420A Rusted but running

[Cypherfox]

I own a 1997eclipse gs with a 420a engine and manual transmission. The clutch slave cylinder broke shortly after buying the car. Rust on the mounting bolt broke. Doing the repair myself has motivated me to learn and repair/maintain other parts on the vehicle. The parts I have replaced are thermostat, front rotors and brake pads, clutch slave cylinder and master clutch cylinder, pcv valve, spark plugs, and clutch. I also change my oil with royal purple synthetic ( I know motor oil is factory recommended), transmission fluid with royal purple manual transmission fluid, engine coolant with peak. Let me know if think I should use a different type of fluid or oil. I paid a mechanic to replace my clutch but I feel like he didn’t replace it. The clutch was working before but I thought it should be changed since the car has a lot of miles. I will know if he did when I decide to upgrade the clutch. I do have have issues that I want to learn to repair. The car has a bad idle. It idles at 1 1/2 rpm and I don’t think my neighbors like that at night. My a/c does not work. I can’t locate the low side line to check the refrigerant level. The ac does blow air when I turn it on but it doesn’t cool. The heater does blow hot air. I also feel like some of my hoses around the engine need to be replaced. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

The high idle is most likely a vacuum leak. You can find leaks by spraying starting fluid in the possible areas and listening for the engine to rev. It's also possible for the TPS to be bad or the IAC valve to be bad. Only after you've verified that there are no leaks, try unscrewing the tip of the IAC a couple turns. Unscrewing the tip (counterclockwise) turns down the idle and screwing it farther in (clockwise) raises the idle.

The A/C is more than likely just out of refrigerant. This can happen after they sit for too long without use. Check and see if the compressor is engaging when you turn the A/C switch on. It takes r134a (as most vehicles after the late 80's do).

I don't recommend the Royal Purple fluid in the transmission. It might be fine, but I would be worried about damage to the synchro, as their inner lining is made of a compressed fiber material. Try running one of these recommended fluids: 10w-30 high mileage engine oil, Mopar ATF +4, Synchromesh.

Did you bleed the clutch system after you replaced the slave & master cylinders? There's a bleeder screw on the side of the slave cylinder you can use for this.

If there's any further questions you have feel free to ask. Welcome to the forums.