100,000 Mile Engine Wash

        Its been 4 years to the day since I started this blog and I have enough material for a masters in addition to half the material for a doctorate degree. I could have started the blog with this phrase but instead showed the problems first before the cures.

       The trick to proper lubrication is using the right componants in the correct amounts at the right time, or the thin films of oils are evaproated along with the protection of metals they provide. Even accomplishing this requires a more complete cleaning than simply changing your oil. Two things to take note of here, one is when you hear a clicking exhaust valve, it is the burnt carbon build up that has stopped the lifter from completely closing affecting performance. Mine came around 100,000 mi but yours can vary. The solution is to get a pint of engine cleaner [I used Sea Foam] and put a half can before the oil change, (we used to use kerosene in the old days but soon relized that kero does not have too many lubricating property's and this would breakdown the lubrication process). I drive the car about 10 miles and let it soak in for the nite, drive another 10 or so and park it again for the nite. Then I use the other half pint and drive around the block 5 mi or so and dump the oil and filter, I like to use a wrench off filter with a one inch socket and a breaker bar and I let the oil drain all nite. I noticed a thick hot/warm oil coming from the filter and this was one  way to know that a good portion of the dried exhaust carbon had been removed and was now ready for the new lubrication. The second thing to take note of, is the smell of the engines inside from the valve cover, it will smell and could look like burnt carbon, but after the wash and new lubrication oil has circulated some, the smell should be reduced or gone altogether, mine smelled as fresh as an engine with 96,000 mi could ask for and this was only done once during that time, it can be done more often but keeping the films of oil between the rings and cylinders is of upmost importance and this is the only time you fall victim to that occuring. Next I will study the tranny and power steering and see about removing those possible buildups, although it may be just as easy to do it when I remove and add those fluids for I don't have the equipment to remove all the fluid at once, as we do with the engine and so a different approach will be needed. The car starts slightly better but it already started lightning fast so the improvement was minimal considering there was not to much further to go from where I was.

Cleaning Drum Brakes

The blogger no longer uploads video so I had to create a way to link w/ it and you tube was the way.
Notice I have a catch basin for the dirty liquid, and I covered all parts except for the shoe padding itself. The spray goes on sale twice a year at napa and was $2. I didn't spray the rejuvenator on the rubber boots, instead I used a can to place the oily substance and rubbed my finger around to cover the whole surface.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRfSwlCf3ZQ

CHECKING TIMING BELT

    I dug into some others experiences with the timing belt issue and was suprized to find many that assumed an automatic replacement at @ 100,000 mi was a safe and good investment. It can cost well over $500 and back in the day we got as many miles from the belt as we did from the engine parts.
    So I looked into what it would take today to view the belt before replaceing it. It was major, and before I got there I read some horror stories of those who attempted to do it themselves and the complications that one can run into. I recall the teeth of the belt getting thinner and effecting the top end timing of the motor before we replaced a customers belt. So that was my indicator all these years later as to weather or not  to replace the belt. I looked at the cover myself and could not determine an easy way to remove it and cop a view, finally I found someone who said you had to remove the camshaft cover before removeing the timing belt cover.
     Well that was more involved than I thought I should have to go through so I did a 180 and decided to drill out a hole on the side of the cover and get a look at the teeth of the belt that way. I used a 3/4 inch forstner bit and drilled 2 holes in the strategic location and then used a wire cutter to snip off the remaining bits of plastic being very careful not to get any shavings or bits into the inside of the cover. [you could drop alittle bit down and be okay but that is a concern when performing a surgery such as this.
      It revieled just what I thought it would, a perfectly new belt that has no viewable wear, and I checked it a dozen times over the course of a month to get a different spot on the belt and it always looks the same.

      I checked the rear brakes again and they will last another 6 months and sprayed some brake cleaner to remove the dust. The car has 94,500 miles and has only recieved a battery and front pads, besides the occasional filter and one light blub.

REPLACING YOUR DOME LIGHT

This can be a tricky job, and probably costly once parts start being broken. You will need a proper tool also, just using a screwdriver probably won't cut it. Get a chisel at least 5/8" wide to 3/4". You will notice a seam between the plastic cover and the grey housing unit, place a sharp chisel between the two as shown in the photo, then carefully twist the handle of the chisel to the right or left and you will see the two separate, pry from the other side if need be to release the cover. The local auto parts store had the replacement bulb for (2/$5), simply replace it and snap the cover back into position with your hands. This could save you up to $20 from having another source do this simple task.

Milestone

Even though the car has been paid off and not consuming parts, this is where the true savings begin taking place as far as I'm concerned. On a trip back home I crossed that threshold and documented the event. Still to date the only parts that have been replaced are the front pads and the battery, although I noticed the dome light is on sometimes and off sometimes so I might post that job soon.

Transmition fluid change

Now is a good time to show thewayof changing your automatic transmition fluid. There are many facits to this job that require alot of research or the entire tranny can fail.

These particular transmitions have internal parts that get very hot, hotter than a regular one. Because of this they need special fluid only available at the dealer for an increased fee. There are 5 quarts of fluid but you can only remove 3 of them at one time. Leaveing the old fluid behind or wasteing new fluid to dilute the old fluid. The book is wrong with its recomendations and even the dealer will let it stay longer than it should. 30,000 mi is the dealer figure.

I prefer to change the 3 quarts every 10-15,000 mi depending on if I am using the trailor during that span. Another thing I found was the special ingrediant that is found in the dealers fluid, only in its own contanior, that way I can even go one step beyond the dealer and add more of the high temp fluid (to regular tranny fluid ie:STP) adding insurance to the expensive high end parts located in the tranny.

And those bottles are seen in the bottle photo.

Next comes the draining of the fluid, if you put the car on a lift you may get less than the 3 quarts that I get when when I tilt the car by jacking it high on the driver side and low on the passenger side. As seen in the second and third photos.

The first time I did the fluid many years ago I found there to be alot of grease on the end of the bolt. Since the dealer did the job I had no way of knowing if they removed the mess or simply left to accumulate. It was the metal fragment wear from the high temp plates being removed with a magnet. (photo) So I did the first one myself @60,000 and then again 80,000 to find the amount you see in the last photo. This tells me that at 30,000 mi the dealer did not remove the grease from the magnet making it less efficient than had they removed it. Hopefully with the added booster fluid there will be even less wear the next time I change the fluid @ 100,000 mi. So that is about it fo now, I dont have more publishable material in the forseeable future but you never can tell when a problem might crop up so keep ckecking.

A worth while project

The only part of the car that has shown any wear has been my arm rest. Tired and ugly I decided to take it apart, there are 2 screws to remove it from the console and four to remove the fiberglass looking top with the cover from the base below. Next was to strip the cover from the top. These are shown in the first photo along with the new material to be used as a replacement. I checked at the junkyard and they wanted $30 for a used top with cover and online ebay people wanted $50 just for the cover alone. There are two options at this point and I used the 2nd. First is to dismantle each piece of the cover and duplicate them, then sew the new parts together and fit and glue in place. Or carefully cut the new material as close to the old cover and place the seams at each end leaving the bulk of the new cover looking as one piece. The old cover and finished product are shown in the other 2 photos. I had a $1 hot glue gun and spent $1.87 on the padding to go under the new material. The vinal was extra from sides of a waterbed I built some years back. So the total cost without tools and material should be under $5.