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Try to check for the obvious leaks, make sure the petcock (the little drain valve on the radiator) is nice and tight. You could try adding some UV dye to some fresh coolant next time you have to add some, then get a cheap black light and see if you can fi
Now, when they did the rebuild, were the cylinders bored out to the next oversize or did they just re-ring it? What kind of head work was done? Were the valve guides in spec? I had shop put the wrong valve stem seals on a Honda engine before since they ha
The trims are the highest at idle. If you raise the RPM they go down a couple of percent, a few areas are the same as the idle._x000D_
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I said that I already cleaned the MAF – no difference. It was actually perfectly clean to begin with._x000D_
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I’ve done a power bYeah, do a compression and a leak down test. But first you’ll need a belt. If you are deciding whether or not to junk the car buy a cheap belt. If you plan on driving the car a lot more, get a good aftermarket or oem belt, cam/crank seals, and a water pump. Inspect the tensioner too.
You could do a leak down without the timing belt, but you’ll need one for the compression test. If the car runs fine there is probably no damage.
I know quite a few people that have gotten lucky with broken timing belts and the engine being okay. Make sure to change them every 100k miles or so.
When in doubt, lube it up. I’ve bought some before that have a little instruction card that said to grease it after the install because there is a minimal amount of grease in there.
Well, if you’re 100% sure it’s the head, go for it. However, you might want to consider doing the other side while you are at it. Since half the work is already done. It’s the best one out there. Get new intake gaskets and also pull your lifters and inspect them for excessive wear. Inspect your pushrods for any out of roundness. Also keep in mind you cannot reuse the head bolts as they are TTY (Torque to Yield) and you risk breaking them if you reuse them.
On my Sierra (1999) I had to do the AIR Pump and the Check Valves. It fixed the codes and never came back. Double check the check valves. Verify you hear the AIR Pump turning on when you start the truck (mine is annoyingly loud inside the cab). Check all the little vacuum lines that go to the system. There is a little vacuum line that comes out of the manifold and runs along the top of the passenger side firewall towards the AIR pump assembly and goes to a little module. Then I think there is a second line that goes to another valve, a break in any of those vacuum lines will cause problems. Ask me how I know, 🙂
While you’re in there it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to throw in a little UV dye so if there’s a leak in the future it will be easier to find.
Also, small car A/C systems usually struggle when it’s super hot outside. My little Echo has good air, but really hot days tax it. My GMC truck on the other had will blow cold regardless.
Another thought, change your cabin air filter too. A dirty filter won’t help the system at all.
Just don’t mix coolant types/colors, do a good flush and pick whatever you like.
On my 2000 Echo I’ve been using Zerex Asian. It’s a pinkish/magenta color depending on the light. It’s 13.99 versus Toyota’s $30. Seems like pretty good stuff.
I don’t like oiled filters, they can cause issues with the MAF and they let more dirt in. The whole, “oh the oil traps the dirt” thing is BS. If you can hold your air filter up to the light and see tiny pin holes – that’s where the dirt will go through. There is no reason to go with a high flow filter unless the car was built for high performance.
If you insist on a high flow filter go with one that is “dry” they are much better. Amsoil makes an excellent dry high airflow filter, but the applications are limited.
Thanks Eric. Well, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to do the evaporator while I’m in there. The condenser would be cake. I’m trying to save my girlfriend’s sister some money. I’ll see how much money she wants to spend. Keep up the good work.
I don’t like oiled filters, they can cause issues with the MAF and they let more dirt in. The whole, “oh the oil traps the dirt” thing is BS. If you can hold your air filter up to the light and see tiny pin holes – that’s where the dirt will go through. There is no reason to go with a high flow filter unless the car was built for high performance.
If you insist on a high flow filter go with one that is “dry” they are much better. Amsoil makes an excellent dry high airflow filter, but the applications are limited.
This can be a touchy issue. I have a Honda mechanic friend that swears that 5W20 cars that have 5W30 put in them run like garbage. Personally I think 5W30 will not harm an engine in any way. You may notice very small change in gas mileage. I also feel that the thicker film strength of a xW30 might help give better wear protection – especially if you do long drain intervals; however, there is no way to verify this unless you do oil analysis.
Some cars I’ve had in the past that specified 5W20 also said something like, “if 5W20 is unavailable, you may use 5W30”
It will not hurt anything, and if for some reason you feel the engine doesn’t like it – drain a few quarts and thin it out with 5W20. Either way you will be fine.