Started out with a simple oil change in mind and changing the air filter.

Oil was changed with a SuperTech oil filter and Valvoline MaxLife 5W-30 Synthetic Blend oil. The oil that I drained out actutally wasn't that bad at all. It was a dark gold color. Seems running Valvoline MaxLife and the SuperTech oil filter every 3,000 miles since I bought the car and first changed it (this was the third time I have changed it since I bought it), it has cleaned the engine out pretty dang good! When I first changed it, it had who knows what oil in it and a crappy ACDelco filter on it.

The old air filter was a NAPA Gold and looked like it had been in there for a while. I picked up the basic Fram Extended Life air filter and switched them out. The NAPA filter looks as if the element itself is a gold color, which in my opinion, is kind of dumb as it makes it harder to see how dirty the filter actually is.


Next, I pulled the IAC Valve and cleaned it out. Had some build-up on the inside. Here it is dirty:


From there, I figured while I am doing all of this other stuff, I should check the plugs just because. I checked them about 9,000 miles ago when I first got the car, not taking note of the part number. They seemed fine, but didn't look quite right. Nonetheless, I figured it was fine, checked the gap, and re-installed them. Pulled them again today. First I noticed the gap was off again already by more than .002 on each plug. Then I took more notice to the electrodes and then the part number. Champion 3344- Fine Wire Single Platinum. They looked sort of rounded because the fine wire of platinum was gone. Ran up to the parts store and they had a pack of Champion RC9YC spark plugs. Gapped them and installed them.

The old, burnt-out Champion 3344's:


The new hotness, Champion RC9YC's:


New and old:




Buttoned everything back up, warmed the engine up a bit and let the new oil circulate through a bit and took it for a quick drive down the road. All in all, so far, the vibration has lessened from what I have seen so far. The tune-up I did today seemed to help, but it seems the belts are still slipping a little bit. I'm sure with a new air filter and much better spark plugs with correct gaps, I will probably see a bit of MPG's too which will be nice. With the new oil pressure sensor in there as well, I haven't seen a drip of oil anymore anywhere. It has a new transmission filter and all new NAPA (Valvoline) ATF+4 fluid. As far as I can tell now, with everything that has been going on with the car, it is better than when I bought it! I guess sometimes things can be a PITA, but turn out better in the end. I have a few more little things to take care of (belts, a new wheel well shield, new boots for the tie rod ends and ball joints...), but man am I glad the major stuff is over!

Always best to end with a quote right? A new favorite (and no, I am not a religious nut, it just has a nice "ring" to it):

 

Just letting you know be careful with changing the plugs then the wires later on because the plugs and wires carbon track to each other. If you had a misfire it will come back because of the new plugs being on the old wires then switching to new wires. Just a little heads up since i went through a big headache with it.

 

Sorry for being kinda clueless, but what is a IAC valve? Where is it and what does it do?

 

Yeah its tune up time for me. I need to do one soon. Nice job. You didnt mention any new wires. Why didnt you change those along with the plugs?

 

How come the paper filter? If you keep the car past 3 air filter changes (30,000MI for me) a cleanable unit seems like the way to go.

 

Idle Air Control Valve. Located on the throttle body. It basically controls the amount of air allowed to come in at idle to keep the A/F at the correct ratio. Can affect idle quality if dirty as well.
I didn't change them because they are still good. No misfires or anything physically wrong with them to facilitate the need to drop another $50 on wires that won't do/fix anything. Being that they are regular copper plugs too, I will just replace them every 30,000 miles which is also sooner than any spark plug wires that are taken care of need to be replaced. The only real way to tell I suppose is to measure resistance. I had to drive to town and back today afterwards (~20-25 mile round trip) and the car ran strong as ever. The real test will be to see what happens with my commuting tomorrow (~100 miles round trip if no detours are taken).

 

According to my gas gauge, today on the way home after I filled up, I use ~1/8 tank to go 50 miles. I sure wouldn't mind if that kept up, ~40ish MPG. Bought some Prestone fuel system cleaner and put that in too. Figured running a tad cheaper gas, it couldn't hurt.

I will ohm test the wires soon and see what is going on them just to be sure.

 

yup i all ready dide mine.

oil-Q-horse power FS 5w-30
oil filter-basic fram
plugs-NGK v-power
air filter-recharged the old one
brakes-Duralast Golds

i will be changing the tranni fluid and the coolant again this year.i know you only have to do it every blah blah blah miles but you cant harm it changing it once a year like me

i also never put fuel additives in my car EVER but i did this time.i bought some Prestone Complete Fuel System Cleaner.its in a silver bottle and i filled up and dumped it in.so while i burned the gas the prestone stuff did as well and it stunk bad so it cleaned it out good.i also used a whole bottle of seafoam to help with idling and performance.

i do missfire maybe once a day so ill be getting booties(wires) soon.
and one other thing ill be getting some engine de-greaser on my baby soon cause the engine is a little dirty.

 

-Personally, I'd drop the use of Fram oil filters. If you have a spare $10, buy a Fram and a NAPA Gold, Purolator, etc... Grab a hacksaw and cut them open around the baseplate. After seeing how the Fram was made inside, I'll never use them again. Air filters, yes. Oil Filters, NEVER!

L8R,
Matt

 

The SuperTech oil filters are cheaper than the Fram and work better. Been using those on my Neon and my Grandmother's Corolla. Used to use them on my truck, but I can get the Motorcraft one for the same price and that one is even better.