J30t - Thanks for the tips!

[mostcake]

Hi! I've been browsing this forum for the last year looking for info to help diagnose the problems with my car. I have a 1996 J30t that I bought in 1999 at 30,000 miles (it had just come off a three-year lease) and it was absolutely immaculate.

My car currently has 105k miles on it and it's the best car I've ever had. Absolutely trouble-free until about a year ago when all sorts of things started happening. I've always put premium gas in it and had the oil changes done regularly with synthetic oil. The car is on its third or fourth battery and second set of tires since I bought it. For the past three years I drive only less than 3000 miles a year, all of it city driving, due to the very close proximity of my job, shopping, etc. In Texas we now have insurance you can buy by the mile, so it's super-cheap to insure now! I stopped having the maintenance done at the dealer about 5-6 years ago because it just got too expensive - and also because I started feeling like they were looking down on my older car.

Here's a rundown of issues I've had:2005: The rear right passenger window would not roll up one day. The dealer said it would be $700 to fix, which was out of the question. I got a new but off-brand motor off of eBay for $100 and paid someone $120 to put it in. The window worked again for a couple of months, but then quit again -- but at least its in the up position.

2006: The air bag light came on after having a new battery put in - and it's still on. I've never tried the "put the key in, hold the door button" trick, but maybe I will. That's about the most mechanical thing I would ever personally attempt anyway.

2008: One day when I turned the car off, I could hear something humming under the hood. I went straight to a shop and they said it was the ABS thing under the hood. They pulled a plug-looking thing out to make it stop draining the battery and told me not to lose it (I haven't). I've since learned this issue can be the ABS whole part or "relays". Since I don't drive a lot I've not done anything about fixing this issue - but it would be nice to get the flashing ABS dash light to go away so I may look into this further.

2009: One day my car overheated. I took it to the shop and they put in a new water pump. All was well for a couple of months, but out of nowhere, my car started to run and idle roughly, and within a week it STALLED when I came to a stop at a light. I freaked out! I took it to the shop and they did the engine codes and all it came up with was the same speed sensor one. Two days later I started it up and the engine did this weird roaring/quiet/roaring/quiet thing for almost a minute. I took it back to the shop and they said it was a temperature sensor which they replaced. That helped a lot, but to me, the car was still "off" - running a bit rough and idling a bit rough. Also, from then on, the temperature needle never would get much above the "C" at the bottom. I didn't know this was not normal. Winter had started and I thought it was just because of the cold weather and my short drives that my car would not get warm. BTW, the check engine light did not come back on, which I thought was a good thing. But my car was starting to run even worse, and my gas mileage was down by about 25%, so I went back to reading the posts in this forum, and I started to realize maybe something was going on with my thermostat - that it was stuck open. I went back to the shop and yep, it was stuck open. They replaced the thermostat, and immediately my car ran a bit better, got back to my usual 20 mpg mileage, and also now heats up within a minute or two of starting! The check engine light also promptly came back on (same old speed sensor code, and now a knock sensor to go with it).

But my still ran and idled roughly and getting worse - I knew something wasn't right, but then again, the car is 14 years old. I was starting to think I would have to figure out a way to get a new car. Something I had noted in the forums was people talking about the timing belt. I had never thought about it since I had some belts changed at 90k miles and was told it wasn't time for one yet. I looked up the schedule and it said to get it replaced at 105k miles. My car was at about 104,850 - so I went and asked the shop how much it would cost - they said about $700. I told them I'd go work some overtime and get back to them! Which I did - but in the intervening month, my car really began to sound horrible! I was really getting upset and worried, because I really can't replace my car at this point. Anyhow in the last week before I had the timing belt replaced, my car actually sounded like a diesel! I was praying and crossing my fingers my whole commute each day that it wouldn't just blow up and die.

So last week I took the car in for its new timing belt - it had 105,080 miles on it. I told the shop owner how horrible it sounded, he said he didn't know if it was related to the timing belt or not, but it could be. Well, one day and $650 later, my car was ready -- and guess what? It's like a new car! The shop said that one of my tensioners or something had seized - and that was part of the timing belt job.

I AM SO HAPPY! I love my car again!

So, if you're still reading this long post, I wanted to let the forum community know how helpful they are, even to complete car idiots like me. I would also like any tips about the following few issues I would like to resolve with my car:

Wiper blades: After reading the forum, I'm pretty sure I just need to go to the dealer on this one. I bought a set of Bosch replacement blades that two shops have been unable to install. I finally had to have a crappy set of refills put in to pass state inspection, and the guy who installed them apparently broke off the end cap on the passenger one when he installed it because it keeps slipping out on one end.

Window tint: My tint is starting to really look bad and I want to have it redone. Does anyone know if they have to be able to roll a window up and down to replace tint? My rear passenger window does not work.

Side mirror paint: For some reason, the top of the side mirror on the passenger side is fading its paint away. My car is not garaged, and maybe this is what gets the most of our hot Texas sun. Can you get just a mirror painted? Where? How much does it cost?

Everything else works on my car and I feel lucky to have it. I would like to keep it for about three more years and then get a new car. In the meantime, is there any other maintenance I might be missing or haven't thought of? It's had the transmission flushed a couple of times. I know the tires could use a rotate/balance... but other than that? Oh, the steering system has had a "slight leak" for about four years now. I've had fluid put in it twice and that always fixes it for a long time. I saw something called Lucas Steering Stop Leak that is supposed to fix the leak, but don't know if I should try it - the mechanic said it wouldn't hurt anything but I don't know.

Thanks again for all your good advice and information.

[driverdriver]

I'm glad this community could be of help to you. We've got some really good members.

Looks like for the most part your on top of the servicing.

[colincliff2]

Glad to see you've stood by your J for over a decade now. The ABS relay issue is an easy fix, as simple as changing a fuse. I think there is an article at fuzzycats.com about this.

It sounds like you've kept it up well. The timing belt is the vital service for these cars, so I'm glad you got that one done. Have you done the rear differential oil change?

[yodawill2000]

Welcome to NICO !!!

Would you mind posting the mechanic you use ??I'm just a few mile's from ya !!!