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Tune Up Question - what do you actually do?

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JPSmit

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So my daughter's Beetle recently pulled a PO300 Random Misfire code. The check engine light comes and goes. The most common solution seems to be a tuneup.

My mechanic notes that the last time the car received new plugs (and I think plug wires) was 5 or 6 years ago.

Sooo, I can replace the plugs and wires myself (OR more accurately teach my daughter how to)

If you are doing a tuneup on a 2002 Beetle what else do you do?
 
DrEntropy

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I get on YouTube and look for the info! :smirk:
 
LarryK

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Plugs, wires, clean throttle body, add seafoam or techron to tank, make sure to use antiseize on plugs for easy removal next time, dielectric grease on wires for easy removal. Use Mas/Maf cleaner on mass sensors, let dry before reinstalling. Check any connnector near heat source. Air filter, fuel filter (if easily accessible). Then do a test run at speed, so you don't have to worry about daughter passing something. Have fun!
 
DrEntropy

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I've seen a couple sub-100K Mile Mazda 3's with bad coil packs, as well.
 
John Turney

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Yesterday, a friend was telling us that he took his Toyota PU into the same shop he has been using since new for a tuneup. It's a V6, and apparently one of the plugs is hard to reach. This was the third tuneup he has had that shop do. The mechanic pulled out the hard-to-reach plug and showed him that it was the original plug from the factory. Ooops!
 
LarryK

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That is a problem with newer cars. The (techs today) work fast to get there money. They do not think anyone will know or keep the car very long. I took my 07 Ford 150 in for tires and they automatically put on alignment tools. Manager came in and said I was so many degrees out, I said go ahead, as long as the wheel is straight as I had no uneven wear in the tires in 60K miles. Watched the kid thru the window and he used vice grips to adjust tie rods. Went and had a hissy. Manager put different kid on it. When I drove away, wheel cocked left. Went back blocked doors sideways, took keys and said call me when you have it right. Manager really about had a heart attack. Gave me my alignment money back and I went home and set it staight. Just got to beware, even the trusted shops get new employees.
 
waltesefalcon

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That's why I never use a large chain outfit. I prefer local businesses that are run by one guy who will let you in the pit, or check the wear of your tires, etc. Those places that keep you in a waiting room are not to be trusted IMHO.
 
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JPSmit

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waltesefalcon said:
That's why I never use a large chain outfit. I prefer local businesses that are run by one guy who will let you in the pit, or check the wear of your tires, etc. Those places that keep you in a waiting room are not to be trusted IMHO.
Click to expand...

+1 - though on those rare occasions I do end up at a chain outfit I always stay in the waiting room - to watch!
 
waltesefalcon

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JPSmit said:
+1 - though on those rare occasions I do end up at a chain outfit I always stay in the waiting room - to watch!
Click to expand...

I won't name names but I learned my lesson when as a kid one of those places twisted off a lug on the driver's side of my dad's Travelall because the kid didn't pay attention to the 'L' and kept running the impact until the stud broke.
 
LarryK

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I didn't have to go to a shop for that. I bought a 64 Valiant and saw the left rear wheel had new studs, and the were right hand threaded. I did not look at the front lettering and started taking off lugs when the stud snapped and I realized the brain fart wasn't reliable. Replace front stud with rhd because I couldn't find lefties at that time, it is unpainted so I remember.
 
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JPSmit

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LarryK said:
I didn't have to go to a shop for that. I bought a 64 Valiant and saw the left rear wheel had new studs, and the were right hand threaded. I did not look at the front lettering and started taking off lugs when the stud snapped and I realized the brain fart wasn't reliable. Replace front stud with rhd because I couldn't find lefties at that time, it is unpainted so I remember.
Click to expand...

always nice when you can do DIY damage instead of paying a shop to do the damage for you. :devilgrin: (Been there done that!) :grin:
 
DrEntropy

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Seems to me there's no such thing as a "tuneup" on any cars built after about 1985. Plugs 'n wires are about it. When you plug a car into a computer and get an error code, the offending component gets replaced and hope the car wasn't lying to the analyzer.

ViceGrips on a tie-rod show a laziness on the part of the wrench, along with a disrespect for vehicle and customer IMHO. Seen too many guys with the "beat the book" mentality in production shops to trust any of them. Had to fire a couple of them, too. One was about to take an air chisel to the frame's cross-brace on an Audi 100LS to drop the trans, with the explanation that he'd weld it back up after the rebuild! Not that I consider a 100LS as a "classic" but, daaay-am! The other was just a thief, was pilfering parts room bits to do "after hours" jobs at home. Sneaky bastage was doing it for nearly a year before I twigged to it, too.
 
LarryK

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Agree there Doc. My Dad worked for Macy's tow company in Terre Haute while in school ( for engineering in the early 50's). When I started driving in 65, I finished breakfast one morning and when I finished he called me to the garage. His 63 Monterey was sitting in the driveway with a pile of parts on the hood. "Tune it up", and he went back in the house. Couple hrs later had it running good. Then in the early 70s was working part time at a service station and the owner was ( to me then ) an elderly man who had worked for a GM dealer before buying his service station. He asked my what a tune up was and I told him what my Dad had taught me. He looked at me weird and said, " a tune up is fixing a running problem, not throwing a bunch of parts at it, as you will never know what the problem was"! Still stand by that. Everyting is preventive maintenance now.
 
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