Kall

Okay, about to buy this car, RACV check has shown up a few probs, here is a copy of the report:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/kallyn/1.jpg
http://members.optusnet.com.au/kallyn/2.jpg

For those unaware of how this works an S stands for a serious problem and an E for early problem which will eventually need fixing. O is just an observation.

Being not too mechanically minded myself do you guys think these are serious problems other than the general leaks and missing belts/locks/electrics which will be fixed. The guy that has done the inspection seems to be pretty friggen picky.

Thanks
-Kall

The Goodz

Yeah I reckon all the stuff on there can be fixed at home. Like Gli 90 said, depends on what they want for it.

Alex

geebee

From the description it sounds like my EA Ghia :-)

The only things that sound serious IMO would be the lack of inhibitor in the coolant and the low tranny fluid. If its been running for a while with no inhibitor its likely the head could be corroded. The lack of transmission fluid wouldn't help its operation - whether thats damaged anything is impossible to tell (without pulling it apart). Is it a EA Series 1 (ie 3 spd Auto) or 2? The 1's tranny is MUCH cheaper if anything goes wrong with it.

As Gli90 said the belt on the aircon being missing is often the compressor. In my case it was missing because the pulley's bearings were stoofed. Pulley's are cheap, not too sure about the compressor. Although if its been in this condition for a while you will have no gas in the system. (You can check the frequency of the bubbles in window of the aircon gas canister)

Overall its probably pretty good for a car its age - depending on price. (My 88 EA Ghia, had just passed 233k and wouldn't be that far away in condition).

damienpw

Well, I agree with Geebee on the inhibitor thing, and also the tranny fluid level.

I am particularly cautious about Falcons that have not been fed the correct coolant mix - with a copper radiator core, an iron block, and an alloy head, they are very susceptible to problems caused by an ill maintained coolant system. Many people seem to think that plain tap water is fine - but that is simply not the case. A simple (devious) query can get the owner to give it up regarding their maintenance methods: "So, you keep the radiator topped up?..." - "Yeah, we pop fresh tap water in it every fortnight" - that would not be a good thing (in a previous thread I described how an owner told me that he used bore water to top up the surge tank - little wonder it needed a refill every two weeks - magically disappearing water?).

Also I would be concerned about oil coming from the flywheel housing - could be a sign of the rear main crankshaft bearing wearing out - and vibration possibly causing the leak. I'm told that this can be very expensive to fix if the bearing needs to be replaced - could just be the seal though.

My advice?...Check out the cost of fixing the important stuff with a mechanic...you can use such a quote to lever the price down if you really want to buy the car. Alternatively, you can just walk away Renee!

Damien

damienpw

By the way Kall...

You might want to note that I am pretty picky (like an RAC inspection). It has taken me just over 3 months to find a car - I could always find somthing wrong. If I was even a little uncertain about something, I would choose to walk away.

In the end though, my patience was rewarded.

Damien