Recent content by superunknown

The copper could be from worn/rapidly wearing valve seals. They are notoriously bad in this engine and a cause for oil consumption as well. My '94 T-Bird with the same engine used approx. 1qt./1,200 miles once it hit 100k miles. If your T-Bird has a factory sunroof, keep an eye on the rear of...

So after some reading on HID Planet and taking a closer look at my projector lenses, I believe the cause for what appears to be diminished output is the "fresnel" finish on the lens itself. It appears as though a "clear lens" swap is popular with the retrofit crowd in the pursuit of increased...

My last vehicle was a '07 FJ Cruiser with the same engine. I unfortunately never sent in any used oil for UOA, but that engine was about the last of my worries in that truck. Aside from effects of oil viscosity on VVTi operation, the engine will probably serve you well into the 300k mile range...

Originally Posted By: Bluestream If you want to move up a level in protection, use Castor bean oil. Used with good results by professional shredders worldwide. Mmmm the sweet smell of Klotz Super Techniplate emanating from the... paper shredder?

Originally Posted By: lexus114 All the older Chevy motor`s had the filter like that didnt they ? The filter location and the catalytic converters are very reminiscent of the underside of a C6 Corvette.

Originally Posted By: dparm In that case, don't get HIDs. Cheap ones suck. And there's no OEM-quality ones that are amber. Well, there's the Philips 85122 YX bulbs, but I'm not 100% sure those are made anymore since they're so tough to find. In regards to the HID conversions...will the stock...

Thank you all for the helpful responses. I guess I could have simplified the question by asking if HID bulbs have a "shelf-life", since some of you spoke about loss of performance with age AND use, where I was wondering about age specifically. Nonetheless, it seems the "problem" lies in the...

My 2003 Ford SVT Focus has factory-installed HID projector low-beams manufactured by Hella in Germany. While they appear to work well enough, I have noticed that the light emitted by other vehicles on the road with HID projectors is often much brighter than mine, i.e. when side-by-side on the...

Agreed! The early 2000s were good years for the Ford SVT program, a la Focus, Lightning, and 2003-04 Mustang Cobra. It's a great little car if you can find a well-cared-for low-mileage example. I paid very close to book value for mine back in May, but it was absolutely immaculate, loaded...

So whaddya say Gary, should I pick up a filter minder and give it a shot? Perhaps I'd be better served by not opening the air filter box during this OCI and seeing if the SI count goes down... Originally Posted By: Gary Allan Quote: but it seems like something that would need to be calibrated...

Originally Posted By: moto94536 my brother have 08 4runner, my roommate have 09 matrix. both running mobil 1 synthetic. I am not happy with the product. the oil is black at 5,000 miles.. those are 95% highway miles. So I will have them switch to castrol syntec. If the oil is black after a few...

Hey all, Thanks for the responses. It appears as though the Ultra worked well for that OCI in summer weather. Assuming the UOA didn't miss anything, it looks like the engine will be the last of my concerns with this car for the time being...wear numbers do indeed look favorable for an engine...

Really nice ride, and it seems that oil managed a relatively harsh lifetime fairly well. I'm interested to see how the GC will do in relative and absolute terms. Thanks for posting.

Good evening folks, This is the first analysis on this vehicle, taken at 5100mi with approx. 2 months in the sump. The vehicle itself is a 2003 Ford SVT Focus with just over 36,000 miles on the clock. For those unfamiliar with this engine, it's a 2.0L "Zetec" modified by the SVT division of...

My '94 T-Bird had green brake fluid prior to its first flush, as did my '97 Mark VIII. Braking performance improved dramatically when they were changed over to fresh fluid. My fiancee's '06 Liberty had brown/black fluid prior to its first flush. Braking performance improved after the flush, but...