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Damn talk about expensive car repairs.....

The Stigenator

The Stigenator

Lifer
My 1994 Toyota Tercel was due for an oil change and I was looking forward to going to Toyota of Glendale to give it for service. So I get there, and they say we should do a Minor Service (which adjusts the brakes - I need to get that adjusted anyway) etc etc.

I also complained about a dull vibration and a rough start on cold starts - this was only when the car was cold. It would disappear after a 45 seconds or so. That happened only like 3 times or so before I gave it for service. Anyway I felt like that vibration sounded like only 2 cylinders were working.

Sure enough I was right.. the valves were not opening on two cylinders, hence the unusual vibrations and no power. While the techniciation opened her up (well there was a problem, he locked the nuts and bolts into his toolcase with the keys in there.. so they had to get a locksmith to come open his toolcase to get the stuff. Anyway apparently my timing belt is almost shredded.. They are looking into why that is like that. It wasnt like that the last time they checked it. The timing belt was replaced at 75000miles and I am at 130,000 miles now.
Anyway I am going to replce it. but its going to be freaking expensive.

The new valve's + headers is 500 bucks.. who knows how much my damn timing chain is going to cost. And all this when I dont have freaking stable job. Well stargate may go bankrupt, with the way things are going now .. i think that is more of a possiblity.

End of rant...

 
<<The new valve's + headers is 500 bucks.. who knows how much my damn timing chain is going to cost.>>

You mean timing belt, right? And the change interval for the belt is 60,000 miles. You were due for a change anyway. You are very lucky that the first belt lasted those extra 15,000 miles. A belt change should be around $200. Given what needs to be done, the price is not that bad. Valve damage can run into the thousands of dollars easily.

ZV
 
oh I meant to say Head gaskets.. (those thing that goes over the port and exhaust intakes. They are longish..(he showed me those along with lots of other componets)

anyway I knew the timing belt needs replacing but I was planning to do it next serviec. I am glad i got it done now. The cracked and timing belt was being held by the sidewalls of the belt.

The distributor and spark plugs and stuff were changed too, apparently the two cylinders that were firiing the cables were pretty bad. They were replaced 30,000 miles or was it 60,000 miles. I know the plugs were repalced at 30K, and so were teh cables. Either way there is a lot of new stuff in the car. now.

They are checking my emmssion system now to see if there is a problem there. The car was dynoed and its running upto spec now. The timing has been reset to original (which means I will burn out more - i normally have then time it 1/4 off step - so I dont burn out - but I guess its okay now.. if not the clutch will soon need replacing).

I have asked them to track down someone with 175/70R13 tyres ( very rare find.. stock is 155/70R13 and its even rarer - I am running 145/70R13 - and that was a hard find).

Anyway I hope that this car runs good for another 30,000 miles.
 
i thought imports were the kings of quality?!

if 2 cylinders are not firing, it would be alot more than a dull vibration. It would sound like a lawn mower. Believe me, i know 🙂
 
If you read my thread a few weeks ago, you know I spent $1200 fixing my wife's car. I spent a little more than that last year on her car as well. Plus factor in brake and tire replacements, and other normal wear and tear stuff, and I have put over $3000 into her car in the last 16 months or so. So I feel your pain!
 


<< i thought imports were the kings of quality?!

if 2 cylinders are not firing, it would be alot more than a dull vibration. It would sound like a lawn mower. Believe me, i know 🙂 >>

It would? We had a 4 cylinder car with one mis/non-firing cylinder and it didn't sound any different, just very ruff.
 
Seeing those prices makes me glad to have a garage and all the tools I need to be able to do it myself.
Plus GM parts are super cheap
 
There are a couple problems I have with your story. (I'm not calling you a liar, but I trust mechanics as far as I can throw them) First off, if the valves from two cylinders weren't opening then there must be a problem with the camshaft as I believe the Tercel uses a OHC design. Or the more unlikely event that the valves from those two cylinders are broken.

Also, how did the timing belt look exactly? Sometimes a timing belt can snap or look very fatigued if over-tensioned. But if the timing belt looks like someone cut it up with a knife then something is definately wrong.
 


<< i thought imports were the kings of quality?!

if 2 cylinders are not firing, it would be alot more than a dull vibration. It would sound like a lawn mower. Believe me, i know 🙂 >>

Depends entirely upon which two are not firing. The FI unit in my 1976 914 failed leaving me with only the #1 and #4 injectors firing (so #2 and #3 cylinders were dead). The engine was perfectly smooth and made no odd sounds. It did lose about 60 hp and idle was 250 RPM lower than normal, but no weird sounds or roughness. Might be a little different with an inline 4 instead of a flat 4, but I think the main thin is which cylinders aren't firing.

ZV
 
Wvyrn.. I have spent in the last 2 years close to 3000 (including thsi service).. which is quite a bit more than what I think this car is worth on the used car market). However once the car is fixed it doesnt seem to crop up the problems until a year later.

IN 2000 I had the water pump blow. So I had the water pump, timing belt, all gaskets, cylnders were cleaned,heads machined, radiator rodded, and stuff like spark plugs and stuff. Also around that time, my front suspension was changed along with all 4 brakes and 4 new tires. This was serviced at some local guy not the dealer, my brother heard he was good from friends. Anyway this guy I think did do a decent job and warrented it, but some how everything he replaced got replaced the next year anyway. Cost $1500 + 220 for tires, 120 for shocks + alignment and 250 for all 4 brakes + new front rotors.

2001 I lost the water pump again. Along with it went a lower oil pan gasket and a few other things were replaced. Done @ Dealer. $1050

in 2002 the valve gaskets, header gaskets, timing chain and what else i dont know. maybe rear suspension and emmision systems. $ dont konw expect around a grand.


As you can see it behaves much like a expensive sports car. The car probably is worth about 4000 dollars I at max or maybe lesser. The only reason it may get that because otherwise its in reall good shape. Its go great power and really smooth.

ThisisMatt> The car didnt just give a dull vibration, but more of a violent shake once the accelerator was hit. it was barely idling, it was skippnig a smooth idle, which infact was the thing that it was missing 2 cylinders. One cyinder doesnt do much other than loss of power, two in a 4 cylinder cycle can be really bad.
 


<< ThisisMatt> The car didnt just give a dull vibration, but more of a violent shake once the accelerator was hit. it was barely idling, it was skippnig a smooth idle, which infact was the thing that it was missing 2 cylinders. One cyinder doesnt do much other than loss of power, two in a 4 cylinder cycle can be really bad. >>



ha, i knew it! Same exact symptoms here when it happened to me. Mine happened to be bad spark plugs though, phew! Sorry to hear of your troubles. At this point, you should decide if its even worth it to sink anymore money into the car.
 
MisterNi> The timing chain is made up of rubber. It was cracked for the most part across the two sides. The cracks were not symmetric, but rather random. Also there were a few cracks forming on the edges between the two horizontal cracks.. and these were vertical. To me it initally looked like the timing chain is supposed to look like that cause from the distance it seems uniform cracking, but on closer inspection the gapping between the cracks are not the same. Either way even if it wasnt too bad the chain should have been replaced.

Apparently the valve problem was with teh valve clearance and teh fact that it would not let two cylinders fire when the engine is cold. Once the engine warmed up the problem of rough idling disappeared and it auto revved up to its full idling speed. The guy said something about the valves becoming sticky. In that case its got to do with clearnances and possibly the cam shaft. Yes your right this is a SOHC engine.. and the cams could be a probelm, but the guy didnt say anything.. so i guess its okay.
 


<<

<< ThisisMatt> The car didnt just give a dull vibration, but more of a violent shake once the accelerator was hit. it was barely idling, it was skippnig a smooth idle, which infact was the thing that it was missing 2 cylinders. One cyinder doesnt do much other than loss of power, two in a 4 cylinder cycle can be really bad. >>

ha, i knew it! Same exact symptoms here when it happened to me. Mine happened to be bad spark plugs though, phew! Sorry to hear of your troubles. At this point, you should decide if its even worth it to sink anymore money into the car. >>



You know my parents said the same thing last night and this morning. The thing is I am getting the work done now. Next time things go bad I will go get a new car. Plus my parents promised me a new car when i graduate. So I am hoping this will last until then. Maybe after I get a new car, I will still keep this car and make it a rally car, i will be more willing to work on the car when i know i got something else to ferry me around.

I am so looking forward to the day I can graduate (i got a while).. so then I can go get a new car.. 🙂
 
I think it is the luck of the draw. I had a Civic CRX in college that I put over 100k miles on (had 160k when I sold it) and the only things I replaced were battery, brakes, and tires. That was great. My current Honda has not had any major problems, other than the fact it attracts dents all the time. So even though you try to buy quality cars and keep up with maintenance, eventually you are going to have a lemon that just eats at your checkbook. The problem is, by the time you have determined it is a lemon, you have already spent a good deal of money which you aren't going to recover in a sale (much less mention it), and the best bet is just to keep the car until it breaks down again, then drag it into the dealer and take your $500 or whatever it is worth.




<< Wvyrn.. I have spent in the last 2 years close to 3000 (including thsi service).. which is quite a bit more than what I think this car is worth on the used car market). However once the car is fixed it doesnt seem to crop up the problems until a year later.

IN 2000 I had the water pump blow. So I had the water pump, timing belt, all gaskets, cylnders were cleaned,heads machined, radiator rodded, and stuff like spark plugs and stuff. Also around that time, my front suspension was changed along with all 4 brakes and 4 new tires. This was serviced at some local guy not the dealer, my brother heard he was good from friends. Anyway this guy I think did do a decent job and warrented it, but some how everything he replaced got replaced the next year anyway. Cost $1500 + 220 for tires, 120 for shocks + alignment and 250 for all 4 brakes + new front rotors.

2001 I lost the water pump again. Along with it went a lower oil pan gasket and a few other things were replaced. Done @ Dealer. $1050

in 2002 the valve gaskets, header gaskets, timing chain and what else i dont know. maybe rear suspension and emmision systems. $ dont konw expect around a grand.


As you can see it behaves much like a expensive sports car. The car probably is worth about 4000 dollars I at max or maybe lesser. The only reason it may get that because otherwise its in reall good shape. Its go great power and really smooth.
>>

 
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