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Car
$12 Corner Lamp socket for my car.
Mar 8th
I did not realize that my corner lamp was collecting water from the gap where the seal had cracked.
One day the signal went ticking really fast indicating that one of the signal lamp have stopped working.
Pulled out my front corner lamp and poured out about 1/2 cup of water. Bulb’s dead too.
Damage done:
- Corroded Lamp Socket
- 1157 Bulb
Solution:
- Reseal corner lamp with silicon
- Replace Lamp Socket ($12 + tax from Northtowne Mitsubishi dealer)
- Replace 1157 Bulb
TireRack survey
Feb 14th
I have one of the worst all season tires for winter… I must be a pro to survive winter driving with this shit tires.
Spark Plug change!
Dec 22nd
New vs. old sparkplugs.
The coil packs and ignition wires.
Old spark plugs!
This week: Re-fix my car! Timing belt, oil change.
Nov 17th
After my timing belt change, I have been experiencing some engine vibration. 2nd trip to the workshop didn’t help either. Going to the workshop again this Thursday hoping it will be fixed for good.
A brief info on my car, its a 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse RS, black in color with paint cancer, thanks to Mitsubishi.
It is powered by a 2.4L Mitsubishi Sirius 4G64 16-valve SOHC. There are a few variants of 4G64; 8-valve SOHC; 16-valve DOHC; etc.
It is found in Mitsubishi, Hyundai, some American cars and some Chinese cars.
From what I have discovered so far, 4G64 have 2 balance shaft! From previous service manuals, I never heard any of them saying there is 2. I need my oil pump sprocket to be rotated 360 degrees and realigned!
There are 3 method to determined if it is out of phase:
- Slot a screw driver into a slot, if it goes in deep, it is correctly aligned, the screwdriver will go in deep.
- See if the sprocket turns counter-clockwise or clockwise.
- Find out last minute after everything has been put together, take off everything and rotate the sprocket.
NOTE that there is an easier way to do this. Simply rotate the mark on the oil pump sprocket until it is pointing straight up, and let it go. If the sprocket rotates towards (counterclockwise) the timing mark on the engine, the oil pump sprocket is aligned correctly. If it rotates away (clockwise) from the mark, spin the sprocket a full turn and test again, and it should properly rotate towards the mark now. Now line the mark on the sprocket back up with the mark on the engine. This avoids having to remove the rear access bolt entirely.
Caution:
MAKE SURE THE BALANCE SHAFT IS PROPERLY POSITIONED. It is possible for the oil pump sprocket timing marks to be properly aligned, and have the balance shaft out of phase. This could result in a SEVERE engine vibration.
source: http://www.vfaq.com/mods/timingbelt-2G.html
picture from : http://chinamobil.ru/doc/4g64/manual.php?docid=1669&modelid=&p_chid=&p_page=10
My next oil change is due soon. Thinking of trying out Royal Purple with Mobil 1 Oil Filter. Apparently Royal Purple is one of the best engine oil available and I have heard many people using it. I wonder what other oil filter I can trust.
Radio trouble.
Apr 23rd
Since few weeks ago, the radio in the car stopped working after sending my car to the workshop. Then with my itchy fingers, i was fooling around with the radio code and locked the radio out. oppsss.. Ever since, it just stop working, no lights, no display. I do no have the radio code because the previous over did not give me one.
Researching the internet, I read that you can get radio code by supplying the serial number to the parts department for free. If you didnt supply the serial number, they would have to charge you for “labor” which is removing 2 screws, pull the middle dash out, & read the serial number. Some of them will be picky, requiring you to provide proof of ownership. Who wants to steal a old, stock, radio thats 9 years old ??? But if you are lucky, you can get it over the phone without the need of going to the dealer.
Don’t bother going online and pay someone to do it for you when its actually free.
Since my radio does not respond to anything, i thought i needed to reset the radio, i left the key in the car at “on” for an hour. (i did lock the car of course) Unfortunately, that did not do the trick.
I was tempted to disconnect the battery, Or pull out the fuse, but that is troublesome, i opt by removing the radio and disconnecting it & reconnect it. It worked!, possible a loose connection?
Lesson learned:
You can get radio codes for free by supplying the serial number to the parts department of the car dealership or by calling the car manufacturer.
Removing a radio isn’t hard, just need some research on the location of the screws.
Pokai
Apr 21st
pokai = broke.
Cars are definitely expensive to maintain. Unfortunately for my case, so many things are breaking down.
Bearings were replaced couple of months ago, and now, the compressor for a/c and timing belt change. Total spent on compressor & timing belt & labor is ~$1400.
Front struts needs to be changed too but, it will have to wait!. It will cost about ~$700 for front pair 
Here’s the new compressor.
o2 sensor
Feb 12th
My o2 sensor arrived today. Total cost is about $70. Half the price of going to a workshop. Probably took me an hour to change it because, removing the old sensor is pain in the ass since it is very tight. I needed a Mallet, Wrench & Oxygen Sensor Removal Tool. Besides that, remove a fastener which was buried between the radiator pipes. Not forgetting, the engine was very hot at the time I started working on it. Must not touch any hot metal surfaces. Went to AdvanceAutoParts to erase the error code using an OBDII tool.
P0135 OBD-II Trouble Code
Feb 1st
Brought the car to AdvancedAutoParts and borrowed their OBD-II Reader. This is the error code i got for my car :
P0135 : Oxygen O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1, Sensor 1)
Possible Solutions
- Repair short or open or high resistance in wiring harness or harness connectors
- Replace oxygen sensor (cannot repair open or short that occurs internally to sensor)
Replacing a oxygen sensor is gonna kill me.
"Service Engine Soon"
Jan 31st
oh great, the “service engine soon” light just popup today. Now whats broken, i wonder.
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