Well, despite the cold weather I did a few things under the hood today to get the car ready for VIR at the end of the month.

The first thing I did was flush my Motul out and put in ATE Super Blue. I used the Motive Products pressurized bleeder system (http://www.motiveproducts.com/index.htm), and wasn't too impressed. The first attempt resulted in brake fluid all over the place as the seal between the bleeder and the reservoir leaked. (In a spectacular fashion, I might add.) I imagine the European kit works like a charm, but the universal adaptor for Japanese cars is total crap. Also, there is barely enough pressure to bleed the right rear. The fluid just trickled out, but then it finally turned blue.

I eventually got the job done, though, and the breaks feel fine. I would never pull that thing out for a basic bleed job. Way too troublesome. I even had to remove the hose support bracket that is right next to the master cylinder to get the universal adaptor on. What a ghetto setup.

Next on the list was an oil change. I had never done one before, but it was a piece of cake. One question for the pro's - How do you keep from making a mess when you remove the old filter?

The last thing to do was a valve adjustment. I've got 40k on the car and hadn't had one done yet, so I thought it was time. It was the first time I had removed the valve cover, so that was an experience. I was all paranoid about the gaskets because I was going to reuse them, but it was all good. Everything went fine, though I'm not sure I have mastered using the feeler gauges yet.

The Snap-On valve adjustment tool worked great, but I wish there was a better method than using the angled feeler gauges. There isn't a whole lot of gauge to work with, and it is easy to not stick it in straight, causing some drag. I wish you could get "feeler tape" about 9" long, where you can slip it through, pull it up around the cam lobe, and work it back and forth like dental floss. I think you could be a lot more accurate that way. Some valves were too tight, and some were too loose, and then some seemed okay to begin with. I'll take it for a drive tomorrow and see if she sounds any different.

Well, the highlight of the day was using the AC Jack to get the car up on jack-stands. What an awesome jack. My new Facom ratchet was awesome too, and the box of latex gloves was a good investment. And then torquing the lugs down to spec using my torque wrench was quite satisfying at the end of the day. There is nothing better than having the right tools for the job.


[Modified by Floyd, 8:52 PM 2/2/2002]

 

Allways nice having the right "tool" for the job...

BTW it's difficult to *not* make a mess with the oil filter.

 

Nice work. I think it feels a lot better doing your own work.

 

Tuck some paper towels or shop rags under the filter before you remove it...and do it fast you're bound to get some mess tho. Congrats on other stuff...interesting about brake bleeder...i've got speedbleeders, and have heard vacuum stuff is much better...but apparently not in your case. Gotta put some blue in soon myself!

 

I hope you had a jacket while doing all this because it was cold as ***** today. So on a dificulty scale of 1-10, how hard was adjusting your own valves?

As for the oil fiter, I don't think it's possible not to make a mess. It starts drippin when you start unscrewing the damn thing. I just wipe everything down after.

 

Removing the valve cover, and replacing it was pretty straight forward. Aligning the cam gears wasn't an issue either, though for cylinder 2 and 4 you don't have the little tick marks, and TDC is with the cam gears slightly shy of vertical. The hardest part is using the feeler gauges and trying to feel that "slight drag." With the Snap-On tool I had no issues tightening the lock nut without effecting the adjustment screw. Overall I would give it a 7, considering the difficulty of the adjustment itself.

 

yeah i used the Powerbleeder once and watched it do nothing but spill out at the reservoir. i bought the Actron bleeder kit and pump http://www.actron.com/cgi-bin/web_st...age=cp7840.htm and http://www.actron.com/cgi-bin/web_st...age=cp7830.htm and they worked very well.

as for the oil filter, just put newspapers under it when you take it off and pray

 

i will be doing all except for the valve adjustment for VIR this month as well.

 

1/2 gallon milk jub cut in 1/2 long ways (leaving the top on).

It serves as a makeshift funnel.

Will

 

i remove the oil filter by reaching around the intake manifold from the TOP of the motor. you can easily reach between the intake manifold and the firewall, pop off the filter, and avoid oil spilling down your arm. it won't prevent oil from dripping onto your header, but it won't be on you and it burns off the header quickly enough.