Boneyard

Fair enough, but I hadn't made it to the recommended interval before it blew. I had every intention of getting in at that time and changing it. If I had suspected for a minute it was losing oil, I would've been all over it.

The car is in vancouv er wa right now, not seattle. I left it at a shop last night, I won't get the skinny until tomorrow (maybe), but it is sounding grim. I am not a mechanic enough to do a rebuild, nor do I have the facilities, here or in seattle. I am afraid I just have to educate myself and then leave this up to the pros.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oVoYjm3FrU&feature=youtube_gdata_player This is similar to the sound I heard. So if it actually did real damage, I an better off trading my lower milage rebuilt for a higher milage one?

I just watched a video of an ' almost' thrown rod, and that was more of the sound I heard, so if that is the case, is it possible that the engine is still ok, and they will just have to rebuild the cylinders? Assuming of course the parts didn't jank it up too much.

I am pretty sure it was as is. I would have to check my paperwork, but I don't recall any warranty. That being said, I may actually just fall outside of it. I believe I bought it on september 22, which would put me a few days past it. So I am probably on my own here regardless.

I made a rookie mistake and didn't check the oil (didn't see any leaks or lights), and I was five miles short of my destination this weekend when my check engine light came on, engine lost power, started rattling, and the oil light started flashing. I was in the left lane on I-5 and no one would let me over, so I probably went a mile before I could pull over. I am pretty sure I threw a rod, so my questions are: about how much will this cost if I just have to replace the rod(s)? If I have to replace the engine? What are the odds of having to replace the engine? How long does a repair like this usually take? Finally, how big of an a$$ am I for not checking the stupid oil? (Answer: HUGE). Thanks Car: 2003 Baja, 78k, just made first payment (ouch)

Yeah, I usually buy a Haynes manual because it is cheap and easy to read. Usually good for most repairs, as you say. Of course the cloud hanging over my head never lets the repairs be easy. That being said, I am still not getting spark. The coil I put in is probably ok, so I will try getting some wires later and make sure they are good, even though the resistance checked. I checked the Transistor, and there were some funny measurements on mine. I will need a new one anyway, as I broke mine trying to disassemble it. Going to a junkyard, since a new dealer part is $300 So if the wires don't do it, then my options are down to either another coil attempt, a distributor, or possibly an ECU issue, right? The alternative to those would be some crazy wiring issue that would pretty much scrap the car and start over. For what I have spent on it in the past month, I'm half way to another car. So to be clear, a distributor problem could cause no spark at the coil if the coil wire is detached from it, right? I get no spark from anywhere that I see. Thanks

Ya, brought the part into work. Colleague had a spare coil with the same part (same everything). I am going to hook it up when I get home. If it solves the problem, I will hunt one down. Parts store couldn't find it, said it might be a dealer part. Auto Algebra 101: Dealer part = cost * 2.5. I can always use the spare to get to the junkyard though. It still disturbs me that the Haynes manual didn't have this part in there. It seems like a pretty important part to omit. They left out the MAF as well.

Ya, brought the part into work. Colleague had a spare coil with the same part (same everything). I am going to hook it up when I get home. If it solves the problem, I will hunt one down. Parts store couldn't find it, said it might be a dealer part. Auto Algebra 101: Dealer part = cost * 2.5. I can always use the spare to get to the junkyard though. It still disturbs me that the Haynes manual didn't have this part in there. It seems like a pretty important part to omit. They left out the MAF as well.

It doesn't look like I have an ignition amplifier (that's the part I was wondering about). From the diagram in the Haynes manual, it looks like it's a condenser. I think there is some variation depending on the year. Of course I could be mistaken. I'll take the part in tomorrow and show my colleague, but I don't know how much we can glean from a visual inspection. A new coil is only $20, so I don't see any reason not to replace it. Like I said, the spark wasn't coming from the coil wire; I never checked an actual plug wire from the distributor itself. If I still have problems after replacing it, I will start looking at the distributor. Thanks.

Greetings, I was poking around earlier, trying to find some information on coils, and I have some questions. My car died the other morning. It started right up, and a few blocks later it suddenly died. I put starter fluid in, but it doesn't seem to get spark. I pulled the coil wire from the distributor and put it up to the frame, but I didn't see a spark. I pulled the coil today and measured everything, and I get about .9 ohm across the contacts (pri. windings, I believe), and 9.96k ohm across the secondary windings (measured from output to neg terminal). I don't know if that would determine that the coil is necessarily good though, just that the resistances are ok. A colleague at work told me that some Subys have a timing module next to the coil (hooked up to the ECU) that can go bad. I am not sure if the one attached to my coil's bracket is that, or just a suppression module for the radio. I am including a couple of pictures just in case. I would also like to know if anyone can tell me if this looks like a replacement coil or the stock one. I would go by the rusted bolts, but every bolt on my car is rusted. Does this sound like it may just be a coil issue? I had a lot of fluid in the engine compartment due to coolant leaks, so it doesn't seem unreasonable that I may have gummed up the electronics. It may just be old as well. Do I just replace the coil, or do I need to replace the module attached to that bracket as well? What exactly is it (the parts store didn't have anything in the system when I called them). Thanks, J 92 Loyale, Manual, 1.8L, 230k mi

Do I have to have to remove it to do so? I am a renter, and it is my only vehicle, so removing the throttle body is a pretty involved task, especially with the rainy season approaching. The Air sensor next to the air filter should be a quick clean though. I don't think that is the MAF though. I looked it up online, and the part is $200 and looks like it belongs somewhere on the intake. I assume there is more than one air flow sensor?

So where exactly is the MAF? I am looking through the Haynes manual, and I can see an airflow sensor near the air filter, but nothing that is label MAF. Are they the same?

Well, that seems like something that shouldn't bee too hard to check. As long as I don't have to replace it ($200... ouch). It seems like the most innocuos parts are the most expensive. I saw some stuff online about being able to hit the wires with a bit of carb cleaner and get some more life out of them, so I'll give it a shot. Apparently these are one of those parts that just never get serviced.