Introduce yourself here!

[PapiGringo]

Not sure if I'm posting this right, Its my first try at joining a forum, but I just bought my first VX four days ago. Its siliver, has 33's, and I'm pumped to be a lucky owner of one.

[Mile High VX]

Welcome to the obsession...have a great time with you new VX!

Make sure you keep track of the oil usage until you get a feel for it. Some are thirsty and some not so much...start with checking every time you put gas in it and then go from there.

Too many new owners have ended up with a bad motor because they didn't know about the thirsty nature of their new found joy.

[PapiGringo]

Hey thank you, I will definetly keep an eye on the oil level. My VX has 130,000 miles on it, the owner before me took good care of it, and I want to do like wise.

[CatFish]

Welcome, and do keep an eye on the oil consumption, my VX has not had a consumption problem but my old Trooper did so it can start doing it at any time.

[tom4bren]

Welcome to the family Papi.

Also take a quick look at your CV boots. Since you're lifted, it puts the CVs at a sharper angle and it can cause your boots to tear (ask me how I know). If you have torn boots, it's not that bad of a fix that you can do yourself ... but if you wait, then the CVs can be damaged & that's a lot more involved.

[PapiGringo]

I will take a look at the CV boots next chance I get, thank you. You guys have been great. A couple of days ago I have never even heard of a VX before, now I cant get enough. Love the help guys, I'll take all I can get.

[Cire36]

My name is Duncan.

I've been lurking for a couple of days and just purchased a 1999 Ironman edition VX. I've always liked the looks of the VX's and have wanted one for a long time. It will come in handy this winter since I live in MI.

[tom4bren]

Welcome to the family Duncan.

The VX is a blast but does require some TLC. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

[jimmyray]

I am a mechanic by trade but i usually only fix cars for my friends now and thats how i first saw a VX. I used to post ads on craigslist for mechanic services offered and i met a guy with many cool cars. Over the years i have done a lot of work for him and just recently i worked on a VX he had. I installed a custom towing hitch on it and i started to like the rig! Well long story short he bought another one and dropped it off to me to work on it. Two days in i sold my truck and bought the 1999 Ironman White edition that i now own!

[tom4bren]

Jimmy,

Nice story. Hope your Ironman has a good life with you.

Tom

[rattlesnake]

I'm new to forum and a new VX owner. We inherited the 2001 car and while we think it's great we can't keep it. I'd appreciate any advice on how to get it into the hands of someone who will really enjoy it and give it the love it deserves.
I live in Massachusetts.

Thanks for any help. It's clear you all are passionate about the VX so I know I've come to the right place.

[JoFotoz]

Hi Rattlesnake.

Posting a 'for sale' thread here with pics/price and full details would be you best bet .




Jo

[TonyVX]

Hello Everyone,

I hear this is the place to introduce myself so here I go.

The bio stuff:

I'm a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, a sailor by trade, but now I work as Public Affairs Officer so I can be used by the Army, Air Force, or Navy. At the moment the Army has me and I live in Edmonton, Alberta. I'm not sure, but that could make me one of the most northen VX owners. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

My VX Story:

I moved to Edmonton from Vancouver in 2012. Unlike in Vancouver, in Edmonton it's impossible to have a family and only one car. My first inclilnation with the weather and roads the way they are up here was to get a used Pathfinder or Xterra. You can swing a dead cat in Edmonton and find one of those. I took a look and couldn't find one that I liked. Couple that with the fact that my wife was getting antsy about the added expense of another vehicle.

I adjust my search for around the $5000 price range and a 1999 VX popped up on Kijiji (I don't know if you have it in the US. Its like a Canadian Craigslist).

"WTF is that?!?!" I said to myself. "Are those teeth?"

So I moved on to look at other vehicles but I couldn't get that thing out of my head. I kept thinking about that "shoulders-forward, bulldog" kind of stance that it has. I loved the interior. I loved the story of the concept car becoming reality for a limited run.

So I went to look at it. I had pretty much decided to buy it before I got there!

The woman who owned it said her former boyfriend had bought if for her on Ebay in 2007. It came from South Carolina. That's when things started to get crazy.

When I earlier asked her over the phone if the the 137,000 was miles or kilometres, she assured me it was kilometres. She was wrong. This was a theme in our negotiations.

Upon discovering the SC origins of the VX, it was determined (to the owners surprise) that yes, in fact, we were talking miles. I remained undeterred.

Next she told me told me she's never had a problem with the truck and besides regular oil changes, she has NEVER HAD TO DO ANYTHING TO IT. To her, this was a selling point. To me it was a red flag. I assumed the timing belt was changed at 75,000 miles before she got her hands on it, but I'm reasonably sure that beyond oil, any other fluids are "original"

Still, I keep going.

She has no license plate so the test drive is around the block. I'm no mechanic so all I know is that the engine started and didn't sound bad. I even looked under the hood, but there could have been a thousand hamsters on a thousand treadmills and I would have thought that was ok.

The VX is built like a tank so I was expecting an "assault vehicle" kind of ride. Was not dissapointed.

I told the owner I would get it inspected before I made her an offer. Strangely enough, my wife talked me out of that. She wanted to jump on this so the next day we said we'd buy it.

Fast forward to the day after that and I show up to give her the money and take ownership and she can't get it started. She keeps telling me there is a problem with the "starter" and she has ordered a new one.

She tells me we just have to boost it. "Problem with the starter?" I think to myself. "Not if we are going to boost it!"

At this point she says, "Let me just get an extension cord so we don't have to push it out of the garage." Extension cord? This should be good.

As she is searching for an extension cord, I casually say "I've never seen a car boosted from a house before. I'm curious to see how this works."

I get a blank stare from her. "Oh my gosh!" she says. "I don't know what I was thinking! I'm a little scatterbrained today because I'm on a new medication."

At that moment, a large neon signs is blinking in my head "RUN!"

I think it's at that moment that I decide "I need to rescue this car!"

I push it out of the garage (not easy - VX is heavier than it looks) and boost it and get out of there.

I've had it for about 5 days now. Had to replace the battery. Had to replace the watch batteries for the fob for the remote starter (that was the starter she said she was having problems with) and I'm on the road!

I LOVE the VX! My wife loves it and so does my 5 year old daughter - at least until she gets older and feels stuffed back there! Not my problem though.

I plan to do a lot to bring it back from its years of neglect - not all at once though.

- new tires
- new brakes and rotors
- alignment
- ABS (light is on and it doesn't work. Assume it's the module)
- new timing belt (that happens at 150,000 I believe)
- rejuvenate the cladding (GatorBlack or PlastiDip)
- remove some rust spots on hood and door
- new hood insert
- debadge (the "VehiCross" on the sides is cracking and scratched)
- new paint
- new stero and speakers (speakers are blown and there is a big hole where the original CD changer used to be)
- reupholster seats (maybe)
- roof basket

I've been scouring the forums and this place is a trove of information. I'm really glad that it's here and there is this community around the VX. It's one of the reasons I bought this car/truck/assault vehicle -whatever you want to call it.

If you've read this far, thanks for sticking around. I know it was a long one.

Glad to be here!

Cheers,
Tony

PS: I'll post some photos as soon as I figure out how to do that. I'm usually good at computer stuff, but I can't figure it out at the moment.

[JoFotoz]

Hiya Tony

Welcome to the addiction

You'll find the 'search' function very useful ...
...and there is a wealth of knowledge / tips / fix its here that will
help you sort all problems, and save ya $$'s too

If you cant find what youre looking for with 'search'...
..fire away with questions... someone will know the answer !!




Jo

[VX KAT]

Great story Tony! Welcome!

CHECK THE OIL - CHECK THE OIL - CHECK THE OIL!
With that sketchy history, no way to know if it's eating oil or not. It's a very common issue with the VX and it has caused way too many engines to die before their time. It basically "consumes" the oil, so there's no leaking puddle, and often you never will notice any smoke from exhaust. It often gets sucked up thru the PCV valve and vaporized. And the crank case ends up mysteriously low or empty! So carry 1 gallon with you at all times, and check it every day or every other day until you can identify it's pattern. Some find it only loses oil on long highway trips.

Here's a questionnaire a few of us developed, it's very VX specific and might give you a few areas to check on your new assault vehicle!
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...4&postcount=24

You've got yourself a vehicle like no other, with a devoted group of followers that carry on the obsession! YAH!!!

Like Jo said, use Search, but if you can't find it, ask away. With it being 15+ yrs old, there's not many issues or questions that haven't already been raised and discussed on this forum!

Welcome again!