again)

Well said Benau.

BTW I recently took a brand new BA XR8 out for a couple of days.

The fuel economy was better than the Magna's. :redface:

TR 10-15 L/100km

BA 12.9-14.3 L/100km same driving style as the TR got me in the 12's with the BA !

I think it's because the 4's have to pull such a heavy car ?

Hey guys, just purchased a 95 TS 2.6L with 250,000kms on it.

And just had a service just to make sure everything is ok.

But im just wondering how often do we need to service the car?

every 10 thousand is fine, every 5 thousand if your ultra fussy.

oh ok... and what is involved?

change all fluids? all filters and spark plugs? and brakes?

I havent really serviced a car myself but would like to get involved...

And what are the BEST parts/brands to use for a 95 TS...