Gooner II V6 - Reliable motoring at its finest*

[SiC]

Fronts will be the Dunlops. I did have the tracking realigned when I had them put on. Can't remember the mileage, but I would have likely replaced them shortly after the MOT I had done in 2016. So going by the mileage differences it's probably done 11k on those fronts - which isn't bad imo for a heavy FWD V6. Dunlops makes the trade for quietness and grip but are softer and hence wear faster. Wear on the edges could well be down to the weight on the tyres when cornering due to that heavy lump up front and power being forced through them. Or could be the top-mount worn that is causing uneven wear?

 

Which cylinder is misfiring? Hopefully not the back bank, as thats a bit of a pia to get to them. DIY-able, but require the intake manifold off. Once off, the coils are easy to get to. A lot easier though than DollyWobblers Rover 45 V6. The front coils are just under that cover and a piece of cake to get to. Spark plugs I think I replaced them all with the expensive and correct platinum jobbies too when I had it? Should be in the receipt pile if so. Coil failing is pretty common on these V6s. Cheap and easy to get hold of too.

[406V6]

In my experience the coil packs first give trouble with heat, either when running or when restarting after standing with a hot engine. Never after a cold start. You need to read the fault code to find which cylinder gives the trouble.

 

Regarding tyres, the fronts on mine with the same engine go 30k+ before needing replacement, providing the alignment is OK. Edge wear says an alignment check is needed.

[SiC]

The one that failed on me the engine had been running for 5-10mins before it started misfiring. As I was going to work, I just ignored it at the time... 5 cylinders is still enough to drive on.

(Admittedly it only misfiring under load so I kept off full throttle)

 

Laguna is a rather different chassis to the 406, so will wear differently. I also won't deny, I did like driving it hard. If the tyres weren't scrabbling and squealing I took it as I wasn't trying hard enough...

[beko1987]

Yea I had the same wheels and tyres on both of my laguna's and the edges of the fronts were slightly worn at the end after probably 25k. I do go round lots of long sweeping bends quite fast daily though, and I think the tyres were those magical non wearing ones as they looked the same when I scrapped the silver one as the did on the blue one the day I collected it from Kiltox

[beko1987]

But then I half wore a pair of Uniroyal rain experts in 9k in a zx so as said, it all depends on the compound!

[Minimad5]

V6 Laguna, these things are surprisingly quick.

Luke has one, and honestly .... I like it !

Great load muggers in Estate form, just that gearbox is a tad on the delicate side.

[SiC]

Nothing inherently wrong with the AW55 gearboxes themselves on these really. At least the ones in the Phase II. Biggest problems were sorted out on the really early models - mostly the Volvo's these units were put in. By far the most major issue with the gearboxes is actually just the manufacturers service schedule.

 

Aisin Warner who designed these boxes specified a service interval on which the fluid should be changed. Saab implemented this into their service plans on their AW55 equipped cars. When the fluid is changed on them, they last along time. Iirc it's like 72k/5 years.

 

However Volvo (Geartronic) and Renault decided to not do this and specify that the gearbox is "filled for life". Life turned out to be something around 120k/10 years. Of course many cars are run longer than this. By the time it gets to that age the fluid is causing the valve bodies to gum up and have excessive wear. Thus giving the bad reputation with them.

 

When I had it, it was just over 10 years old and iirc 92k or so. I changed the fluid not long after I got it and put over 20 litres of fresh stuff in it. The box wasn't super smooth (like German boxes are) but it never changed. To be honest that's probably me just being used to expensive and we'll refined German machinery. So most likely normal behaviour.

 

The Saab 9-5 that I had and subsequently became Hooli/Ohdearme/95quidPeugeot was far worse and taught me what a bad box of them is like. Unfortunately the owner before me (a contractor where I worked) kept it fully serviced but the Saab garages never bothered changing the fluid. So after 200k and 12+ years, the valve body was pretty buggered. I flushed the fluid and stuck Lucas Stop-Slip in there. After 18k miles, Hooli has reported that it shifts way better than it did originally.

[SiC]

Found this during clearing and tidying up.

 

(Reminds me how much I miss this car)

[R9UKE]

They're spectacular. Mine is due MOT next week.  Need to get the headlight washers working 

 

 

[SiC]

They're spectacular. Mine is due MOT next week. Need to get the headlight washers working

Haha yes I had to do it on this one. Somewhere earlier in this thread. Ended up putting a second hand headlight washer jet on and the pump had seized. I think I pulled the pump apart and unseized it iirc.

[angle]

Ballsacks. 

For the last two and a bit years, bar the occasional French electrical moment and suspension components being made out of brie, the Gooner has been reliable, quick, slightly dull transport. 

I have however being playing cambelt roulette, and I'm afraid I'm about to lose. I'm a mechanical dunce, but horrendous ticking sound from cold quietening down into standard issue belt squeal = knacked tensioner, no? Not sure at the moment if its cambelt or aux belt (I noticed last night, in the dark, in Yorkshire) but I'm assuming either involves copious quantities of cash to sort. So, based on SiC being quoted £700 to sort it, here's some badly organised thoughts. 

It has a month of MOT left. There's some creaks and rattles from the suspension (but then there always has been, and it's not failed yet) but no other obvious reason for it to fail. It does have a slightly leaky PAS pump though. 

Its a slightly scuffed, thirsty 15 year old French car. It's probably not worth £700 even with a fresh MOT, belts and a glovebox full of chocolate. However, while I don't really love it, I think I'd probably have to spend more than that to get something else that's roughly equivalent and is sorted. 

But, I've never loved it. Baby angle #2 is also on the way and ideally I could do with something squarer that I can fit more pampers in. 

I can, through gritted teeth, find £700, or maybe slightly more for a replacement. But, babies and house and etc mean I'd like as much money in my bank account as I can get. 

As you might be able to tell, I'm wavering. I also need a car more than normal this week (hospital stuff) , but I feel like I've pushed my luck by driving it 200 miles back last night with all my digits crossed already... 

[Bren]

See what else is out there. It is a complicated 15 year old french car. The danger is once you start throwing £££ at something you don't stop.

[SiC]

Have you thrown it at the garage yet to diagnose the noise?

[angle]

Not yet, realistically end of next week is the earliest I'll be able to fit it around work etc. 

[beko1987]

Throw it away! The noises from the rear will possibly be the void bushes, they all do that sir. There is a tool you can buy/borrow, but the job ranges from easy half an hour to a cunt of a job. My blue one needed its doing, which just wasn't worth it! 

Can't imagine the cambelt on a 3.0v6 being the most fun in the world and I've heard it's a twat on these very pages! 

[SiC]

Right back from a work social. Cambelt cheapest was at Renault on their fixed priced scheme. I don't know if they still do the offer on it though. Phone up and ask them I reckon. They did do it on the past, so possibly still do it. You'll get a courtesy car too.

I asked our local garage (A&D autos) about doing it. Danny phoned his mate up who used to be a Renault dealer tech and he told him not to touch the cambelt as a world of pain. Rentech wanted a grand but that was based on book times. 

Get the local garage to check it out first as could well be something simple or cheap. Maybe just even an alternator pulley?

I fucking love this car and one that I miss. It was great fun smoking E46 330i and E60 525i/manual 530i off the lights in it. All while giving that glorious V6 growl. Personally I'd fix it but then I'm not the best for automotive financial sense. I.e. I've just spent 400quid having my Grandads old Laguna to have a new cambelt, water pump and aux belt fitted!

I'm just going through a house move at the moment and waiting on if the papers have been all signed. If it wasn't for that, I'd be trying to buy this back in a heart beat. 

[406V6]

If you'd lost at cambelt roulette the engine would be an ex-engine. Squealing and ticking - water pump and worn-out tensioner ?

Unfortunately the cambelt replacement on this engine is seriously expensive. I had mine done again last year, probably paying more than the car is worth but that's the AS way.

[face]

Have you tried placing a beret on the roof, poking a Gitane out the grill and draping onions over the wing mirrors?

[angle]

I spent my lunch break phoning round. The only answer that wasn't 'nope' was '£1,300' (main dealer, the lady on the service reception who initially said it was covered under the fixed price scheme for £399 quickly phoned back after she spoke to the mechanics). One last place to phone back tomorrow and it might be worth bunging it in the local garage next week on the off chance its something less apocalyptic but otherwise I think I'm done here. 

@SiC - it's yours to have back if you want it, I'm only going to get £100 or something for it as scrap. 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Shit, I hope something can be worked out for this, I'd hate to see it go in the bin. Whereabouts is it ATM?

[angle]

Right then. Renatec in Brislington will do cambelt, aux belt, tensioners and water pump for what now seems like an almost reasonable £805 but I think mentally I've moved on already. Its booked in at the local garage next Thursday to see what's up, but assuming it is belt related I'm happy to give it a few weeks reprieve if anyone wants to rescue it. 

It's just ticked over 114k, MOT until 6th December. Apart from the obvious it has a slight PAS fluid leak that I think is the pump, and the OS headlight leaks a bit in heavy rain. I've replaced the flooded ballast so it works, but I can't work out where water is getting in or find another headlight for a sensible price that doesn't have the same problem. I'm in Bristol, near Temple Meads but depending on a replacement / insurance I might stick it on my in-laws drive for a bit, BS14. Obviously if it lunches its cambelt during all of this then all bets are off... 

As it is now:

[mrbenn]

A handsome car, hope it gets saved. Cars won't be built with engines like this in the future!

[stuboy]

gutting as it is, i had to rid of faitfull mondeo due to 3xtimes value repairs needed

[beko1987]

You could sell/scrap it for scrap value, and for an extra £100 or so get a nice 1.9dci with the 6 speed box. I'd have another in a heartbeat (after checking the clutch doesn't do what mine started to do), and their cheap enough to throw away, or the belt change is a piece of piss (from what I've read) 

[Kiltox]

Throwing my hat in the ring for saving this if the jaws of life beckon - i would rather not but won’t see it cubed. 
 

(I’ll DIY the belt, because I’m a FUCKING MENTALIST)

[SiC]

Could it be the noise is coming from the PAS pump? Especially if it's leaking and possibly failing anyway?

The garage should be able to locate where the noise is coming from. Hopefully it's just something easy or simple.

[SiC]

You could sell/scrap it for scrap value, and for an extra £100 or so get a nice 1.9dci with the 6 speed box.

Why on earth would you throw away a car like this for a rattly, slow and crappy diesel of the same model?!

This car is the last of the breed. A massively oversized, creamy smooth naturally aspirated engine in a standard family car while loaded to the gills with luxury and tech. Anything big engined now is aimed at "sporty" performance and usually German. The performance is there but at the expense of a crashy, hard and busy ride.

It's also rare in that it has been looked after in its life. Also pretty well put together. Which is why it's survived this long.

[beko1987]

1 hour ago, SiC said:

 

Why on earth would you throw away a car like this for a rattly, slow and crappy diesel of the same model?!

This car is the last of the breed. A massively oversized, creamy smooth naturally aspirated engine in a standard family car while loaded to the gills with luxury and tech. Anything big engined now is aimed at "sporty" performance and usually German. The performance is there but at the expense of a crashy, hard and busy ride.

It's also rare in that it has been looked after in its life. Also pretty well put together. Which is why it's survived this long.

 

Id throw it away because I couldn't afford the repairs. Saying that it's precisely this reason that I don't buy expensive to repair cars, so it's a problem I'll never have I suppose

[Isaac Hunt]

On 10/29/2019 at 8:04 PM, Mr_Bo11ox said:

Shit, I hope something can be worked out for this, I'd hate to see it go in the bin. Whereabouts is it ATM?

Here's your man, does V6 Cambelts with his eyes closed.  I've done a few cambelt s in my time, but never a V6.  

[angle]

Farewell, annual bonus. We may have only spent 24 hours in each others company, but your legacy shall live on (at least until the inevitable electrical fire)