Lurching Previa and gas conversion

[Stuart Dexter]

I've just acquired a 1991 Previa, 110,000 miles. One of the originals. Very happy with it except it tends to lurch about and fuel consumption is horrendous

1. Sloppy suspension. Is it worn shocks, poor tyre mix, or just a feature of mid engine, rear wheel drive, and excessive PAS

2. MPG: Anybody done a happy gas conversion?

[+Steve]

I would change shockers... you will notice big difference

As for Gas conversion.. hmmm something i would stay away from unless the company who do the conversion have done many before. Some cars are ok with conversions and some are pigs afterwards!

Seek professional advice on the conversion!

[milly37]

Only just registered hence delay between original post and reply.

I have a 97 Previa that I had converted to run with LPG with an approved supplier of Landi-renzo kit. The conversion was carried out when I bought the vehicle privately with 80,000 on the clock.

On the whole I have been happy with the conversion and have saved a considerable sum of money in the 50,000 miles I've done since conversion. The things you need to consider are

1. where to get it done. As already stated if they've not done one before you don't want to be the guinea pig.

2. where to put the tank.

I have the doughnut tank which replaces the spare wheel. I wanted to retain as much space in the rear of the car for kiddy stuff and so decided to go down this route. On short journeys I dispense with the spare and on longer ones I have to chuck it in the boot.

My only grumble has been the size of my tank (48 litres, takes 40) and a problem where the car stalls when I first switch to gas. This was traced to incorrect installation. The maximum actuator was fitted further from mixer than is recommendedand Mixer has been fitted wrong side of throttle bypass pipe.”

I would have no hesitation in recommending LPG,it will save you a fortune.

[yngvizz]

My car has a autogas intallation and it cuts cost

in half as the price per litre is 60% cheaper than petrol here in Oslo.

I have a 92, and it is a big investment on a quite old car.

Yngvizzzzz

[miti-babe]

I've just acquired a 1991 Previa, 110,000 miles.  One of the originals. Very happy with it except it tends to lurch about and fuel consumption is horrendous

1.  Sloppy suspension.  Is it worn shocks, poor tyre mix, or just a feature of mid engine, rear wheel drive, and excessive PAS

2.  MPG:  Anybody done a happy gas conversion?

←

Stuart

Re: Sloppy Supension... if you've come to the Previa via something smaller & closer to the ground, I'll take some time before you're comfy with the interesting handling characteristics of such a big ol' bus..

I too have a '91 model and I've learnt a little in the past year that may help you out...

Tyre pressure: Vitally important and a few lbs too low makes a much bigger difference that on other cars I've had...

Tyre condition: We had a n/s/f/ tyre that was badly worn due to incorrect tracking... even after the tracking was sorted, the worn tyre had a big effect on the steering & handling...

Tyre Size: The older Previas often suffer from "old car/cheap owner" syndrome and the £100 ish price tag for 215/65 R 15 tyres is often too much to bear for these tightwads. :arrgg-matey:

Our Previa came to us with 205/70 R 15 tyres which are suitable for light vans, but not the Previa, the incorrect aspect ratio makes the car unstable at speed and unpredictable in corners, plus the narrower profile cuts down on grip...

Tyre Loading: Pick good quality tyres that are load rated 96H or higher... the Previa weighs plenty... ours is dual fuel and with a full load of people, fuel and sarnies, I would not want to get in the way of it!! :o The correct tyres don't wobble about so much on the rims and can support the weight in corners...

So, we sorted all the handling problems we had by fitting Michelin Pilot Pimacy tyres - 215/65 R 15 96H - we changed the wheels at the same time (anyone need some old original wheels?) but retained the wheel size and tyre aspect ratio... the difference in the handling and overall ride has been phenomenal

Our '91 bus has nearly 17K miles and I think that the rear shockers have been replaced during that... the front look original though... :hokus-pokus:

I hope this helps B)

Jeff

p.s. That should be 170k miles and just for info, if you buy your Michelins from Costco, when they've got their Tyre Deal on, you can get four tyres for the price of three... we did this and also benefitted from the Michelin cashback deal at the same time, so the 4 Michelins were about £250... being a tightad myself... I bought a cheaper Goodyear as a spare and that was only £65 without any deals... can't be bad!