BowTied

It looks familiar..... hmmm.... is it from the area that holds that plastic cover under the front of the engine - a mointing point for that cover?

Great follow up! From an engineering persepctive, when changing the design of a part you can keep the same part number if the new part has the same fit, form, and function. Any of those change, then a new part number is required. This keeps things straight when making parts for service and new production and ensures replacement parts will fit. So, the coil with the dot indicates a major revision change of that orignial part number. Since it works in the same way and fits in the same way, the original part number is retained and the dot is a quick identifier for those aware of the TSB, which I bet will indicate the dot is the difference.

Well, it would not junk the eninge, but you are looking at possibly removing the cylinder head to fix that - a mechanic would charge at least $500 labout for that plus gaskets etc. is my bet. Plus you will have to tow it to a shop. Tip: A spark pug socket has a little rubber grommet in it. This helps keep the socket in line with the plug so you don't get a bad angle and break the porcelin end off. A lot of poeple find the grommet is a pita to work with and throw them away (I do). BUT then extra care is needed to keep the socket straight will loosening and tightening - especially if using extensions. A flex head ratchet can be very handy, depending on the engine. As was mentioned, do not over torque them, get the spec. If it is too hard to get a torque wrench on a plug, practice with the torque wrench and a bolt in a vice to get the feel so you can replicate that in the engine bay. If you do that, make sure you hand is the same distance up the ratchet handle as it was on the torque wrench. With practice you can do this by feel everytime. I use "half a grunt" on a short ratchet Numbering spark plugs with something like a clothes pins is good or take them off one at a time. Match lengths as you go. Good idea to swap the cap and rotor while at this. HTH

Brakes? Mah, those just slow ya down. Admittedly, I'd pick the WD21 for more serious off-roading. For urban use, the R50 is nice and quiet with a smooth ride, easy to use all-mode 4x4 - it makes my wife happy. Ok, I have hi-jackedthis thread long enough, I will go bother someone else.

So you don't like horsepower and torque? I knew his didn't conme with one, just throwing out ideas. BTW, I agree with the fact that the thing is in the way though. In the R50s, or at least mine, there is a gap of several inches between the mounting points of the privacy cover and the back of the seats - I presume this is for child restraint anchors. Part way thru '02 they changed anchor system (L.A.T.C.H.) that and had anchor points in the seats, perhaps the 03s up have a different configuration then, would be neat to know....

Most engines are like that, but if the distrbutor mounting clamp is loose, then the whole distributor could rotate throwing the timing out. At least I have seen this happen on other vehicles. I don't know about his vg30, my pathy doesn't even have a distributor.

My 02 came with one, perhaps you could get one of those from a wrecker and adapt it? I would measure your panel separation and go wrecker shopping. You may need to remove your panels and re-inforce the back side for the mounting provisions though. Or just tint your windows.

Yes, overfull will foam the oil, this is bad. Not sure about your engine, but most engines can handle an extra 1/8 some even 1/4 quart without issue. 1 quart extra is way too much though IMO. Yeah, Simon is right. If you get it plus/minus a 1/8 of a quart, you will be way more accurate than half the quick change oil&lube places out there (trust me, always double check those guys after the engine has sat off for a couple of minutes - they show you the disptick right away before the oil settles, many times they have overfilled my vehicle, I don't go to them anymore. If you do, instruct them exactly how much to put in.) You should be able to remove the drain plug and let out some oil, maybe do a count to 4 or 5 while it is coming out, and then put the plug right back in. Then double check your level. One thing to note- the new oil filter is empty right now (you did put a new filter on, right?!?!). When you first start the engine, the filter will start filling up (this is why the oil light will stay on for a few seconds until the system fills back up, this is ok) and that makes the level at the dipstick drop. That is why you need to recheck the level. When you put the new filter on, did you first wipe the filter mounting surface on the block nice and clean and put a thin film of new oil on the new filter gasket? Good for you for doing your first oil change. Everyone here was in this position at one time, and some are may still yet have to do this.

Yeah, I never really did get a straight answer on if the swirl valve screws are also at risk?? I hope not as it is a much bigger job, I think you need to remove fuel rails... I don't know if you need to drain coolant too or not? The swirl valves are visible in the second picture of post #4 in my 'how to' post.

perhaps you have affected the timing while chanigng the cap/rotor?

You might be right. The sound you hear does mean the pump is priming the system. That doesn't guarantee that it is getting up to proper pressure at the fuel rails though...

You are so right, I need to stop posting late... I was thinking of my GMC Jimmy, doh!

Also, if you live in the north, they put additives in the fuel during the winter. THis winter gas (with deicers and what not) hurts fuel economy by as much as 3 mpg I have heard on other forums. Better to test you mileage in June/July.

This is a great thread! On another forum, there were conversations about whether to run the external cooler with the original in-rad cooler at all or not. Other claim it is needed for daily winter driven vehciles. If there is a design deficiency that leads the stock coolers to plug up, then perhaps using them is a bad idea. But if it just a matter of keeping them flushed with good maintenance, I wonder if using it is actually a desirable thing for those of who drive in the winter. The rad will be around operating temperature of the coolant of course - this could then ensure that the trans fluid does not run too cold in the winter cuasing sluggish shifting or whatever, especially if running an additional external cooler. Perhaps having a bypass for the external cooler only in the summer and both for the winter? Just throwing this out there for ideas. I am not certain either way yet. http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread...ighlight=cooler

Do 2WDs have the same front suspension? Do the 2wd frames have torsion bar mounts? Regardless, i agree, buy a 4x4 vehcile. It can be done, but simply not practical.

Assuming the truck has had a relatively recent tune-up.... and it is getting up to full operating temperature, I would consider a new O2 sensors and/or new coolant temp sensor if they are original. If you have access to a higher end scanner, you can watch the response of the O2 sensors go from lean to rich. If one is lazy hanging on the rich side too much, that could be the culprit....

Next time you start the truck after it has been off over night, turn the key to on without starting it, wait a couple seconds, and turn the key off. Repeat. Then start it as normal. If that makes some difference, it could be the fuel pump/regulator (not building enough fuel pressure). Hasn't happened to my pathy, but have seen that in other vehicles, fwiw.

I agree 100% plus I will add that we should always service our rear brakes when replacing the fronts - often back brakes are not working to their highest efficiency if they have not been serviced in a while and this adds to the stress on the front brakes which are already doing around 70% of the braking to begin with. I'd get go with better rotors too, IMHO.

Was it smoking white smoke at all while running? I have seen this when coolant is getting burned up.... If it was just a sepage, I doubt that would hydro lock it. If it was not knocking before, and you plan to deal it, try it with the new head. It is a gamble... are you a "pay it now" or a "pay it later" kinda person?

I found it hard to tell honestly - waht was it I was supposed to hear, the intermittent clicking? Hard to tell if that wasn't the camera.... Describe in words what you hear and when you hear it.

I am amazed you are putting that through insurance! Won't your rates go through the roof? About 15 years ago I did $5k damage to the front end of a brand new Corolla rental car. Airbags did not deploy low impact speed I guess. I agree with above posts, needs to be a damn hard hit. The damge is moreso like because you hit something between your frame or bumper moutning points. However, that might be why the air bag did not deploy, the stuff folded absorbing some of the shock. It is possible a HD aftermarket bumper that was way stronger might have cause the air bag to pop...??

Best defence against cold is a regular oil changes with a good quality oil and choosing the grade of oil suited to your climate per the owner's manual. A 120V block heater (a heater element similar to an electric kettle, that is in one of the frost plugs in the block and heating your engine coolant) starts being worthwhile around -15C/5F. Most manuals I have read recommend the use of them below -20C/-4F. A battery blanket/warmer can also be a good thing I am told, although I do not use them.

Ditto! Hey, Pezzy, how is that shelf secured? Ok, this is now the "where are all the places you store what stuff in your pathy?" thread.

Pezzy Rocks!! Great comments and ideas... I just thought of something else - a first aid kit. I think I am gonna put one in one of the compartments.....unless it dsplaces my smuggled liquor from Mexico, LOL!

Ok, I have not (yet?) had the coil issue. I changed my plugs while I had the top end apart for applying loc-tite to the power valve screws to avoid that problem. FWIW, my plugs looked fine and were only .001 over gap spec which could be the allowable tolerance or perhaps my measuring technique. (111,000km). But I figured "While I had it this far apart"... if you are going to replace the coils anyway, why not? Even if the plugs are good, it is relatively cheap peace of mind. PLUS If the plugs are bad (way out of spec) they could actually burn out you new coils after a while. The larger the gap the higher the voltage required to make the spark jump that gap. So, you will have it that far apart, and the plugs will be at least out for inspection.... well it is up to you of course. If you have the time, it would be a neat experiement to replace only the plugs and drive it for a day to see if that helped. JMO. BTW, is this a 2001 problem only or does it affect all 01-04?