1984 Chevy Impala Tune Up

Tiny
COBY502
  • MEMBER
  • 1984 CHEVROLET IMPALA
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 93,789 MILES
What are the steps to giving my car a tune up?
Friday, January 8th, 2010 AT 11:35 PM

4 Replies

Tiny
PEAR69
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,482 POSTS
First test the spark plug wires' resistance. They should be around 30000 ohms. Then check the condition of the spark plugs - distributer cap and rotor. Then change the fuel and air filters- the engine oil and filter.
Check the transmission fluid, and you should change the rear differential fluid to be safe.
Depending on how old the engine coolant is (5 years max) check or replace the coolant.
Inspect all vacumm lines, fuel lines, and transmission cooler lines.
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Saturday, January 9th, 2010 AT 2:28 AM
Tiny
ERNEST CLARK
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,730 POSTS
Don't forget the accessory belts. (Alternator, power steering, etc.) With a vehicle having so many miles, if you haven't already done so, better to be safe than sorry.

Also, has your timing chain ever been replaced? If not, then start looking to change it by at least 100,000 miles.

The factory recommends sooner, but from my experience, it won't need it until around 100K
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Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 AT 9:04 PM
Tiny
PEAR69
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The replacement of a timing chain is NOT a normal "tune up item". Do not just replace it just because it has a lot of miles on it.
Timing chains do stretch. If your engine begins to run rough (mis-fire) and you cannot figure it out -- then you should do a simple test to see if your timing chain has stretched beyond the limit. Post back if you need the steps for that test.
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Thursday, January 14th, 2010 AT 11:19 AM
Tiny
ERNEST CLARK
  • MECHANIC
  • 1,730 POSTS
The replacement of a timing chain isn't a "Tune-up" item, but when the manufacture recommends it be "Replaced" at 60,000 miles, but your engine has 94,000 miles on it without ever having "Replaced" it, then you're asking for trouble!

There's no doubt that a 94,000 mile timing chain will have wear, but even if it's not stretched enough to cause valve timing issues "yet", when will it fail completely? Do you have a crystal ball?

And if it does fail, you'll wish you had "Replaced" it like the manufacturer recommended. Because it will send a piston traveling at several hundred feet per second into an valve head and destroy your entire motor.

And finally, do you ever notice how people who love their cars spend a little extra money and sweat in taking care of it? And how their cars look and perform like new even 20-30 years later?

Compare those people to the ones who just get in their cars and drive without paying much attention to what the car needs. They are the one's driving down the street belching black smoke out of exhaust pipes that're dragging on the ground.
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Thursday, January 14th, 2010 AT 1:15 PM

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