Driver’s Manual for the Niva 1600

(Vaz 2121 series)

Operator’s Manual

This Manual contains a description of the Lada Niva car, description of its' parts, driving tips and specifications. This Manual was scanned from an original Manual supplied with a 1989 Niva 1600. Some details may have changed for subsequent Niva models, notably the Niva 1700 Bushmaster. This Manual complements the Niva Maintenance Manual which I produced in early 1998. This Manual provides information useful for everyday drivers of the Niva such as descriptions of buttons, gauges, switches etc. There is also a good description of the car’s appointments for the prospective driver.

The Manual is intended to provide a replacement Manual for owners of Lada Nivas who were not provided with a Manual when purchasing their car. It is not an extra Manual and does not contain any information other than what is contained in the original driver’s Manual (except for a few comments I have added and the table of contents). It has been designed to print double sided - hence the arrangements of the wider inner margins.

The Manual contains the following sections:

Introduction

A brief description of the car

Important notices

Information about practices and procedures that must be adhered to, to ensure optimal performance of the car over a long time. Contains do’s and dont’s of driving a Niva.

Description

This section contains description of parts of the Niva 1600 - (Vaz 2121). Explanations are given of what things are, not necessarily how they work.

Instruments and Controls

Gives a detailed explanation of how to use all of the instruments and controls on the car dashboard, steering wheel and central panel.

Appointments

Explains the use of such things as rear-vision mirrors, ventilation, heating, ash-tray, doors(window-wipers, opening etc), adjusting seats, tail-gate and opening the hood.

Operating instructions

This section provides advice and instructions on how to drive the car - including advice on how to start the engine in particularly cold weather.

© 1989 - 1999. You may freely print as many copies of this manual for your own use only as you wish provided that you own a Lada Niva. You may not copy, modify, print or in any other way distribute this manual for a profit or cost. You may not charge may money what-so-ever including; copying, printing, paper or others costs for this manual. This manual may not be stored on shareware CD-Roms, web-sites other than Galactic Niva or other storage medium.               Galactic Niva              (http://members.tripod.com/~vaz2121/niva/index.htm).

Lada Niva Driver’s Manual                            Jason Chapman

Table of Contents

Page 5

INTRODUCTION             

IMPORTANT NOTICES             

DESCRIPTION             

IDENTIFICATION DATA             

Lubricating system.             

Fuel system.             

Crankcase breathing system.             

Cooling system.             

Ignition system.             

Exhaust system.             

Transmission             

Clutch.             

Gearbox.             

Transfer case.             

Propeller shafts.             

Front axle.             

Rear axle.             

Suspension             

Front suspension.             

Rear suspension.             

Steering Gear and Wheels             

Steering gear.             

Wheels             

Tyres             

Brakes             

Service brakes             

Parking brake             

Electrical Equipment             

Storage battery             

Alternator             

Voltage regulator             

Starter             

Car radio             

Windshield wiper             

Heater motor             

Ignition switch.             

External lighting and light signalling system.             

Instrument panel.             

Bulbs.             

Body             

Car appointments:             

Ventilation and heating.             

Keys             

Air Conditioning             

INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS             

1. Headlight switch lever.             

2. direction indicator switch lever.             

3. Ignition switch.             

Anti-theft lock             

6 windshield wiper switch lever.             

11. parking brake lever.             

15 map shelf.             

19 swivelling air deflectors.             

20 air intake port cover control lever.             

21 heater cock control lever.             

22 heater fan three position switch.             

23 back window wiper and washer switch.             

24 external lighting switch.             

25 choke control knob.             

28 coolant temperature gauge.             

29 brake fluid low level warning lamp             

30 transfer differential lock warning lamp             

34 headlight upper beam warning lamp             

35 direction indicator warning lamp             

36 marker light warning lamp             

37 trip counter resetting             

38 tachometer             

39 choke warning lamp             

40 battery no charge warning lamp             

61 parking brake warning lamp             

43 low oil pressure warning lamp             

45 low fuel warning lamp             

46 instrument lighting switch.             

49 headlight wiper switch.             

50 back window heater switch             

51 cigarette lighter.             

52 rear fog lamp switch             

53 emergency flasher warning light switch.             

APPOINTMENTS             

Sun visors             

Rear view mirrors             

Ventilation and heating             

Windshield Demisting             

Heating             

Doors             

Seats             

Engine hood             

Installing the number plates             

Fuel tank cap             

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS             

Starting the engine from cold             

Starting from Hot             

MOVING OFF             

Driving hints             

Stopping and parking the car             

Running in             

Seat belts             

Adjusting the spark advance angle             

Towing the car             

Tables             

Basic Characteristics and Dimensions             

Engine             

Filling Capacities. Litres             

Main Adjustment and Test Data             

INTRODUCTION

The VAZ2121 is a comfortable, high speed, all wheel drive, cross country, economy car intended to carry passengers and loads on paved roads of any kind and on dirt roads. The car design makes it possible to operate the car at ambient temperatures ranging from plus 45"C down to minus 40 "C.

The advanced design and use of high quality lubricants ensure reliable engine starting at low ambient temperatures down to minus 25"C without a starting pre-heater. If the car is to be operated at ambient temperatures below minus 25"C, it should be kept in a warm garage to ensure reliable starting of the engine. A double circuit brake system incorporating a low brake fluid level warning device and a rear brake pressure regulator comply with the modern safety standards for passenger cars.

High operating properties and dependability, long service life and low labour input in maintenance largely depend upon strict observance of the operating and servicing rules.

The present Manual contains basically a description of the VAZ2121 car, whereas the design features VAZ21212 car are given in a separate chapter.

Inasmuch as the design of the VAZ cars is being constantly perfected, some units and mechanisms may somewhat differ from those described in the present Manual.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Prior to starting the regular operation of the car the Owner is invited to carefully study the present Manual.

The excellent performance of the car will become more conspicuous and its life will be considerably longer if the Owner strictly adheres to the recommendations laid down below.

The comfortable car is easy to steer and exhibits high spurt and speed capabilities on the road which fact ranks the car with ordinary passenger cars. However, it differs from them in its cross-country ability on slushy dirt roads, sand and snow. Nevertheless, the Owner should always remember that the car is not intended for constant operation un der heavy road conditions.

If the car is driven in heavy sections of the road (on mud or sand), wash the car carefully and examine the following parts more frequently than usual:

·  Front wheel hub seals and lubricant

·  Front brake friction pads;

·  Protective rubber boots of the suspension ball supports, steering rod joints, and front wheel drive joints. If the boot is damaged, water and mud penetrate into the joint, causing its abnormal wear and failure. A damaged boot should be immediately replaced with a new one.

After negotiating a deep (0.5 m) ford, check before a trip for water in the power transmission units. Do it by loosening the drain plugs until drops appear. Oil drops indicate that there is no water in the unit.

Do not overload the car in excess of the specified limits. Overloading results in damage of the front suspension elements, bending of the rear axle beam, premature wear of the tyres, vibration of the body end loss of road stability. The mass of the load on the roof luggage carrier (including that of the carrier) should not excess 50 kg with the payload not exceeding 400 kg.

Elastic suspension of the car absorbs vibrations when driving speedily on bad roads. Sharp jolts, how ever, may cause deformation of the lower wishbone shafts and damage other parts of the Therefore, when driving roads, do not speed up and avoid striking the curb-stones.

Do not lock the differential at the moment of slipping of both wheels of one of the car driving axles. Lock the differential in advance, taking into consideration the road conditions. Upon negotiating the difficult sections, unlock the differential since driving along good roads with the differential locked running gear. on such shortens the life of the power transmission mechanisms, and increases the tyre wear and fuel consumption; when braking. the car may go skidding. The differential locking is in dictated by the warning lamp on the instrument panel.

The engine, gearbox, transfer case, front and rear axles of the Ear should be lubricated only with the oils recommended by the Manufacturer (refer to Appendix 2). The use of oils of other grades will result in premature failure of said units and mechanisms.

The engine is designed to run on gasoline with an octane number not lower than 91. Operation on gasoline with lower octane numbers is not allowed. Red-orange tinted gasoline AN-93 is ethylated. Ethylated gasoline is poisonous, therefore keep it off the hands, skin, clothes and upholstery. Any operations which could result in penetration of ethylated gasoline or its vapours into the mouth are particularly intolerable.

Never use the starter to move the car from rest. Move off only in the 1st gear. If the engine fails to run after three attempts to start it, check the fuel system or ignition system, and eliminate the cause of poor engine starting.

Do not apply the starter with the engine running, since that may lead to breakage of the starter pinion or flywheel teeth.

Never race the engine to the speed bringing the tachometer pointer in the red zone of the scale. If the tachometer pointer is found within the yellow zone, the engine speed approaches the maximum permissible limit (the edge of the red zone).

Bear in mind that exhaust gases are poisonous. Therefore, the premises where the engine is started and warmed up should be properly ventilated.

Do not operate the car with the low engine oil pressure warning lamp glowing. Lighting up of this lamp is permissible at the minimum idling speed. On increasing the engine speed, the lamp must go off. Glowing of the lamp at the engine service speeds indicates insufficient oil pressure in the eng...