lpg fronty

[amphibianalf]

hi all...its been a long time
after the demise of my trusted fronty iv'e had a couple of small cars to make do but i miss the space and comfort my fronty had so i'm considering buying another one ..
as its going to be my only car so i was thinking about buying one with an lpg conversion to save on running costs..
can anyone give me any advice on what to look for,what to avoid and what mpg i should expect roughly ..i'm looking at 2.2 models though i have seen a nice 3.2 v6 1999 though im told the mpg is not great on gas with these ...
thanks in advance for any advice .....
....cheerz....AL...

[justdan]

Iv a 2.2 on lpg ! I wouldn't bother paying for a system to be fitted it takes years to get your money back now due to the price of lpg , so get 1 already fitted !
I get a equivalent of 40ish mpg on gas ( get about 23mpg on gas , but price equivalent to petrol about 40 if that makes sense !)

[BlueBikerNut]

Hi. I also have 2.2 16v San Diego.. mpg on lpg on Ave is 35ish But thats mainly town work. When out on motorway its up to 40ish. My one was fully fitted by first owner with only 66k on clock from new. for a 1997 model its in great condition. Like what justdan says..Get one already fitted out. Your on to a saver from the start.. I telling you its good to be on LPG.. its like a drug thing..when you had one you want more..lol..and ME being an OAP its a great saver on cash too..Good luck on finding the right vehicle.. fred

[amphibianalf]

hi .... and thanks for the replies....
that was my thoughts aswell, getting one that already has the conversion ....
i do miss my fronty but it was shot...
i need something to lug my fishing gear around and its a pain in my 1.1 pug 206 2 door...
iv'e even been considering going to the dark side, dare i say it a disco but i think it's best to stick to what i know ....
anyone got any thoughts about the 3.2 v6 on lpg and what type of system to look out for or avoid ????
many thanks.....AL....
ps ..what ever i buy i'm thinking about doin a little work on it this time like raising it, a light bar and better suspension

[Andyoz]

I'd go for a 3.2 if I was in your position, I've got one and on the mpg read out I'm averaging 27 mpg equivalent. The extra costs of running a 2.2 with the annual head gasket change followed by the bi annual manifold change and eventually the throwing out of the con rods make their running costs much higher than the reliable 3.2. Plus you've got more power when you need it and all for 2 miles per gallon extra consumption.
I bought mine four years ago with a new, under warranty, conversion with the tank under the boot floor. It's a sixty five litre tank that will accept about fifty litres when empty. I need to refill every 220 miles approx and currently paying 71.9 at Texaco south of Horsham on the A24.
The conversion company that did mine were next to useless when the LPG ECU fried itself. It took them ten weeks to fail to get one from Zavoli in Italy so I instructed them to take one from a kit that they had on the shelf to get me back on to gas again. Their name is Tasso near Hammersmith.
I've got a Range Rover 4.6 with LPG and I can assure you you need LPG with one of those. The conversion kit for that came from Tineley Tech The New Barns
Mill Road, Great Gransden, Cambridgeshire, SG19 3AG. Unfortunately the tank is in the boot which takes up half the space and stops you from using the whole floor when the rear seats are folded down.
Andyoz

[justdan]

I'd be inclined to get the v6 if had a choice. ( I didn't the wife TOLD me I couldn't have 1 (((( )

[AskDean]

the v6 is the way to go as both the 3.2 and the 2.2 return the same economy due to the 2.2 having to drag the b series shell where as the v6 does it with easy and so flys along.

im get 50 miles to a tenner from my beasty but it has been remapped up for more power so running 251bhp so i dont get as good because im a lead footed loon but i recently did 248 miles on £28 of gas from full to refill and refill price was 75p a litre thats 3 up and fully loaded with camping gear.

personally the 3.2 is the only way to go and every one who has tried one would agree especially on lpg

i dont know why people say you wont recover the cost of instillation. compared to petrol you save £1000 every 8000 miles or so that is the saveing im getting now before i had it remapped i saved 1700 on 8750 miles i had the car but then i was a lot more of a sunday driver when i first got it before i went for power over ecomony as even running it this format it is still stupidly cheap to run. ok some times only getting 200 round town rather than 230 or 250 reminds me that im paying for the smile on my face but i dont care i love it they it is lol

[jimmybhoy]

I sold my porsche turbo as i was hammering the fuel.My garage bills always had 3 zeros on them. I decided to get something more economical,......FooK knows why i bought a V6!, it s worse. I bought it, like everything else, because i liked it. The fuel & insurance will be what it is. The V6 does like to , i think it is worse than my turbo.I decided to convert it to gas & recovered my costs in 7 months Even when it was running terrible, it was still running. Never failed to start, & just
keeps on going. Ive been on the verge of selling a few times, 2 weeks ago was the last. what else would i buy, what else will always start no matter what, what
else can i run for pennies, what else owes me nothing, why the Fk am i looking through the ads. Frontera is a keeper till its scrapped im afraid. Get the V6 if you can afford to convert get the best you can afford. This will tell you how long you will recoup the cash http://www.lpgconversionsltd.co.uk/saving-calculator

[4x4 bobby]

3.2V6 in the for sale section wit5h LPG and ive seen it and its a very nice motor.

[amphibianalf]

hi all ....and thanks again..
i had no idea there was extra servicing involved with the 2.2 as andyoz mentioned, i'm ok with working on them myself but if i could avoid having to replace the head gasket annually i would, .... i like the idea of having an auto aswell ...iv'e seen a few 3.2's for sale and most of them have lpg so i will go for one that's already done as they are the same price ... i'm not gonna jump at just anyone i havn't made up my mind fully and will search for the right one and grab it when it comes along but the tank has to be under the boot as that will defeat the object of what i want it for ....
are there any of the extra servicing needs with the v6 ...is there anything iv'e missed ...
....cheerz....AL...

[amphibianalf]

hi all ... iv'e seen a very good condition v6 local to me but it has what id'e consider high mileage 168k but it is spotless and full service history ...
iv'e had a think and have to sell my pug first and this place is a trader and will take mine p/x ....would you guys consider buying a fronty with that mileage on it ????? cheerz......AL....

[vauxsqueeks]

As with all second hand cars there is going to be an element of risk. however the 3.2 is as a rule a fairly bullet proof engine.

The high idle can probably be sorted out easily and cheaply with replacement of the VAC pipes ( about £15 ) and a check/clear on the PCV ( Positive Crank Ventilation ) system/valve. If the service history is there etc then you shouldn't go too far wrong. Just keep the oil & filters regularly changed and it will probably be ok.

[Andyoz]

Al With that mileage check the service history to confirm that the timing belt was changed at around 80,000 and 160,000. Also the water pump if not replaced at 80k should need doing at 160k. The brake calipers will cause problems with seizing on around the 10 years of age. A typical failure is the intake common chamber gaskets. I've not had them fail on any of mine to date but do a search in the 3.2 section and there are descriptions of symptoms and cures to be found there. The egr valve and the interior of the common chamber are prone to coking up with carbon when run on petrol but one run on gas should be quite clean. Have a look at what this guy did to his [linkurl=]http://forum.planetisuzoo.com/viewtopic.php?t=6640[/linkurl] . Out of interest how much is the dealer asking.
Hope this helps
Andyoz

[amphibianalf]

hi all and thanks again for the replies ...
i spoke to the guy but have only seen the pics as yet ...i'm going to see it tomorrow ...he says it has a full service history to date and has a full book of receipts i'll look at these
vauxsqueeks you mention hi idling was you typing another reply at the same time to someone else ????
..
andyoz he is asking £990 for it .... its on autotrader ...silver 1999 ....

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201211294441020/sort/default/usedcars/price-to/1000/model/frontera/make/vauxhall/onesearchad/used/onesearchad/nearlynew/onesearchad/new/postcode/se191lg/quicksearch/true/radius/1501/page/1?logcode=p.

i have seen better deals privately ..lower mileage and the same price but as i said i have to sell my car to get this one and cant really do without a car and he takes p/x...
i would really like to sell mine and go looking for one with lower mileage ....
what do ya think ....AL....

[AskDean]

millage is high but then if the service history is good then should be an issue if the money has been spent on it.

on gas its a good price consideribg there is snow on the tv so prices rise fast

[Andyoz]

Al, I've just noticed that the one you were going to see yesterday has turned up on ebay with a starting price of £1299. [linkurl=]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-VAUXHALL-FRONTERA-LIMITED-V6-AUTO-SILVER-/121033858496?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item1c2e2e1dc0[/linkurl] Did you see it and but it or is the dealer trying to test the market for a higher price.
I forgot to mention about the LPG tank. If it's under-slung it should have three mounting straps to hold it up. Mine had two, until last week that was when I discovered I only had one plus a ground clearance of 3 inches for a nearly full tank. The straps were four years old and last January the one that failed looked ok but moisture had got in and the entire strap was rotten. If there is any sign of rust or bubbling on the plastic coating of the straps replace them straight away.

[amphibianalf]

hi all...
yes i too noticed the ebay listing ...
i didnt get to see it yesterday..had other things to do ..i also noticed the location has changed to the other side of london
its also listed at 160k not 168k...i'm waiting for the guy to call me back about it ..
also i dont need to sell my car first now so the market has just widened up for me ...i have around £1200 cash to spend and the time to do the couple of cosmetic jobs mine needs to be in top condition to sell... so keep your eyes open for an lpg fronty for me ... i dont mind the 2.2 but prefer the 3.2...oh yeh the tank has to be underneath...
cheerz all.......AL....

[amphibianalf]

hi all...
i went to see the 3.2 v6 mentioned above ...lets just say it wasn't as described ...
i'm still looking ... there is a 2.2 lpg that i might get to look at this weekend ...
but still would like an auto 3.2 lpg ...might settle for a 2.2 till i can find one that i like
also been considering a fronty that needs work on it, there's a few listed on the net but it's getting it home, does anyone know anything about 4x4 recovery/pick-up and delivery for hire ??????...
thanks....AL...

[Gh0str1der]

I have the 3.2 v6 on a 51 plate, I had a gas system fitted when I bought her to bring the running costs down. I certainly don't notice any power loss running on LPG and I get approx 240-260 miles on a 70 litre tank costs me about £43.00 a week.

[lpgmad]

Hi lookout for corrosion in the support chassis that holds the rear bumper. B Series.
Some mot stations fail for this others do not, It only? supports the bumper, number plate and number plate lights. not the tow bar so is effectively not structural.
If corroded I would not purchase vehicle.

Others will claim it is a safety crumple zone! al I say it is a badly not available pile of shi -t. As far as crumple zone the tow bar is right in front. (behind?)

My A series 2.4 has had LPG fitted at 60,000 and has just completed 210,000 miles.
serious saving.
My 3.2 has LPG and we worked it out at an equivalent of 30 mpg - Same as my old now defunct 2.3 diesel.
I have just purchased a 3.2 Montery 26 mpg.

GO for a multi point injection system NOT single point.
Single point is not good for accurate economy and also prone to back firing.