I also knocked my car's engine once. Car was a 1993 Honda Accord (4 cylinder). It was my first car and as it's common with first cars, I was extremely rough with it. After the replacement of the engine, it took two separate and serious accidents before I finally gave up on the car. I wasn't driving with my "large heart" on both occasions. For the first mishap, I was driving around 110km/hr but slept off n the steering, while I was barely driving at 80mh/hr on the second occasion (almost in front of UniBen along Ore Benin road).

Just back from ladipo ( i went without my mechanic to enable me get a first hand information ) and your guess is as good as mine, i was able to get enof education from our dear ibo brothers in trade.

I was able to negotiate a clean one with guarantee after so many discussions from 70k to 55k, (though the guy told me he will remove the alternator cos the price he gave me is a cut throat price cos of our long standing relationship and the 5k is for my mechanic else he will bad mouth it and prefer i buy else where).

He also told me the ones they have are from japan and not america, telling me japanese ones are more reliable. Please, what is the meaning of that statement he made cos i dont seem to know the brain behind the accertion.

He ask me to come with my mechanic to make a choice and for proper check. I hope to go get the engine tommorow but will like to know what u guys think and possible things to look out for apart from relying on my mechanic

@9ija man,

Sleep on wheel?, thats serious and thank God you are alive to tell the tail.

MAY GOD PROTECT US ALL.

There is a state of "sleepmania" (God! is there a word like that?) called narcolepsy. 9ijaMan is a teetotaller, but what sort of inebriety could have made him fall "dangerously" asleep on the steering wheel?

Well I was actually set to travel abroad for a training. Did not have adequate sleep before setting out the next morning. Drove all the way from PH heading towards Ile-Ife, enroute Lagos, to see my wife. The accident occurred just about 20 minutes to Ife. I guess this satisfies your grammar. Just as stated by Seal777, I thank God for sparing my life.

Seal, I'm uncertain too why your Ladipo guy made a distinction in the quality between the engines from japan and the US; though speaking from my experience I'm of the opinion that European and Japan cars of the same brand are usually fitted with more durable accessories than their American counterparts. [You said you coming from ijebu-Ode on that Sunday; are you a member of the JOGS Family?]

@costee,
i spoke with my mechanic and he confirms that also as it regards the accesories in the european and japanese cars

JOGS family?, cant grab the meaning of that.

I decided to have a change of environment by spending the break out of lagos, nothing more.

Good morning my neighbours

Morning. So how has the bargaining gone? As per the Igbo trader's assertion on differentiating Japanese & American Engines, I can only conclude that he's not fully aware of the fact that virtually all Toyota Engine parts are manufactured outside the US, mostly in China/Japan. The guys in America only assemble the parts. Most parts of US (Southern) have climatic conditions not too differrent from 9jas' as such engines from those climates may actually be better suited for 9ja than from Europe. What really matters is getting a good engine.

Mechanic is busy, couldnt go today.

Sounds good. Let's know when your Camry's fighting fit once more.

@ seal777,

Ur experience has really educated me o
As i drive same model of car with you but mine is 4-cylinder.

I wish you luck in the engine purchase!!!

Don't 4get to get me the mobile no of the Ladipo guy i requested the last time.

Seal777, Japanese models are a little different from the american specs, you can visibly see Japanese written on the timing belt cover. or the last service date in Japanese written there as well. or whether the timing belt had been changed. also, you could notice a difference in the bottom plate cover or strange iron bars around the engine.

There is this belief that in Japan, automobiles are rarely used due to the cost of even driving it etc, they discourage people from using their own cars by these bills and fall for the alternatives as trains etc, (nice one if you ask me). Hence any automobile from Japan is assumed to be first grade often less than 100k miles for cars, thats why its more expensive.

the best way to check an engine- Physically- check the oil quality, look at the oil cover cap, check underneath it if its clean of dirty. loose the plugs and check them. if possible ask your mechanic to check the compression blindly, since he might not have the real equipment to doing that, as I said in my last post, ask for more warranty time even if it would cost more, the seller would not want wahala,

all d best.

@ Siena n all, Get ready O, I would soon load up my experience so far with my newly acquired USED Benz C-class-, after using a Gen2 and Gen4 Camry, This one is rather an awesome experience, more to come shortly,

I enjoyed every bit of contribution on this post.

Please, i need your contributions. After servicing my 2001 toyota camry, the brake indicator has been constantly on.

What do you think could be responsible?

@ Kuntash
I can't wait to hear about ur newly acquired C-Class. By the way what year model is it?

Cruise-z:

I enjoyed every bit of contribution on this post.
Please, i need your contributions. After servicing my 2001 toyota camry, the brake indicator has been constantly on.
What do you think could be responsible?

Sounds like your brake pads are worn beyond the specified limits. Or your brake fluid level's low. Bear in mind though, brake fluid doesn't evaporate. If it's low, you either have a leak (from rear brake cylinder/s on base 4 cylinder models with rear drum brakes). On V6 models with rear disc brakes, leaks are rare, unless the rigid brake lines are rusty.

Or, your brake pads / shoes are low. Due to the self-adjusting nature of the brakes, the fluid level will drop, as the displacement changes. For this reason, it's not advisable to top up fluid, till the reason for the drop is established. If it's topped up, with worn brake pads, when new ones are fitted, the fluid will be forced out of the reservoir, as the caliper pistons are retracted to take the much thicker pads.

@kuntash,
thanks a million for the contribution, i used ur suggestion in checking the engine and my mechanic did his own part before we had a consensus and choosed one.

the engine,carriage and loading in the market and taxi from ladipo to kilo cost 60k in all.

After buying the engine, i was wondering how an engine of such year could be so clean, not washed with glittering aluminium colour.

The fixing is 80 complete, hoping to get done with it first thing tommorrow.

More tail to come as the job get concluded tommorow.

ITS TIME CONSUMING, MEEEEEN ITS NOT EASY. (when u re in the car, windows up, a/c on and u trip at 140km/h,u hardly imagine that lots of work got done b4 u could acieve such amount of pleasure).

the former engine has a lot of parts that are still very good and if u are not very informed, the mechanic will have a field day. There are part u may require subsequently and u would be amazed at how much it costs if you happen to need them.

@ all - Will the car start if the brain box is faulty? Can a brain box be revived? My mechanic thinks my 2003 kia rio a brain box problem and he decided to "sun dry" it. He said the car's performance isn't good yet so he wants to dry it some more. He said I might have to replace the brain box.

@seal777 sorry for bumping in on your thread. All the best with your new engine. I wish I have time to sit with my mechanic like you are doing. I've not even seen this mechanic in about 3 months. what a life?

let me add a new twist to the thread while i await the full coupling tommorow.

Which of the oil is best suited for servicing of these engines that are over 100k+ in , i use mobil 20w 50 perhaps cos thats what i use for my EOD HONDA 03.

Am i correct by the Specification AS IT RELATES TO THE CAMRY 99 or not cos i see other guys using visco 2000.

Please re strict ur Analysis to engine oils AVAILABLE IN nigeria.

THANKS

Well i think it depends on how the vehicle is used and how often the vehicle is serviced. According to some people, mobil oil easily turns black and looses viscosity after a while. Visco 2000 is normally redish in colour so i guess even after a long period of use it still remains cleaner when compared to Mobil. However i would suggest that in order for you to enjoy a car after 100+ miles it is best u service once a month. Also, avoid servicing with mechanics, as it is always better and cleaner at filling stations where some have compressors which assist in flushing out some extra oil from the engine. It also reduces the possibility of sand and dust from entering your engine which could block the oil pump.

@ Seal777
Saleesu has some points though, but I beg to disagree a little. When I bought my C-class it had already crossed the 150K km mark and the engine was and is still sound even after 300K km. All I did was to use Mobil-1 synthetic oil to service the car up until recently when I summarily bequeathed to one of my younger siblings. The minimum interval for servicing was 9months. Sometime it takes a full year before my next service and the oil comes out ok. I took the advice from a colleague back then in the office and it paid off. While others were servicing theirs every three months with cheaper oil, I did mine annually and paid less for servicing overall.

It depends on your taste. You will need to service your car monthly only if you travel from Lagos to Maiduguri every other week.

Cars are like ladies, it's how you take care of them that will determine what you get out of them. After spending so much to get a another engine, you may also need to take the extra step of taking a good care of it.

9ijaMan:

@ Seal777
When I bought my C-class it had already crossed the 150K km mark and the engine was and is still sound even after 300K km. All I did was to use Mobil-1 synthetic oil to service the car up until recently when I summarily bequeathed to one of my younger siblings. The minimum interval for servicing was 9months. Sometime it takes a full year before my next service and the oil comes out ok.

@ 9ijaMan;
Well i understand what you mean, however ive heard complains in recent times from 3 people that use Mobil 1 on the oil turning black and loosing viscosity after about 3 months of servicing the vehicle. That means that its either the oil is not original Mobil 1 or the engine is dirty thus servicing after 9months to 1 yr could damage the engine. Also your vehicle is a Mercedes, so you cant compare the engine with that of a toyota, Honda or any other brand. Another factor is if you live in Lagos and sometimes get stuck in traffic for hours and the engine is left running with AC on, then you would have to ignore kilometers covered and service even before when it is due. As for those that travel from Lagos to Maiduguri, they service their vehicles either weekly or bi-weekly, if u know someone in transport business just ask and he could confirm that cos thats the only way to maintain the car. Lastly, you can follow the vehicle's planned maintenance schedule instruction which comes with every car. However, everything is determined by the persons maintenance culture and or money available at disposal.

20W-50 oil is way too thick for your engine, Seal. Your Camry needs 10W-40 semi-synthetic, or 5W-30 fully synthetic.

And oil turning black is no indication of the oil losing its viscosity - you'd need special equipment to measure the oil for break-down, and weight. It's not a visual thing.

@ Siena,

I have enjoyed every contribution that you have made on this thread. They've been very educative.

Please, I need help on my car. The car's speedometer just stopped working and I am trying to figure what to do.

I want info on what I should do. The car is '98 passat and any suggestion will be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Changing your oil monthly is a big waste. Check out this link. http://www.moneybluebook.com/the-3000-mile-oil-change-myth-save-your-money/

aodiki:

@ Siena,

I have enjoyed every contribution that you have made on this thread. They've been very educative.

Please, I need help on my car. The car's speedometer just stopped working and I am trying to figure what to do.

I want info on what I should do. The car is '98 passat and any suggestion will be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

Am notsure but check to make sure the fuse isnt blown as that might be the case BUT am sure other experts in the house will shed more light on it.

aodiki:

@ Siena,
I have enjoyed every contribution that you have made on this thread. They've been very educative.
Please, I need help on my car. The car's speedometer just stopped working and I am trying to figure what to do.
I want info on what I should do. The car is '98 passat and any suggestion will be highly appreciated.
Thanks.

Your Volkswagen Passat (B5) has an electronic speedo. The transducer is on the transmission, just above and in front of the driveshaft on the driver's side. It's the most common culprit with intermittent / non-operational speedos. It's easy to replace, and accessible through the wheel arch on the driver's side, with the car jacked up, and supported on an axle stand.

It has a three-pin connector, though the actual transducer only has 2 corresponding pins (not a fault). Simply unplug, press down the plastic locking tab, turn it clockwise about 40 degrees, then withdraw from the differential cover. Once you look at it, it's self explanatory. Fitting is a reversal of removal, you should be able to locate them from your local parts suppliers (used). If you can't find any, I can post you a brand new one.

Best of luck, let's know how you get on.

@seal,
Thanks for the oppourtunity to discuss from this thread and best of luck on your new engine

@Sienna, Kunle, Kuntah et all,
Kindly advise on what can be the issue with a Honda Odyssey 2000 V6 3.5Ltrs engine that rattle at RPM of about 3000 and speeds lower than 40KM/hr. The car odometer is about 130KM. I use Mobil XHP and with what i read on the thread, i want to have a shot at Mobil 1
I will appreciate your professional responses

I happy to announce to the whole house that the deal is signed, sealed and delivered.

The engine fixing was concluded and it was a one start, the only initial itch was the oil sign showing on the dash board, we had the oil filter loosed and signs of dirt’s was obvious in it even though it was a new one, we had to get the sump out and there we are, the oil lifter was virtually blocked with dirt’s perhaps as a result of the engine been on ground for sometime.

We got it washed, filled back the oil and insert the filter and there was no issue on the engine for now having driven the car for sometime to do some initial run around hoping to take the car for a spiritual clincing at a car wash tomorrow. I think i noticed a different level of power behind the whell with the new engine,though i need sometime to really confirm that.

It’s been a tedious week and I bet you I ve learnt a lot past few days, it’s interesting, time consuming and memorable too but over all it’s worth the experience.

I will feed back on the initial guarantee period as time flies by.

I am very grateful to all those who read, meditate, contribute, hoping that lots of people will learn from this and help save the economy some expenses, time and inconveniencies associated with an engine change.

I wonder what would have happened if I had no time to monitor my mechanic at interval.

Think I am ready to explore Nigeria with my car now.

Thank you and God bless us all.

Glad you got her sorted bro, enjoy your car's new lease of life.

@ Siena,

I am very pleased with your coomments. I will get it checked and during the week.

Talking sending me a new one, I would not mind if you tell me the conditions for that.

I am very grateful for the help and I will keep you posted with the developments on the speedometer.

Thanks