Hello everyone !
I just bought a daihatsu sirion 2 1.3, 100th anniversary edition ! I love the car so far and I have a few questions for you guys.
First off, Is the K3-VE a reliable engine ? I read online that the timing chain had to be changed at around 100 000 kms, is that real ? I never heard of chains needing replacing on any engine, so that would be news to me.
Thanks so much for answering, wishing you all a great day,
Lucas
Welcome. Great Daihatsu you have there. Reliability is contingent upon service history.
This is true. Daihatsus are unforgiving, when their owners become negligent on maintenance. The chains are quite long, in these engines. Because a compound chain system isn’t used, the tensioner/guide looks to be the Achille’s Heel here, as the surface area of this bit looks critical to proper lubrication. The following image presents what appears to be a K3-VE who’s oil change schedule has been ignored:
https://www.daihatsu-drivers.uk/node/17757
[quote=]…engine oil isn’t just a lubricant anymore, it is also used in a ‘hydraulic’ sense to operate valve timing adjuster mechanisms so keeping the engine oil clean is super paramount…[/quote]
Hi @Butch_Butcher, thanks for the answer !
I read on that forum that the chain had become rattly and the oil changes have been neglected, which is not the case on my car (I have all previous record and the oil changes are all within the 10k kms range, and no ratlles thus far).
Do you think it’s still something that has to be done preemptively ?
Thanks for your answers,
cheers
Previous records don’t necessarilly mean that the maintenance claimed had been genuinely performed. Chances are that it has.
The only way to verify these claims is to disassemble the engine to the point where cleanliness can be seen or not. A removed valve cover isn’t guaranteed to be proof, because it’s easy to access and cleanse. No seller would go out of his way, however, to remove a timing chain cover only for cleansing.
Cutting open a used oil filter will reveal wear
I wouldnt worry about anything. My sirion has had a rattle for the last 80k (bought with 160k now had over 240k). Rattle hasn’t got any worse and no timing chain has failed. Same with my girlfriends sirion. Never changed the timing chain and no problems at all. Just replace the oil and filter regular.
My dad drives the 1.5 and although its not the same engine he also never changed the chain and that car is still running strong with more than 250k.
Oh and yes you can see that my car has been neglected by the previous owners. If you look through the oil filler you can see allot of blackness.
And I drive the car hard. I like acceleration and don’t really need/drive the car often anymore (20k a year) so when I drive it I drive like I stole it xD
Could be that I’m just lucky
