Wait,… how can you be from a place called “Winter Garden” and not know what winter is?

 

I think that it's commonly referred to as "snowbird irony".

 

Whelp, kid took a few days to fly in for a visit with the idea to drive his car back home.......
We had to finish taking the top end off, then we again cleaned the injectors (again) and brushed up the spark plugs, tested all the coils and reinstalled everything. The only actual NOTED thing was the cylinder #5 injector connector had a broken lock tab although it seemed completely seated. On the reinstall it got zip-tied.
All things put together again for the THIRD time and............ it runs as perfectly as I could hope for a 17 year old car. There may be a bit of a coolant leak, but more likely some got spilled when we filled the system.

SO, kid is happy and he's going to fix up a couple little nitnoid things that bother him on the interior.

In summary..........
Cleaned injectors
Cleaned plugs
Ensured all connectors are tight and secured
REPLACED RIGHT SIDE CATALYTIC CONVERTER
That is all.

Now it runs again, so JOB DONE.

Quite a bit less work (and $$$$) than replacing the entire engine like the idiot "Professional Auto Repair" shop wanted to do.

 

And now more space in the garage.

 

Well done @Cee Jay ! And your son will never forget about this.
Yes, this theme of “service professionals” dictating an “engine needs to be replaced” is getting old.

Jeepers, my father had me rebuild an alternator in my first car, a Fiat, when I was 17. There was no way he was going to pay for a new alternator for me…. of course the over bore and new cam shafts, larger weber carbs, exhaust, big brakes, adjustable suspension,… was all a 17 y.o. kids’ idea.

 

Last time I had an alternator fail was a couple of years ago so I stripped it down, replaced the bearings, rebuilt and reinstalled it. I did the same thing almost 60 years ago with my Dad instructing me and it was a dynamo on his Hillman rather than an alternator. Some things never change. 👍

Richard

 

Stellar work! I hope your son takes the time to read this thread to truly appreciate your labor of love.

 

Amazing what you can accomplish with common sense and elbow grease. I have to say, I’ve enjoyed following this story from the start. It’s like reality TV with people I can relate to. Nice job, CeeJay, A+!!!

 

Wanted to mention to you that I enjoy reading your posts. This project in particular is interesting and has motivated me to do my own work one mine.

Thanks.

 

Great job! Intelligent troubleshooting saved the day.
Sad to think how many people get taken by poor repair shops.

 

Great outcome!
Hate to ask but how much was the cat?
Maybe you got a used one?
.
.
.

 

A cheapie from Rock Auto. A pretty pathetic replacement, to be sure, but it's worked so far. Something like $350 plus tax/shipping. A used one, IF one could be found, is still $1500 or more, and in what kind of condition?

 

And for a final post of mine in this thread as actual content...
Kid left a few hours ago with his GF heading back to Seattle. The car is filthy because he didn't want to clean before a fifteen hour drive. He's not returned nor called, so he's maybe 20% of the way home. Everything seems good. Let's hope it continues.
I hope to never see that car again though.
Any my shop is now empty! Time to put MY projects into it.

 

Mission accomplished!

 

Great news, and well done Cee Jay - I bet he's one happy kid.

 

Even philphy car still looks good. - Black wheels are alright.

 

Ceejay - Well done!! Not only the work on the boy's car; but, also keeping us well informed as to your progress. Speaks well of you as both a master tech and A1+ scribe.

 

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I got a call a bit ago........ a Check Engine light came on halfway home!!!

I let kid take my old OBD2 analyzer with him for such an occasion. Good thing!

"Lean Condition Bank 1".
I told him to check all the vacuum lines, so he did. He also fiddled around with a couple that seemed to be laying weird. It didn't affect the ride is what he told me. SO, he said he'd clear the code and continue on his way as long as it still ran okay.
No further word, and that's been another few hours on. He's probably well over half way by now, so Default to Seattle now instead of returning here.
A small hiccup, but evidently nothing to worry about.

 

but... he left for a road trip in a dirty car??

 

Taillights look tinted?