LADHAR

How hard is to replace the spark plugs on the firewall side of the car. any DIY?

How much it normally cost to get the valve adjustment done?

thoiboi

https://www.google.com/search?q=sit%...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Reorge

Spark plug ... not difficult.
Valve adjustment ... I've done 3 J engines and none of them needed it after 100k miles.
Not worth the effort.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

spark plugs are super super easy if you have the right tools. extensions !

jim_c

There are a couple threads on here about plug replacement. Search 'em out.

LADHAR

Hi Reorge,
My engine have a loud ping and I went to the dealer at 88k km they said its you gas then filled up 94 octane & V-power for a year no improvement. Then they said do timing belt did that no improvement. Now I have 145k on it and its really bad now Stealer is saying do valve adjustment as the fuel trim is .90 instead of 1 and is running rich.
I am not sure what to do to fix this issue.
It does it under load after the engine is upto temp from cold start no issues but after I drive it for 15-20 minutes and park it for grocery etc for few minutes then I get it under load and then it goes away after few minutes. If I shut the car of for couple minutes it comes back again.
Any advice is appreciated.

LADHAR

Any comment on the issue I mentioned below??? You are here from a long time.

Reorge

It's unlikely that an out of adjustment valve system would cause a fuel trim problem that bad. It would cause lots of unbearable NOISE if they were badly in need of adjustment.

I had some issues with pinging but I stopped buying from certain gas stations and the problem we away. Bad fuel trim can be caused by a bad sensor but without a DTC code it's difficult to diagnose. I recommend fuel treatment (Techron Concentrate Plus Fuel System Cleaner - 20 oz.) once or twice. You could have some carbon buildup on the back sides of the intake valves.

Dirty air filter can also cause pinging. I change mine every 15k miles.

Aftermarket intakes are also known to sometimes cause calibration issues with the MAF sensor.

LADHAR

Thanks for Advice
I only have K&N drop in filter . Should I get rid of it and buy a regular filter?
Dealership checked it and found no codes.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

what fuel grade are you using?

csmeance

have you cleaned and oiled the filter? If yes, the recharge kit is meant for 5 filters so you could have over oiled the filter and caused oil to coat the MAF (mass air flow) sensor on the engine so it's not picking up the right amount of air flowing into the engine.

the_razor

mine pings from day one I got the car, changed various gas stations including changing octane from 91 (Shell V Power no Ethonol) to 94 (with 10% ethanol the highest octane available in Toronto area gas stations) still ping under load and when engine has warmed. I will try changing the air filter and see if that helps.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

unfortunately, these cars have high engine compression ratios and need high octane...
if its still pinging with 94, you probably need a bit higher...

and no, those gimmicks at the gas station that claim to raise octane only raise it by 1 point...
as in your tank will now be, 94.1 octane...

the only true ways of raising octane is to mix higher octane with lower
or
mixing in toluene

the_razor

just realized I had just changed filter 8,000 KM back so that may not be the issue in my case will do a visual check.

Reorge

Valid point. If you didn't know already a special cleaner MUST be used to clean a MAF sensor. It sells in a spray can like carb cleaner.

LADHAR

So I checked my Air filter and it was plugged. so I cleaned it. I also noticed that I over oiled the filter last time so had oil in the groves in the flex pipe after the MAF sensor.
I took the pipe off and cleaned it . As suggested I bought the MAF cleaner and cleaned the sensor. I also noticed carbon buildup around flapper/throttle valve so I cleaned that with a rag and pushing it open with my fingers and cleaning a little bit inside and I also bought the seafoam and sprayed it clean the carbon built-up.
Now the Bad news is my car is idling at 1000 to 1500 rpm instead of 750 so I am not sure what I messed there.
Can any one suggest is there any way to fix this issue? any screw I can adjust? Shit I caused another issue.

Reorge

Ohhhh! Did you open the throttle plate manually? This is a no-no for fly-by-wire throttles (electric actuated; no cable). I don't think it a big deal but you might have to search the internet to recover from this (reset idle speed). Perhaps just disconnecting the battery and letting is sit for 5 minutes for a ECU reset. I know there is a throttle "re-learning" procedure somewhere on this forum and/or in the service manual.

thoiboi

whoops... don't do that again


unplug your battery and do a idle relearn

LADHAR

Ok I tried disconnecting/connecting the battery. let the car sit & idle it dropped back to 800 rpm but it back again to 1000 rpm today. I guess I have to take it to the shop.

Second thing can some one help me on this EGR return dampers. I opened up the top cover to clean the area but this gear mech on the side which I am not sure if it is supposed to be fully open when the engine is off or fully closed pictures attached.