Its back… for now.
Actually, Trek was back the previous month in February.
Its finally out of the workshop after rebuilding the engine – past the… block being eaten, etc. That time afterwards was catered to running in the engine; which is driving the vehicle without putting stress onto the engine for the internals to settle and seal for optimal operation. In Trek’s case, it was a matter of a thousand kilometres of mileage or a month in, using 20w50, which is a very thick oil.
With my family’s circumstances, mileage as you could expect… wasn’t hit. But the time was, so off it went to change. “Can whack now!” said my workshop, not the current fuel prices…
Speaking of which, this was the sight greeting us on February when we went to collect Trek, literally the road before the workshop.
Aside from the engine rebuild, the Airtrek now has a new set of coilovers as stated in the previous update. It used to be on the original struts, and is now sitting on a RM4,600 set of Titan SP3 coilovers.
It now sits lower courtesy of some adjustment… too low. The RALLIART front lip is constantly slamming and grinding on the floor as the front clearance is impacted. That, then, could be time for me to pick up an impact drill and learn how to adjust coilovers myself.
Below is a comparison between the now (left) and the then (right). The stance is a lot nicer, sure, but I need to raise the front desperately.
I think it does ride better with a much softer ride, though it still cannot absorb bumps that well – especially not the horribly-patched roads in Penang. I wonder – is this because of bad bushings? Please do let me know, I’m keen to understand this as none of the cars we own have replaced bushings yet.
Though the Airtrek has been sorted engine wise, I fear that there are still issues with it that isn’t clearance. The transmission seems to be bogged – where flooring it doesn’t initiate a kickdown and requires multiple jabs at the accelerator to move.
We are strictly hoping its not a transmission issue as the existing unit is already a replaced item. It stays at 2,000 RPM and refuses to down a gear even with full boost on. I’m hoping its a sensor problem – O2 sensor specifically.
So this is where things are – down with only suspension bushings and this transmission issue. I dare not read the total expenses but obviously it has swallowed as much as a built example goes. Its still a fun boat (more a boat by the soft coil settings) that remains as the most comfortable Japanese car I’ve driven thus far. Pretty nice.
~Efini
Gallery:
Read more: Trek: Freed from uncertainty
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