Quote: Originally Posted by Waughy Definitely getting some sort of resonator, have spoken to the guy that I'll be going to for the job and he said he'll sort it so it doesn't drone but still sounds good, he's good at what he does too. I'll look at the sump bolts, good chance they might not be as tight as they should be after finding the rocker cover bolts like that, although I can see at the front of the sump where the leak is that the seal isn't sitting in place correctly, maybe I can back the bolts off and push it in place, but I'm sure it'll be squashed in places now and won't stop leaking. Sump plug is as tight as it can be and still leaks a bit so looks like it needs a new washer, or the edges of the hole aren't flat anymore, hnmmm, maybe some ultra copper on there too for now, just under the washer to make it seal better. Also got a HEI dizzy to whack in, just have to work out how to do it and set it all up properly with vac advance and so on, there's instructions with it but they're not that straight forward, well for me anyway. Current dizzy looks like it is leaking a bit from the seal so it's gotta come out anyway. Not sure about the cruise, still not happy with the steering and suspension in general, quite a few bushes need replacing and I'm out of cash for now. back up a bit mate LOL the bosch HEIs on the VLs are one of the best dizzies the last thing I'd do is replace it, unless its a crane unit or equivalent. the seal underneath is easy as pie to change, and if i was you just reco the original dizzy you got you'll love it.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/HOLDEN-V8-253...QQcmdZViewItem (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-1751-2978-71/1?AID=5463217&PID=2572685&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com.au%2FHOLDEN-V8-253-304-308-Distributor-Ready-2-Run-50-000v_W0QQitemZ320169152157QQihZ011QQcategoryZ39382QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) This is similar to what I got, the one I bought is the same size as the factory one, not smaller like this one. Leave the factory one and flog the new one off?

if its them cheap 75 dollar Ebay jobbies I would definately flog it off, there some cheap Tiawanese aftermarket crap. Think about "you get what you pay for". I bought one like that to fit to my car, but as soon as i told the dizzy place i was gonna swap they pretty much said dont touch the standard Bosch, junk the new one so i sold it back on ebay. Ask around too im sure alot of people would recommend leaving the bosch unit, especially since the car will be left stock to very mild.

Thanks for the info, I'll leave the Bosch, get a new seal. Found a tube of Ultra Black high temp gasket stuff so will use it for the rocker covers. In the middle of a stereo install now, removing the original head unit was fun, hope I don't need it ever again, lol.

hope u didnt wreck it as the digital one you pulled out are very sought after now for originality

Oops, lol, trashed it. Didn't work properly anyway and was missing a couple of buttons. Not in the best condition. Doesn't bother me, one item I'm happy to not have original in the car.

Well I finally got a start on the leaks, rocker cover gaskets replaced, driver side was a bitch. Used some ultra black to help with the seal, dropped the 3 litres of oil that was left in the car and filled it with some Penrite HPR40. Washer on sump plug was elongated on one side, explains the leak there, although with a new washer (not copper) I have just noticed a drip on the head of the sump plug. Will get on it with the spanner again and nip it up some more. Started the car and let it warm up, ran it for about 10 mins, looking good around rocker covers but will keep an eye on it. Still got oil leaking from front of sump, not too bad but about a drip/second. It's right at the bottom point where the sump goes under the crank, in the half circle. Got my eye on a K frame as mine is apparently bent, the eyelet thing on the right side is bent down 90 degrees so it's had a pretty hard hit at some stage. If I do the K frame I should easily be able to knock over the sump gasket. Anyway, rocker covers look to have been the main leak I had so hopefully not much mess under the car from now on, next is the diff seal. BTW, when I started the car there was a very loud hiss and the car was running a bit rough. Found the hose to the brake booster had come off the T behind the carby. Went to put it back on and it fell apart in my hand, the hose was rock hard from the end to where it passes over the right rocker cover. I squeezed it with some multi grips and it just disintegrated, because it was hard it didn't want to go back on the T so I tried to force it with the multi's, that's how I found it was rock hard. No luck getting one this arvo, which sucks as the car hasn't been driven for 2 weeks and I wanted to get it out. Check your hoses guys.

Good news for me, had the car wheel aligned yesterday, mentioned that I thought the K-frame was bent. The guy confirmed that it's all ok, no damage other than they eyelet thing at the front being bent up. No trouble doing the alignment. Also, it looks more like the front main seal is the cause of the leak in that area, not the sump gasket as I thought, so should be easier to sort out. After nearly 300k I guess the seal has worn the harmonic down just that bit too much. Hopefully I'll get to spend some money on some good gear soon, like the exhaust.

Well not much has been done with the car lately, I've done the diff oil and with a full ultra black only gasket it's stopped leaking, yay. The rear garnish has been restored and looks pretty damn good now. Got the aircon checked out, fingers crossed it only needs a new dryer and gas, it's already been converted to the new gas so no need to worry about that. As I said in my last post, the oil leak looks to be the front main seal, rather than the sump, well I can now say that it is the front main. Is there a writeup on how to do it? I've got the seal and a new harmonic balancer, any other parts worth repalcing while at it? It's pi$$ing oil so I have to continually top it up if I want to keep driving it, not cheap when using Penrite oil. Anyway, I'm ready to do the seal, just need to know how, search gave nothing, have 2 versions of the Max Ellery manual, neither have any info. Cheers.

Quote: Originally Posted by Waughy Well not much has been done with the car lately, I've done the diff oil and with a full ultra black only gasket it's stopped leaking, yay. The rear garnish has been restored and looks pretty damn good now. Got the aircon checked out, fingers crossed it only needs a new dryer and gas, it's already been converted to the new gas so no need to worry about that. As I said in my last post, the oil leak looks to be the front main seal, rather than the sump, well I can now say that it is the front main. Is there a writeup on how to do it? I've got the seal and a new harmonic balancer, any other parts worth repalcing while at it? It's pi$$ing oil so I have to continually top it up if I want to keep driving it, not cheap when using Penrite oil. Anyway, I'm ready to do the seal, just need to know how, search gave nothing, have 2 versions of the Max Ellery manual, neither have any info. Cheers. hi there, take off fanbelts,fan and shroud. i take out radiator also to get more room. undo bolts in pulley to remove pulley. undo big bolt in centre of pulley. thats the easy part ! i am guessing you don't have a puller,,,,, so what you do is spray crc into the centre of pulley to free up the joint ,spray a bit, wait 5 mins, spray more etc. now, i get my dad to hold a lever on one side behind the pulley and lever against timing case cover and i do the same on the other side. CAUTION DO NOT FORCE THE HELL OUT OF IT ,just apply a bit of pressure...... as you both apply pressure you have to TAP ,, (NOT HIT) THE OUTER EDGE of the balancer. this usually frees it up. maybe more crc spray. patience and little tapping (NOT HITTING !!!!!!! ) it has to come off straight all the way. then pry out old seal, clean area, fit new seal carefully, light grease on balancer shaft and align keyway, tap on balancer keeping it straight with a bit of wood. put big bolt in , tighten up a lot, maybe jam flywheel and tighten up a bit more than a wheel nut ! put othe stuff back on. let me know how you go. glenn

I just did my Rocker cover gaskets today. Everything is back on now but it runs like a pig!! It doesn't idle at all. It Feels like it's running on 7 cylinders but driving it is OK. -All the spark plugs ARE in the right position, -Dizzy and coil are thoroghly dry. -All leads are tight and all hoses are fitted Any idea's guys?????

Quote: Originally Posted by JET-5LT I just did my Rocker cover gaskets today. Everything is back on now but it runs like a pig!! It doesn't idle at all. It Feels like it's running on 7 cylinders but driving it is OK. -All the spark plugs ARE in the right position, -Dizzy and coil are thoroghly dry. -All leads are tight and all hoses are fitted Any idea's guys????? I put money its the PCV hose from the driver side rocker cover to the centre of the carb, its the bigger hose of the lot. If unconnected/split the car wont idle and run like crap until about 1800RPM then will run fine. I would double check that, let us know how you go

I'll definately check it 1st thing in the morning man, thanks heaps.

Yeah check all hoses etc on the right side of the motor. I knocked a couple of vac hoses off at the rear doing my right hand rocker cover (what a pain in the arse that was). Also found the vac hose to the brake booster was rock hard, it had fallen off at the motor end and when I went to put it back on it disintergrated like a piece of cork, so check that while you're under the bonnet too.

Problem solved!! Thanks heaps fella's Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Nice find, don't you love the easy fixes. Nice to see another 5.0 Calais too. How many were built?

good to hear problem solvered, what hose was ratty in the pic?

PCV like you suggested mate, thanks again.