I knew I should have snagged a photo...

The valve ended up facing up! I got the one with the smaller nippled as well, and snagged the nipple cover. You shouldn't have any issues.

 

Alrighty. I'm coming up on 125,000 miles. Planning some spring maintenance tasks. Let me know if I'm forgetting anything:

- Check valve clearance
- Inspect noise from right-front suspension when going over bumps
- Inspect drivebelt
- Rotate tires
- Replace brake fluid (I'm not super confident with hydraulics, so I may outsource this)

 

If you are replacing your belt, it wouldn't hurt to check on the tensioner to see if the pulley is making noise or has some play in it.

While you are rotating your tires, also check for wheel play (rock wheel back and forth while car is in the air, wheel fully bolted on) for wheel bearing, tie rod, and ball joint condition. Its also possible a bushing on the lower control arm may be the source of your noise.

Since the car will be in the air and wheels are off, inspect your front brakes. Check your pads for wear condition and see if your calipers are not seized. If you are feeling frisky enough, adjust your emergency brake too.

 

Thanks! Will do.

 

New side marker LED bulbs. They're nice! Replaced brake light bulbs. Broke off the locking piece for the panel in the footwell. How am I supposed to open and close this thing properly? I just couldn't get it to go back. And, know where to get a new locking piece?

 

Just a quick update. Car is still running tip-top. Currently at 133,760 miles.

Since my last update in February of 2020, I've only rotated the tires. Not many miles driven - barely over 11,000 since we purchased it. We're driving more now, though, so here's what I've acquired parts for:

- fix broken fog lamp lenses either with plexiglass or new ones by TYC
- replace fog lamp bulbs with yellow LED
- replace windshield washer pump
- another oil change and tire rotation
- inspect suspension

The noise up front hasn't gotten any worse, but something has to be going on up front. I've looked through the shop manual, and it doesn't seem like there's many replaceable bushings or other rubber bits - it appears they're built into the parts so I'd have to replace the whole part. I might take it to a mechanic to have them lube up the chassis.

 

Had another routine maintenance day. This time, I did some work I haven't done before, which entailed removing the front bumper cover.

Here's what I did:

• Oil and oil filter
• Inspect suspension
• Cabin Air filter
• Rotate tires
• Washer fluid pump
• Inspect coolant, top off

Our washer pump only worked a couple of times since we bought the car back in July of 2019. When placing a hand on the pump while someone else engages the washer handle, the pump didn't vibrate or make any noise. So I purchased a universal pump with plans to replace it. I get the bumper cover off and realize that it's just unplugged... Works fine.

At the same time, I notice that our bumper itself is dented quite a bit.



On top of that, almost all the clips on our bumper cover are broken, including the ones that hold the brush guard up underneath. Taking that into consideration, as well as the fact the washer pump was unplugged, I'm willing to bet that the previous owners replaced the bumper cover themselves, and didn't report the incident to insurance. We had the CarFax when we purchased it, and there was nothing significant in the history. So, that's a bummer.

But, hey! I replaced all of the clips on the bumper, the brush guard, and in the wheel wells.




Fumoto drain valve. I've used these on all my cars.

When you live in an apartment and have to cart all your tools and supplies to your in-laws' place...

Dog tax. She's wondering what the heck happened to our bumper.

Suspension looks and feels great. I wonder what the noise that we're hearing could be. I'm worried that it's a motor mount. The sound is on the right-front side, which is the same side that that bumper damage is on.

In other news, we're looking at getting a second vehicle. In order of most-wanted, we're looking at getting an Element, a CR-V, a Matrix/Vibe, or a Highlander.

 

Put some yellow LED fog bulbs in. Don’t worry, they’re not 20 million lumens. They’re only 1500.

 

I was getting the P2422 code on the Fit. Replaced the EVAP filter canister, but the code came back. Finally replaced the gas cap, as it was not OEM. That did the trick!

Also, go check out my Element build thread.

 

Well, Betty Beep has been scootin' along quite nicely. We replaced tires a few weeks ago with Hankook Kinergy PT SL. Some of the smoothest tires I've ever felt. Great wet traction.

Betty's at 145,000 now and I don't think she's ever had a valve adjustment. I'm going to find someone to do it, as I'm not sure I want to do something like that myself on a daily driver. Anyone have recommendations in the greater Seattle area?

Also, bonus photo from this winter when we had the Blizzak tires on - Betty was able to go anywhere!

 

Welp, here we are, almost a year since my last update. Really nothing of note. Just an oil change since then. Getting close to 150,000 miles. Still haven't figured out the noise coming from the front passenger side when going over bumps. All the bushings looked fine last I looked but I'm going to try to take a closer look soon. Also still haven't done a valve adjustment. I know, I'm a bad car dad. I might actually try it myself, but I'm not sure.

I'm going to inspect the belt to see if that needs replaced. Everything else should be good. 150,000 miles doesn't feel like that big of a deal for this car.

 

Have you checked the strut bearing on the upper end of the McPherson? That is one possible source of the noise.