Hey All, i recently bought a series2 N/A Calais auto, and have treated it like a baby since i have bought it. a couple of weeks ago the CAS went and got that replaced for $350 thru a mobile mechanic cuz tha car didnt move...or start...or anything...and he fixed it, alot of other things have broken since i got it as well, costing me up to $500. i was happy until monday when the car acted up again. this time the gearbox has gone, n i have been told by many reputable gearbox mechanics, to repair it will cost me at least $2000 i have no money due to being 'sourced-out' (my afterschool job was being the 'scum of the earth' trolly boy....) and since i have left school and am now pushing the grand age of 18 my boss does not want to pay me lots of money and has reverted to child labour. i neva trashed the car, unless ova taking or goin thru a yellow light and has an original 183000 kms. well anyways heres tha problem... i feel like i should just sell it as is. it WAS my pride and joy, and was going to keep it for my mad Projekt Kar in the future, but it is really pi$$in me off lately OR Fix it (reconditioned Auto) OR Fix it (convert to a manual) i have been told if you convert to a manual you can get many many problems occuring with it. can you peeps out there tell me what you reconmend? if a recon auto is in place, should i get a better one, as i have also heard that tha standard auto is kinda weak, and may not hold up.also the car has a few very basic mods, nothin that would hurt its gearbox...... thanks guys, johnno Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Alright mate, welcome to the VL commodore. Dont stress bout things going wrong with it, you can get most of the parts on here for **** all really off this site. But it sounds like you just bought yourself a thrashed car mate. But realistically you can buy a 2nd hand auto on here for like 200 and you can drop it in yourself with minimal effort. The good thing about VL's is that the parts are reasonably cheap and most is sourced 2nd hand. Stick with it, once you got it right you really dont have to do much unless u flog the **** out of it

i was going to say buy an auto form someone who is doing a 5 speed convert or done one cheep as chips and probley noting wrong with the box they ust wanna 5-speed

if u want an auto u could probably pick a n/a one up for free or a slab and putting it in yourself as said before is really not that hard prolly need 8 spanners

dont sell it mate unless you want to ..... ... sounds like you got a tidy car but well worn! i would wreslte with it a bit more and you will have a very strong reliable car..... Learn as much as you can as you go then you can justify some costs as a paid for EDUCATION ... its what i tell my self when i have to pay for pros... you can get S/H jatcos for 250, 300 bucks with 1 month warrenties .... you can check the fliud in them ( dark rich clear red with a fresh fluid smell) I just did it my self a few weeks ago as my Radiator baffel let go and filled the box with coolent.... total cost $480 with one month warrenty which is plenty of time to tell if its good .... Good luck !

Im more confused why he paid $350 for a CAS when he could get one on here for $130. Just grab a 2nd hand Jatco and wack that in.

Are the hero back to patrinize people again hey ! He openly admited he is learning and the car was stuck.... Why dont you try to help people rather than pick faults in a trouble shooting post ...

if your short on cash, look out for another auto on here...there cheap as chips and if you can't install it yourself i'm sure your local mechanic will slap it in for a few bucks

we all wernt born smart god i can admit being a 4th yr apprentice mechanic i have made several costley mastakes but not with that knolage in me head i make less mastakes (several spelling mastakes also) dont worry ull get there

Its all part of having a VL man, find out whats wrong with it, fix it, and hopefully it should be all good and you can cruise it happily! We all go through this ****!!

thanks people, i am tryin to learn, i AM tryin to get a Mechenics apprenticeship, or sumthin round cars, and all your advice has been very very helpful to me. i am lookin at gettin a 4 speed from an older calais that a friends uncle of mine has, hopefully that will help. i jus dont feel confident enough to put one in myself, so a mechenic should be able to help me with that. thanks everyone... johnno

a Greogires VL book is a good place to start, there worth like 20-30 bucks and well worth it. Basically tells you how to remove & replace everything in you VL

i intend on turbo'ing the car in the future (maybe....) and i was talking to the guys at extreme motosports today (thats townsvilles trendy-dendy place to do up cars) and i gt conflicting arguements to whether i should convert to a manual or build up a stronger auto gearbox? this community here should no the good answer to this and i would like to no what i should save up for??????

just replace the auto,if you don`t need your car or have another to use,buy the gregories manual and have ago and if you end up being unable to finish it ask someone on here close to help for a small price, ps remember in order what you undid to get the box out then reverse it putting back in.

i would agree on buying the manuel as its a good guide for removing and testing than putting back in most things in any vehicle (vl) also its good toilet reading and i even founds cool things in there that i didnt even know excisted like the auto trans and motor both have dignostic plugs, but nothing pligs in to them strange but still i found how to test circurs from these plugs from the manuel (well didnt acculey state doing such but i did anyways) dude if i was u i would get a seccond hand box and if i had the cash i would get it tested and possibley a good stage 1 or 2 shift kit as i would be turboing it.....and also the autos are fine if u have a good one, i have a rb25 with a few more kw's than the 3l and revs to approx 6 1/2 to 7k rpm most days and my 3L auto box is only just now starting to show wear, plus its dues for its 20k service

mate, If i was in your boots ill Keep her, i had similar Problems here and there but at the end of the day u no for a fact wats new in her and wats not new, So ill Try keep her and just look after her soon u will be laughn, and Plz dont Put ur car for sale becuz of money problems, just keep her aside and just take ur time, thats all it takes Time... I dont Regret Anything now, i was about to sell b4, 3months later the car is in A1 Condition and is now my Pride and Joy! dont put ur car for sale mate, just makes the car look like a hooker LOL