comin' up on 60K

[eddiefast21]

i have had my 8G (2000 ES) for just under a year now, and all i've been doing is giving routine oil changes.

it's coming up on 60K miles (actually at ~56K right now) and would like to get the maintenance done in the following order:

1- brake pads (the front rims are more dirty than the back ones, to me this means the brakes need to be checked/replaced)
2- rotors (not sure if i should get new ones as i haven't had any problems with the brakes yet that would lead me to believe i need rotors)
3- tires (have turunzas on it now and do not like them, i'm going to do a search on this site for suggestions but would be greatly appreciated if someone can give their input)
4- tune up (most likely just the wires, plugs, rotor, air filter, not sure about the fuel pump because i don't know if it's labor intensive to change the fuel filter)
5- timing belt/water pump (have a jeep w/80K on it and have never done this maintenance on it, runs fine, i assume this maintenace can wait a little while....????)
6- oil change (have about another ~1K to go before this maintenace)
7- radiator flush (what king of engine coolant do you guys recommend??)

also, my trunk dosen't open (neither from the inside w/the latch, or from the outside w/the key), has anyone else had this problem? if so, is there an easy way (like a switch to move) to fix it. i'm sure my mechanic will fix it when i bring it to him.

so...what do you guys think of the maintence schedule, what do you guys think each one would cost me (besides #6)???

i'm in the NY area and will go to the junkyard by shea to get these done.

the reason i'm asking is because money is a little tight right now, which is why i'm breaking up the schedule, probably get it all done within a month to two months time. i'm also asking to see what others have paid for the maintenance on this type of car as it's my first foreign car (and i like it a lot).

i want to take good care of my 8G because i plan to keep it for as long as possible.


thanks for your responses,
eddie https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[eddiefast21]

one more thing i forgot to ask,

what kind of brakes pads, rotors, timing belt, water pump, plugs, wires should i get? any specific brand or are genric brands 'OK'??

by the way,my 8G is a 4-cyl https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

[pinoyesv6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>1- brake pads (the front rims are more dirty than the back ones, to me this means the brakes need to be checked/replaced)
2- rotors (not sure if i should get new ones as i haven't had any problems with the brakes yet that would lead me to believe i need rotors)
3- tires (have turunzas on it now and do not like them, i'm going to do a search on this site for suggestions but would be greatly appreciated if someone can give their input)
4- tune up (most likely just the wires, plugs, rotor, air filter, not sure about the fuel pump because i don't know if it's labor intensive to change the fuel filter)
5- timing belt/water pump (have a jeep w/80K on it and have never done this maintenance on it, runs fine, i assume this maintenace can wait a little while....????)
6- oil change (have about another ~1K to go before this maintenace)
7- radiator flush (what king of engine coolant do you guys recommend??)

so...what do you guys think of the maintence schedule, what do you guys think each one would cost me (besides #6)???
</div>

i'd bump #5 to the top. timing belts on the i4 are very prone to breaking around the 60k mark. actually its really common. broken timing belt means the car doesn't run, meaning all that other stuff you did is pointless.

1 and 2 i'd go ahead and do togther. also change your shoes and get the drums looked at while you are there. the fron brakes usually produce more dust than the rear because they do most of the braking. so you're theory is straight up wrong. but you should at least get them checked as part of your 60k.

the price on #3 will vary from tire to tire. you can' stick with a 30 dollar economy tire or spend hundreds of dollars on ultra high peformance tires.

#4 yea. you got it covered. plugs and wires. no rotor but check the coil packs to make sure that they are still good. fuel pump doesn't need to be serviced really, unless you are one of those folks who like ot put sugar in their gas tank or something.

with #7, yea regular flush and fill with the regualr green stuff. nothing special to that.

some things i do recommend that you do that isn't on the list is to check/change your cabin filter. you didn't mention it so im assuming its hella dirty by now.

check your battery. get it reconditioned/replaced if its on its last leg. last thing you'd want is to be stranded somewhere with a dead battery

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>i'm in the NY area and will go to the junkyard by shea to get these done. </div>

i recommend going to a mechanic to get your work done. especially with this maintenance since you'll need many NEW parts.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>also, my trunk dosen't open (neither from the inside w/the latch, or from the outside w/the key), has anyone else had this problem? if so, is there an easy way (like a switch to move) to fix it. i'm sure my mechanic will fix it when i bring it to him.
</div>

remove the back seat and crawl into the trunk. then you'll see the latch mechanism. then you can open it from there and deal with your problems once its open.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>what kind of brakes pads, rotors, timing belt, water pump, plugs, wires should i get? any specific brand or are genric brands 'OK'??</div>

try a search. this stuff has been discussed many times over and over.

[IceDouTGaLanT]

if ur gettin roters get brembo ones their the best invest u can make IMO also HAWK pads thats what im runing thier really good...for tires michelin hydropilot's which are great tires gret traction best in rain they ran me 510 installed balenced n what not..GO to tirerack.com they might have deals

[RED2KESV6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>

also, my trunk dosen't open (neither from the inside w/the latch, or from the outside w/the key), has anyone else had this problem? if so, is there an easy way (like a switch to move) to fix it. i'm sure my mechanic will fix it when i bring it to him.
</div>

I had this problem, of course it happened about 2 months after the 3 yr warranty expired. As Pinoy said, you will have to crawl into the trunk and remove the latch mechanism. On mine, the mechanic found that something had broken off inside it, and was preventing the unlocking. He said he could replace the latch mechanism, or just fix it so it would work. I said just fix it so's it will work. A few months later, I had not used the car for a couple of days because I was sick. When I went to start the car, the battery was dead. Since it was the second Mitsu battery (first one was replaced earlier under warranty) I bought a new battery. Couple of weeks later I again didn't use the car for about a dayand a half, and the battery was dead again. After getting a jump, I took it to a auto electric place. It turned out that the thing inside the latch that had broken was causing the trunk light to stay on 24/7, which caused the battery drain. At that point the choice was replace the latch mechanism, or just disconnect the plug to the light. I decided to just disconnect the plug. If I need light in there, I just reconnect the plug for the time I need it.

[eddiefast21]

i'm greatly appreciative of the advice given to me, especially yours pinoy.

i will get the timing belt and water pump done first as you suggested.
it makes more sense to me now after i read your post.

so i need four belts total right???
1- timing belt
2- balance shaft belt
3- accessory belt #1
4- accessory belt #2

am i to assume that the tensioners and idler will come with these???


also, where can i buy a cabin filter (auto zone/pep boys??), and is it easy to replace?

i tired unlocking the trunk by crawling inside from the backseat, was only able to get my left arm in, and tried unlocking the small white switch but it didn't help to unlock the trunk. also, when i pull the lever up to open the trunk from the inside (by the drivers side) it makes a clicking noise when the lever is all the way up, does that mean anything to you guys???



here is a pic of the cabin filter:

http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/42e84923z45...fnpE6CBSGakvYmb ('http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/42e84923z45413d28/cannyfghani/__sr_/ff01.jpg?pfnpE6CBSGakvYmb')


here is a pic of the inside of the trunk, the white latch in the lower left of the middle of the screen is the one i was moving to see if the trunk would unlock, is that the correct one?

http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/42e8498bzb1...f3rE6CBmjK9sqUi ('http://us.f2.yahoofs.com/users/42e8498bzb1f12f42/cannyfghani2004/__sr_/12ec.jpg?pf3rE6CBmjK9sqUi')



i hope you guys can see the pics, i'm really bad at computers



http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cannyfghani2...album?.dir=fe92 ('http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cannyfghani2004/album?.dir=fe92')

[eddiefast21]

shit, the pics didn't come up

[pinoyesv6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>so i need four belts total right???
1- timing belt
2- balance shaft belt
3- accessory belt #1
4- accessory belt #2</div>

you really don't need to replace the last 2 but hell, its right there and they're cheap so go ahead and change them

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>am i to assume that the tensioners and idler will come with these???
</div>

never assume. mine just came with the belts only. all that other stuff was seperate

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>also, where can i buy a cabin filter (auto zone/pep boys??), and is it easy to replace?</div>

the dealer and other places that sells mitsu parts is the only place to get it. to my knowledge, mitsu is the only ones that makes them. you can make your own but its probably not gonna be a hepa filter like the oem one.

but yea easy to replace. remove the glovebox and the tray for the filter comes out with 2 phillips head screws

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eddiefast21)</div><div class='quotemain'>i tired unlocking the trunk by crawling inside from the backseat, was only able to get my left arm in, and tried unlocking the small white switch but it didn't help to unlock the trunk. Â*also, when i pull the lever up to open the trunk from the inside (by the drivers side) it makes a clicking noise when the lever is all the way up, does that mean anything to you guys???</div>

remove the back seat. that way you can see how the trunk mechanism works and you'll know what to pull to open the trunk that white lever doesn't do anything but enable or disable the interior trunk release.

you can try ggetting a friend to pull up on the lever while you try to open the trunk. i have to do that with mine because of the extra weight of my spoiler. although i usually just wedge a cologne bottle under the lever to hold it up

[eddiefast21]

updated previous post with pics

[o1naturalhigh]

i'm with everyone else...timing belt #1

[eddiefast21]

did some research on the timing belt/water pump maintenance and found some prices also:

-balance shaft belt ~$25
-balance shaft tensioner~$44
-timing belt~$50???
-" " " idler~$30
-" " " tensioner~$26 (GMB brand)???
-" " " pulley~$30
-water pump~$100
-" " " gasket~$8

*parts w/o labor -->> ~$315

**one hour of labor you think??? -->$60 --->>>> $375**


does this seem about right??



also, pinoy, when you mentioned earlier that i should replace my brakes shoes, did you mean the:

brake rotors?
brake discs?
brake drums?
or the actual brakes shoes, what part of the braking system are they?


i've decided to change all the fluids as well (probably when i do the oil change), these will include:

tranny fluid (read that mobil 1 and lucas tranny fix are good combos for this)
brake fluid
power steering fluid
check the a/c freon
flush the radiator, use new prestone w/ deer park water (or should i use distilled water???)


thanks again fellas!!!

[pinoyesv6]

**one hour of labor you think??? -->$60 --->>>> $375**


does this seem about right??


an hour worth of labor is just gonna be enough for your mechanic to open and close the hood. you're gonna need a hellofalot more labor than that. especially with the long list of things you want done. labor rates aren't determined by how long it takes the mechanic to do the work but based on difficulty and average time consumption. there's a book that tells them how long to charge you. this keeps things fair. i mean if they based it off actual time then if you're lucky you'd get the good mechanic, get it done quick. but if you're not then you might end up with the newb who doesn't know what he's doing and goes on a buncha breaks.


also, pinoy, when you mentioned earlier that i should replace my brakes shoes, did you mean the:

brake rotors?
brake discs?
brake drums?
or the actual brakes shoes, what part of the braking system are they?



when i said replace the shoes i meant the actual shoe itself. aka the pad for the drum.

rotors are discs.

and the drum is what the shoe rubs onto.

[eddiefast21]

asked around and here is what i was quoted:

-shop recommended by on of the posters here:
~$500 for timing belt, balance shaft belt, and water pump (accesory belts woud be around $15-$30 but would not be charged any extra for labor); mechanic said that they only use OEM parts because anything else will screw up the valves, true????

-shop that i normally go to for oil changes/inspections/etc and mechanic that i 'trust':
~$520(240-260 for parts & and rest labor), this was also just for the two belts and water pump, said it would take approx. 4 hours to do, and asked if he was gonna use OEM parts & and he said NO, wasn't happy with this as he explained it doesn't matter :shock:

-went to a parts store to find out what the parts would cost (just for kicks):
$300 for timing kit (includes the 2 belts, timing belt idler, timing belt tensioner only)
$140 for the water pump
--->>>$440 just for parts from this guy....didn't add up, are the idler & tensioner really that expensive???

again, neither of the two shops were gonna replace any tensioners/idlers, that would be extra. is it worth the extra to replace them???

also, i want to get a quote from a mitsu dealer to compare and to also ask them a few questions (e.g. how much they would charge me for tranny flush and how much 10 quarts of the mitsu ATF would cost me)



as far as the tires go, checked out tirerack & walmart and both have similar prices (~$440 for all 4) for the michellin hydroedges (which is what i'm planning to get), probably gonan go w/ walmart because they have some protection plan that cost $10/tire.


so far, i'm obviously leaning towards the shop that one of the posters, BigMike, recommended, thanks BigMike.

[lgary1978]

is there any one inparticular around shea u go to. I am having problenms getting the spark plug wires off its as if they are stuck or something i woudl liek to bring it to someone to change but everyone keeps telling em they want to do a full tune up i cna do the rest but he spark plugs are stuck for some reason

[eddiefast21]

now i really need to get into my trunk because my passenger side brake light needs to be replaced, i was hoping that it was just the fuse, but its not, its the bulb and i need to get into the trunk to replace it.

yes, i still can't open my trunk, with the key or from the inside with the release.

i first removed the bottom of the rear seat, that was easy. then i removed the four bolts that held the back of the rear seat, tried pulling out the seat but it seems like its stuck in the middle. the sides come loose but the top middle part of the seat is still stuck, is there another bolt/screw back there that needs to be removed??

i wish i was skinny enough to fit through that little area on the right side of the rear seat, that way i would'nt have to go through all this.

[acitydweller]

how did you make out with the timing belt and trunk dilemma