I have a 98 zx2 and just last week had the service engine soon light pop on, I took it to Kal Tire. They said that I had a P1381 VCT Overadvanced alert pop on, and that I had to take it to a Ford dealership to get the low down on what was up.
So I dropped the $ 76 to the dealership so they could do a diag on the engine. Well they said in their report to me that the ;
“VCT appears to have stuck at 1 time, but is OK at this time, dirty oil can cause VCT to stick. Suggest Oil change, then monitor if VCT sticks again. If it does, it will have to be replaced”
So I had a hot oil flush, and put in 5w-20 oil in my engine. I’m about 112K km (im canadian) on the engine, and the timing belt is about that time to get replaced.
I was quoted $1500 by the dealership to get the VCT+ timing belt replaced… LOL. Well I went to Kal Tire, and they can replaced the timing belt for about 400ish, and said the VCT is only a $40-50 part… So I’m wondering why there would be such a price difference?
So I guess for my post, my real question is, what part is the VCT? I mean, i understand camshafts, timing belts, and such, but am still trying to understand what part the VCT (variable camshaft timing) is? Someone told me its a wheel of sorts, that is oilpressure driven and can gum up? Is this about right?
Anyways, I just want to know what a VCT actually costs (just the part, not the solenoid) and how hard it is to replace, if your doing it at the same time as the timing belt…
The guy at Kal Tire (where I take my car often, and I trust them w/ my car needs) made it sound like it wasnt a big deal to replace, nor that expensive…
Thanks, Chris