So a friend of mine is at a crossroads. He's past 100,000 miles on his '02 PT Cruiser, hasn't had the timing belt done, needs motor mounts, and it has been suggested to do camshaft seals.
The heartache for them is that the vehicle feels like it doesn't want to get out of its' own way. We worked on it last week because his oil pressure sending unit was leaking (and dinging in the passenger compartment) and I test-drove it because he was covered in muck, and it literally felt weak. I had a similar engine in my Stratus and while the PT is a little heavier than the Stratus, I wouldn't expect his PT to perform as weakly. Honestly it reminded me of when I switched my Cordoba from Lean Burn ignition to Electronic, but didn't change the lean burn distributor a vacuum advance distributor, and literally had no get up and go.
I've suggested that the sluggishness could be the result of having slipped a tooth on the timing belt, but since the vehicle is literally weak they're hesitant to spend the better part of $1000 for the timing belt and associated pulleys and water pump. But, he knows that if they trade it in, in the condition that it's in, they'll essentially be giving it to the dealer.
As for the motor mounts, we discovered that when we took a front wheel off, and the whole engine assembly rocked forward while breaking the lug nuts loose.
Any suggestions? I've got a quote from a shop that I trust for about $1000 for the timing belt and associated, but without the engine mounts...
The heartache for them is that the vehicle feels like it doesn't want to get out of its' own way. We worked on it last week because his oil pressure sending unit was leaking (and dinging in the passenger compartment) and I test-drove it because he was covered in muck, and it literally felt weak. I had a similar engine in my Stratus and while the PT is a little heavier than the Stratus, I wouldn't expect his PT to perform as weakly. Honestly it reminded me of when I switched my Cordoba from Lean Burn ignition to Electronic, but didn't change the lean burn distributor a vacuum advance distributor, and literally had no get up and go.
I've suggested that the sluggishness could be the result of having slipped a tooth on the timing belt, but since the vehicle is literally weak they're hesitant to spend the better part of $1000 for the timing belt and associated pulleys and water pump. But, he knows that if they trade it in, in the condition that it's in, they'll essentially be giving it to the dealer.
As for the motor mounts, we discovered that when we took a front wheel off, and the whole engine assembly rocked forward while breaking the lug nuts loose.
Any suggestions? I've got a quote from a shop that I trust for about $1000 for the timing belt and associated, but without the engine mounts...