2002 Sonata revisited

Hello again-

Well, I really need to do something with the car, which has sat
in my driveway for almost a year now. It's the 2.7 V6 and it has
three issues-

1. the brakes are noisy. I suspect sticky calipers. Although I've
always done my own brake work and lived to tell about it, I may
pay somebody to do it because of time constraints. I'd like to
get all 4 discs and pad sets repaired, and get the caliper slides
lubed. Any suggestions? Oh, I may only drive the car once a week
or so, as I can walk 1 mile to work. Since this will cause the
rotors to rust, is there a better choice of rotors/pads to deal
with this situation? If I have the calipers lubed will that fix
the problem, or will I have to do this yearly, or is there
better calipers I can buy, or....?

2. At 102Kmi, it's overdue for the timing belt. Advice here was
get the water pump done also. Are there idlers, springs or
whatzits that should be replaced when the belt is done? Again, I
could do it myself, but it looks more involved than I have time
for right now.

3. Check engine light is on with P0442 and P0455 small and large
evap leak codes. Research indicates I might have to replace
anything from the gas cap to the fuel tank. I'm willing to pay to
get it fixed, but I don't want it to turn into one of these "I
take it to the dealer and throw $300 at it every week" odysseys I
keep reading about on usenet.

Although I usually do my own work, I have a small independent
shop that I take my car to for inspections. He's always been fair
about inspecting the car, no "busy work" to run the inspection
bill up. Any reason I shouldn't have this shop do the work?

My other option is the Hyundai dealer that the car was bought
from. As far as I know, they are OK. They quoted me $400 on the
timing chain, and $200 additional to do the water pump at the
same time. The MIL started at $90 for the diagnostic. :-(

Thank you for reading and for any advice!

 

If you don't drive the car regularly you will always have noisey brakes.
Rotors rust and pads set to them. Sliders bind a bit, even when properly
lubed. Your best bet is to drive the car. Once a week should be fine,
though they may be a bit noisey or they may pulse a bit from sitting for a
week - no problem in that. If the pads are good now I would just drive the
car a bit and see what comes from that. You may not have to invest anything
in the brakes.

Tensioner and water pump while you're in there.

Was the CEL on while you were driving it or is it something that came on
after the car sat for a year?

Your choice. Shops save you time but cost you money - even when they are
"cheap". How much money do you have?

$400 is ok for the belt but they should only be charging you for the water
pump - not any labor. They are in there already. Sub-$100 would be fair
for the water pump added in to the estimate for the belt.

 

Most common is the gas cap, about $10 or so.

No brainer IMO. While "factory trained" mechanics may be more familiar with
working on your particular model, you pay dearly for the privilege. If you
have a trusted mechanic, stick with him.

 

I'll agree with what's been said about points 1 and 2, but have a little t
add on point number three.

Make sure your gas cap is tight and secure and clear the check engin
lamp. Under the hood, check the vacuum hose running between the purg
control valve and the piping running to the back of the car. Could b
leaking or broken. Once you know all that's okay, ride around and see i
the lamp comes back.

If you get either a P0455 or P0442 back, take the car to the dealer fo
diagnosis. The dealer's scan tool has the capability of running the eva
self-test, so the dealer should be able to tell immediately after repair
whether the problem has been corrected. This capability also enables th
technician to isolate various parts of the system while running the test
allowing a process of elimination to locate the leak. Without thi
capability, and I don't think it's available with nonfactory scanners
evap diagnosis is greatly complicated

 

hyundaitech wrote:

BINGO! I have not had much time to really examine the car, but
last Sunday I was looking under the hood and was tracing the
hoses that came from the undercarriage to the engine compartment,
and I noticed a rubber hose with a split in it. I presume it was
the evap as it goes to a doohicky that then connects to the air
intake by the TPS ( I guess).

Drove the car about 120 miles and the evap test now says OK!

Too bad I didn't spot it before replacing the gas cap with a
NAPA cap, taking it to be inspected and paying (reluctantly) $60
for their diagnosis, which was "you need a new gas cap". When I
explained I *had* a new gas cap, they told me the NAPA cap
wouldn't work and I had to go to the dealer, buy a 2 pack of gas
caps, install one, and fortunately I spotted the split hose
before I drove 120 miles trying to run the evap cycle.

HT, thanks again for your input, and the recent advice on the
rotors. And thanks to everybody else who replied, 'tis all
appreciated!