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Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 13 Jun 2018, 22:17
by IcePenguin23
Hi all, I have owned my Largo for almost a week now and thought it may be a good idea to get on here as i know nothing about them.
I have bought a '98 largo highway star, 2.4l petrol, auto, 166,000km so about 100,000 miles i think, 10 months MOT, 8 seats (not sure if they all have 8 seats or slightly different mods), glass top with roof sliders and its black over silver.

Upon inspection, before committing to the purchase, it was clear the arches need a little TLC and maybe a rub down on the sills but i had not taken the skirts off. A few blemishes on body/bumper but that doesn't bother me. Seems solid enough underneath with a few age related creeks but i think it adds to its character.

I was weary of oil on the engine though (lifted the front passenger seat). I couldn't locate where it was coming from. To the right hand side i could see what i think was an earth cable (one of those wide/thin/tight/meshy things) that was covered in oil too. I asked the guy to start the engine. Cold start and first time. was running sweet as a nut. no ticking tapping or or hissing. No signs of oil being flicked or spat about, but the oil made me weary, very weary. The guy said that its not leaking oil as its not leaving patches where it is parked (Which i couldn't see any where it was parked). But i see black dirty oil when i lift the seat up! So my head is now going 1000mph thinking Rocker cover? or gasket? Cracked head? or Gasket? Gearbox? doesn't smell like gearbox oil, it could just be age related with a build up of that thick dry oil almost like a think powder, but then some places are quite oily like that earth cable thing. As you can guess, it bugged the hell out of me and kinda threw me off for the rest of the viewing if i'm honest and i had to tell him that. bhw

Anyway, I checked the temp gauge and it was up to temperature and holding. I had a look at the interior and there was a 3-4 inch tear in the drivers seat where the leather meets cloth but everything else was tidy. All original carpets and mats are in good nik, interior trim immaculate and all buttons worked as they should. i took it for a quick spin up the road, he didnt want me to go on a long test run because the vehicle was sorned. steering was fine, full lock was fine, brakes fine, up and down gears sweet, drivers door drops very slightly when opening but not a problem central locking works.

The guys Mrs has had it on the road for 8 years and they have had no problems with it. They do long and short tips in it throughout the year Mainly short, and are selling it because "it was too big for just the wife to potter about the place and they had already bought a small hatchback to replace the largo". They seemed like genuine people who didn't seem to have much knowledge of cars and i just got that feeling that it was a genuine couple with a genuine reason.

It seems pretty good apart from the oil i see and the slight rust on the sills and arches but for 20 years old i wasn't worried about the rust. I reluctantly paid £550 for my nissan largo and i f^*&ing love it! Totally different driving experience. I only want to do 20-30mph incase something falls off with age :pray:

The drive home was smooth and comfortable, no overheating, no silly things happening like heaters sticking on hot (thank god cuz it was boiling here when i picked it up). Got home perfectly. About 45 minutes of A & B roads followed by 10-15 mins of motorway madness but cant complain about anything. I've not seen any fresh oil patches underneath since i brought it home either, which is a weight off my shoulders. Now im finding a bit of difficulty seeking parts for the thing for future reference, and it seems a few people are having the same difficulty.

So thats my first question...

1) Can anyone point me in the right direction for a reliable parts source please? i have tried fastparts, euro car parts etc but doesnt seem to be much about. Ebay seems the best place i can find so far.

2) Are the bootlid mirrors the same fitting on a '96 model as the '98 model because i need one. I have found what i need off of a '96 plate but im unsure if it will fit my '98 you see. Plus it comes with no seal or bolts :clap:

3) How much roughly to fix these arches do you think? £300-£500? just a wild guess. I have attached pics so hopefully they will load up too.

4) I would like to know your thoughts about the oil though from those who have experience with these vehicles.

Thank you for reading my first newbie Largo post. I hope it doesn't bore you or it's not too long or cheeky to ask questions striaght away. I look forward to talking to you all at some point.

Cheers cheers

IcePenguin23

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 15 Jun 2018, 18:59
by scoobydo
Keep check on fluid levels maybe just general build up over years or exhaust manifold leak

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 15 Jun 2018, 21:01
by Subsoil
Rocker gasket no problem to do if it's that.

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 15 Jun 2018, 21:56
by charliepie
Welcome, no time for me to type too much at the mo but I will try to help you as far as I can, my LArgo is a '96 so not sure about the mirror but think it might be ok(can't guarantee it though!) parts used to be fairly easy to find(consumables anyway) but you may struggle for some items now as there are fewer largos on the road and being broken up for spares these days.

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 01:22
by IcePenguin23
Hi all thanks for the replies. I'm hoping the oil is more build up thank leak. Anyhow... I have booked it in for a full inspection. Cost me £36 which I'm happy to pay. They should tell me what's going on then. I'm just not sure what common problems I'm going to encounter. I can be prepared for mot in Feb at least and prioritise work etc.

As for the arches...I got a quote about £300 per arch for a fix that may only last a year. And £450 plus to have them cut and fabricated.
I have a small deepish scrape on the nearside front bumper so I'm going to have a bash at filling and spraying myself. If I can do that patch to a decent standard then I'll do a small area on one of the less rusted arches and so on.

Ill keep you update on the oil etc and maybe start a new project thread instead but that will be next week now.

Thanks again for the advice!

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 20:44
by carole
hi, is yours a glass top or a tin top (roof) ? as I have a tailgate mirror

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 16 Jun 2018, 22:37
by IcePenguin23
Hi I have a glass top. Is there a difference in size between the two types? I found one on ebay for a 96 but I didn't know if it would fit so I didn't buy it incase I was stuck with it. No bolts with it either.

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 17 Jun 2018, 16:37
by carole
yes that's right,the ones that fit your are the longer shaft to the mirror, the tin top ones are a short shaft,due to the position of the fittings, mine has the bolts and the cover.

Re: Hi Everyone! South Wales

Posted: 17 Jun 2018, 19:19
by IcePenguin23
carole wrote:yes that's right,the ones that fit your are the longer shaft to the mirror, the tin top ones are a short shaft,due to the position of the fittings, mine has the bolts and the cover.
Ahh I see. Thanks for the info.