Bfenty

So as many of you know, I got in an accident with my previous car and totaled it (you can read about that car here). I've got the bug, however, and so within a week I bought a new one. I had to drive her about 8 hours to get her home (bought from a dealership in Greensboro, NC). This car is in great shape, single owner before me (not counting the dealership), all original, and everything working (with a few minor exceptions).

First, A/C doesn't hold a charge. When it's charged, it blows cold-but it lost a charge in about a week. I'm sure there's a leak someplace, although it does hold vaccum; maybe the compressor is leaking? I'll have to find that but luckily it's cool enough here that top down is plenty cool.

Second, the wipers don't work. I suspect a faulty wiper motor, and when I tear down the engine I will test with the known working motor from my previous car (having a parts car is wonderful for this work, I must say).

I'm also having some trouble with a slight misfire at high RPMs. I suspect the injectors (they appear to be original to the car). I will test this theory with the recently-remanufactured injectors from my parts car.

Lastly, the clear coat is peeling in a few places. I don't know how to fix that, probably have to take to a shop, but that's way down the list. I want to have all the mechanical stuff fixed first.

All that aside, the car has working cruise control, all the electronics and lights work, etc. so I'm pretty happy about all that. The interior is in pretty good condition, the driver's seat needs some love but I'm smothering it with leather conditioner to help soften it up.

I'll post more on this thread as I get more into this car-with a newborn child it will be slower going.

Bfenty

...and I've already run into my first mishap. I started another thread about it, but basically my thermostat got stuck closed while I was an hour from home. I managed to fix it, but only after shearing off one of the thermostat housing bolts. I stuck it back together with an ungodly amount of RTV and drove it home, where it currently sits while I'm trying to figure out how to get it out. There have been a lot of helpful suggestions in the main thread for this issue.




Here's the offending bolt

JimLentz

Looks pretty nice from the pictures!

Silver85

Nice!! Glad to have you back in the game.

If you have a leak in your A.C. system you probably aren't truly holding a vacuum, it just leaks slow enough that you don't see it on the gauge. You really need a micron gauge to see smaller leaks. If you have access to a vacuum pump do you also have access to some dry nitrogen and maybe a leak detector? Pressurize it with a bit of trace gas to sniff it out. Confirm any hits with soap bubbles and go from there.

Bfenty

This will be the 2nd A/C job I've ever done, so I don't really have fancy equipment. I borrowed my buddy's vacuum pump to see if it holds a vacuum. He's got the high/low gauge as well, haven't used that yet. I'll sniff it out soon though. I'm actually wondering if it might be as simple as some stop leak in the system, that's what ultimately fixed my last car's issues. I used the stuff from Red-Tek that is supposed to make the gaskets swell a little bit, that's all it took.

The rest of the system seems to work perfectly though (vacuum lines, blower motor, etc.)

I'm hardly an expert on A/C though, so suggestions are welcomed

BrandensBeast

Nice color combo!

Bfenty

So, as I posted earlier, a thermostat housing bolt sheared off inside the intake manifold. I took it to the welder to get off, but he stated he's not comfortable without me taking everything off around it (he doesn't want to damage anything and wants to make sure he has room to work). I can appreciate that, and I was planning on tearing down the engine anyway to install new injectors and generally just see the condition of everything along the way. I figure I can also do some cleaning and swap out these messy valve covers for the ones I already fixed up on my prior car.

I wanted to start early (he's coming on Saturday) to make sure I have time to take my time and not break any other bolts off. She's coming apart fairly well, although I did run into an issue getting the smog pump off (the bolts holding the front wheel on are seized up nice and tight). The driver's side runner is also giving me trouble, I can't reach the rearmost bolt to get it off because the wiper motor/valve cover is in the way.

That said, I figured I'd post a progress photo while I've got it all apart. Sorry for the crappy quality.

Patsgarage

When you get everything back together, you can "charge" the A/C system with nitrogen. 150~psi and some good old dish soap should show any leaks.

Bfenty

Just thought I'd post another progress pic. I'm almost down to the intake manifold. Been a bit of a monster job, being careful with all these parts. I've also got the valve covers I already redid for my previous car that I am planning on putting back onto this one.

Quick question-I'm thinking of painting the runners/plenum while they're off. I'd just go with a bare aluminum color. The idea wouldn't be to change the color but rather to make them look newer. I'd use the same high-temp primer and paint I used on the valve covers which have held up quite nicely. Thoughts?

Silver85

Those valve covers look nice. I need to get motivated and do mine.

I just used a stainless brush on my runners and Eagle 1 aluminum cleaner and they look factory fresh. Painting would probably be easier though.

Randy M

I agree with Silver, and went the other route on the intake and runners as well, I did a thorough cleaning with carb cleaner and wire brushes. Mine look factory fresh now. I don't think I'd recommend painting them, but it is your call.

Bfenty

Hmmm ok. Painting is the 'lazy' way, lol. What kind of wire brush do you recommend? I don't want to scratch them up...

Silver85

I use an assortment of them but for jobs like that I use a small stainless wire wheel that you can put in a drill motor. You won't scratch them unless you use a crazy coarse stiff brush on a high speed grinder.

I might be a little over top on this part but I always make sure and only use brushes on the same metal each time to avoid contaminating. Never use a brush on mild steel and then use it on stainless or aluminum.

Bfenty

So, I have a dremel with a multitude of polishing wheels (most of which I haven't even tried before). I don't really want to 'polish' the plenum, not like a mirror or anything, just want to get it looking clean is all.

Silver85

https://m.mscdirect.com/mobileweb/pr...il?id=03053881

I wouldn't use an abrasive wheel. Just a stainless or brass brush. You don't want to grind or polish, just brush and clean. This style brush is available at any hardware store. Grab a toothbrush style brush for the hard to reach spots too.

Dt86

Instead of painting your plenum and runners you can use eagle1 wheel cleaner on them. It will make them look new. Search the forum for some examples.
Good luck with that thermostat bolt, hope it goes well.

Bfenty

That brush looks like an abrasive one to me? I'll admit I'm new to using a dremel for anything. I used one that looked just like that to polish my suspension though.

Joe C

- been there, done that! that little SOB was one of my first mishaps. mostly my fault - should have been more careful during the disassembly. it took some effort and a centering jig, but I got it repaired, without pulling intake. 18 years later, I finally got around to doing a proper repair - a couple 3/8-16 helicoils - it's good as new.

VikingTrad3r

Bran for your runners/plenum, didnt you try the eagle 1 with a light scrub brush successfully before?

It makes them look factory new for sure.

Bfenty

I did but they still looked “stained”. I’m not sure how to put it, in photos it didn’t show up but in person it was...splotchy. It was like that before eagle one as well. The eagle one made it look WORLDS better but not “new”. Does that make sense? Maybe the plenum was just crap on that car lol. I’ll try it again here.