Immortalities totally random thread

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immortality
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

Replaced the bonnet struts this morning and a slightly longer belt on the supercharger. The old belt just fit but the tensioner was at max travel and when I removed the belt today the rubber coating on the outside of the belt was breaking up and depositin chunks on the idler pulleys. Now running a 6pk1775 belt which has the tensioner sitting right on the first mark of the operating range. Even if I drop a pulley size it should still be good to go.
immortality
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Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:31 pm
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

Got the car today so it was time to tackle the leaking PS pump. Quiet some time ago when I scrapped our old VS I had kept the PS pump as I had re-kitted it at some stage however the VS had regular power steering where as the VX has the fancy variatronic type PS steering system fitted.

Anyway, I removed the pump from the VX and compared to the VS one, Physically they are the same on the outside.
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Time to find the major difference, The standard PS system controls the pressure at the pump, the variatronic PS system control the pressure with a solenoid in the steering rack.
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On the left is the valve from the variatronic pump and on the right the pressure control valve from the standard PS system. So I swapped the valve from the VX pump into the VS pump and fitted it into the Calais.

Refitted the reservoir, filled and bled the system and gave the engine/bay a bit of a clean and took her for a quick test drive.
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Unfortunately it looks like the WP is on it's way out and has a little play in it (the giveaway was the tension bouncing a little when the engine is running), I've got a new thermostat on it's way so it looks like I'll be doing a coolant system flush and WP/thermostat once it arrives. This weekend I'll be doing it's 220,000km service, oil change and spark plugs and if I have time the transmission filter and fluid change.
immortality
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

Fuck me, I just filled up the old girl and 98 was 2.559/L. Didn't even manage to fill the tank when the bowser cut off at $150 card limit.....
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Gareth
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by Gareth »

do you mean $2.50nz per litre??? :wtf:
According to chemistry, alcohol is a solution...
immortality
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

NZ$2.55.9 or really $2.56
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by vlad01 »

wow wtf. And I thought Aussie petrol prices were fucked.
I'm the director of VSH (Vlad's Spec Holden), because HSV were doing it ass about.
immortality
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

Yep, it's shit. Last month we got a 11.5c regional fuel tax to help pay for local infrastructure due to decades of under funding from both local and central government and then last week they increased the fuel excise tax 3.5c nation wide for the same reason on a national basis. I kinda agree that it needs doing but it sucks when you fill up.

Guess I'm gonna have to work on improving economy in the cars. I've been real slack in really getting the VX tuned properly and have just left it to the O2's to do the work but you can see it vary day to day.
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delcowizzid
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by delcowizzid »

Even with the Auckland fuel tax we are still paying more down here you guys had it cheap for too long lol
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immortality
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

That's because we have Gull up here. When they came prices dropped big time in Auckland.

So yesterday whilst doing the PS pump I had a twinge in the lower back, nothing out of the norm for me. Today I can't stand up straight and haven't managed to get anything done as planned. Regular drugs and stretching hasn't helped at all either.
immortality
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Re: Immortalities totally random thread

Post by immortality »

Only one small mod today.
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Fitted the 20% UD PS pulley I still had from our old VS. Was a bit of stuffing around, I calculated the length of the new belt required (6pk2885) but seems it wasn't available, the longest anyone had locally was a 6pk2870. My solution was to fit a slightly smaller diameter idler pulley between the WP and AC pump which bought the required belt length back to 2872...

With the UD pulley fitted the PS is a little heavier, but seeing as the facny variatronic PS system fitted in the Calais makes the steering ridiculously light, to the point of having no feedback I see this as an improvement :) now to see if the missus notices the difference?

Also encountered a weird tuning issue on the weekend. I modified the tune a little (playing with shift points and TCC lockup), burnt the tune to a chip but no go. Tried it twice. Went through this morning and tried a few different things and it seems the .bin file was corrupted somehow? The giveaway was when writing the chip it behaved normally until about 50% was written and then the 2nd half wrote a lot quicker, almost like there was no data there? Not sure what happened but ended up starting with a totally stock tune file and then copying over all my changes. That wrote fine on the chip and the engine fired right up.
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