Pulled the valve cover - 1995 Ford Probe - 2.5 V6

[Brent_G]

Car needed new front gasket as was leaking into the wells so I figured might as well take a few pictures. It is cleaning up great and quite pleased overall.

Bit of background on the car: Was purchased 2 years ago, and sat until last December. Car had 57k on it at the time, and is currently at 69k. Was 1 owner car, with no info on past maintenance besides the receipts I found in the glove box. Per those its OCI was anywhere from 5k to 14k, and 2-3 years between each at Jiffy Lube. When I got the car, it was over 2q low and PCV was completely plugged. it is on its 3rd fill of M1 0w40( I had a huge stash of it from a store going out of business) at 5k per. No flushes, additives or anything. I had the cover off 2 years ago due to lash adjuster issues, and it was much worse with varnish/buildup, pretty much black.

The varnish that is on everything now wipes off with a finger, and the car runs smooth. Sees 8 mile 1 way commutes 5 days a week plus random trips. Burns 1-2 quarts per 5k, and is drove mild.

 

[dwcopple]

the question is: does it have that travesty of an automatic transmission or is it a 5 speed?

 

[suspiciousmind]

Keep doing that....it'll be new again at 200k

 

[ABerns]

Thanks for the pics!! Man, I wish we had before pics, but still cool either way.

 

[Brent_G]

Originally Posted By: dwcopple
the question is: does it have that travesty of an automatic transmission or is it a 5 speed?


Its a 5 speed, only thing I will get in a small car. Ill be pulling the rear next spring with the timing belt, and ill have to pull the front as well just so we can get some after pics

 

[tig1]

Sounds like this engine may have had severe dino abuse with long OCIs. The M1 is known for cleaning engines so this seems to be the case with yours. You can begine to go with longer OCIs and have no concern with sludge or more varnish forming. You have a nice low mileage Probe.

 

[Brent_G]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Sounds like this engine may have had severe dino abuse with long OCIs. The M1 is known for cleaning engines so this seems to be the case with yours. You can begine to go with longer OCIs and have no concern with sludge or more varnish forming. You have a nice low mileage Probe.


That it did. Im not sure if im going to push this change any, as in the winter the car idles 5-10 minutes in the morning and 5 after work(I know), and i live down 2 miles of dusty gravel. My plan is to get a uoa next spring and see how it is holding up. I know the summer ill be able to push it with little worry, especially with the top off, but i want to back it with a UOa with the small sump the car has.

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Brent_G
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
the question is: does it have that travesty of an automatic transmission or is it a 5 speed?


Its a 5 speed, only thing I will get in a small car. Ill be pulling the rear next spring with the timing belt, and ill have to pull the front as well just so we can get some after pics

Mazda KL-DE: good engine
CD4E transmission: ...if you can't say something nice...

Good thing it's got the manual

 

[stephen9666]

I think it doesn't look too bad, considering the care (or lack of) it received.

I say keep doing what you're doing and it will probably rust to nothing before the engine dies.

Are these engines known to burn oil commonly?

 

[Brent_G]

I'm not sure on oil burning. While these engines are not that uncommon, the online community for these is lacking. As far as I can tell its doing well. Its a 2.5 v6 with a 7500 RPM redine. This engine goes to 4500 almost every shift, has a syn oil with a bad past, and still does the 2500/qt average and these engines love rpm's.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: Brent_G
the online community for these is lacking.
probetalk.com has been around a LOOOOOOOOOOONG time.

 

[RTexasF]

I had a Mazda 626 with that engine and it was a gem. It must have 40 miles of vacuum lines on it though. Once one of them rots/goes bad replace them all to avoid a lot of headaches.

 

[CBR.worm]

Those were great cars to drive, that V6 and 5 speed was a smooth and rev-happy combo.

The auto - not so much.

 

[Brent_G]

Agreed on that. I shift at 4-4500 every shift usually, and it sees a few pulls to 120+ mph a week, and it runs better and better every day. It just seems like it wants to rev, and unless you let it fuel mileage/feel suffers. I just filled up tonight and got 24.2 on my last tank, much better than EPA rated.

I have a quart of kreen and im considering adding 10oz or so over a few oci and documenting that. The front cover is all of 10 minutes to pull and gasket is reusable. Im not a fan of additives but I have it so might as well try it, as well as show the community my results.

 

[kkreit01]

Nice. Very low mileage. I always liked the Probes back in the day (the GT).

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: RTexasF
I had a Mazda 626 with that engine and it was a gem. It must have 40 miles of vacuum lines on it though. Once one of them rots/goes bad replace them all to avoid a lot of headaches.


This was typical of evey Mazda I have ever owned. Dadgum troublesome.

 

[Brent_G]

Just an update, I will be pulling the front cover sometime this week just to have a before/after pictures. I ran Kreen for 1000 miles during the winter. Dumped that in January, and have about 1500 miles on PYB.

 

[Brent_G]

Here are some pics after running Kreen, going to grab more tomorrow when I have time. Not much change in the varnish and crusty bits. Still plenty of that everywhere. However I did notice the lobes of the cam are spotless now. HLAs don't tick as much on a cold start and i always had a few that would take 5-7 seconds to get pumped up, they still take longer than the others but its only 2-3 seconds or so.

I didn't expect it to be spotless, but I was hoping for more. I am impressed how all the varnish that was on the lobes is gone, and improvement in the HLAs is huge.

I know the lighting is different and so are the angles. I was rushed for time yesterday.