aam993

Can you, please, give me some advice on what makes sense to do to 54kMiles C2S'96 engine when you plan to open it up for 2ndary air inlets cleaning, valve job and main seal replacement? That is within a relatively tight budget. I want to make sure I use this opportunity to prevent as many future problems that would require lifting and opening the engine up as possible.
Belts, filters - for sure. Distributor caps/rotors - yes. Clutch/Lightweight clutch? How long standard dual-mass clutch is good for? If it's lightweight clutch what other parts have to be adjusted/replaced? Should ECM be reprogrammed for ltw clutch?

Is 6-6.5k$ reasonable number for this job(w/o new clutch)?

Thanks.

Greg H.

I don't mean to talk you out of taking your heads off the engine, but if you haven't been around here long, do a search for various terms related to the carbon build up. I thought there was a mechanic in the south who had come up with a way to clean the ports without removing the heads for about a quarter of the price. Personally, I'd make the seller give me the $6500 and then have this other guy do his thing for $1500. Of course, your leaky main seal is another story.

Greg H.

aam993

Greg,

I want to keep this car and take good care of her. I've read about and have been told about cheaper version of cleaning secondary air inlets, but results are not guaranteed and CEL might come up unexpectedly soon.
Also, as you pointed out I have more than one thing to take care of - leaking main seal will be haunting me during day and night and will be coming to my dreams making them nightmares. I can see myself crying inside when I see oil spots where the car was parked.
Valve job comes as a logical thing too.
Clutch, from what I've been told, might need to be replaced around 80k. If it would not be for lightweight clutch, which everybody praises, perhaps I would not bother. I can't imagine putting another 30k on the car for at least next 2 years.

Thank you for your input! All these thoughts have been boiling inside me for last week and a half and I'm glad to use every opportunity to share them with somebody!

prscha

ensure the rear main seal is replaced......check that clutch and make sure the car has the updated belt pulley

aam993

Yes, main seal will be replaced.
Any suggestions on going with lightweight clutch even if current dual mass clutch is in good shape?

Updated belt pulley? Is this page, which referes to Alternator belt with pulley update kit, the thing you're talking about? According to the VIN(99VS3 20061>29000) the car has M64.22/23 engine and therfore update pulley kit is not applicable. Am i right?

Thanks.

Greg H.

I wish the PO of my car had put in the lightweight flywheel.

Different strokes, I guess. The PO of my car did the secondary air/valve job, replaced the DMF with a new DMF and - get this - didn't replace the clutch disk! Said at 37K miles there was nothing wrong with it. Maybe so, but I suppose I would have put a new one in since I was there...

Greg H.

chris walrod

Look into replacing the power steering belt, of coarse spark plugs, have a good look at the plug wires. May want to replace valve springs (AASE Bros) and retainers as they are pretty much stamped steel.

If you going into clutch work, replace the needle bearing on the t/o fork pivot...

bet

I think if you are going to pay the money to fix the secondary injection problem then you are doing the right thing in fixing it correctly and trying to fix the underlying potential cause for the the problem in the first place. Consider some alternatives to using the factory replacement parts for the valve job. There have been many discussions in the past about better quality and more durable valve guides and valves. I am sure someone with better knowledge of the alternatives can give you more detailed information. You might email Steve W.

If you are going to have the rear main seal replace the labor cost of replaing the clutch is not going to be that much more and is probably a good return on investment for the long haul. If you decide to replace the clutch there are also some other wear items in there like what Chris suggested (talke to your mechanic about other suggestions) which I would replace so as to prevent going back in there. The cost on many of these items are minimal.