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Changed manifold gaskets, valve cover gaskets, new injectors and spark plugs. Spent a LOT of time just cleaning... every tube and every bolt...
The intake ports were pretty black and carboned up, I wrapped a waffle towel ( less lint) around two fingers, sprayed carburetor cleaner on the towel and fingered the ***** out of those ports, vacuuming every few minutes too.
I was just marvelling at that,nice job,great pics too.Thank you for posting this.
After I put everything together and went starting the car, I found two injectors leaking... Turned out I squished the o-rings and distorted those tiny o-rings.
Took the left fuel rail out and put new upper o-rings on those two leaking injectors, that fixed the leak.
I also had a coolant leak ( in a separate thread), changed the upper radiator hose and all is well now!
The old hose looked fine, no cracks, but I guess they don’t hug the same way as new rubber does...
Unbelievably great pictures, especially the shots of the manifold inside. It baffles me why rodents want to build nests inside the engine bay of cars. Did it sit for any length of time?
It didn't look like the nest was inhabited, looked pretty old... The car is a daily driver, so I don't know how something can live there - temps are pretty hot for comfort
Rear coolant bridge came out completely, to make work on starter easier. 1998-2000 are easier than previous models with EGR, I heard.
New coolant bridge gaskets, of course.
That harness bolt on the rear of bridge I am pointing to was a pain to access.
It was the most involved job I did on my LS so far, I had to take my time and stay organized.
The articulating t-arm and hose pliers were necessary.
one thing I noticed after my tune-up is the idle is lower and quieter, around 400 rpm with ac off and around 700 with ac on.
Valex great job! The photos and writeup were superb, it's amazing I did this job almost 14 yrs ago on my wife's '98LS and don't remember it being nearly as cumbersome (but I was 14 yrs. younger I didn't remove any of the coolant fixtures maybe that's why it didn't seem so bad though it was plenty tough enough! What did you replace the starter with? New, reman or just the contacts? Thanks.
I replaced the starter with a Denso reman I got at Rockauto, read here that it might be just the contacts, but at 250K on original I decided to go with a new starter. 4K miles later, all is well, starts every time!
Last edited by valex; Jan 24, 2019 at 11:03 PM.
Reason: adding
I replaced the starter with a Denso reman I got at Rockauto, read here that it might be just the contacts, but at 250K on original I decided to go with a new starter. 4K miles later, all is well, starts every time!
I think you made the right decision, I wouldn't play around with only the contacts at 250k, starter bearings, bushings, armatures, and other items all wear out at some point it just makes sense to have all of that stuff replaced with new parts, plus you still get a new set of "contacts", no brainer. Good luck.
Here's an update on replacing my starter in case anyone is interested or wants to chime in. I currently have the original starter out of the car ('98 LS) and decided to run some tests on it before installing a Denso Reman from Oreillys. Btw I would encourage any diy'ers to run these tests before installing a replacement, the tests are simple and easily outlined in the shop manual. Happily I discovered the original starter failed the "Hold -In" test and the "Performance" tests outlined in the manual. This is good to know after spending all that time and effort pulling this puppy out of the car, if I had only replaced the contacts without running the tests, I would still end up with the same problem and I'm really not up for any "surprises" if you know what I mean. I'll keep you posted on how it goes from here please feel free if you have any questions. Cheers.
Here's an update on replacing my starter in case anyone is interested or wants to chime in. I currently have the original starter out of the car ('98 LS) and decided to run some tests on it before installing a Denso Reman from Oreillys. Btw I would encourage any diy'ers to run these tests before installing a replacement, the tests are simple and easily outlined in the shop manual. Happily I discovered the original starter failed the "Hold -In" test and the "Performance" tests outlined in the manual. This is good to know after spending all that time and effort pulling this puppy out of the car, if I had only replaced the contacts without running the tests, I would still end up with the same problem and I'm really not up for any "surprises" if you know what I mean. I'll keep you posted on how it goes from here please feel free if you have any questions. Cheers.
Mission accomplished! As most can see I took my time and persevered through almost a week of sub zero temps and minor glitches and oversights here and there, but it was worth every bit of it when I finally "turned the key", it was music to my ears. No cel's, no hard starting, and it runs as smooth as silk. Cleaning the intake ports alone took a couple of hours, the gunk that builds up in there is incredible. After I scrubbed them clean I put an ounce of Sea Foam in each of the 8 ports, having that sit in there over a few days while I put everything back together can only help. She really runs smooth. The Denso Reman fired right up without a hitch, checking and cleaning all of the electrical connectors and wiring is a must, I had the misfortune of one of the knock sensor wires break off at the connector! I did a pretty good job improvising a fix that made the wiring much stronger than when new. I also took out both vvt-i ocv's and tested them, and did a reverse cleaning of the vvti oil filters by putting an ounce of Sea Foam into the ocv slots and blowing it out with compressed air, I think it worked. I took some photos but they are pretty much the same as posted by Valex above. One word of caution, make sure you remove the gas filler cap and don't put it back on until you've reconnected the fuel delivery pipe, I made the mistake of putting it back on "after" disconnecting the pipe and it represurized and continue to leak out veeery slowly, when I went into the garage the next day, there was gas all over the floor! It was an adventure to say the least, but now with 320k and she runs as smooth and good as new, let me know if anyone has any questions, otherwise I will keep you posted on the progress of the Denso reman from time to time. Cheers.
I didn't remove any of the coolant fixtures maybe that's why it didn't seem so bad though it was plenty tough enough! What did you replace the starter with? New, reman or just the contacts? Thanks.
