Another newbie! Get ready to be bugged for advice folks.

[tomaski]

Hey folks, I'm Tom and I've just bought a Galant VR4.

Lovin' the site, checked in a lot whilst I was looking for one but now I've actually gone and got it I figured I'd say hola.

She's an import, silver with 16" BBS alloy wheels. Picked her up as an absolute steal from a chap down South (I'm in Glasgow) on Monday there. Needs a little work, the splitter is cracked and the brake pads are shot to hell. Turbo timer looks like a priority too as I've heard they cook them pretty badly.

Anyways, seeing as I'm utterly, utterly new to the Jap scene (previously a bmw nut, e36's especially) I'll be looking for advice on almost everything...

... so yeah, to get the ball rolling, I'm doing an oil, oil filter and sparkplugs change first and I was wondering how the hell I actually go about this? I've got a rough idea but nothing solid so I had a quick peek on the 'articles' section but it says I don't have priority or something. Regardless, any advice would be awesome.

Brakes and splitter crack are getting done professionally on Thursday - nothing too heavy for me just yet.

As for the advice, cheers in advance!

[Axeboy]

Hi Mate

Welcome.

Im in bridge of weir if you need more help/advice etc.

[Nick VR4]

Congrats on the new arrival and welcome to the forum

[Nick Mann]

Welcome! To view the articles you need access to the members area, which involves parting with £20 of your hard-earned cash. Most who have will tell you it is £20 well spent!

We are always willing to answer questions, even more so if you can't find the answer with the search function.

On the whole, people believe that a turbo timer is only required if you lack the discipline to drive gently for the last couple of miles of your trip. That'll be why I've got one then!!

Enjoy ownership. Most of us do!

[Wouter]

Hi and

Enjoy VR4 ownership!

[bradc]

I don't think a turbo timer is essential either. As far as the rest goes, it sounds like you're really happy with it, which is always good to hear.

Oil and Oil filter are easy to change, but the spark plugs are a lot of work. To access the rear ones you need to remove the intake manifold, and about a million things connecting to it. Unfortunately it's a lot of work.

[Spirit]

Hi Tom and welcome to VR4 ownership and CVR4.

Would be nice to see some pix, and do consider full membership.......will probably save you a small fortune.

[stuartturbo]

As said before welcome
If you can undo a bolt the front 3 plugs are easy
the rear 3 are a bit more interesting as brad said

[tomaski]

Thanks for the warm welcome duders.

Pictures will be coming asap, I'm a shallow kid so I'll be out annoying the neighbours striking poses on the driveway soon enough.

Gonna try to do the oil change on Sunday, I got two jobs and I'm in the last year of the most pointless uni course you could ever imagine so the problem lies more with finding the bloody time than having the will to try, ya'know?

As for the plugs, I reckon I'll have to sign up (it's a one off £20, right? Don't wanna sound cheap but swooping for vr4 insurance has well screwed up my finances) and try to follow a guide. I'll be honest, I'm the kinda guy who needs a Haynes manual to open the boot and the last thing I wanna do is damage this old girl.

Speaking of which... my 'discipline' (read as : my 'complete and utter fear of the acceleration') is fairly constant so far... so no major turbo wrecking behaviour just yet. That said, I'm 22 and I've been told I've got a heavy right foot so I think a timer is still gonna get done. Are they hard to wire up? I've put an amp in before and been told they're similar? Any advice on the best type to go for?

Oh and another question - now this may sound daft but does the vr4 have two oil reserves? A friend (who is more often wrong that right...) said that the turbos have their own oil supply and the engine is separate? I've had a quick peek but I couldn't see anything obvious to support this idea.

[Axeboy]

The plugs take a few hours, but its not that hard.

I could help if you like.

As for the turbo timer, just for info, i installed one and then sold it on, no real point in it, its money for nothing really... just a gimmick.

Plus I couldnt use the remote locking when it was installed.

[tomaski]

That'd be well appreciated Axeboy, I'm in Renfrew (Ross Ave) so as far as I'm aware you're only 10 mins up the A737 (or 7 seconds in the vr4) - it'd be well helpful to have somebody who knows what they're doing there when I rip the engine open for the first time.

As long as you're sure it wouldn't be putting you out at all feel free to drop me a text on 07873640540 - that said, no pressure mate.

Cheers.

[Axeboy]

Not a problem m8

When do you plan on doing the work?

[Nick Mann]

Only one lot of oil for the engine/turbos. It all ends up in the same sump.

And the £20 is annually. Check out other sites - the MLR charge £35, for example. I know I'm shamelessly plugging membership, but one years membership is less than half a tank of petrol, and if you do a full Amsoil service, for example, the members discount will more than pay for the membership fee!

[tomaski]

To be honest mate, I really dunno - I was gonna do some stuff today but work ran on this morning and I'm just up now.

I reckon the next day before I'll be able to get into her will be Tuesday, I got a class I gotta go to but I can boost off about 11am. I'd be hoping to get started about lunchtime. Do the plugs and oil... then Wedensday I let the mechanics take care of the brakes and Thursday I get her off to the bodyshop. Busy week for her.

Another quick question if I may... this time concerning the the AYC lights. When I'm driving calmly I get no lights... when it's a little squirrly I usually get one or two and when I'm trying to die I'm getting three. I'm presuming the lights represent the amount of driving the car is doing to keep me on the road? Just wanting to get this confirmed because that little system is just too damn cool for school.

[tomaski]

Oh and it looks like they let any old riff raff in here...

... I'm a member now!

£20 well spent; great site and nice folks. Cheers again CVR4!

[Beastlee]

LOL, yeah that's about right with the AYC, however, I found mine came on lots during the first few runs but after changing the tyres to Toyos I find I barely break 2 bars on the same run . Worth checking if you're not pushing particularly hard....however you mention 'trying to die' so I figure you're just driving it like you stole it

[Kieran]

Yes... one of my friends has labeled the AYC lights as the 'Death Gauge'!

Oh, and Welcome to the site - You're sure to find it very useful!

[Beastlee]

Considering what they mean you'd think we'd be looking at the road and not the flashy lights at the time though.....

[Kieran]

Considering what they mean you'd think we'd be looking at the road and not the flashy lights at the time though.....

But they're so pretty!!......................

[bradc]

thats the biggest problem I have when turning left, trying to keep an eye on the little bars