GeneralDisorder

I disagree. Many, many timing belts in the automotive industry are now at 100k or longer interval. That is industry standard. EA82 belts are 60k because they are thin, and mechanically tensioned. Hydraulic tensioned, thick (as the EJ's are) belts installed with good quality tensioner and idler bearings as well as OEM quality water pumps and properly sealed against dust, debris, and fluids should easily last 100k. At this point the materials technology of modern engines has come far enough that it shouldn't be a problem. And IMO, if you can't get at *least* 100k from a belt system then chains should be considered from an engineering standpoint. EJ belts should be 105k and ALL seals, bearings, and the water pump should be done at the same time. That is good practice, it's a value to the customer, it's insurance, and it's the RIGHT way to do the job. Anything less at 100k interval's is plain stupidity - the parts are cheap and it adds maybe an hour of labor. GD

The tranny has to be removed from the car and opened up, the VSS drive gear shaft removed from the tranny, gear and seal replaced, and tranny reassembled. Additionally, you can't just pop the side cover's off, replace the seal, and put them back. Those cover's set the front ring & pinion clearances and should never be removed without splitting the transmission and resetting the clearances. If you are VERY careful you might be able to count the number of turns on the cover plate, marking start and end posistions but did you? If not start looking for another transmission - bad front diff clearances and a shot VSS drive gear? No Bueno. GD

I swear - you get more done in the dirt than most folks get done in a heated garage. How do you do it man? And what do you do with the kids while you are wrenching? GD

My money is on improper installation. Monkeys with hydraulic presses are not to be trusted. They should not be packed FULL of grease either. That just causes them to overheat. 1/3 full is where the bearings should run. A bent stub shaft is highly unlikely but you can put a dial indicator on it and see. Pull the old bearing out and inspect - see what kind of failure occured. You don't need a press for this job. Just some careful work with a brass drift. GD

No but check ALL the fuses - most of them run circuits that they aren't labeled for. GD

I've seen a few get stuck but nothing that I ever had to use a torch on. Gawd that rust does suck. I would imagine that if I moved to the rust zone my garage would be much less zen-like than it is now. I just don't run across stuff like that often and when I do out comes the blue wrench and things start getting red-hot and melty. GD

I could train a chimp to replace an EJ alternator. It's three bolts.... all of which are the same size GD

I got this kit for $117 shipped from mizumoauto 32600+ feedback - 100% positive. I've got no complaints. The water pump was a cheap aftermarket but I see no reason why it won't hold up till the next t-belt change. For the price you can just do it every time. Came with everything and the bearings were NTN's - nothing to complain about there. No alignment marks on the belt but those are for wussy's. I don't need em anyway. Water pump "gasket" was paper. I used it - no leaks. I prefer the OEM metal one's as they aren't as fiddly to install but...... again: $117 shipped. The EA's used paper for years and never leaked so again I see no issue here. Packaging was acceptable. No crimped belt. Nothing damaged. Would I prefer higher quality? Absolutely - but not at 2x or 3x the price and I'm 100% confident that the parts I received will last 105k till the next belt change. I informed the new owner that in 105k miles ALL those parts need to be replaced. My hands are clean. GD

As with a lot of things, it also depends on what part of the country you are in. I would imagine that AC compressors are much more likely to wear out in Florida, Southern CA, etc. Here in OR/WA they are mostly used for defrost. I don't see a lot of failures but I've seen a couple. GD

Have you checked the fuses? Often the power supply circuits are different for the flasher circuit than for the turn signals. GD

Never heard of it. Likely a rebranded part. There aren't many companies the make water pumps. Atsugi is the OEM. If it has a cast impeller then it's probably OEM or at least high quality. If it's stamped then it's a cheap chinese part in all likelyhood. GD

Means the alternator is putting out AC = bad diode bridge. Could be intermittant - sometimes they are. Replace the alt and go from there. It's the only thing that will cause warning lamps to illuminate though. AC will defeat the diode's in the illumination circuits of the cluster - about the only way those will come on is if you have a bad alt or your really do have the brake on. GD

Yes - hopefully there is catastrophic malfunctory next time. Smoke and flames would be nice as well. Warantee's are designed to cover exactly these types of problems - things overlooked at the factory or design issues. GD

Yeah - I use the battery terminal spray as well after deactivating the acid in the area with baking soda and water. I try to wire brush any rust and throw down some semi-gloss black on the battery shelf to keep the rust at bay. I never seem to have issues with corrosion and my batteries last nearly forever - only on cars that I've just bought or one's that come into the shop do I see this. Never on my own rigs. I always wipe the battery down when I'm working in the area to keep dirt and dust from shorting the terminals. GD

Check the blue-book value and take about $500 off that. Start there and if you get no intrest in a week lower it by $500 and try again. I sell most of mine by word-of-mouth so it's hard to gauge. People know my work and will pay what I ask for the most part. My gauge is not so much what the car is worth but rather what "comfortable" number will both be agreeable to the buyer and properly compensate me for my time/effort that I've put into the car. Of course that probably doesn't work for you since you actually owned the car to drive rather than just buy/fix/sell as I have been doing. GD

It's all in how you use it. With the garden hose adaptor spliced into the return line of the core, you can then disconnect the supply line, and crimp off the return line on the water pump side of the hose fitting (vise grips and some quarters or washers). Then when you turn the water on it will force all the pressure through the heater core in reverse of the normal flow (and typically at much higher pressure and volume than the core usually see's). This will blow out any accumulated debris through the supply hose and (hopefully) improve flow through the core. You can put some radiator flush in the core - disconnect both lines to the core, fill it through BOTH hoses till it's full, and tie the hoses up so the flush stays in the core. Wait the prescribed time interval for the stuff to work, then flush as per my previous directions. It's really very simple and takes little time. GD

Depends on the vehicle they came from and how they have been handled since being removed. That's like asking "are used cars any good?" GD

Just get one of those flush kits for a couple bucks and splice it into the heater core return line (the one going to the water pump). Hookup a hose and flush away. GD

Any of the common RTV's will do the job. I use ultra grey as it's sensor safe but there are other's that are as well. There aren't a lot of "gaskets" in modern engines anymore. Seals and sealants mostly. High tech sealants have replaced gaskets for a lot of things - the oil pan's being one of them (engine and tranny). GD

There is only ducting to the inside of the windows. The outside is taken care of by the wipers. How hot is your heat? Speed is relative to how moist the inside of the car is and how hot your coolant is / how good your heater core flows - and you of course need the damper doors to be working to direct that hot air to the windsheild. GD

Local place called Discount Import Parts. They are big into VW - lots of air-cooled parts but they deal in all import brands. You need 25 spine axles unless you have a 3 speed automatic turbo. All the other turbo's used 25 spline. Ball joints are one of those things that I only replace if they are worn. Just pry down on the control arm and see if there is any play. GD

They must have some really whiz-bang lawn-mower's for that sort of thing. I bet the local hospitals do a brisk business in splints and crutches as well. Or perhaps they just tether the goat up there..... GD

It's an o-ring, and a fiddly one at that. If you aren't totally sure then make sure it's not the lower radiator hose pipe o-ring that seals to the pump housing and make sure it's not the water pump bypass hose above the pump - it's under the alternator/AC bracketry and is often overlooked. GD

What in blazes is a turf house? There *must* be some sort of civilization - you were tought english (very well I might add ) in a school I would imagine? Hopefully one NOT made of turf or dung or whatever it is that passes for structural materials in Iceland..... Ice roofing sounds like a blast . Beautiful country BTW. Nice place to visit I bet...... in the summer. GD

You have to watch out for the water pump's - there are two shaft lengths depending on which belt arrangment you have. Other folks will know more specifics about which one's go with which. But that auction doesn't really give enough info on the car the parts were supposed to be for to tell which pump he bought either so..... I would steer clear of Mr. Retard there that can't fix his warped head. GD