Posted on 01/27/2024 7:52:30 AM PST by knarf
I'm comin' up on Pennsylvania inspection and my cats are shot (already tried "guaranteed to pass" and it failed, etc.) and a certified mechanic diagnostic . . . the cats are dead.
I may as well get the 02 sensors as well.
Sell the old ones. Buy new ones.....
I intend to fix, all I need is to pass inspection this year and consensus seems to run the after markets are OK from 1 - 3 years, which by then my 214K will probably be close to three
Our eldest daughter bought a Subaru after her disastrous Escape (the Escape was after her excellent Explorer). She’s never been happy with the Subaru, but mainly from a comfort, annoying electronics, and usability perspective. I think it’s been good for reliability, but she says “Never again” to Subaru.
Shoot the cat and get a new Pilot.
It is SO much easier to work on the engine when the whole front clip is removed.
You are smart to look ahead and ask “what else should we change while we have this open?” Avoids doing a duplicate tear-down a few miles down the road and saves BIG bucks. We did a few things like that on my son’s Escape, but, in the end, the damn tranny killed it.
Good to know about the OHC wear problem due to failed needle bearings. I was unaware of that problem. Did that show up in any way? Noise? Output? Or did you just find it by inspection?
Also interesting that you changed the oil pump. That’s not something you would normally think about. And I certainly had not heard about changing to a high output oil pump. What’s the reasoning behind that?
“My son found a 2002 Mini Cooper for $3,500 that has a recently installed manual tranny, new brakes and new tires. It was being sold by an acquaintance in the shop next door to his. He snapped it up.”
I love Minis for exterior design and fun to drive quotient but in terms of lack of reliability, they eat Ford Escapes for breakfast, especially that era.
Did you ever consider that the mechanic may be trying to scam the used cats for recycling. $$$
You should get a second opinion from another shop and state that you don’t trust the other one.
A Honda dealer would be best.
Replacing all exhaust sensors and both cats sounds like a bit of a blanket butt covering repair to me.
Interesting. I can’t afford anything new, or even used, right now anyway.
I’ve just always been attracted to the Subaru brand.
I will keep that in mind in the future.
how does it passes emissions?
80K miles, Fail smog > scan codes > O2 sensors. OK, fine.
This is a transverse V6 in a Toyota Avalon. The front bank manifold sensor is easy. The rear sensor is a bear to get to. Yes, you have to buy the special socket. As it turned out, the front sensor was cross-threaded from the factory. Really? Yep.
So taking it out required MASSIVE wrench-power and I wallered the threads. (Nobody ever thinks that threads can be galled taking a threaded item OUT, but they CAN be) OK, buy thread chaser tool. Not effective.
There was nothing left of the front threads. Nothing, maybe 1/4 turn. Nothing.
Ultimately I had to take the new sensor and grind down the threads (Yeah, we really want to do that on a new $100 part) and fabricate a bar out of 1/2" steel with a big hole in it and create a clamp that encircled the manifold with the bar and pressed the sensor onto the boss where it mounts, two lengths of allthread, and a corresponding bar on the backside of the manifold. Exhaust sealer goop generously applied. It's a real Iowa farmboy repair, but it's held and passed smog for 6 years! It's a real conversation piece with my smog-check dudes, but it shows no leaks so he is OK with it. Had this happened on the rear bank, I would have been utterly hosed
THIS IS ANOTHER REASON why you buy OEM sensors. Because taking them in, out, in, out, in, out because they are suspicious Chinese fakes is a recipe for destroying the threads on your manifold, and that could create a massive repair bill.
You can't go wrong with a Honda.
Knowing that timing chains DO wear out, caused me to look online at maintenence history for that work. Didn’t find anything. So when doing the job the timing chain and cam covers have to come off. The worn lobe was at the right rear, yet easy to spot since the rockers are beneath the cam.
However,... that one roller rocker HAD been replaced, but no others. It was shinier, and was the later roller rocker design that has a different looking oil squirt port (maybe provides a better lube job), but they didn’t replace the cam, which was a clue that the timing chain job was ignored. I’m thinking it was a noticable tapping that caused the owner to get it checked out.
It was also helpful that the fenders and wheel well skirts were removed to have easier access to the rear 2 or 3 valve springs to compress them when swapping rockers. Obviously, keeping timing correct during that process is a MUST.
I’m worried about that, too. But, at his point in life and income, he needs a beater to replace the dead Escape. He got it for about 2/3 of its market value and from a trusted seller. Here’s hoping he isn’t buying a maintenance and failure nightmare.
Had an Aerostar in the ‘90’s, but with the 3.0 liter engine. They cracked heads like Batman. When my second head gasket blew and the head cracked, there were no replacement cylinder heads to be found. I eventually fixed and got rid of it.
Now my ‘97 Expedition is good. Bought it used for $5500 twenty years ago. Early 5.4 liter Triton, but no spark plug problems. 215k miles now. Mostly use it for when we need to haul 8 people, or go skiing. It’s a beast in the snow.
I really like the Ford drive setup with 2wd, AWD, and 4wd (low and high locked axle). It’s much superior to my son’s Dodge Durango which only has 2wd and 4wd in the locked modes. So his on road driving is always in 2wd unless you get in trouble or the roads get covered in snow/ice (locked axles are no-go in dry conditions). Ford’s AWD is better at keeping you out of trouble or in mixed conditions (dry with snow patches). And you always have 4wd in case SHTF.
About the only things I’ve had issues with were ticky tacky codes with the gas cap, mixed luck with aftermarket replacement coils, and the stupid air filter feeds out of the inner fender, which can get filled with leaves and debris. Took me a while to figure that one out. I have a freer flowing air intake now. The front CV joints are starting to get noisy, which isn’t bad for 200+k miles. The transmission really likes regular fluid changes and you can feel it in the shifts. It’s an earlier A40D, and has the drain in the torque converter, so you can get all the fluid out.
Did you feel good cheating the emissions controls on your vehicle, and making the air worse for all of us?
I know I did.
Did the same thing with my son's 2008 Town & Country. We don't have inspections, but I got tired of getting codes. It does work.
They’re all getting complicated. Sometimes you have to wonder if these engineers/designers had/have a sick sense of humor.
I bought my Civic new in December 2006 when I lived in Texas. I have been the only person to drive it and started out using synthetic Mobil One oil and of course doing all the required maintenance. Other than tires, batteries and a bad starter it has performed great. 38mgp. With 360k miles or there about I have certainly gotten my money’s worth out go it.
**And I certainly had not heard about changing to a high output oil pump. What’s the reasoning behind that?**
I forgot to answer that. The reason they gave online was because of wear more oil gets used before reaching the top end (cams, rockers, valves), therefore lower oil pressure and less oil in those places.
Lol. It was on a 98 Toyota Avalon with well over 200k miles.
I just needed it to pass the emissions test, otherwise no plates.
Felt good to save well over a thousand dollars, so there’s that.
That guy on the line had a badass air wrench, doncha know!?
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