m20 tune-up

[ctownhawk]

alright, i should have done this all first, but for some reason i felt other things were more important at the time...

soon i will be replacing a lot of engine components: timing belt/tensioner/spark plugs/cap/rotor/head gasket.

is there some faq or a thread which i can be directed to that shows what would be good for me to replace other than what i have listed? i've had the car for about 1.5 years now and all the previously mentioned parts need to be replaced. just need to know if there's anything else while im down there.

thanks,

-sasha

[whiltebeitel]

you don't really need to replace the HG, unless it is a problem right now. Do the oil pan gasket, and any other gaskets that leak. Don't forget the belts.

[ctownhawk]

my mechanic told me that i needed my HG replaced when he was doing my front suspension parts... he pointed to a stain of where he said there was liquid leaking. what kind of belts/hoses?

[whiltebeitel]

all the belt on the front accessories, like AC, PS, etc. Replace any rubber hose you find that is not flexible, shows signs of cracking, rubbin, or whatever. Do all the radiator hoses, since you will be pulling the engine anyway.

Heck, you might as well save up for an engine swap.... ;)

[ctownhawk]

i was thinking of swapping to an m30 in a year or two, but wanted to make sure this m20 stayed alive for a while. the only problems so far are the headgasket and the jumpy idle (sometimes). the only thing that has actually broken was the master cylinder was replaced last summer and i had to replace the fuel filter/rubber fuel line cause the stock one cracked and was leaking fuel everywhere.

[ctownhawk]

brake master cylinder**

[whiltebeitel]

Well, M30's aren't too expensive, esp. when you consider all the rubber pieces you will buy for this m20...

[ctownhawk]

another thing that is keeping me at bay with the m30 swap is the fact that i still don't know a lot about cars nor do i have the equipment to pull this sort of project off..i was probably going to do this tuneup, and keep it runnin for another year or two (i still have to do 5spd swap and exterior/interior mods) and then do the swap if i still want to and/or have the cushion as i will be moved out by then.

[nando]

is it leaking a small amount of oil from the front of cylinder one, on the side of the block?

you probably don't need a headgasket. 99% of M20s leak from there, and aside from a drip in your driveway, it's not really a big deal. even if you replaced the headgasket, it will probably still leak from there.

basically, unless you are losing a lot of oil, coolant, or you have bad compression loss, leave your HG alone.

[CarsSuck]

basically, unless you are losing a lot of oil, coolant, or you have bad compression loss, leave your HG alone.

I discovered in my car's service receipts that a HG "weep" was noted about 40k mi ago. My car runs like a top. 28mpg on my last tank.

[ctownhawk]

i actually have NO drip in my driveway...

[dark89e30]

valve adjust? couldn't hurt

[SpecM]

valve adjust? couldn't hurt

Yup +1

[rodrigo]

soon i will be replacing a lot of engine components: timing belt/tensioner/spark plugs/cap/rotor/head gasket.
-sasha

I would include the water pump...since you are removing the tensioner and considering how it is burried in there...

[ctownhawk]

good call, forgot about that one.