Holden Statesman Engine Problems

Both those models of Holden used the same engine; the L36 (Holden's internal code) Ecotec V6. As such, you should be able to fit the engine from the VT Commodore into the Statesman with very few other changes. The biggest hurdle will be if the Commodore donor car was a manual-transmission vehicle, as the ECU may be different to the Statesman's unit to allow for control of the electronic transmission. The best bet is to retain the Statesman's wiring and computer and change over only the engine hardware from the Commodore.

The other (minor) catch is that the VT's version of the V6 was tuned for 147kW, while the later version of the same engine in the Statesman was good for 152kW. There was a small torque difference, too (304Nm plays 305Nm). So you'll be trading off a small amount of performance but, realistically, not enough to notice.

When you say you tried another battery, was that second battery charged up, and what’s it’s condition. Even a brand-new battery fresh from the shelf of a parts store can be low on charge and may need a few hours on a charger before it’s ready to start a car, especially one with a large engine like a Holden Statesman. If the battery was just another one you borrowed from somewhere else, it could well be about as worn out as the one you replaced. Even a battery that shows 12 volts when you test it with a voltmeter, can suddenly drop its bundle when you place it under load (such as trying to start a car with it). You need to check the battery’s current while it’s attempting to turn the engine over.

Other possibilities could be worn out battery leads (do they get hot when you try to start the car?) a poor earth somewhere between the engine and the car’s chassis or even battery terminals that are old and crusty. Don’t rule out a failed starter motor, either. Often a worn-out starter can pole out internally, causing a huge internal short that will produce the same slow cranking we associate with a dying battery.

It's not possible to predict when your engine might expire; there are too many variables to take into account to even make an educated guess. Suffice to say that it's done a lot of cars and it's closer to the scrap yard than it is to the production line. You could have a 3.8-litre Holden V6 fitted, that was an option in the car when it was built, and would be the easiest engine transplant option. Fitting a Falcon six would involve too much surgery and I wouldn't recommend it. The best option if you want to keep the car, but cut running costs, would be to convert it to dual-fuel and run it on LPG.

If you believe it is a vacuum leak, check all vacuum connections and hoses. It could be a split fitting or a cracked hose and might be difficult to find.

It's not unusual to have explosions like you experienced, in fact   it's relatively common. The explosion occurs when the air/gas mixture in the intake manifold ignites and the rapid expansion of the gas mixture often blows out the air cleaner like it did on your car.   Ignition is usually caused by a random spark, so you have to find and fix the cause of that spark. The mechanic was on the mark when he suggested you change the spark plugs and clean the throttle body, and I would have changed the spark plug leads as well. His advice that it would settle down is wrong, it will continue to occur until the cause is identified and fixed. He's probably hoping that you will have left town by the time you realize his advice in this case is incorrect.

THERE are no problems, but make sure you have a vapour injection system fitted and not an old venturi/mixer. Eurogas converts supercharged V6 Holdens.

OPINION varies on the suitability of the Alloytec V6 for conversion to LPG. Holden is adamant that the engine needs the hardened valves and valve seats it fits to its LPG-compatible 175kW engine. Reports suggest that heads require rebuilds as low as 50,000km when you run the standard Alloytec engine on LPG. Some converters will tell you there is no problem, and that they have successfully converted a number of Commodores. The best policy would be to have hardened valves and valve seats fitted and a sequential-injection LPG system fitted.

LIKE all carmakers, Holden advises against converting their cars to LPG unless the engine has been modified by the factory. But there are plenty of LPG specialists who will convert your car to dual-fuel. Impco has an excellent dual-fuel system for the 5.7-litre V8 using Sequential Gas Injection.

THE V8 Adventra was a bit of a dog in many respects, but 20 litres/100km is a bit too high. The Adventra is a heavy old nail so I would expect it to be pretty thirsty. I would think it should get 16-17 litres/100km on average. The only thing you can do is to make sure all is well with the engine and the electronics controlling it, make sure your tyres are inflated correctly and that wheel alignment is correct.

YOURS is not the only car that has failed to respond to the fix. Others have been rebuilt more than once. I would recommend you reject the area manager's assessment and pursue a fix, probably another rebuild. I would doubt that the rattle will get any worse and it's unlikely to cause any major problem in the long term, but it sure will be an annoyance now that you hear it. I wouldn't be so concerned about the rattle, but I would be careful about high oil consumption. I would certainly get it fixed.