Recent content by BenjiHoggi

The whole rust thing is weird. It really seems to be 90% climate and 10% car. Yes, Protege's are more prone to rust than some other vehicles, because of the crappy metal. But mine for example is not rusty at all. It has lived it's entire life in Oregon, some of which was on the coast. I...

So no oil leaked out even while you were unscrewing the filter? Seems odd, but could be fine. When I've previously pulled off my oil filter, I've had the initial dripping of oil, but after that the filter appears to have oil still in it, but there is little or no 'loose' oil. Generally, when...

I ended up cleaning it with brake cleaner and a little wire wheel on the end of a dremel and then reinstalling it. The valve was not stuck and it seemed to move decently well. If I have more issues, I know I can get to it and replace it fairly easily in a couple of hours. The biggest hassle...

Got the EGR out. It was a bit of a puzzle, but not too bad once I figured it out. I think it took me a little over 30 minutes. The best thing about it is the fact that you don't have to do a bunch of other stuff to get to it. I removed my strut brace, the intake tube, and moved some vacuum...

Thanks! To give myself some credit, I was actually looking in the shop manuals to find that page when you posted this. I am not used to finding things in the shop manuals though, and I was not having much luck.

As always, loads of good info from you, PCB! This is exactly what I was looking for. I do recall hearing that the EGR can cause the car to run poorly. It could totally be a placebo effect, but mine does seem to run a little rough now, and I can actually see the RPM needle moving up and down...

Hey, but that's not a bad place to be actually. It doesn't have to be a reliable daily right? So who cares if it breaks down for a bit or isn't super nice. Mine is a daily and it's probably in slightly better condition, but it's still old and worn, and I have no second car. I have a small...

Whaaaaaaaaat?!?? That's a thing? I want a flip key now! Can I buy one and program it to my car? Sorry maybe you already said that it can be done, but I probably missed it. Need to do this kinda research already for my dad's Tundra, so I might as well learn how it works for my Protege too!

Hmm. Just going on intuition here, but it doesn't seem like a good idea to never change oil, even if you're constantly topping off, yeah? We know that the oil burns as it slips past the piston rings, but does sludge also burn in the same way? If not, you're burning oil and leaving sludge...

2800 with that mileage is pretty good if it's got a clean title and the body is fairly clean and that solenoid was your only issue. I bought mine with 143k for a little less but it needed some mechanical work which I did myself. PCB, I'm not sure what you're seeing that's causing concern. I...

Yeaah...that's not how it looks on my car. The zip-tie idea is not bad at all, but it may not be a real solution if that tube has been replaced and it's the wrong inner diameter. Definitely worth a try though, at least temporarily. I honestly don't know where you'd buy a replacement OEM or...

I'll take a look at how it runs on mine when I'm home tonight, if you don't get it figured out by then. Fiddling with things under the hood and taking pictures seems a little suspicious in the parking lot of an office building 😂

Try it, and let us know how it works. I should just go ahead and do that on my brothers car so that the CEL turns off for him.