revgolem

i just wire into the pre-amp out on my head units (made an adaptor for the co-ax plugs) and used the pathy's OE amps only. they have plenty of power for anything that could be mounted in the stock locations and i can still piggy-back to the wires to add any additional amps/speakers. works great for me.

First step in all evap leak codes - remove and retighten the gas cap, clear the code and see if it comes back. if you were to go to a shop this is exactly what your first hour of diag time (at full shop rate) will be spent doing.

the best way to use seafoam is to suck it directly into the intake... but this can be a bit tricky. find a vac line that goes directly to the intake (the smaller diameter of the hose the better 'flow control' will be). start the engine and SLOWLY suck the seafoam our of the can with the vac line in SHORT BURSTS. too much too fast will hydrolock the engine and may or may not cause major problems. the main thing is to find a rythem that works by stopping just at the point that you hear the engine start to bog down. after a couple of mins the foam will work its way through the system and flood the CAT... thats when you get to watch all the pretty smoke come out the tail pipe and fill the entire neighborhood in a thick pea-soup fog. if you actually like your neighbors you might want to warn them as the fire dept. has been known to be called out on such occasions. once you've sucked down the bottle (or half suck, half in the tank to get to the injectors) drive it around town until the smoking stops and you are all done. works great AND it's fun... just don't get careless and forget to watch your flow rate.

i was going to c opy/paste the test procedure from ALLDATA, but it's a huge long mess of text/images from a secure site. below is a portion that i think may apply. it's not so much that the procedures are hard, but the system is so complicated that without a detailed understanding of exactly what is going on when the ECM runs it tests that many experienced machanics loose their hair trying to solve these problems. ill try to do some research in the next day or so and see if i can find something more (if someone else doesnt beat me to it)

its an EVAP code. most manufac. call the "Vacum cut valve bypass valve" the "purge" valve. it opens to allow manifold vacuum to evacuate the gas vapors in the EVAP canister as part of the required procedure to test the fuel system for small leaks (as small as 0.020") it sends the vapors into the intake and then uses the O2 sensors to calculate the amount of vapors that were purged. something happened to cause the ECM to not see the vapors it was expecting. valve could be stuck closed, lines blocked... etc. could also be a source of the knock code depending on how its reacting to what it thinks it sees. neither code should cause a problem driving, only prevent you from passing emissions depending on local laws. on a side note, what part of TX are you in? I moved to WA from Austin about 3 years ago and have been wondering whats been going on back there.

without it there is nothing holding the input shaft for the tranny in place. you will end up replacing your tranny once again very quickly. its not unheard of to get the wrong bearing with the kit. first of all make sure it will fit around the input shaft and that the bearing matches the old one. manual trans can be weird to try and restab into the motor. sometimes they just slide right in, others i have fought with for almost two hours before getting it to sit right. its all about getting the angle right and making sure the splines on the shaft and the clutch match up. oh, one other thing that ive seen cause problems is if the clutch isint exactly lined up with the alignment tool.

Definatly sounds like the starter. If you are going to wait for it to die to replace it, be sure to carry a good sized hammer in the back. When it does go, it probobly won't be somewhere convenient. Many times the starter can be brough back to life by whacking the crap out of it while someone else cranks it over. It won't work too many times so when it gets to that point it's definatly time to replace it.

one thing to think about... synthetics do a great job of cleaning and unsticking things, which usually for the most part is good. but one common problem with switching over in a high milege vehicle is that some of the guck to get cleaned may be the only thing holding some of your seals and gaskets together. not always a problem, but just be prepared for the possibility that you will have to start resealing your engine just a bit sooner. as far as brands, most of the name brands are just about the same. personally i think stuff like royal purple are more gimick than anything... but thats just me.

With everything you will be replacing an alignment wouldn't be such a bad idea and not too much of a compromise for the money you would be saving. with all the new parts the chances it would be spot on are pretty slim. i wouldn't really stress about getting it, but i wouldn't consider the job finished until it was done.

definatly sounds like timing, but before tearing back into it i would check out the wiring for the knock sensor. all engines will ping occassionaly. the knock sensor senses these and retards the timing just a bit until it stops. the pcm will throw the code then the timing is as retarted as it will get and it is still pinging more than the predetermined limits. if the sensor is getting false readings and backing off the timing thus causing real pinging.... it can be a viscious cycle. but i wouldnt get too caught up in the sensor.

When you do your oil changes, check fluid in both diffs and t-case, change as needed. Unless you are having specific problems you can probobly cut back a bit on changing the fuel filter. every 6-12 months would be being very cautious if only boarderline OCD.

This is just a rough estimate of what it would cost in labor alone. This takes into account things that overlap, such as going in to change out cam seals you are already right there to replace the t-belt. also note that the water pump has been added since the shop will try hard to sell it to you since again, you will already be "right there". I also threw in the thermostat because they would sell that too, citing that it is needed to in order to warranty the pump/coolant flush. Exhaust Manifold (Left Side Only) 2.7 Axle Shaft (Both Sides) 3.2 Front Brakes (Resurface Rotors) 2.0 Coolant Service 1.0 Thermostat 2.1 Clutch/Brake Fluid Flush 1.5 Cam Oil Seal 5.9 - T-Belt 1.0 - Water Pump 1.0 Valve Cover Reseal 2.5 Total 22.9 Hours @75 per hour (Cheap Shop) --- $1717.50 before tax Parts could easily total at least that much. It would definatly be a "do it yourself labor of love" kinda purchase.

My interest is definatly peaked.

The hardest part about the whole ordeal would be the heaqvy lifting and moving into position if you were doing the job on the ground. the bead you see is just a high temp sealer (ATF-RTV Black). just a matter of seperating, cleaning and resealing. it can be a big deal if it runs dry, so if you plan on holding off on fixing the leak at least check and top off the level.

everything people have been listing is definatly important to think about. but i'd try to at least narrow down the root of the actual problem rather than shotgunning and doing a lot of work (which actually still should be done) but ending up with a truck that is still cold. id start with the engine cold. start er up. keep track of the temp of the upper and lower radiator hose. the hose without the thermo will get warm first, the other will stay relitivly cold until when (and if) the thermostat decides to pop. then both hoses will get very hot pretty darn quick. when this happens you know that your thermo is working. if the pathy overheats, then you know its not. if it pops, and while the truck is warm and running, turn on the heater to full blast, such as it is right now. feel the heater hoses the go into/out of the firewall. if there is a significant difference in temp between the two hoses, then your problem is almost positivly a clogged heater core, which is a total PITA to do yourself OR try to pay for. if the temp on the hoses are about the same id suspect an air bubble... though it is also possible that the water pump has taken a crap and just isint circulating the coolant, though with it taking as long as it does to warm up thats probobly the longest shot. just thought i thrown in my two cents.

close enough to be right. official spec is 12 degrees BTDC (+ or - 2 degrees).

i learned of an old school mechanics trick that "works every time but dont come to me when it doesnt", but i havent seen it fail yet. drain the oil and put back in two parts 5w20 and one part Dextron ATF. let engine idle for up to 15 mins, or until ticking stops (which could take as little as a few seconds). drain, change filter, refill with normal oil and run for a day or two and change oil/filter again. theory is that all the added detergents and other extras in the ATF help to eat through and clean out all that gunk. frees up lifters like nothing else i've seen.

ive had to replace quite a few of these on various vehicles and theres a really good chance that you are going to have to remove and open up the entire assembly to untangle gnarled mess of nylon. usually not too difficult, just watch for any rogue springs or gears to fall out when you take it apart.

if the clutch seized up, what that would mean is that the pully is perminatly mated to the compressor (as if the compressor were on and running).... you should STILL be able to turn the pully as if everything were running properly. chances are both compressor and clutch are frozen (one im sure took the other one out, could happen either way). replacing the compressor isint that bad with fewer special tools needed than replacing the clutch. the only roadblock would be recovering r134 (assuming that a loss didnt cause the failure), pulling the required vacuum on the system once new compressor is installed and refilling with r134 and oil. none of is is really all that bad, just a question of how muich you are comfortible taking on and how much stress you can deal with should things start to go south (which they tend to do easily with A/C) best of luck with everything, and of course well be here to help out as much as possible!

Perfect timing, I just recently started having that problem and was going to look into fixing it this weekend. Now I know exactly what I need to do. Thanks!

timing chains can and do stretch. i just replaced one on a saturn the other day that was stretched out to the point that the car wouldn't start. havent done one on a pathy myself, but alldata call for about 14 hours and the preocess looks pretty intense. that being said the belt the 95s call for 6 but i've done it in 3. if you decide to tackle the job, be sure to consider replacing both primary and secondary chains, tensioner, guides, and crank/cam sprockets. it may seem a bit like overkill, but they have the same amount of miles as the chain and it could save a lot of frustration in the future.

2200+ miles from Waco,TX to Seattle,WA with a Uhaul that was a size too big and loaded down WAY too much. other than some scary moments in the mountains between here and there (crawling up the steep hills in 2nd gear, 5000RPM @ 20MPH) i didnt have a problem at all... until the tire on the uhaul blew out half a block from my final destination... heh. though i didnt even dare attempt to add up how much gas i used during the trip.

wanna know something funny, some of the newer hybrids actually do have "exhaust bearings". can't recall the exact application at the moment, but its something to do with getting the converter to work properly.

some advice from someone who has worked with some shotty people in a shop: definatly do some research and get an idea of what is needed before you go in. but i wouldnt hand the shop a list of what you want. let them look it over and let them determine what is worn and needs to be replaced first and then go from there. they may catch something you missed, and more importantly not replace something you mentioned when it really doesnt need it. you dont know how many parts i have had to put onto self-diagnosed cars that did absolutly nothing to resolve the problem.

Specific quote from random site, though they ALL say the same thing. Someday it will sink in. "Why is first disconnecting the terminal connected to the frame important? Most automobile batteries are tightly packaged inside of the engine compartment and using metal tools such as wrenches and sockets will probably come in contact with the metal frame or a device connected to the metal frame during the removal of the battery cable. If this was the wrong terminal and not the grounded terminal connected to the frame, this accidental contact would cause a short circuit of hundreds of amperes across the battery, producing an arc, a flash, a burn or perhaps a battery or gas fume explosion! Disconnecting the grounded terminal is at the same potential as the battery terminal and an accidental short circuit will not occur if the tools make accidental contact with the frame during battery removal."