frag

A mechanic who does'nt know there is an access trap sould'nt be trusted with your car.

I think most people here replace idlers, tensionner and pump every two belt changes. That's what I do and no problems.

Find an alt & starter rebuilder. I bought mine from one of them a few years back. There's also a rod with metal disk that bridge the two contacts. Some only clean it if it's not too much pitted. I replaced mine since it was not very costly. 20$ for contacts and plunger.

I've got a canadian 96 and the filter is under the hood right next to the driver's side strut tower. Don't mess withe the fuel tank.

The one wire sender is only connected to the temp gauge and not to the ECU. It cannot be the cause of your problems.

I think you'll get only opinions on this. Here's mine. I think they all have the same lubrication properties. The high mileage one is a heavier grade (10-30 at minimum) I think there are no «high mileage» 5-30 Mobil One oil. The longer change interval oil has additives that retard the apparition of contaminants of all sorts. I dont think switching between the three can have negative consequences.

1996 Leg Brighton wagon. For the last three years or so i've been using Mobil One full synth extended (oil change) interval oil. One in the spring (10-30) and one in the fall (5-30). That's all. Of course, i replace the filter at the same time. I've got 364,000 kilometers on the meter and practicaly no loss of oil (leaks or burning) between changes. I had been using regular Mobil one synth before that.

My 96 Brighton wagon was made in september 95 and it's OBD II. But like someone wrote, look at the lower left part of the dash just above the hood latch handle and see if there's a trap opening to an OBD II connector. OBD I have no connector at all.

How could a dealer make a mistake on this???!

The oil pressure switch is just behind and below the atlernator. Maybe someone messed with the wire connected to it when they replaced the radiator. First thing I would check if it were my car.

I recently did that repair on my car. No need to emplty gas tank cause the filler tube connects to the upper part of the gas tank. That's why it only leaks when the tank is full.

I would'nt worry about such a small wobble (1/32). If the pulley is properly torqued like it seems to be the case of course. Mine has about the same from the beginning and has'nt caused me any problem in 10 years.

If you dont have a mechanical stetoscope, take a long screwdriver or extension and put on end on the alt near the bearing and then on the engine near the balancer. With the other end on your ear, you'll find out fast where the noise is coming from.

If you want to check the easiest first, have a look at the connection to the oil pressure sending unit (just below and behind the alt). I had the same flicker and it was the connector that was almost off. If it happens only at idle, it's maybe because the engine is vibrating more then. Just in case. Good luck!

I have one on a 96 Brighton (bare bones model). I would be surprised you don't have one on your car. On my car it lights up when the needle is past E. 60-70 kilometers worth of highway driving left then.

96 Legacy Brighton. When I replaced the clutch a couple of years ago, the machine shop guy cut a few thousanths from the outher crown of the flywheel (where the pressure plate bolts on) to give the clutch "a little more grab". I dont know exactly how much he took off but the clutch has been working like a charm since. The flywheel was "stepped" just like yours. For what it's worth. Good luck !

Please keep us posted on what you find and what you do. G.

I have almost exactly the same problem. Have to remove the rear carriage to repair the fuel tank and since there's rust all over (the rest of the car is not «pristine» but well able to sustain at least three more years of driving), I was tinking of replacing it with a used unit with less rust. Imdew reply gives me hope but grossgary's might be closer to the sad truth as far as my car in concerned.

Thanks. Thinking about it, I guess it could also be used as an extra theft prevention system.

Just ignorant and curious. What's the purpose of a negative ground disconnect switch? First time I hear about it.

If you still have the pressure gauge, briefly pinch the fuel line downstream of the gauge (befor or after -return line - the regulator, taking the regulator out of the equation) and you will see if your pump can give its full output, which it probably can.

See post 15# : he says the crankshaft is spinning but the belt is not moving.

One thing is sure, you have to open things up more to see what's wrong with the timing belt system. Sorry if it's too obvious... Take care.

1) You crank the engine with the starter, the engine revs, piston go up and down but the belt does'nt move. 2) You push the car while in gear and the belt moves. Makes no sense to me. Turning the crank pulley bolt (if it's not stripped), cranking the starter or pushing the car in gear have one and the same effect : spinning the crankshaft. If the crank sprocket was broken off the crankshaft none of the aforementionned methods would move the belt.