RANDY P

I'd try a Seafoam treatment sometime to see if that helps things. Lots of info on that, give it a shot.

I took a air cutter to the head of the old strut....

One other thing about fuel filters -

The reason the factory doesn't have a change interval is that modern cars (plastic tanks and lined tanks) don't have issues with rust and scale buildup like they used to.

Unless you know you took in contamination or habitually run the car around on empty it probably isn't needed to change the filter, or at least for a long time. These cars are horrible since they are located in the elements, why mess with it unless you need to?

rjp

hmm. that may be a possibility. here is the current situation though in regards to this. I ordered a second MAF from evil-bay hoping it would work better. which it has! the check engine lights went completely off and haven't returned. however...the stumbling occurs every now and then after it goes a while without fuel injector cleaner. it must be Techron fuel cleaner as well because if its not, the stumbling won't go away. however after a dose of fuel cleaner, it runs like its brand new. then after the cleaner burns off as in a tank of gas, it stumbles again. weird i know. so for months now i've just been adding techron and enjoying perfect driving until it stumbles again.

also, i can tell when its time to add more fuel cleaner because it runs VERY RICH. you can feeel the engine bogging down when accelerating. its obvious that there is way too much fuel being dumped into the engine just by how it boggs down. so after a dosage of fuel system cleaner all is perfect for 2 weeks.

Next time, check out www.cskauto.com Shucks / Checker / Kragen auto parts online. Under $70 and warranted to work. I know this because I was surfing around for the GF's VW (which just puked the MAF sensor- fine, fine autos those VW's - (NOT!) ) and just checked out pricing for our cars.

Also, what are you using for fuel? - the fact it seems to run better with this in the tank would probably indicate it's sensitive to octane, if anything. Maybe a defective knock sensor or slow O2 sensor? Could even be carbon buildup causing octane sensitivity. Also, does the car start OK cold?

Excessive amounts of Techron between oil changes isn't a good thing..Gotta be something else in there.

It's funny that the SA's are typically good liars but terrible salespeople. One hard objection and they just start discounting. Just need to put them on the spot with a challenge. The times I've gone to the dealer they always tell me I need something for my car that simply isn't so.

Not all shops are like this, but face it, they scare people who don't know into paying for things that aren't harmful, but definitely not needed, or just overcharging for what is needed.

These quotes posted above are absurd. even at a legitimate $200 /HR it's absurd.

rjp

Going back to the OP, I'd be *BLEEP*ed they made you spend $180 and didn't even bother to check to see if the problem went away.

2nd - a "kinked" fuel line? How is that even possible unless the car was rolled or crashed? The mechanics are FOS. I'd also demand a refund on the labor for the last job- if they didn't even bother to check to see if it's fixed it's because they knew it was gonna come back anyhow.

Don't pay for a bad diagnosis.

Frankly, I'd tell them you're out of money and want to tow it away. Shops are in the habit of creating false problems to fix. Tell them you are "flat broke" and can't afford the quote so you'll just have to stumble the car out of there.

I'll be willing to bet they'll magically "fix it" for a lot less.

Also to the guy with the bad IAC valve? $700? Hell no. Also, Hell no on the injector cleaning, you won't see a difference.

It's like 2-3 screws to remove, and replace., and like no time to remove and reinstall. You are getting screwed, and screwed bigtime. Even if the part itself was $600 (it's not) it's still huge labor...

Here's a "How to"- You can do this on the way to work, it's that quick to do- definitely not worth $700

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/performanc...trol-valve.html

Start telling the service writers you're broke, and tell them the car will have to wait. Amazing how much you'll save doing that.

These stories are the EXACT reasons I learned to work on my own stuff. No issues like this, ever.

Hate dishonest mechanics...

rjp