australian lada niva forum

Hello people.
I don't have a niva yet
but i'm trying...
My housemate just bought one in Toowoomba
and now i'm hooked
If you know of one for sale in QLD/NSW please let me know.
Cheers,
Ian

is that sharon??

you'll wish you had one since the day you were born,best 4wd money can buy.....

Good to see the Niva Bug has another "victum"...... I mean enthusiast they are a great little 4wd, and more than capable of tackling the biggest of climbs, and taking on those big nasty patrols and landcruisers as long as you let the tyre pressure down a little while doing the climbs we all live and learn

Thanks for the welcome.
Andy, not Sharon.....Tanya.
Cheers,
Ian.

hi ian,

wrong girl,i know of a shron from toowoomba who bought a niva from our way last weekend.

below is a list of little things to look out for with the lada,i always like to email it to new lada owners,saves a LOT of dramas,espeacially with the gearbox (eh mark )


some helpful hints.....



most people forget to adjust the timing chain,make sure it is done every 10,000kms (you owners handbook in the glove box even shows you how to do this-2 minute job)
the owners h/book is like a mini w/shop manual,shows how to do most adjustments etc.yourself,including carb.float level,valve clearance etc.,if you don't have one,would be well worth talking to the guys and investing in one,even a repair manual,if you do the work yourself.
you'll find the lada is very easy & simple to work on (if only more cars were like this)

few simple things to do:

adjust t/chain every 10,000kms (every time you change oil filter)

use only genuine oil filters (we have a lot of problems with the cheap & nasty filters failing,and causing engine damage.,most non gen.are usually made in places like china,pakistan etc. (YUCK)

only place prone to rust is at bottom of front guard,take plate off under guard now & then,and give good hose out,fills up with muck & dirt behind it (don't be lazy like some people & leave the plate off,there are drain tubes coming down from corners of windscreen,will block them,and then rusts around cnrs of screen)

only weak spot mechanicaly (same as landbruisers,slowluxes.pajeros etc.) is 5th gear,if you have a 5 speed,don't use 5th under 90km/h (book says 80km/h,since we have been telling people 90,we hardly sell a gear now)

use only premium unleaded,book says not to use under 93 octane,highest grade std.unleaded is only 91 octane,and can drop as low as 85 octane.,
don't look at the price at the pump,will only cost an extra $1-$1.50 to fill,but you get better performance,economy,car stays in tune longer,so much cheaper to use,don't mix with std.,makes more expensive to run.
also,std.unleaded is such a crappy fuel,and so dry,you burn valves out in the head,dry diaphragms out etc. TRUST ME we don't get anything from the fuel companies by telling you this.
doesn't matter whether it's a jap crap,lawn mower,chainsaw,motorbike,premium is mucher better..........

DO NOT put suzuki wheels on,offsets are miles out,will go through wheelbearings,ball joints,tierod ends.and even crack steering boxes

DO NOT fit gas shocks,they are a lot harder/heavier,you would be struggling to hold the car in a straight line on a rutted dirt road,affects offroading because they fight the suspension,and break all the mounting brackets off.

these are the best off road cars you will ever find,and the only time we find people have problems with them is when they start playing with non genuine stuff,like fitting non gen.wheels,non gen.parts etc.etc. (even non gen.brake pads are no good.,they are too hard,make the car harder to pull up,and wear the disc down quickly)
for some reason,some idiots think non gen is the go,but can turn out very expensive (i come back to the oil filters)

hope this info helps

i will pass the info onto the guys in napier so they can contact you (gee motors,napier)
regards

andy.

ps.some people mistake waterpump bearing rattle for t/chain noise,grab fan blades make sure not excessive movement
may need damper in the head











----- Original Message -----
From:
To: andrew@ladaparts.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2006 3:42 PM
Subject: Lada part?



Hi , I live in new Zealand and I have just bough a Niva.

One of its many problems is the timing chain death rattle.

I believe I need some kind of sleve and/or pad, of which I am told you are the best man in the world to but such from.

Can you please give me a quote for this item (including postage to New Zealand). I understand you have an NZ office as well?

Thank you for your time.

Thanks Andy,
also is the nut to adjust the tensioner on the block or is it
on the timing cover somewhere?
Cheers.

it's actually on the drivers side of the cylinder head,just at the front where the manifold starts.
you will have to lean on the drivers guard to look in to find it.
has 2x 10mm nuts holding the tensioner in,the cap you loosen off to adjust chain is 12/13mm