Tim Cullison

Hey guys, got my paycheck last Thrusday and tomorrow I have a day off so I am taking the opportunity to go out and buy some parts in order to help my car pass smog. I pray to God it will because I start school Dec. 9th and I also need insurance and registration. Anyways, I wanted some recommendations on plugs, oil, filters, etc. I have an 84 944 n/a by the way.
* What plugs do you recommend? I was thinking about Platinum +4's. If they cost too much I will want to pass for something else.

* I have no clue what kind of oil to get since I want to change the oil and filter(As in, what weight of oil? Synthetic or not? Fram oil filter or...?). What kinds(oil) do you guys use/suggest?
* My car has been sitting up for a long time, it does run but the gas is over a year old sitting in the tank, and this as well as injectors and plugs is probably why is idles kind of rough... What should I do there? I am thinking of draining the gas from the fuel pump in the back. You think it's due for a fuel filter change? What kind(fuel filter) or does it matter?
* I also want to pick up a bottle of injector cleaner because I'm sure the old gas and so forth has got the injectors clogged or something. They have about a million different kinds of "gas treatment" products, but which do you guys prefer?

I'm sorry this is so long but I'm not sure what to do. I have to worry about this along with all of the paperwork that has to be done which will probably be atleast next week since Thursday is Thanksgiving and all... Thanks a bunch for any help guys, you're the best.

Tim

Hans

For what it is worth:

* What plugs do you recommend?...
- Get the standard Bosch plugs or the NGK equivalent, platinum is a waste of money

* I have no clue what kind of oil to get...
- Get the one with the right API code, as per the drivers manual. Use the same type that was inthere, so synthetic if the is used to synthetic.
Weight: depending on the environmental conditions you live in, see drivers manual for more info
Use the OEM filter: Mahle.

* My car has ..., it does run but the gas is..., and this as well as... What should I do there?
- Drain tank, replace fuel filter (re-use OEM), re-fill with fresh pump gas (the highest octane rating that is commercially available, add injector cleaner while filling, AND EXERCISE THE CAR.
Heat up nicely for the first 10 mls and then put some load on it. This will burn the crap out and clean the combustion chamber. Then get it tuned.

Then apply for the smoke test and pray...
TakeCare

TomH

Tim, where do you live? Oil weight selection is a factor of outside temp. If you are in the North, then consider a lighter oil weight such as 10W-30 for the winter. In hotter weather (70+), go with 10W-40. I use Castrol GTX, as I'm not in to the synthetic thing.

You likely won't find the filters for these cars at Pep Boys. You need to get the fuel filter, oil filter and air filter at a dealer, or on the interent (vertex-auto, pelicanparts, paragon-products).

Also, buy some Techron fuel injector cleaner, and run it through with a fresh tank of gas.

Finally, I am running the Bosch Platinum 2s, but frankly I'm not sure I can tell the difference between them and regular Bosch copper tops.

Jfrahm

I have used the Mahle filters, and the Purolator premium filter that can be found at Parts America. The Mahle I had to mail order, but the price was about the same as the Purolator. One nice thing about the Purolator is that it's white, and therefore easier to write the date and mileage on with a sharpie.

For plugs I use plain old Bosch copper plugs. Platinum plugs do not outperform copper, they just last longer (and some say perform slightly worse.) I like to inspect and replace my plugs every couple of years so the added life of a platinum plug is of no value to me.

I use synthetic blend oil, but I blend my own. About half Mobil 1 and half Mobil dinosaur oil. You can buy synthetic blends, but I don't think they are 50%-50%, maybe only 10-20% synthetic? I like some of the qualities of synthetic (sticks well, flows when cold, stable viscosity) and some of the qualities of dino (suspends particles, costs less, may be better for older seals) so I feel a blend is a good bet. The viscosity I use depends on the temperature range, as per the manual.

Good luck!
-Joel.

Tim Cullison

I went out and bought some parts today. Here's what I got-

*6 quarts of Castrol GTX 10-30w
*Fram oil filter
*NGK Copper plugs
*Fram fuel filter
*A Stant gas cap because my car didn't have one
*And some kind of fuel additive that was $15. It's got toluene in it and it's supposed to clean out the fuel system really well. We'll see...

I spent close to $100 today, hopefully it will pass smog. I'm going to start putting everything in on Saturday if all goes well. Maybe sooner. I will keep you guys updated though. Wish me luck!

Tim

Conor

I have heard that Fram oil filters are not the thing to use. I think it has somehting to do with a "flow back" valve, something the fram filters don't have. Without the valve it takes an extra few seconds for the oil pressure to get back to normal every time the car is started. Can anyone correct/back me up on this?

Conor

Jfrahm

Fram's filter quality went into the crapper a few years back. Hopefully they have gotten better but I haven't bothered to check. Yes, the anti-drainback valve is/was one of the issues with the Fram filters. It seals poorly and will let dirty oil drain back into the engine when the pressure drops.

They may have gotten better in the last few years but there are enough other quality filters out there it's not worth the risk.

-Joel.

Matt Sheppard

Fram sucks
Use Mahle or Mobil 1

Tim Cullison

Hmm, well that sucks. I certainly do hope then that they have corrected these problems and improved their design...

K27

I would lose the Fram and get a Mahle, any good import parts store should have one and cheaper than the Fram.
Just a question with regards to your car sitting for a long time, how is your timing belt ? when was it last changed or checked?, just a thought before you fire it up.

Peckster

I used to use Fram filters on my CBR600 until I heard they were blowing gaskets at high rpm. None of the racers would use them.

Tim Cullison

Rebuilt head and new belts The previous owner didn't go by the every 30,000 miles belief. The car stil has 72,000 miles on it and has been driven less than 10 miles since they snapped...

Dave

Take back that Fram POS and get a Mahle or Mann filter. The ONLY injector cleaner that should be used in a P-car is Techron. Don't forget that belts age while just sitting, they may be worse off than if the car had been in use. I replaced my belts last summer, they only had 8500 miles on them but they were almost 4 years old.