Thinking of buying a 6...

[Slough6]

Saw an Mx-6 sitting at the side of the road for sale today and had to stop to check it, always liked the look of these babys

J-reg (92?) 2.5 GT auto (ugh! woulda grabbed it there and then if a manual), 100k on the clock (guess not overly high for the lump in it?) black, seems like standard stock bodywork, no rust at all found yet, couple of dings on corners and a slight scrape over a rear arch (seems like a previous owner wasn't too good at doing the parking thing! ), cloth interior, pretty good condition IMO for the age.

Will be going down this evening to take a closer look and see how/if it runs (no tax so I'm assuming no MoT), seems like a good price to me (£600) if it don't need major work to get it through a test...

Any pointers you guys have for common faults I should check for please?

Any huge problems you have with UK parts suppliers?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Steve.

[cheeky_monkey]

hey mate,

dont worry about the fact its an auto box, they are fast enough and it just makes it more fun, no need to change gear! 100,000 miles isnt much on these cars, even the auto's are fairly bullet proof if properly maintained, you didnt mention any service history? guys on here will give you a bit of advice on what to look out for but £600 sounds ok assuming cosmetic damage isnt too severe. might be worthwhile getting an hpi report too... never know what they can show.

cheers,
cheeky_monkey

p.s. oh, and as i've found out alloys are a bitch to source so check them out, damn 5 x 114.3...

[Einstein]

Ask if the dizzy has ever been replaced.. (common fault)
Service history would be good, (need to know about oil and filter changes)

Check for front indicators in the foglights,
A switch on the dash that folds the mirrors in,
Speedo in KM's,

If it has any of these, it could be a J-Spec.... 200bhp instead of 165


John

[noonespecial]

auto is great fun... but be prepared for Stuzzer to go on and on and on and on and on about how its a granny box ... but they do need to be looked after, ATX oil change every 3k.

Check to see if the ATX oil a nice red colour and not burnt at all... check the hold light doesn't flicker on and off (bad)

If you handy with wires and have an analogue meter then pulling the codes would be a good idea...

Expect the engine to sounds a bit 'tappety' thats normal... but can be made quieter by an oil change.

Check that rear brakes work, early model callipers have a tendency to sick.

£600 sounds pretty cheap..... and 100k is low for the year...

and start saving up for all the mods that you'll end up wanting to do...

[Slough6]

Oh yes, she's mine!



Thanks for the advice people - good call about the 'tappety' noise, without knowing that I would have been a bit concerned, quietened down nicely after idling for a couple of mins tho, oil looks fine.



Turns out she has an MoT till the end of the year which was a nice surprise, only done 60 or so miles this year so was shocked when no problems with the brakes, pulled straight off without any hesitation. No service history which ain't ideal but something I can live with(out).



Hold light is solid, HPI check was all clean, nothing to indicate a jspec (not even a cupholder or orange hazard switch - been lurking here for a few days and checking stuff like that ).



But guess what - when I tried to move her away from the house wall this morning to clean her up a bit - the rear brakes had seized on - introduced the rear wheels to the size 10s all politely like and she saw my point of view! She then spent a few hours getting acquainted with Mr T-Cut and came up looking pretty spanky.



Got a bit of a knock when going over some of the more severe speedhumps around my way, quick check underneath seems that the exhaust hangs a bit low in the front/mid section, will have time at the weekend to get her up on ramps and check, hopefully an easy fix...



Anyway, enough rambling, got a couple of quick questions if I may while I wait to get hold of a Haynes manual and get cracking of sorting some bits out for her:

Is the DOHC standard on all 6's? Read in a post but can't seem to find it that someone has access to spec lists from VIN numbers, would be useful to know exactly what model I have as I'm a total 6 newb!

There's NO room under the bonnet, like OMG WTF!!!!1!!1

ATX on these (once again a newb as first auto I've had!) - has a definate hesitation when changing up from 1st to 2nd - nothing very serious but noticeably slower than the switch from 2 to 3 and 3 up to 4, is this normal for an auto box or a sign of definate impending doom?



Impendng doom? Who cares, I got a 6 to play with, happy days!

[Einstein]

All 6's are DOHC.. even the 2.0l V6 and 4cyl versions... obviously the V6's have two sets of cams... some like to call them quad cams.. or QOHC

enjoy !

John

[xedos 6]

Welcome aboard and be prepared to start saving some ££ and sign up for this little end of year bash http://www.mx6.com/forums/showthread...9&page=1&pp=15 (Trax 2005 - NAMES HERE)


all info is available in the flesh and get knowledged up at the meet

best of all ENJOY IT

Roland

[fish]

"ATX on these (once again a newb as first auto I've had!) - has a definate hesitation when changing up from 1st to 2nd - nothing very serious but noticeably slower than the switch from 2 to 3 and 3 up to 4, is this normal for an auto box or a sign of definate impending doom?"

The shift from 1rst to second is a little "jerky" let's say.
But quite common for our auto tranny's.
nothing to be concerned about, but tranny flush and fills are recommended.

[noonespecial]

1st to 2nd on mine is a bit 'hesitant' i get a bit of a clunk, if you have no history, i'd really recomend you change the ATX fluid now.. you have a few choices depending on how handy you are with cars.. (i'm NOT at all) option one is to drain the ATX and clean or replace the filter, but this will not remove ALL the ATX fluid, but should help, it does include fun things like removing cross members!!! other option is the two bucket method, that is supposed to work, but i'm not sure if anyone ever managed it, the previous owner of mine said he did it ever 3k?? check out :

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dorothy.bradbury/probemx/

all the info there.. also thing about an aftermarket cooler and filter..

you DON'T NEED them.. but if you want to kane it a lot then it best to keep them cool... depends how you drive...

i don't drive like a nutter any more so I find its fine..

i do use L and S (my hold button has been removed) to give me more control.... but I believe its best not to use hold too much... according to the manual its for snow n stuff.. if you want I can scan the relevant pages re the ATX..

enjoy the auto for what it is... if you sitting in traffic / lights for a while pop it into N... but for most of the time keep her in D and just cruze... the joy of pressing the 'go' pedal...and blating it ... then maybe a round about.. so brake..then..... 'go' pedal again.. its soo sweet... all that clutch and changing gears is too much like hard work

Mine does slip a bit.. but @ 135k miles... I not expecting perfection.. kickdown on mine is not the same as what others have described, but I've adapted my driving accordingly.. and to be honest all it means is I take less risks, use less gas.. and get a smoother drive...

re the rear brakes .. seems like you've got the normal issue.. go a search theres some info here on how to free 'em up... which should last you. tip is NOT to use the hand brake (eh Stu!) otherwise they stick on... there is someone with a spare set for sale that I was going to buy, but its sounds like you need them more than me.. PM Stuzzer (cos I can't remeber who it was) and he'll put you in touch..

Lastly.. get your self to a meet.. no need to say exact location, but are you SE? NE?? etc??

at last.. another auto ... we're a rare breed

[kenholland]

I forgot to mention - we found a filler hole on the auto-box when we removed the one from Mike's car...

Remove battery and tray and it's right under there. Tim, take a look at the spare box you've got to confirm will ya?

Could save a lot of grief if it is.

[noonespecial]

Yes Ken, can confirm there is a nice filler 'nut' as you describe... shame you can't drain it all out though.. still better than filler via the dip stick

[Ian F Chequer]

The autobox is not the smoothest shifter in the world and the oil needs to be changed every 24000 miles (not 3k as Tim said - I think he meant 30k). If the takeup of drive is a little sharp, it could be you need to add a little oil.

The best way to change the gearbox oil is to drop the fluid pan and flush through the oil filter (which is bolted into the fluid pan), remove and empty the oil radiator and also drain the torque converter. This will get most of it out.

There is a wheeze where you allow the autobox to eject oil via the (disconnected) oil out line, and suck up fresh oil via the in line, but I could not get this to work (maybe you have to warm the box up first).

Looking at the mileage yours has I suspect it may be overdue for this work. Probably best to change the engine oil and the coolant too. Also the timing belt needs to be changed every 60k and I would suggest that when you do this you also do the water pump and possibly the idler pulleys at the same time.

regards,

ifc