troyota

I regularly use no sump gaskets at all and use a brand called "Forch" its an aerosol RTV Silicone. In years of doing so i have not had a single failure, i mainly use it to replace older cork gaskets. Toyota have been using this process for the last million years.

Check for a constant stream of bubbles in the coolant by removing your radiator cap and running the engine. Bubbles = Blown head Gasket.

I'm not saying don't V6 it, just saying that of all the Holden V6 engines the VN series is by far the worst of all.

Why a VN motor? There are far better options with later model Comodores?

This was a common issue with these since new. It is quite easy to remove the cluster complete and lube the cable up. Its much easier to lube the cable from that end, i would leave the cable in rather than remove it. If my ageing memory is correct we used to cut a small piece of vaccum line and use it as a spacer between the speedo head and cable. This was designed to stop the fluctuation. All said this was some 25 years ago and my memory is not as good as once it was. Don't use WD40 as a lube, its Ok to clean the cable with it. It wont offer any long term lubrication though.

If your car is on the line db wise, even a cloudy day will have an effect on the meters at the track. I used to take a different set of pipes to Amaroo just in case of clouds.

FYI, Nearly all of these vehicles had the regulators replaced under warranty from new. It was a massive (non recall ) from Toyota. Some vehicles even had to undergo under bonnet resprays from the damage caused by overcharging of the battery.

Take a hacksaw to them, or get some that fit .............