Service slants

Motor,  May 2003  by Savasta, Bob

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Hyundai

Engine tick. The Korean carmaker's 1992-2001 vehicles may exhibit a ticking noise from the engine during both startup and open-road cruising. The hydraulic lash adjusters are the primary cause of the problem. A new-design lash adjuster (Part No. 24610-33050) with a larger diameter hole (.118 inch vs. the old design's .059 inch) is now available to help quell adjusters as a set, rather than replacing individual units. Here's a list of the vehicles and engines that will benefit from the new lash adjuster:

1992-95 1.6L, 1.8L Elantras

1992-98 2.0L Sonatas

1999-2001 2.4L Sonatas built before 10/00

2001 2.4L Santa Fe models built before 10/00

2001 3.0L XG300s built before 10/00

GM Truck

No-start, hard start, rough idle after startup. Owners of some 1997-2000 GM trucks equipped with 4.3L, 5.0L or 5.7L engines (VINs W, X, M, R) may complain of starting difficulties and/or related driveability issues, including no-starts, hard starts or a rough idle after startup.

According to GM, the cause of all these complaints could be deposits in the fuel finding their way to the poppet-type injectors, preventing the spritzers from opening fully, if at all. No great mystery here-a super lean condition results. What's really interesting, though, is what causes the junk to form in the first place: The fuel actually attacks the fuel filler hose material, extracting fine particles and compounds that eventually make their way to the injectors. Vehicles affected by this problem include C/K-pick-ups built prior to 11/19/99, G-vans built prior to 10/22/99 and Chevy and GMC M/L-vans built prior to VIN breakpoints XB191755 and XB534449, respectively.

The good news is that GM has come up with a revised fuel tank fill pipe assembly that incorporates a new fuel filler hose material better resistant to gasoline's more volatile hydrocarbons. Before installing the new fill pipe, however, clean the CPI poppet injectors using suitable equipment. Once that's out of the way, go ahead and install the following revised pipe assemblies: Part No. 15760284 for G-vans, Part No. 15050573 for M/L-vans, Part No. 15747585 for C/K Fleetside pickup trucks and Part No. 15747588 for C/K Stepside pickups.

Acura

Clutch cylinder leakage. It's fairly common for 1994-2001 Integra models to leak brake fluid inside the vehicle. The leakage is due to an apparent weakness in the clutch master cylinder's rubber cups. A new, sturdier cylinder (Part No. 06469-ST7-305) is available to keep your customers nice and dry. When installing the new cylinder, Acura recommends that you install the following new clutch lines as well: 1994-97 vehicles (except Type R models), Part No. 06469-ST7-306; 1998-99 vehicles and 1997 Type R models, Part No. 064469-ST73007; all 2000-2001 vehicles, Part No. 06469-ST7-308.

Chrysler

Diesel oil leak. Those 1998-2002 Ram Trucks equipped with a 24-valve Cummins diesel engine built after 3/27/98 may encounter a major engine oil loss. The loss at the oil breather may occur as the vehicle is operated on an extreme downhill slope of 22[degrees] or greater. If prolonged, the position can cause sufficient oil loss to cause engine damage. Chrysler offers a new breather kit (Part No. 05093017AA) to correct the problem.