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I am really hoping that once I bleed the brakes, change the tie rods and wheel hub, I can drive this car again with little to no issues…I would’ve ditched the car and bought another if I was able, but now I can’t afford to put much more money into this nightmare at the moment :/
I am really hoping that once I bleed the brakes, change the tie rods and wheel hub, I can drive this car again with little to no issues…I would’ve ditched the car and bought another if I was able, but now I can’t afford to put much more money into this nightmare at the moment :/
Well, yes…As far as the “engine trouble” I thought I was having…is starting to seem like total bull as of lately. Since I changed the oil, the only engine issue I’ve had was a near-overheat one night because of a faulty radiator cap (which I have since replaced; see attached) that left me with a lack of coolant/antifreeze. I know it sounds excessive to “dump money” into this car but I’ve been searching for a 2nd gen eclipse for months and aside from the tie rod and wheel hub, it drives like a dream…well compared to the mustang (which has multiple problems, including a rough engine and is rear wheel drive…like comparing apples to oranges) If you’d like, I can post a video showing how the car runs because I could be wrong about that…but, I haven’t had anyone point out abnormalities (aside from the wheel hub/bearing noise)
Quite frankly, I should’ve turned the used car place down on their offer (their tag price was $2,988 whereas Blue Book says $1,750 on a good day with minimal repairs…and I should’ve noticed the place is a tad sketchy in the first place, aside from the city it’s located in ._.) because 2 days later, there was a GSX in much better condition being sold for $2,500 locally :/ but, first car, live and learn.
Well, yes…As far as the “engine trouble” I thought I was having…is starting to seem like total bull as of lately. Since I changed the oil, the only engine issue I’ve had was a near-overheat one night because of a faulty radiator cap (which I have since replaced; see attached) that left me with a lack of coolant/antifreeze. I know it sounds excessive to “dump money” into this car but I’ve been searching for a 2nd gen eclipse for months and aside from the tie rod and wheel hub, it drives like a dream…well compared to the mustang (which has multiple problems, including a rough engine and is rear wheel drive…like comparing apples to oranges) If you’d like, I can post a video showing how the car runs because I could be wrong about that…but, I haven’t had anyone point out abnormalities (aside from the wheel hub/bearing noise)
Quite frankly, I should’ve turned the used car place down on their offer (their tag price was $2,988 whereas Blue Book says $1,750 on a good day with minimal repairs…and I should’ve noticed the place is a tad sketchy in the first place, aside from the city it’s located in ._.) because 2 days later, there was a GSX in much better condition being sold for $2,500 locally :/ but, first car, live and learn.
Also, quick note/PSA: be careful when zipping off nuts with an impact wrench (namely castle nuts with a stuck cotter pin) because you may end up torquing the nut so much you just strip it, so it gets stuck in place. This happened to me while I was taking off the old outer tie rod end and wound up having to grind off the stud from the tie rod end and prying off the castle nut o_o makes for a funny story (thankfully the new tie rod ends came with nice shiny new hardware, including a cotter pin for the new castle nut) but you may not be so lucky if you find yourself in this position
Also, quick note/PSA: be careful when zipping off nuts with an impact wrench (namely castle nuts with a stuck cotter pin) because you may end up torquing the nut so much you just strip it, so it gets stuck in place. This happened to me while I was taking off the old outer tie rod end and wound up having to grind off the stud from the tie rod end and prying off the castle nut o_o makes for a funny story (thankfully the new tie rod ends came with nice shiny new hardware, including a cotter pin for the new castle nut) but you may not be so lucky if you find yourself in this position
Another update (someone please stop me) I finally ordered the tie rods and wheel hub, bought new front tires (which were installed quite quickly for a saturday…usually takes up to an hour if they’re busy, but today I waited 5 minutes er so, went out for a smoke, and shortly after I lit it, they had finished and moved my car back out) and did an oil change (aww, his first one…) which was a bit of a nightmare because I bought a spring-loaded hook-esque type oil filter wrench…which didn’t fit into the Bermuda Triangle that was surrounding the filter…an hour er two, $4 and a partially crushed old oil filter later, the oil pan was filled with clean, Pennzoil high mileage oil. So far, the oil and new tires severely improved the ride of my Eclipse, but I can still feel the loose tie rod (when I rotated the tires with more tread to the front drive wheels, the left tie rod was loose and had some play while the right was solid as a rock) and wheel hub, which I did do the “test” Eric had done in a video some time ago (isolate the wheels, see if you can hear the problem) so I will fix those when my parts come in the mail. I think I will start a new thread on *specifically* that, because the engine isn’t a major issue…at all. Screw the head gasket, it appears to be fine for the moment.
The attached photo is a better idea of how the oil pan, exhaust, and axle got in my friggin’ way while trying to use the spring loaded hook wrench…which dented the edge of the filter so much that the other type of wrench (ratchet attachment that fits on the bottom of the filter) couldn’t get a grip…I eventually somehow managed the other one off by sheer luck. Anyway, enough of my inane rambling.
Another update (someone please stop me) I finally ordered the tie rods and wheel hub, bought new front tires (which were installed quite quickly for a saturday…usually takes up to an hour if they’re busy, but today I waited 5 minutes er so, went out for a smoke, and shortly after I lit it, they had finished and moved my car back out) and did an oil change (aww, his first one…) which was a bit of a nightmare because I bought a spring-loaded hook-esque type oil filter wrench…which didn’t fit into the Bermuda Triangle that was surrounding the filter…an hour er two, $4 and a partially crushed old oil filter later, the oil pan was filled with clean, Pennzoil high mileage oil. So far, the oil and new tires severely improved the ride of my Eclipse, but I can still feel the loose tie rod (when I rotated the tires with more tread to the front drive wheels, the left tie rod was loose and had some play while the right was solid as a rock) and wheel hub, which I did do the “test” Eric had done in a video some time ago (isolate the wheels, see if you can hear the problem) so I will fix those when my parts come in the mail. I think I will start a new thread on *specifically* that, because the engine isn’t a major issue…at all. Screw the head gasket, it appears to be fine for the moment.
The attached photo is a better idea of how the oil pan, exhaust, and axle got in my friggin’ way while trying to use the spring loaded hook wrench…which dented the edge of the filter so much that the other type of wrench (ratchet attachment that fits on the bottom of the filter) couldn’t get a grip…I eventually somehow managed the other one off by sheer luck. Anyway, enough of my inane rambling.
So far, I’ve spent ~$250 on tools that we didn’t have and supplies for an oil change. I’ve recently remember that I got a check engine light for an EGR valve and looked into that…now I’m starting to think that may be a simpler explanation as to why my car runs so rough. Thankfully, the rest of the parts aren’t that expensive and I wont be paying more than I did for the car initially ($2,500 before tax/title; only ~$400-500 for parts and new set of proper tools) The head gasket was a stupid thing to worry about right now honestly, I mean the car isn’t running THAT badly, and I’ve still got decent compression….I was just temporarily fooled by a suggestion from the shop guy.
Edit: As in love with the idea of working in the high school’s auto shop, I cant because I’m no longer a student so insurance liability comes into play…time to buy a better, adjustable set of jack stands
So far, I’ve spent ~$250 on tools that we didn’t have and supplies for an oil change. I’ve recently remember that I got a check engine light for an EGR valve and looked into that…now I’m starting to think that may be a simpler explanation as to why my car runs so rough. Thankfully, the rest of the parts aren’t that expensive and I wont be paying more than I did for the car initially ($2,500 before tax/title; only ~$400-500 for parts and new set of proper tools) The head gasket was a stupid thing to worry about right now honestly, I mean the car isn’t running THAT badly, and I’ve still got decent compression….I was just temporarily fooled by a suggestion from the shop guy.
Edit: As in love with the idea of working in the high school’s auto shop, I cant because I’m no longer a student so insurance liability comes into play…time to buy a better, adjustable set of jack stands
For the time being, I’m going to take this in stages. First the tires, tie rods, brakes and wheel hub. Afterwards, I may get a few second opinions from local auto shops instead of the O’brien dealership, see what they may think could be the issue (probably do that where I’m getting an alignment after this work). If you’d like, I can post of a video soon of how its running, and any abnormal sounds so you can get a better idea?
For the time being, I’m going to take this in stages. First the tires, tie rods, brakes and wheel hub. Afterwards, I may get a few second opinions from local auto shops instead of the O’brien dealership, see what they may think could be the issue (probably do that where I’m getting an alignment after this work). If you’d like, I can post of a video soon of how its running, and any abnormal sounds so you can get a better idea?
Honestly Eric, you’re right. I mean, I had no intent on pulling the engine apart if I didn’t need to and all I’m going to do to it (in respects to this potential head gasket issue) is a leak-down test and if that comes up fine, I’m not worried about it…it still runs, and sure burns/leaks oil but its not gonna die anytime soon, so meh. But, I am for sure going to do the tie rod end(s), brakes and wheel hub. They also mentioned on the repair sheet that the power steering and trans. fluids need to be flushed/changed, and that shouldn’t be horribly hard to do. That wheel hub has been driving (no pun intended) me up the wall for a while now, and considering it may be a safety hazard, it’s probably one of my top priorities. As far as the engine, don’t fix something that isn’t broken.
Honestly Eric, you’re right. I mean, I had no intent on pulling the engine apart if I didn’t need to and all I’m going to do to it (in respects to this potential head gasket issue) is a leak-down test and if that comes up fine, I’m not worried about it…it still runs, and sure burns/leaks oil but its not gonna die anytime soon, so meh. But, I am for sure going to do the tie rod end(s), brakes and wheel hub. They also mentioned on the repair sheet that the power steering and trans. fluids need to be flushed/changed, and that shouldn’t be horribly hard to do. That wheel hub has been driving (no pun intended) me up the wall for a while now, and considering it may be a safety hazard, it’s probably one of my top priorities. As far as the engine, don’t fix something that isn’t broken.
Fair enough. For a ’98, it’s got ~175k miles on it.
I question if it was just spilled accidentally, or actually leaked. And trust me, I know…the mustang I was driving had oil that was in a constant state of change, so to speak. A friend of mine threw a piston in his Hyundai Santa Fe by not adding oil (which has sat for about a year since…) and my brother blew up his friend’s car by not adding oil as needed. My plan is to do an oil change while I’ve got the front end up for work, but also check the oil pan gasket and plug, maybe they’re leaking as well? Still doesn’t entirely explain where/why I’m burning oil, but may slow the loss at least. The previous owner did not seem to care much, if at all about quality of parts/how it ran…although the interior is in somewhat decent condition, at least.
