hankosolder2

Couple of thoughts here, and I apologize in advance if they are too obvious. Did you possibly get a lot of gasket scrapings/crud in the engine and plugged the strainer for the oil pump? Alternately, is it possible that the oil passage to the camshaft on the head which siezed was plugged with something? FInally (and I'm saying this having never done a HG job on a 2.5, so I don't know the pattern of the HG...I've just swapped in 2.2s) Is it possible that you have your HGs reversed and they're blocking oil feed or drain passages? I doubt that your oil pump suddenly went from working well enough that the car was drivable to so weak that a cam bearing siezed without something causing it, so I'm inclined to believe the problem is elsewhere. But I could be wrong! good luck! Nathan

Could the hub have been damaged or the old rotor be not properly seated on the hub during the wheel bearing replacement? If things are a bit rusty back there on the mating surface of the hub, you're going to have disc run out. Generally, if you feel the warped rotor causing vibration in the steering wheel, it's the front rotors at fault, but if you don't feel vibration it doesn't necessarily mean the problem isn't in the front. I like the idea of using brake hose clamps to disable one caliper at a time and see if the problem goes away. Better have a safe place to try this test, though!

Well, I identified the connector (the black one- the pins are spaced asymmetrically, unlike the diagram) and got codes 12 and 22. (Driver's side airbag or control module/ Passenger's side airbag or control module.) Considering the improbability of both airbags failing simultaneously under a non-crash condition, I thought I probably needed a control module. (I might add that this car never had any airbag issues until two years into our ownership, so it's not like it was previously wrecked and the airbags weren't replaced properly or anything. ) Just for kicks, I decided to examine the pass side airbag; got under the dash on the RH side and noticed two airbag related connectors. The connectors themselves were seated properly, but one of the wires had a mounting bracket on it which was loose, so the wire could flex. I repositioned the wire, cleared the codes and the SRS light is now operating normally. I'm sure the problem isn't solved - there must be a broken wire, a loose crimp connection or something. I'll monitor the situation and see if/when it acts up again and try to narrow it down. Nathan

+1. The o-rings have to be gasoline/solvent resistant. I had an injector o-ring failure (on the fuel rail side) on a Honda and it produced a large stream of gas all over my hot engine. Not cool. Nathan

Thanks for the link- I have seen that and unfortunately, none of my connectors match the shape and pinout of the connector illustration in the article. Perhaps someone has done this on the same or similar car and can tell me more, like what color the connector is and what the pinout is like?

Greetings! I'm trying to sort out an airbag warning light on my wife's '98 OBW. I'm having trouble finding the diagnostic connector and none of the diagrams on line seem to match the pinout. (Wrong number of pins, wrong shape connector, etc.) I've got an orange connector, a grey connector, a black connector and two green connectors all loose by the accellerator pedal. I know the green connectors (with a single wire going to each one) are not the airbag diagnostic wires. I'd really appreciate any advice finding the connector and knowing which terminal to ground to read the codes. Thanks! Nathan

I don't think that recentering the clock spring is going to solve your problem. Basically, an off-center clock spring will not cause an air bag code per se; an off center clock spring will cause the clock spring to break, which will then set an airbag code. So, recentnering after the fact shouldn't help. I think you're probably going to need a new combination switch assembly (It's about $160-170 wholesale for my OBW...) I would definitely do some code reading first and check your connectors first; they are the latching type and both parts need to be fully seated. Nathan

Thanks, Cougar. I understand what you're getting at... the 3 wire sensor must have one wire for a positive supply for the heater, one wire for the output for the sensor and one wire for ground, which is presumably shared by the heater and the sensor element- unless they are using the body of the o2 sensor for the ground for one of the two functions. I think the four wire sensor has separate, isolated grounds for each section...i.e. a ground for the sensor element and a ground for the heater. I don't want to hack the wiring as this was supposedly an OE, plug in ready sensor, so I contacted the supplier to see what they have to say for themselves. The only way I can see it working properly as-is is if there's an internal connection between the two grounds in the body of the sensor or if one of the grounds is bonded to the body of the sensor. ('cause it definitely won't work right if one of the sections of the sensor is left floating.) Unfortunately, I can't do a continuity check on the new sensor as opening the bag renders it unreturnable.

The flashers are due to an alarm you have activated due to disconnecting the battery cable. I think if you search you will find some comments here about resetting it. For the CEL, You can try cleaning the idle air valve with carb cleaner. Also good to check for vaccuum leaks.

I purchased a replacement rear o2 sensor for my '98 OBW, due to a rear O2 sensor code. (The old one is obviously bad- the wires are cracked!) I bought an "oe exact fit replacement o2 sensor." (It's DENSO brand.) It's got a four pin connector on it (as does the original one.) The difference is that the original o2 sensor has only three wires going to the connector (one pin of the four pin connector is unused.) The replacement o2 sensor has four wires coming out of the sensor itself and they all go to the connector. The connectors appear to be the same shape... I'm wondering if the 4th wire is somehow redundant? I can't tell if the "car end" of the connector actually has wires going to each pin. Maybe I should ohm it out. Any ideas, folks? NAthan

I'm going to have to differ from Gary on this. The ECM checks for the presence of the EGR solenoid (by measuring its current draw) so yes, you can fake that out. However, the ECM also checks for actual EGR flow and will set a code if there's not actual flow through the EGR system. I believe this is sensed by the MAP sensor...i.e. the vaccum in the intake manifold drops when the EGR valve opens.

I have a big problem with the methodology of this report. Why lump parking tickets and moving violations into the same category? I certainly hope that insurance companies differentiate between the two forms of tickets; a car which attracts absent minded "forgot to feed the meter" types is not necessarily a greater accident risk on the road.

Well, if it's localized to the doors, you could install good used doors, preferably from a non rust belt state. You could also cut part of the door skin off (the frame is usually saveable) and weld/braze some fresh sheetmetal on. It's a lot of $ for an older car unless you can DIY, but if the suspension, subframes and strut towers are sound it might be worth doing. If not, it's time for a different car. Nathan

I can't answer all your questions, but I can answer a part of them: The automatic uses completely different AWD technology and no part of the transmission will interchange! Good luck, Nathan

Hideous, just hideous. It's too overstyled and looks tacky. I think most people who want a sedan in that size / price class want something more discreet looking, but no doubt they focus grouped the appearance, so what do I know?

Is it just me, or does that font look a bit like the old DeLorean logo? I bet it helps with the "What is THAT?" I imagine SVX owners get regularly.

I'm wondering if that "solenoid on the right fender" could in fact be the MAP sensor. (Which might also be attached to a solenoid...so maybe you're right.) If so, it's rather important that it is hooked up! Did the old disconnected vaccum line to the old 2.5 have a stubby, fuel-filter looking device in it by any chance? My general advice to you is to make the 2.2's vacuum hoses confirm to the vacuum hose diagram on the underhood sticker for the 2.5. If you're concerned about the internal condition of the engine, you could do a compression test. Yes, you can remove spark plugs fairly easily with the engine in place... it helps to remove the windshield washer resivoir first. Nathan

Nipper, I hear what you're saying... most current car designs are less tolerant of incorrect servicing than in the past. Having said that, there are plenty of other engine designs which meet current emissions requirements and won't seize if you use marginally thicker oil than is called for. Surely a design engineer has got to consider the possibility that an "Iffy lube" tech will occasionally use whatever's handy, and unless it's GEAR LUBE or something completely insane, the engine shouldn't grenade.

I agree that in most situations it's best to stick to the MFR's suggested oil, but that sounds like some seriously bad engineering on the Ford Escape to require such precise tolerances on the viscosity of the oil- let's face it, at most normal temperatures, the viscosity of 5w-20 versus 5w30 isn't all that different. It's not a 2:1 ratio or anything. I'm sure that there are tolerances between different brands of oil labeled "5w20" and even some batch-to-batch variations. I can see engineering an "exotic" vehicle to be unforgiving about type of oil or viscosity, but a FORD? People who buy Fords are used to throwing in whatever kind of oil is on sale at Wal-mart! Nathan

So, does the '98 motor have an EGR valve on it or not? You should be able to sort the Evap codes with proper vacuum hose routing. I have a vague memory of connecting the two pipes which go to the charcoal canister on the 2.2 together, and plugging one other vacuum line. I can get you more details if you can't figure it out. The thing is to make the 2.2 motor conform to the vacuum hose diagram sticker under the hood. Nathan

Another thing to consider here is that you are incurring all the risk in this transaction. Sure, it might "just" need HG, but you might also find the heads are warped, or the long block is screwed up. $1000-$1500 to have the HG done professionally is just a starting point. Plus, with those miles, the bottom end might be ready to fail. I'd be thinking 2.2 swap myself. I paid 2500 a couple of years ago for a high mileage 98 OBW with bad HG, but it was driveable, was a stick and had an excellent body, new tires, CV axles, etc. I was having a very hard time finding a decent Subaru with a 5-speed and I wasn't that worried about overpaying a bit. If you're buying to flip, it's obviously much more important not to overpay.

I'm going to say higher tire pressure is better. Reason is that as the tire is inflated more, the center of the tread contacts more and the edges contact less. It's effectively kind of like going to a more narrow tire. (Narrower tires do much better in the snow because the smaller contact patch allows the snow, water, etc to be displaced easily to the edge.) It might depend on the kind of snow, and obviously, some seem to disagree with my conclusions. I noticed a meaningful difference today in a FWD Honda increasing to max permitted sidewall pressure. Nathan

I had a friend who drove a Ford Escort running on three cylinders for YEARS. If you disconnect the injector to the dead cylinder, you really won't be polluting or wasting gas. I say, go for it if a replacement car is on the horizon.

If the cylinder is indeed completely dead and you intend to keep driving the car, why not at least pull the connector off the #4 injector? At least that way, you won't be dumping unburned gas into the catalytic converter. Safer, kinder to the evironment, and your fuel economy will also improve considerably!

Aaah, I bet nipper was mentioning the PCV valve relating to the unrelated blowby from the oil filler. Sorry. Nathan