Hi everyone,

My 2006 lancer with about 60k miles was recently running perfectly, until my recent overheating debacle (I posted about it in the past) which resulted in getting the valve cover machined and reinstalled (plus the usual parts replaced - thermostat, hoses, etc.) Once it was fixed and running, the CEL came on with an oxygen sensor code. This resulted in the dealer doing a "recall" replacement of my catalytic converter, which solved the problem.

However, ever since the overheating repair, the car has been running unusually. Aside from the noticeable lack in power, things just sound weird overall. The breathing (intake) sounds strained (kind of like a "whaa whaaa" sound, if that makes sense). As I press down on the accelerator, I hear a louder, throaty intake sound, but don't feel an associated increase in power (the car came to me years ago with an aftermarket "Sceptre" air filter on it). I recently cleaned the filter (and it was dirty), but it didn't solve my problem. When I'm in park and idling, I can rev the engine and if I blip the throttle really quickly, I can hear the louder engine growl (probably the whoosh of air going in the filter). While driving normally, acceleration, even in first gear, is sluggish. When the revs get high, there's some power, but it's just not like it used to be.

A couple side notes: This past weekend, while taking the onramp to the freeway, the car started to miss and the CEL came on. I pulled over to find that the second spark plug's rubber housing was missing both bolts and it had come loose (not sure if it's the fault of the dealer who replaced the catalytic converter at the front of the engine, or the mechanic who R&R'd my valve cover). I stole one of the bolts from the next plug cover and bolted it in - problem was fixed, and I reset the light.

Second - In the past few weeks, I've noticed a clicking/tapping sound coming from under the valve cover. Sounds like it's a lifter, but not sure why this just started to happen recently. Oil level is good, and oil is clean. Is this something I can fix easily, and is it risky to ignore it?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

Your car overheated and they machined your valve cover? why in the world would they do that? are you sure they didn't machine the head? did your head warp? how bad did it overheat and did it blow a head gasket?

 

Im going to assume he actually means the head. If you had bolts missing up top its possible they missed or didnt tighten some other bolts on or around the intake manifold I would check every bolt to be sure they are tight. As far as the tapping goes it sounds to me like they didn't properly or at all bleed the lash adjusters (lifters) after the head was finished and going back together, Lets hope the noise is not due to them forgetting to tighten the bolts holding down the rocker arm shafts, if thats the case I would bring it back and tell them to fix it right.

 

Yes, sorry guys - I meant the head was machined, not the valve cover. (i'm not as mechanically inclined as I would like to be).

It overheated moderately badly - it was driven for a bit after the gauge hit the top. I don't know how badly it was warped or if the head gasket was replaced. I need to call the mechanic to confirm.

Thanks for the tip on the manifold bolts. There was lots of talk about the manifold during the repair, so you may be right about that.

I'm trying to determine if it was the mechanic who may have not tightened the bolts, or the Mitsu dealer (who later replaced the catalytic converter/front oxygen sensor). Did the dealer need to remove the manifold also?

Thanks

 

Its possible the dealership removed the exhaust manifold for that repair. They would not have needed to pull the spark plugs for that fix but of course they would for the head repair. If they pulled the head off then they replaced the head gasket with a new one. I would find out what exactly all they did. Sounds to me like they had to resurface the head which would suggest warpage. Find out if they bled those lash adjusters, its a good thing to do anyways if your in there that far its a fairly simple procedure.