rockbound

neoprene is overrated for the price, o2 sensor change, and clean out the intake with berrymans crb intake and injector cleaner, fill tank and add berrymans gas treatment, this should have been done before filter change. If the car has been fed some bad gas before thata caused deposits in the fuel lines they could wreck havoc on new filter, seein's how it's only a '90 that shouldn't be a problem, unless it has gotten lot's of bad gas. That doesnt mean that's your problem, just that you were running so bad that you probably carboned up everything and to keep the problem from coming back soon it could use a good cleaning. If the o2 sensor went bad it could have been sending to much gas and thus fouled the plugs, your tune up will probably help lot's. But if there was a problem it will just keep coming back to haunt you if you haven't fixed it.

Speaking of valve clearances does any body out there have the specs for an older 1800 w/ solid lifters? My book only goes back to 1980.

before i would go to a dealer for service I would look for a dealer trained mechanic in a private shop, private shops rely on return customers with no warranties, they charge generally lower rates, you do have to be careful and do you're research. Ask to see their training certificate, and/or ase certification, making sure they are up to date. An 1985 certificate does not qualify to work on a 1990 model, let alone a '97. Also inquire at the better business buerau for complaints filed.By doing this you should be able to come up with a shop and mechanic with a good track record, that can competantly take care of you without taking you to the cleaners. With all the discrepancies in the answers you got about the valve adjustment, pose that same question to any potential garages. They should say yes to doing it in the car (with/without the special tool), having the tool already in thier tool box is a plus, especially if it isn't brand new. Suggesting to you a compression check would be above board, doing a head gasket without one would not.A concientious mechanic is not going to do a service just because a book says to, he's going to want evidence that it is needed first. If your valve train has more wear on the valve stem your clearances will get looser, if the majority of the wear is in the valve seats the clearances will get tighter. If there is more wear on the camshaft lobes the clearances will loosen. Optimally these contact points wear at the same rate but that hardly ever happens, usually do to low oil pressure.Valve "stretch" is more likely to be found in a racing engine than a daily driver, the valves need extreme heat and pressure to stretch noticably. So your clearancewill tell you where you are wearing faster at.a compression check would not hurt, but I wouldn't worry about that unless you have spark plugs that are firing abnormally (i.e. dark brown or black deposits on them, or the evidence of oil.)