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Time for a full tune up....


1990lumina

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Alrighty guys winters coming, and so is my car having 100,000miles (few more to go yet) :D lol....I haven't really touched a thing on this car since I got it two years ago, and before then it was *maintained* by GM, though I think the dealer my grandma went to was a bit shady so who knows how well it's been maintained...

 

Anyway as you know I got stomped by a '97 V6 Mustang w/ auto....apparently I shoulda been able to beat/keep up with this car so....

 

I'm in the process of replacing the motor mounts...new dog bones have already helped because the old ones were so shot...

 

I want to do a complete tune up though, you know plugs, fuel filter, etc... I thought my car would have a maintence schedule in the owner's manual but it apparently doesn't...

 

Anyway it's time for an oil change right away, so I was thinking maybe running some seafoam through it

 

I searched but couldn't find a nice list of things to check or replace so please help me out!! I have the rest of the week to do everything so time isn't a problem..

 

would it be time for a new O2 sensor?? I dunno if I'll replace that if I don't have to though...everything else I'm open to. The tranny has been serviced just a few hundred miles ago is it's fine.

Just looking for tune up pointers on the engine mostly..I have a K&N filter so i'll just clean that

 

thanks!

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heres what i generally do in the course of any routine matnicnce for my cars,

first, seafoam it

 

then next day (or on a cool engine)

 

fuel filter

plugs/wires

PCV valve

oil change

clean the IAC

clean out the EGR if you're feeling ambitious

if its due, trans filter/fluid

O2 sensor

 

pick and choose those as needed

 

 

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Plugs, wires, PCV valve, fuel filter, clean your K&N, clean the TB (carb cleaner), run GM fuel injector treatment or Seafoam (if you like it that much) through it and an O2 sensor (which isn't all that expensive in this case) are more than enough...........

 

This way you have the fuel, air and ignition side of things all up to date where wear items/filters are concerned.

 

The last thing (and one that is often overlooked) is to flush the coolant and (if needed) put in a new thermostat. GM says to flush conventional coolant every 2 years regardless of mileage, and a new thermostat once in a while helps keep the gas mileage up where it should be.

 

 

 

Also............buy a chip from Ben on 60 degree forums for a cheap and easy upgrade (so you don't lose so bad to V6 Stangs).........they are set to run on mid grade gas (89 octane), keep stock like fuel economy and add anywhere from 3-7hp (a nice boost for an older 3.1L). They also give you a rev limiter option (not a big deal on near stock MFI motors), governor reset wherever you want etc.........

 

BTW.........I'm not surprised the V6 Stang beat you..........slightly more power, a bunch more torque and 200-300lbs less weight (although a lower stall torque convertor and worse FDR)..........they run low 17's vs a 3.1 W-Body which is a mid 17 second car :wink:

 

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heres what i generally do in the course of any routine matnicnce for my cars,

first, seafoam it

 

then next day (or on a cool engine)

 

fuel filter

plugs/wires

PCV valve

oil change

clean the IAC

clean out the EGR if you're feeling ambitious

if its due, trans filter/fluid

O2 sensor

 

pick and choose those as needed

 

That may be good if theres a problem with the car. But just for regular maintain. All you really need is filters plugs/wires oil change. That just seems like your doing wayyy too much on a good running car ( considering it is running good ) and spending more money than you need to.

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then next day (or on a cool engine)

 

That may be good if theres a problem with the car. But just for regular maintain. All you really need is filters plugs/wires oil change. That just seems like your doing wayyy too much on a good running car ( considering it is running good ) and spending more money than you need to.

 

well that was in reference that this is the first large tune up that the car has had in 100k

 

i generally do trans pan/filters every 30k

fuel filter 1-2 years of whenever it feels right

oil changes every 3k

plugs every 30k

wires whenever it feels right

PCV every 30k or when it crosses my mind past that.

 

i overmantain my car, it seems to pay off good too, never been stranded by it in the 2.5 years and 60,000+ miles i've put on it yet.

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No there is no inspection of any kind in my province...car could be pouring blue smoke out the tail pipe and no one would say a thing lol

 

But I feel it would pass if tested..seems to run fine

 

anyway I went and bought fuel filter, PCV valve, fuel injector cleaner (concentrated formula), oil and filter, new thermostat and gasket (seperate issue), new spark plugs (AC delco), and throttle body cleaner

 

Not gonna do the seafoam this time around...so far I've changed the fuel filter and cleaned the throttle body and IAC...damn she was dirty!!

 

One thing I did notice, the intake hose where that breather from the valve cover goes had oil sitting in it...should that breather be throwing oil into there or is there some type of blow by happening?? Anyway tomorrow I'm gonna do the rest plus install the engine mount!

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One thing I did notice, the intake hose where that breather from the valve cover goes had oil sitting in it...should that breather be throwing oil into there or is there some type of blow by happening??

 

That happened on my old 2.8MPFI too. Made my TB dirty (and IAC). Dunno if it's "normal" but the engine never had any probs

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One thing I did notice, the intake hose where that breather from the valve cover goes had oil sitting in it...should that breather be throwing oil into there or is there some type of blow by happening??

 

That happened on my old 2.8MPFI too. Made my TB dirty (and IAC). Dunno if it's "normal" but the engine never had any probs

 

yeah i'm not gonna worry about it too much...just wondering if it was *normal* or not lol...probbaly not but as long as she keeps ticking away I'm happy

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It's normal if your car gets reved out every so often.................my LQ1 see's 6500rpm pretty much every time it gets driven, so yeah..........it dumps oil out the breather into the intake :wink:

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Well got everything done today..plug from cylinder #3 wasn't in very good shape at all, so I'm a little worried about that cylinder....oil deposits and plug smelled really gasy compared the other 5 plugs....car is running a bit better now, as good as it's ever going to be I guess....

 

Now to finish replacing my engine mount...might pay someone to do it for me looks like it's more of a project then I initially thought it would be :?...

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many forget the O sensor. add that to your list!

 

also, I find the egr port on the 3.1 cloggs easy. be sure to clean that as well. you can ream it our with a 1/2 inch rachet head or extension.

 

air filter? purolater or acdelco..... (Don't get a fram)

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I cleaned the IAC....don't even know where the EGR is :?...air filter is a K&N I cleaned it with the cleaning kit...oxygen sensor I thought about, otehr then emissions does it help the car run better?? To be honest when I was back there doing the rear 3 plugs the O2 looked liked it's been replaced before, and not to long ago because it's really nice and shiney.....guess it wouldn't hurt to replace it though....

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I cleaned the IAC....don't even know where the EGR is :?...air filter is a K&N I cleaned it with the cleaning kit...oxygen sensor I thought about, otehr then emissions does it help the car run better?? To be honest when I was back there doing the rear 3 plugs the O2 looked liked it's been replaced before, and not to long ago because it's really nice and shiney.....guess it wouldn't hurt to replace it though....

the 02 sensor controls the air/fuel requirements. Usualy when bad it will tell the computer to DUMP fuel into your motor because it thinks you are running lean. Replace it, its under 10$ if I remember correctly.

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