I have 1998 Hyundai Accent, 2-door, 5-speed manual transmission, 70k miles that has been a reliable workhorse since purchase new. The clutch died and, due to the “Perfect Storm” of mid-life woe (Divorce, probable home foreclosure, and the “regrettable decision” my employer made to enact cost-savings at my expense)
I was unable to afford the estimated $800.00 bucks of mostly labor required to get “Mr. Yee” back on the road (yes, I know it’s a girl thing to name cars, but what’s it to ya?) I discovered the local Vocational school fixes cars at seriously reduced rates. I jumped at the chance, bought the clutch, and a blistering 4-weeks later (who thinks about mechanics taking “Spring Break”?) I have my car back, sort of. It runs rough as %@#$Q, and stalls at idle. What have these Crustys of the future done to my poor car? They replaced the clutch, but the stick and pedal feel looser than before: could it just be a cable needs to be tightened, or do we need to go back to square one (this kids are supposed to be supervised by instructors.) HELP! This thing may end up as my residence, given my present trajectory.
Thanks
InTroubleAgain
rename it to YIKES!!! considering your present waters. Hope the future is brighter…
I am retired from a vocational school that did such work. All of our teachers would want you to come back to see what might have happened. Our school had a 28 to 1 student teacher ratio so their is no way to watch every student every second. If something was mishandled, I would think that the teacher would want to figure out what to better educate the students. If it is an unrelated problem, it is still an educational opportunity. It could be just letting it sit, not running for 4 weeks, and may just need simple cleanout to smooth up the engine. Frequently, clutch needs to be readjusted after some use, and maybe it was not adjusted correctly, still something the teacher should be able to tell you. During my 35 years with a vocational school, I frequently had them work on my car and the worst they ever did was leave a socket on a lug nut before putting on the hub cab. When it jarred loose, made an awful racket but did no damage!
I agree with 1check43. I went through a 2-year auto mechanics school where we repaired cars for the cost of parts only. We (students) often made mistakes, but our teachers strongly believed in having us fix our mistakes and learn from them.
Okay, so it sounds like I need not panic, and I have to take it back for something minor (they forgot to attach the “splash plate”, plastic thing under the front end,) and this is an adjustment or time clears it up ? I honestly wasn’t slamming the kids, and didn’t mean to make it sound that way,it was just one more “thing”. Thanks
Any other insights appreciated.
As far as the poorly running engine goes, someone probably forgot to reconnect a wire or vacuum line (is the “check engine” light on?), or perhaps dropped something that cracked the distributor cap.
As others have said, bring it back. I just hope there are no more school vacations before they figure it out!
Yes! Check Engine light IS on! It also looks like they replaced the spark plug wires, which brings up another question: Someone wrote 1-4-3-2 on the engine block adjacent to where the wires plug in (doesn’t look like the distributor caps I remember. These are rectangular blocks, connections 1-4 on one block 3-2 on the second) The owner’s manual says the firing order is 1-3-4-2. My questions are as follows- does the published firing order correspond to the physical connection? And, are the plugs numbered from left to right (facing the engine) or right to left? I’m taking it back, but I cannot afford another 4 weeks of trial by error, and I’d like some data to start the conversation with. As an earlier poster said, there’s only so much teacher to go around. Also, are there any sites that offer FREE downloads of manuals? Credit is tanked.
Thanks
InTroubleAgain
Click on this link for a drawing of the spark plug wires routing: http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1d/47/02/0900823d801d4702/repairInfoPages.htm I think the photographs are generic…not your engine. I’m not sure the drawing is correct; but, you can try that pattern. If the engine runs better, fine. If not, change back.
The engine cylinder numbers start near the fan belt…which is #1 cylinder. On most 4 cylinder engines, the firing order is 1-3-4-2. Your engine may be the exception. I don’t have the specs for your engine.
The “blocks” are the two ignition coils. One is for spark plugs #1 & #4. The spark plug wires should come from the #1 and go the #1 spark plug. #4 to #4 spark plug. On the other ignition coil, the #3 goes to #3 spark plug, and #2 to #2 spark plug.
Thanks for the chuckle. I myself have been through the “perfect storm” and lived to tell the tale.
I’m also familiar with the tech school experience…intimately. Call the faculty member that was teaching the lab in which the car was worked on. Troubleshooting and correcting their mistakes will be an excellent learning experience for them. If that lab has concluded, speak with the department chair about having the problems troubleshot. Again, it will be a good experience for the students.
Autozone has free manuals on their website.
Sincere best.
Call the shop. When I was in school, we would get some jobs back and make the necessary adjustments for free because we didn’t charge for labor. If they fix it, it will be nice. When I was in auto class,we had to treat the customers well or they would never come back. You can walk in there and be the center of attention and you can remind the teacher to have the guys watch their language. We had to be reminded often.
Well, you could do a little experiment and swap the 3 and 4 plug wires and see if that solves the problem.