Monthly Archives: October 2010

Bursting Hose

I had a coolant hose burst on Wednesday after work. It was the hose that runs below the oil filter. I caught it before the car overheated so the motor is OK. I was able to make a temporary fix to the hose by splicing an elbow. I will replace the hose at some point in the near future.

This could have been a much bigger problem if I hadn’t caught it quicker.

Filtering Gas

I filtered the gas, it took me over an hour to do and the car is still getting rust in the filter. I’m not sure were it is coming from. The gas that came out of the tank was almost completely clean.

I also checked the front bearings and they looked good. So I’m still not sure what my vibration is. The only other thought I have is flat spots on the tires from sitting.

Radio Works

I now have a working radio. I bought one out of the salvage yard and between the 2 I have a good working one.  The radio from the salvage yard works great but the finish on the faceplate is really bad.  The radio from my car has a good looking faceplate but has no working FM and the cassette doesn’t send sound to the left side.  I wouldn’t recommend swapping face plates unless you have a good understanding of electronics.  I used the opportunity to clean all the components out with electrical cleaner and canned air.

The power antenna is also installed. The antenna goes up but not down so I need to look at the antenna relay and the wiring.

Clogged Again

I Pulled the fuel filter again last night and it was completely clogged with rust. I also popped the drain plug out and the fuel that came out was clear so I’m hoping that the rust is about done.

Next on the list is to figure out why the car vibrates over 55 mph (worst between 55 and 65). I had the tires balanced and an alignments done on Friday. The vibration seems to be coming from the front end because the steering wheel vibrates. I’m going to start with swapping the front and rear tires to see if it might be a bad balanced tire. I will also see about cleaning and repacking the front wheel barrings.

I am going to install a power antenna (hoping it fixes the radio problem) and toss the cheap rubber stubby antenna.  The radio quit working even though it was working just fine the first time I tested it. I plan to try and fix the washer fluid worning light (always on) as well.

Car Stalled

I took the car on a drive to the salvage yard on the opposite end of town and on the way back the car stalled. The fuel filter clogged. I was able to jack the car up, pull the filter, and bang it out. The car ran after that. I think this is going to be some thing I will have to deal with until all the rust comes out of the tank.  It clogged after about 30 miles.

Progress

I made a little progress on the car. I removed everything so I could replace the oil cooler line. It requres a 26mm (I think) to remove the oil line but I only have through 24mm. I ended up using a pipe wrench to remove the line.  The clutch hydrolics weren’t working right so I rebuilt the master, swapped a good slave I had and installed a SS clutch line.  I also changed all the oil (motor, tranny, and rear), had the wheels swapped and had an alignment done.

Next on the list is fix the exhause leak (needs a new gasket between the mani and the downpipe). After that it is replacing the O2 sensor, chean injectors, fix 6 port actuators, and replace all old vacuum lines.

Officially Mine

The car is now registered in my name.  I also picked up a better set of stock wheels for the car from a friend. One of my wheels were bent. The finish on the new wheels is in good shape.  I will be swapping the tires from the wheels on the car to the new wheels.

On the Road

The car is on the road and running good. I ended up having to drop the tank and clean out a ton of rust. I added a filter to the line between the tank and the pump (it has an external pump). I also had to replace the pump because rust worked its way into it an burned it out. I have about $500 into the car now. I have new fluids to replace the ones in the car and will be changing them this week. I’m going to register the car today. Also I’m going to have the car aligned soon because it pulls to the left.

The List Continues

I replaced the TPS with a good used unit from the salvage yard.  I also replaced the intake air temperature sensor since the wire was sheared off.  The air flow meter has been swapped out because it was also sticking.
I have a list of things to do:

-First I’m going to check the TPS to make sure it is set right.
-test water temp sensor.
-set the L-R screw to the middle.
-try the fuel volume test.
-do a code check (I did see the archive and I bought 2 LEDs to check it)
-install better injector bleed-off setup

The existing injector bleed-off setup: