Under Valve cover, new to me beater car

[barkingspider]

I just bought this 03 Pontiac vibe, from and old dude, had all maint records, mainly oil changes from an Indy shop, brand new tires and front breaks, good paint except for the bumpers. I decided to do the following today, replace:
- valve cover gasket w new felpro, the old gasket crumbled and it leaked, sprayed the cover w purple power, and took a wire brush to clean as best I could without taking all day. It’s bad.
- spark plugs w NKGs
- drain & fill transmission w maxlife, decided not to do the filter at this time. The pan is bone dry, no leaks.
- motor oil, out; bulk 5w30 / classic ac Delco filter...in ST HM syn 10w30, ST filter. Old oil was about 9 months old w approx 1100 miles on it per the oil change sticker on the windshield.
- the chain tensioner o ring
- coolant, out: purple colored coolant, flushed w distilled until clear, in: Prestone 10 year concentrate (approx 40%) w distilled water (approx 60%)
- air filter, out: fram, in: STP red
- cabin filter, out unknown, in STP
- drain & fill power steering
- cleaned the TB as it was gunky
- cleaned the MAF
- cleaned the PCV valve as it was gunky
- clean, vacuum the interior, took my portable cleaner and shampoo’d the seats as they were dirty.
- tomorrow I wash the exterior.

 

[barkingspider]

 

[barkingspider]

 

[AutoMechanic]

Man that was a dirty engine. That’s why I try to avoid bulk oil if at all possible.

 

[nthach]

If that’s anything like most Corollas or Prii, it’s gonna burn oil. The 1ZZ-FE is notorious for drinking oil.

I’d start using a oil with cleaning properties.
Also, looks like Bay Area to me.

 

[2EHA]

shiny cam lobes shiny buckets

could be much worse

 

[Creekside]

I don’t think it looks too bad personally. You just bought another 100k out of that car for a days work and a couple hundred dollars.

 

[OilUzer]

How many miles on the car?

is that varnish accumulation being 2003 plus "gunky" pcv? Looks like not much sludge. No?

 

[barkingspider]

No sludge, just heavy varnish. That’s why I only cleaned the cover. I’ve seen much better and worse at vehicles this age and miles (155k miles). I’ve had cars w this engine in the past and I’m not worried about burning oil. I took it out for a short drive up the coast and back (I’m in Huntington Beach) and it runs good, smooth idle, etc. Picked up the car for $2800 and parts were less than $100. A full day of labor. I think I did good. I plan to use High mileage syn 5/10w30, whatever brand is less expensive or on sale ( mainly ST or Kirkland) at 5k OCI.

 

[ka9mnx]

You did well. I've seen a lot worse.

 

[wpod]

It doesn't look bad.

 

[wpod]

Man that was a dirty engine. That’s why I try to avoid bulk oil if at all possible.

Bulk oil ? It the same whether it is put into Qt, Gallon,5qt, 5 gallon containers. Drums or 275 gallon totes.

 

[Ram02]

It’s not bad and it’s a beater you’ll be fine

 

[SatinSilver]

The exterior pic looks a lot better than I was expecting.

 

[AJB0009]

Nicely done. Feels good, doesn't it? I mean, to do all of that work and then stand back and admire it when you are done. To feel that sense of accomplishment.
I think that you'll be in good shape for a long time to come.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Those Vibes were made at NUMMI at Fremont; I toured the plant twice (Now it cranks out Teslas).
That car will serve you for many years.
Cheap registration, insurance, good gas mileage. What's not to like?
Keep her alive!

 

[hemitom]

Boy do i wish 18 year old cars would look that good around here ,the road salt and brine they use now destroys everything.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Looks good!

Why did you only use 40% coolant?

 

[kschachn]

Looks good!

Why did you only use 40% coolant?

It looks like he lives in Southern California and that’s likely the minimum coolant concentration recommended by the manufacturer.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Looks great. I had an 03 Toyota Corolla many years ago and sold it with 225,000 miles and it ran like new. They were all highway miles. Your days work gave you another 100,000 miles out of that car with regular maintenance. The car looks very nice. I don't think the internals look too bad either.