Posted on 06/24/2015 11:34:27 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
Yes that might be helpful but you will probably never see minor bends on a valve that causes it to burn or break off. Only the machine shop can (hopefully) do it right.
It would depend on what you are using the car for. If you are driving it 4 miles to work, big maybe. Driving long distances, no way.
I have been bitten enough times trying to half way fix something that we got to where we said, “do it right or go elsewhere.” We had more business than we could do.
I bought the scope to look for fallen parts inside a manual transmission because it was cheaper to do that than the damage that would have occurred if the part ran through the gears.
Thank You all for the great advice. We looked at it last night, it’s TOAST. She is going car shopping this weekend for a replacement.
Toyota VVTi engines bend valves. The same engine without VVTi does not. 1MZ-FE vs 3MZ-FE. The variable timing is not the cause. But it makes it easy to tell which ones bend valves.
Don’t forget all the HP gains. I spent some time around dirt track racing, actually a lot of time; decades. We used to go to the off season shows to see what all the new trick stuff was for the year. By their claims we could have just bolted on mucho HP with all the “must have” shiny new gadgets. We figured if we bought everything that would give us 10-30% out of the box gains we could easily be making 1000+ HP from our little naturally aspirated 350 SBC.
Buy used.
A used luxury type like a Lexus or Infiniti or Acura or Cadillac is a good choice but if you want cheap, go Cavalier/Cobalt.
We are pretty well done with ANY “GM” “Product and “FIAT/Chrysler is OUT the question. She is looking at Honda, Toyota or Maxda(used).
My strategy with used cars is to buy cheap and have a backup. So I have a 2003 Infiniti G35 sedan and a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee for a backup. The Infiniti was a really good choice.
Don’t buy a Jeep. Ever. Maybe a Wagoneer. I needed it to get up the mountain when it snows.
If you buy an Explorer (2000-2005), make sure it has a salvage title. It means the horrible transmission has been replaced.
BTDT
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