Tune up
 

Hey
I am obviously a new member. I like fooling with cars, and enjoy doing preventative maintanence. Ive been driving a 96 sunfire for a few years. Its now got 114,000 miles on it and is basically running strong. I have a few questions on it.

2.2L engine - automatic trans.

It burns a lot of oil - always has and I got a hold of the car with only 60,000 miles on it. It burns about a quart every 1500 miles. Is that normal for these engines?

Its starting to get a little bit of a misfire, rougness to it. Sometimes at idle I can feel it shake, but its most noticeable at about 50mph with my foot slightly in the gas. Its not constant. I tried a little fuel system cleaner and it seemed to help for a while but now its back.

I did a tune up at about 70,000 miles with new spark plugs (platinum OEM type) and I keep up with the filters (oil air and fuel) regularly. I put new spark plug wires on at about 90,000 miles and it got a new o2 sensor at about 100,000 miles (It threw a code and told me to change it)

Im just wondering what kind of experience you have at this mileage doing tune ups. This car is payed for and I love to run it to 200,000 miles or more but I dont want to buy parts that dont need replacing.

Im thinking about what kind of parts might help smooth this thing out. Maybe its poor fuel pressure (maybe I need a new pressure regulator or pump) or maybe its just dirty injectors that need replacing. Or maybe its a weak ignition system (new coil pack?)

Also the AC sprang a leak last summer and I have been suffering without for a while. IS there a common place these systems fail at that you know of or am I going to have to get some of that dye and find it myself?

thanks for any advice

RE: Tune up
 

well i run a 1999 2.2 auto and i do my regular oil changes it doesnt burn any oil it has about 108000 kms or 65000miles i had to change my valve cover gasket and my alternator and belt tensioner other than that the car runs good. if u have a walmart with a tire and lube shop get them to do and engine flush it cost about 10 bucks i dont know if they have it in the states but check anyway. but it does a good job on cleaning the oil galeries and getting the crap out of the lubricating system.

RE: Tune up
 

Thanks for the reply.
In the time since I posted I have more info on the misfire/roughness.
I eventually got an OBD code - misfire on Cyl #1. I checked the plug and it was covered in a hard white deposit. Cleaned the plug and the car ran great. Next thing I know and the coolant level light came on. I didnt connect the dots at first, but someone told me that the white residue is coolant burned onto the plug.

I even found a TSB for this. Apparently the head gasket leaks and some coolant ends up in the cylinder when it burns off it makes the deposits. I also have a small amount of coolant leaking externally. I think its time for a top end overhaul.

I used UV dye to look for my AC leak and couldnt find it. It must be under the dash.

It has 122,000 miles on it now, with a new head gasket and maybe a rebuilt head I bet itll go over 200,000 like I hoped. With the head off I can check the condition of the bores.

Thanks for the reply though.