Miscellaneous Maintenance

This is a listing of the things that I've done to the car either on my own or with the help of friends and/or family (10-10-01 to current)

I recently bought a Haynes manual for the 626/MX6 - Ford Probe models and acquainted myself with the inner workings of my car.  Since I was now sure that I wasn't going to sell it, I needed to learn how to do a lot of the work myself to help cut down on the cost of the inevitable repairs and replacements that will crop up from now on.  Doing that was probably the second smartest thing I'd done for that car since I bought it.  It also helped that I lucked into a 110 piece set of Stanley brand sockets (metric and standard) for $22 as well as a couple of really *nice* torque wrenches.  This is a list of what I've either done on my own or with the help of a friend of mine using that manual and those tools:

• Bellows Boot (plastic "hose" that runs from the air filter to the throttle body.  Time had hardened the usually pliant plastic into something more like Tupperware.  It had cracked recently and become quite useless.)
  
• Front and Back disc brake pads (it was time for them to be replaced)
  
• Front Rotors (original and warped like crazy by that point)
  
• Oil sending unit was replaced at 121000 miles. This is a sensor that monitors oil pressure and lights the "idiot light" whenever your oil pressure drops below safe levels. You can tell when the sending unit is going bad by looking for a minor oil leak coming from the front of the engine
  
• Air separator tank (plastic tank at top right of radiator, where the cap goes)
  
• Spark Plugs (were originals)
  
• Spark Plug Wires (were originals)
  
• Distributor cap, rotor button and distributor cap gasket (all were original)
  
• Cleaned the throttle body (the gas pedal would feel like it would stick sometimes on an acceleration from a stopped position)
  
• Replaced the idle adjust screw (which was missing)
  
• Replaced the spring hose clamps for the power steering unit with solid screw clamps.  They were located where two hoses are joined by a plastic collar.  The original springs had loosened to the point where the power steering pump would groan in cold weather whenever I turned the wheel.  Before I replaced the clamps, the groaning would only go away after driving the car about seven to ten minutes, allowing the fluid to heat up enough to make the plastic collar expand and close the air gap that was causing the groaning
  
• At 143000 miles the alignment went to hell and took my two front tires with it.   All four tires were replaced and a new front and back alignment were done

Things I need to do:

• The power antenna died around 145000 miles.  The motor whirrs but the antenna does not move.  Given that the antenna is now bent because of branches from a low-hanging tree being blown about in a storm, I think the only thing to do is replace it instead of attempting to repair the existing one
  
• The change cup next to the steering column would no longer stay closed.  Opening up the dash and taking out the cup yielded the answer.  The 'stay pin' that held the cup closed had snapped off.  I'm currently looking for another change cup
  
• The airbag system went out somewhere around 143000 miles and will need to be serviced at some point.  I don't trust myself to do that service and will likely take it to the dealership to be worked on
  
• Ever since the VERY cold winter we had here in 2002-2003 (around 143000 miles), the engine has been making more valve noise than ever before.  I fear that the HLAs as well as some other parts of the engine will have to be serviced before too long
  
• Starting around 139000 miles, the right rear caliper would lock-up when I applied the parking brake fully.  I understand from various websites that this is a common problem on the year model of 626 that I own.  However when I look through www.alldatadiy.com I don't find a corresponding TSB on it.  Due to the fact that judder has returned whenever I brake, I think I'm going to have to replace the caliper and ALL FOUR rotors and pads sometime soon
  
• At 143000 miles the car has acquired a bit of a bounce when I hit bumps in the road and I fear that the struts on the front and back will need to be replaced
  
• At 145000 miles, the Rear Light Out indicator on my dash started coming on whenever I would apply the brakes.  However when I look at the rear lights they all appear to be on.  Something tells me that I will have to start replacing bulbs at random until the problem goes away
  
• The center console going all the way up to the radio has gotten scuffed, cracked, etc. over the years.  Also, four screw holes on the passenger side where a car phone mount used to be further mars the appearance of the interior.  I intend to find a junkyard with a few 626'es in it and replace whatever I can on my car's interior to eliminate the rather worn appearance that now prevails
  
• To add insult to injury, somewhere around 120000 miles the clearcoat started to oxidize all along the upper surfaces of the car.  It's starting to look like a bunch of bald spots along the paint job.  I'm going to try to include pictures of it when I remember to get the digicam out.  In short the paint job is TOAST

A note about preventative maintenance:

I also started doing my own oil changes since the fine crew at Grease Monkey were charging me a horrendous amount of money for their service AND they were the ones who had broken my bellows boot in the first place when I (stupidly) allowed them to replace my air filter.  That wasn't a cheap hose to replace either!  Oh, they were also the ones who lost my idle adjust screw when they were tinkering with the engine one day.  (I found out about both things when I took the time to fully examine the engine soon after getting my Haynes manual.)  The bellows boot had been "glued" back together with clear silicone caulk and the only way I'd caught it was when I tried to replace the air filter on my own and watched in anger as the boot disintegrated the moment I opened the air filter assembly.

Moral of this story: don't trust your car's health to the handiwork of chain-style oil change shops.

I have to say that despite all of these problems (which I also see as learning experiences), I still love this car.  It has great styling and a very comfortable cabin.  The stock stereo system (and additional CD player) make the trips a joy instead of a burden.  If I could only fix the power-robbing air conditioning (assuming that it's not how it is "supposed" to work) and get the car repainted, then I'd be completely happy.  Well, almost. ;)