AnytownUSA
Well-known member
Okay, I know I should probably be stripped of my car but let me explain. I had a pilot bearing going bad – not gone yet but on its way out. I didn’t want to drive my car until I fixed it so I parked it in the garage. In mean time lots of family stuff has been going on with our kids, our parents, etc. Well the car has been on jack stands for two years now.
I turned into one of those guys we hate. You know the ones, with the nice car sitting up collecting dust and saying, “I’m going to fix that thing up one of these days.” Well the day has finally come.
As far as the clutch and flywheel work, that is under way – and all over my garage. What I had planned on doing to bring the old girl back to life was:
A good mechanic recommended that if I was going to have the transmission out I should go ahead and replace the slave cylinder – which I bought already so othe hydraulics will get flushed as well. I even thought about replacing the cats since the exhaust is out but it wasn’t a big deal to get the exhaust down so I may not go that far.
Now I have a fellow telling me that with two years of load on my valve springs, they could likely break soon after I start the car. I don’t understand how a static load could be worse over the course of two years than constant cycling and fatigue but now I am worried about the valve springs. Will these really be an issue? I don’t even know what problems a non-functional intake or exhaust valve could cause other than poor performance – would it cause the valve to drop into the cylinder?
Anyway, I need some guidance on the valve spring issue and if you guys can think of other items that I should address I would love some input. I drove the car constantly while it was in good shape and it has been hard to watch it sit unoccupied for all this time. It would be even worse to think I was going to be able to use it again only to find out I missed something when it breaks on my trip out of the driveway.
Please help.
Mike
I turned into one of those guys we hate. You know the ones, with the nice car sitting up collecting dust and saying, “I’m going to fix that thing up one of these days.” Well the day has finally come.
As far as the clutch and flywheel work, that is under way – and all over my garage. What I had planned on doing to bring the old girl back to life was:
- new battery
- change the engine oil and filter
- flush/change the coolant
- flush the brake fluid
- drain the fuel tank and lines up to the injectors.
- change the plugs and wires – just because it needs it. The car had 73k miles on it now and with the exhaust out of the car those plugs way in the back don’t look so bad from underneath.
- change the differential fluid
A good mechanic recommended that if I was going to have the transmission out I should go ahead and replace the slave cylinder – which I bought already so othe hydraulics will get flushed as well. I even thought about replacing the cats since the exhaust is out but it wasn’t a big deal to get the exhaust down so I may not go that far.
Now I have a fellow telling me that with two years of load on my valve springs, they could likely break soon after I start the car. I don’t understand how a static load could be worse over the course of two years than constant cycling and fatigue but now I am worried about the valve springs. Will these really be an issue? I don’t even know what problems a non-functional intake or exhaust valve could cause other than poor performance – would it cause the valve to drop into the cylinder?
Anyway, I need some guidance on the valve spring issue and if you guys can think of other items that I should address I would love some input. I drove the car constantly while it was in good shape and it has been hard to watch it sit unoccupied for all this time. It would be even worse to think I was going to be able to use it again only to find out I missed something when it breaks on my trip out of the driveway.
Please help.
Mike