Tedd930

I just purchased a 94 from the original owner 65 yr old who did nothing to the car but oil and some factory recall work.the car is a true virgin not a bolt turned under the hood. The car runs perfect however I was told to do the preventive cooling mods as well as some type of exhaust work. I am not a racer.

I did change the oil and checked air filter and coolant ... Am I good?? Or do I need to proceed with work, it would be done at Pettit if I was going to do anything . I wanted to keep it stock.


Thank you

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

welcome to the board.

my advice would be to go ahead and establish up-to-date maintenance by getting a logbook and doing all routine and scheduled maintenance to it.

all filters
all fluids
ignition wires
plugs
check the brakes

additional things that may be helpful:
all vacuum lines
cooling upgrades (including AST)


I remember Pettit being a good shop in the 90s, so far, I have not heard anything bad about them that would make me believe they are no longer what they used to be. however, there are a few places in South Florida if that's where you are located. ask around in the SE Forum when you acquire enough posts to use it.

hopefully, SgtBlue can add and correct info as needed.

good luck.

Tedd930

Ok great .. I agree not sure what the sat is but I will mention it.
Pettit is the only shop in south fl I am familiar with however it's a drive for me he's moved north about 75 miles I would love to find a honest guy closer ft lauderdale , broward , or north Miami

Thank you for your time..

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Congrats on the car Ted. Sounds like a nice one.
The preventative cooling mods you heard about probably involve the radiator and AST. The stock radiator end-tanks and AST (Air Separation Tank) are plastic and had a tendency to fail with age and heat cycles. Most replace with aftermarket all-metal versions, but if you want to keep it OEM, new can still be purchased. The exhaust work likely refers to the 'pre-cat', which was also known to collapse and take out your main cat down-stream. That can lead to engine damage. That pre-cat is also a huge source of underhood radiant heat that bakes all the plastic and rubber. Almost everyone replaces that with a downpipe, preferably wrapped or heat-coated, which also adds some performance.

I recommend starting with the FAQ stickys in the 3rd Gen. Section, particularly those related to reliability. Great way to be a more informed consumer before you visit Pettit....which by all accounts is a great place, if not a bit pricey. If you do maintenance yourself, get a copy of the FSM or download a version free from those same stickys.

FDHoward93

iTrader: (3)

Gauges are crucial. The factory gauges leave a lot to be desired. The most important ones will be a water temp gauge and a boost gauge. Those should be more than enough if you want to keep the engine stock.

The factory gauges have delays and vague indications that can't help prevent catastrophic problems. If you want to keep the stock radiator and AST the water temp gauge can help diagnose a leak faster and prevent a deadly overheat. And a boost gauge that displays both boost and vacuum can help with diagnosing a cracked vacuum hose or clogged cat before it causes dangerous back pressure.

There are many options for mounting the gauges. Check out picture and build threads and do some research and you should be able to find a way to mount them that suits your style and thoughts on the car.

Tedd930

Thanks guys not sure why my first post was not complete the car has 24,500 miles on it it's still running perfect all fluids are up and clean the car has not been used I put 200 miles on it in the past two days temps and pressures were good
However just now I got into it just a bit and took it to like 6000 Rpms still well below redline it was great power but when I was sitting in driveway idling cooling down the yellow check engine light
I's now on no over heat and still running smooth and good pressure.... Any help would be great ....
And can i still drive it... Thank you

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

This is an OBD I system. But you can pull your own diagnostic codes ----->Check Engine Light Codes and then address it using the FSM.

pistonfree

iTrader: (1)

+1 on this. I need to learn too