berto

Ah, well, yes I am a bit of an amateur...the plastic plug turns out to be for the AT cooling Which I do not have, therefore I seem to have coolant leaking from my radiator into the place where AT fluid is supposed to be. Seems a new radiator is in order....checking on fans now... berto

I have a 1990 Loyale, 300k miles, beater but generally reliable car. Its been running hot from time to time, but yesterday was running close to the red on temp gauge. Added coolant, but noted there is a leak coming from the plastic nut located just above the drain stop cock. Pulled that leaky nut out and found the threads and washer are shot. Can anyone tell me the purpose of that aperture into the radiator? Can I just replace that or plug it with a similar nut, or do I need a specialized part? Alos note the fan is not working. How can I tell where the fan faiure lies? Fan Motor? Controll Unit? Thermostat?

OK, I got off my cheap thing, went out and bought a timing light. Now I understand...I was off by a hair on the distributor side, but once the light went on, THE LIGHT WENT ON!!!! Evertything is purring now... Thanks Subruise, and everyone else who "timed" in on the conversation...now I only have to worry about that stipped bolt on the valve cover...maybe next post will cover my tials there. MAHALO EVERYBODY. Berto

Aloha All, Seems I'm not out of the woods completely yet...the engine runs OK for a while at idle, took it out for a drive and it knocks when accelerating....still runs ok but sounds like its rattling under the hood when climbing. After driving for a while, I parked and let it idle, engine sounds ok but then the rpm went up and down like it was struggling, then the check engine light went on...with foot on accelerator, light went off and sounded ok again. Am I just not timed right? Sorry for annoying beginner questions, I'm not being cheap, just trying to figure this out. Any help would be appreciated. (Oh yeah, I don't have a timing light, just lined up the dist after the belts went on...sounded OK at idle, parked.) Mahalo, Berto

Yo! THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING GET THIS MACHINE RUNNING AGAIN! All it took was taking the slack out of the driver side timing belt (thought I had it, but NOOOOO...) Now it runs better than I've ever heard it! The miracle of oil changes and tight belts! Thanks again... berto

Well, I know it was low on oil, but there was still oil measuring on the dipstick prior to and after breaking the belt...i've had some clicking in the driver side prior to failure but it still ran smoothly. Didn't notice at the time of failure what the oil pressure gauge was reading (too many lights on the dash and traffice coming up from behind...just coasted to a stop!) If the cam or valves are stuck, how do I diagnose? Tried to get the driver side valve cover off, but one bolt is hard to reach and really stuck, another can be screwed out, but does not fully seat (threaded into the alum.) I noticed a very slow leak of oil forming at the botom of the driver valve cover. ARRGH.

Thanks All for responses. As for timing intall, yep, I followed as best I could the info from this forum, aligned to three timing marks driverside, then rotate 360 for passenger, then adjust distrib to 20d BTDC. Next step is to double check alignment on belts, and check tensioner springs. Also, after looking at the engine again, of course its SPFI. Thanks again.

OK, I'll go back to the driver side belt and make sure its hunky dory...I'm out here in the middle of the pacific, so getting replacement parts is sketchy. Probably need to replace the pulleys, etc...but that could be a few weeks before parts come from mainland...any way to get that belt tighter with out replacing tensioners, etc? I guess the 90 Loyale wagon is fuel injected...(?), how do I reset the computer? Guess I better read up on that part of the manual! Thanks.

Just replaced both timing belts on my 1990 1.8L Loyale after breaking drivers side at 30 mph. After a few attempts, all belts installed, I got it retimed so it starts and runs but sounds really rough, like its not hitting all cylinders. During the last attempt at install, the oil pump sprocket came off its shaft (no bolt found, like it was never there!). I re-installed sprocket with a new bolt and washer, got it all put back together and its runs really rough. I ran some seafoam through the PCV line, burned off the smoke, still really rough. Driver side timing belt look a little loose. Could this cause the rough running? Any thoughts?