Common/ known issues with the 89's

[Thruan]

Hey every one out there in Internet land.

I'm looking at buying an 89 lwb v6. And I've been wondering if there is any known issues with these models, not talking about little things like the dash cracking in the sun or something. I mean like major issues, mechanical issues.. I've been poking round the site a little and couldn't find anything othen then the usual petrol engine issues with dizzy caps and whatnot.. Oh it's a manual if that makes any difference.

Also what are the v6's like on fuel?

[Thruan]

Nevermind about the fuel use. Just found the FAQ

[Bernoulli]

Engine: Motor mounts, head gaskets, Crankshaft/damper pulley bolt, idle adjustment, oil and filter should be serviced regularly
Cooling: radiator, belts & hoses
Trans: #2 synchro

[Thruan]

Engine: Motor mounts, head gaskets, Crankshaft/damper pulley bolt, idle adjustment, oil and filter should be serviced regularly
Cooling: radiator, belts & hoses
Trans: #2 synchro

Cool thanks.
HG I can deal with.. What's wrong with the motor mounts and crank pulley?

And what's the problem with the #2 syncro? Anyway to tell if it's on it's way out?

[Bernoulli]

I haven't had a problem with the motor mounts, but it is listed as a common problem with 3.0 engines on 4X4wire.com. The original crank pulley bolt has been replaced by MMC. The original bolt had a tendency to come loose. There is a current thread under mechanical (Crankshaft pulley wobbling / bolt forward ) here on this issue. It is recommended that the original bolt be replaced and torqued correctly.

The #2 synchro is a complex three piece affair. An early warning is that it will grind slightly or be hard to get into second shifting up or down - particularly when cold.

[ngwagon]

what goes wrong with the dizzy caps?

[Thruan]

Nothing in particular, I've just got a distaste for them after having endless issues with them in my old cars.

Thanks for the info guys. Got a few things to check now

[Tillski]

Hmm - could someone give me more information about the #2 sync problem?
My #2 occasionally has a problem, and it seems to happen more often by the week.
Doing the typical gearbox sound you don't want to have, and it has a bit of resistance.

What will happen ultimately, and what can I do to fix it?

Cheers, Till

[Bernoulli]

I never had a bad sound, so I don't know what that means other than trouble. Castrol has a transmission oil specifically made for MMC manual transmissions that has helped some people. It's mentioned somewhere here on another thread - in the last few weeks. In the last car I had that had the problem, I took my time upshifting and double clutched downshifting. Other than that, I've had three transmissions re-built.