I was in Woodstock (Virginia) ordering hydrolic lifters from my NAPA friend. I told him that NOW I knew what he meant by those "jet ports", having just torn down a 2.0. He said what he used to do with the jet ports was to weld them shut. On the '90 with fuel injection, I don't have to worry about that.

As he has been a parts man and racing mechanic for over 30 years, I value his expertise. I asked his suggestion about preparing the hydrolic lifters for installation. He said a 50-50 mix of "Mystery Oil" or STP and transmission fluid. If possible, soak them overnight with the holes up. They will not need adjusting. It's cool to note on the 2.4 4G64 the lifters have rollers on them: there''s virtually no friction on the cam contact.

I am about done with Advanced Auto parts. And UPS: I have had orders left out on my driveway, and today the driver was in my neighbor's driveway, trying to figure out how to get off the hill in this snow, seriously pondering the most dangerous place to turn around. I asked if he had my part...(Advanced found it appropriate to send a thermostat gasket from a large order, by itself, in a ridiculously large container)...which he did. I then gave him back-woods advice as to how to get off the hill safely: there was no way he was going back the way he came. There's a road out if you continue down the hill, past my driveway. I hope he made it out okay.

RockAuto.com uses a variety of delivery services, and the valves I ordered are coming FedEx. NAPA has a warehouse not from from here, in Winchester. I'm essentially dealing directly with them, often getting next-day delivery at the store.

There are some parts you simply can't get from a supplier, any more, and you'll have to resort to making them yourself, or getting them from a junkyard. Timing belt cover seals aren't to be found. My NAPA friend said to bring the old seal/gasket in, and we can determine which material to make a new one from. This seal is important as it keeps dirt and oil off your timing belt.