Christophr

(on checking HG in used 2.5) WHEN ENGINE COLD, check the coolant reservoir and under the radiator cap. Should be little/no black stuff on the walls, should be no oil smell, should be no oily sheen on top. I read this check on forum somewhere a couple years ago before I bought my '99 OBW with EJ25D (dual overhead cam). Mine had black stuff around the water line in reservoir, oily smell from coolant in reservoir, and oily sheen on top of fluid under radiator cap, and eventually it needed a HG. However, from my research before buying, in a used '99 EJ25D I EXPECTED to have to replace the HGs eventually. So I bought it at 132k miles (obviously well maintained), drove it 20,000+ miles, engine NEVER overheated, other than signs I described above there was no indication of HG failure. It ran great, but eventually I noticed a decrease in power (poor compression). And it was leaking oil from the rear mainseal (and probably all the other seals too) down onto the exhaust manifold, which produced a nice burning oil smell. So, I got underneath on a lift and could see evidence of the driver side HG failure underneath (coolant seeping) on the block where the HG is (as well as extensive oil leaks). Anyway, point of the story is on that generation, that engine, with high miles, check to make sure no real damage is done before buying, but I'd still expect to eventually replace (a) timing belt, water pump, idler pully, etc. ( both HGs, © engine oil seals, (d) possibly valve job (I did because of the 20,000+ miles I drove on failed HG). I had all these things done by a mechanic and a new clutch while the engine was out. I also replaced leaking, corroded exhaust pipes (from years of MD's salty winter roads and salty summer air), muffler, and rear catalytic converter. I also proactively did other maintenance that I assumed needed to be done because of the age and high mileage of vehicle (tune up, new tires, new pads/rotors all around, replaced a failed front caliper, replaced a slightly noisy front bearing, just replaced the clutch slave cylinder). That said, including price of vehicle, all the work I had mechanic do, all the maintenance and work I did myself, I've got about $8,000 in the car and expect to hit 300k miles. All in all, $8,000 for 150,000+ miles is not a bad price to pay. Would spend twice that much for a new sub-compact car, which will need some similar maintenance along the way to 150,000 miles (incl. expensive timing belt, water pump). And my OBW is MUCH more fun to drive! So when buying used gen 1 OBW with EJ25D, factor the inevitable and possibly extensive (and expensive) maintenance into the price before you buy, but in my opinion, it's still a better buy than new.

Pelle, so far I replaced only the clutch slave cylinder (paid ~$40 for new). It's been a week and so far the clutch pedal returns great. It was easy (I'm an amateur, unskilled mechanic, but am a mechanical engineer and I have a Haynes book), took no more than an hour. I took off the air intake (two screws, one on each side, then two hose clamps, then about 4-5 hoses on the bottom and it comes off, don't forget to reattach all the hoses or engine may start up and stall), then I could easily reach the slave cylinder. Break loose the banjo bolt (connected to hydraulic hose on top), but don't take off yet (brake fluid may come out). Remove two bolts and pull slave cylinder away from clutch return lever. At this point I put a pan under the cylinder to catch brake fluid. Then I removed banjo bolt and hose. Then on new slave cylinder I pushed in the rod to the rubber boot (ensure correct side of rod goes in) poured a little brake fluid into it (a bit messy, do it over a pan), then attached it to the transmission with the two bolts (28 ft-lb). Then the banjo bolt with washer (torque is supposed to be 13 ft-lb, I didn't tighten enough at first and it seeped brake fluid when I bled system). Bleed the system by (a) remove cap on clutch master cylinder and top off with brake fluid and leave cap off, ( have someone pump the clutch pedal until stiff, © with rag under bleeder valve, take off rubber cap and loosen bleeder, bubbly brake fluid will blow out and clutch pedal will go to floor, (d) retighten bleeder (replace cap when done). Repeat until no more bubbles but only fluid coming out from bleeder. Top off fluid in master cylinder reservoir and replace cap. Reinstall air intake. Clutch pedal should now operate normally if problem was the slave cylinder. I'd run until engine is hot and in heavy traffic (much clutching) to make sure problem solved. If not solved my next step would have been the clutch master cylinder. Then the hose. (Also note that my rubber dust cover around the return lever was dry rotted and cracked from years of heat cycles, they're about $30 new from dealership so I just coated outside of mine in silicone, cured, and put old one back on. Eventually I'll replace, this was temporary patch.) So, another side note, I have had a check engine light on for a long time, code P0440 (EVAP system). By removing, cleaning all the hose fittings, and reinstalling the air intake housing, I apparently resolved the P0440 code. Not sure what it was, could be a hose wasn't tight, could be some oil on one of the hose fittings, who knows, but I'll take it. Best luck with fixing your clutch pedal problem!

DirtyMech, did you ever resolve this issue? I have same problem, new HG and clutch then after a few months the clutch pedal stays in depressed position, have to pop it back up with toe. Bled the system, didn't fix the problem. No trouble when engine cold, even when warm with minimal shifting, but happens in stop-go traffic. When clutch sticks, I can pop it up with toe and then pump it a few times and it's good for a few shifts then needs pumping again. Was planning to change slave cylinder (gets hotter, heard it fails more often than master) but wanted to make sure I replaced the right one and that's why I read this post. Maybe now I'll do both... maybe also the hose? But if none of those replacements fixed your problem, then what? Thanks for help!