My new 3.0R Spec B

[Swan_Liberty]

Hi guys, this is my new purchase and I am after some advice as to the upkeep and ins and outs of the car.

IMAG0994.jpg (215.8 KiB) Viewed 2317 times

A few things are worrying me, I do not know a lot about cars but I know enough to know when to be worried

1.) on start up there is a chirp from the timing chain for an instant then settles down immediately. Is this normal or do I need to get the tensioner adjusted/replaced? My old pulsar sss carried on like nothing else and i never had a problem in terms of the timing chain
2.) pulleys, Apparently the bearings can wear out and cause carnage? is there anyway to prevent or assess the health of said bearings without extensive work?
3.) previous owner put a new clutch in it, yet there is shudder especially at low revs and quite noticeable when you down shift, is this normal? does the clutch just need to bed in? flywheel/pressure plate problem?
4.) Being pre-facelift there is no SI drive, I have heard tuning the car can be a great help to fuel economy ( I will only be running it on 98) and give you some more bang up the top. Can anyone recommend someone reputable who can tune the car? I live in Melbourne, does the STI garage in docklands tune? Does anyone know anyone better?
5.) Not engine related but what is the best product to keep my leather seats in good condition? can anyone recommend something good?
6.) not sure if I am a fan of the gear shifter, there is a fair but of horizontal play when it is in gear, would a short shifter kit help this? would prefer a tighter feel.
7.) Favourable service interval?
8.) its been about 6 months since a service and it hasn't lost a significant amount of oil (next to none) while others say there's sip like crazy, what is the benefit of a thicker grade of oil and is it recommended?

car has 134k's on it, panels are near immaculate, interior is really good also
Eventually I will look to spruce it up a bit in terms of performance, most will focus around breathing mods and maybe a lip kit and wheels if I have the coin

Any and all advise will be great
As I said I live in Melbourne and I frequent car meets especially if they are out East, if anyone else goes to said meets i would be stoked to come along and have a chat about our cars

Thanks all

no expense will be spared in terms of looking after this car, Any and all advice will be appreciated

[666]

Hi guys, this is my new purchase and I am after some advice as to the upkeep and ins and outs of the car.

IMAG0994.jpg

A few things are worrying me, I do not know a lot about cars but I know enough to know when to be worried

1.) on start up there is a chirp from the timing chain for an instant then settles down immediately. Is this normal or do I need to get the tensioner adjusted/replaced? My old pulsar sss carried on like nothing else and i never had a problem in terms of the timing chain

Are you sure it's the timing chain? Sounds more like the drive belt, mine does the same noise.

2.) pulleys, Apparently the bearings can wear out and cause carnage? is there anyway to prevent or assess the health of said bearings without extensive work?

Your in luck, pulley bearings were discussed only last week, cheap fix - search.

3.) previous owner put a new clutch in it, yet there is shudder especially at low revs and quite noticeable when you down shift, is this normal? does the clutch just need to bed in? flywheel/pressure plate problem?

Sounds like they used the original flywheel and only replaced the clutch plate and pressure plate. No cheap fix, needs to come out.

4.) Being pre-facelift there is no SI drive, I have heard tuning the car can be a great help to fuel economy ( I will only be running it on 98) and give you some more bang up the top. Can anyone recommend someone reputable who can tune the car? I live in Melbourne, does the STI garage in docklands tune? Does anyone know anyone better?

See Matt from Kido Racing, he will help you.

5.) Not engine related but what is the best product to keep my leather seats in good condition? can anyone recommend something good?

A good clean and application of your choice of leather balm. Easy clean is to use a mild non alkaline soap - Sunlight Soap in a mild lather, not too heavy on the suds.

6.) not sure if I am a fan of the gear shifter, there is a fair but of horizontal play when it is in gear, would a short shifter kit help this? would prefer a tighter feel.

Short shifter will fix most of the play. Either aftermarket or an STI one.

7.) Favourable service interval?

12,500 in the book, but some do more frequent services.

8.) its been about 6 months since a service and it hasn't lost a significant amount of oil (next to none) while others say there's sip like crazy, what is the benefit of a thicker grade of oil and is it recommended?

Good oil not thicker oil. Monitor it for a few months to see if it uses oil.

car has 134k's on it, panels are near immaculate, interior is really good also
Eventually I will look to spruce it up a bit in terms of performance, most will focus around breathing mods and maybe a lip kit and wheels if I have the coin

Not too back klms for a pre facelift model. Check out Raptor Superchargers for mods.

Any and all advise will be great
As I said I live in Melbourne and I frequent car meets especially if they are out East, if anyone else goes to said meets i would be stoked to come along and have a chat about our cars

Thanks all

no expense will be spared in terms of looking after this car, Any and all advice will be appreciated

[mattmcc22]

Car looks great, I will be watching this thread as I just picked up one almost the exact same! Also since getting mine I have an averge fuel of 10.5 which puts it the same as my old mazda 3 though much faster of course

[Brunsy3.0]

In regards to your gearstick slop get a pivot bush will stiffen the play in the actual stick itself if the tranny is what has movement all bushes can be replaced with harder items though will cause NVH im sure if the play is in your stick itself and can move left to right when in gear try the pivot bush first around 30 bucks from memory for a tic or katboy branded item. Talk to Adam at Tuspeed

[TheMightyGonzo]

Can't reccomend getting a tune highly enough. I've got a full stock 06 3.0RB wagon which Matt worked his magic on last night. It completely transforms the car. The flat spot before 3800RPM is gone, it charges from the moment you put your foot down and when cruising down the freeway my L/100km was sitting at around 6.5-7 (down from close to 10 in my case) . If you get on it quickly, you may be able to catch him while he's still in melbourne.

[mattmcc22]

What tune did you get from Matt? The e85 or a 98?

[TheMightyGonzo]

What tune did you get from Matt? The e85 or a 98?

The 98. e85 isn't available around here, the 98 tune seemed a lot more useful.

I think my range kilometer display is a bit optimistic (750 +km per tank)
But I did drive almost 1500km in the past week, on about 2 and a half tanks of fuel. Not sure how that compares to the stock tune but I'm pretty happy with it.