There are just some days I wish I didn't turn wrenches

[gooffeyguy]

Nice radio. Trunk lid has something weird going on.

Only 16k miles, but definitely NOT original, especially the interior/upholstery

 

[OR VietVet]

Nice radio. Trunk lid has something weird going on.

Only 16k miles, but definitely NOT original, especially the interior/upholstery

Trunk lid problem? What do you see that I don't?

 

[gooffeyguy]

Trunk lid problem? What do you see that I don't?

Two things.

The first may just be the way the light reflection is, but around the latch mechanism not sure what's going on there.

The other thing is that seam and area just below it that I circled in the pic.

It's a nice car. Parts of it have been restored/replaced/upgraded. Not knowing the history of it (owned since new, bought restored, etc) and it only showing 16k miles, it'd be interesting to know more about it and would also determine about how much it's worth.

 

[OR VietVet]

I did see the circled part when I looked closer after your comment. Gonna list at CL and FB first and then at B.A.T. depending on the money offers. Thanks for the info though.

 

[OR VietVet]

Two things.

The first may just be the way the light reflection is, but around the latch mechanism not sure what's going on there.

The other thing is that seam and area just below it that I circled in the pic.

It's a nice car. Parts of it have been restored/replaced/upgraded. Not knowing the history of it (owned since new, bought restored, etc) and it only showing 16k miles, it'd be interesting to know more about it and would also determine about how much it's worth.

View attachment 404093

I did look at it today and the latch looks normal, so I am thinking light causing the look. The split seam you see is where the trunk seal meets. It is rubber on each side of split.

 

[OR VietVet]

Had the Mustang over here today and my eyes got opened. The under carriage looks rough. Not so much mechanically but front to rear the steering, suspension and drivetrain are oily and dirty. The oily part was easy to pinpoint. Leaking at a stretched thread oil pan drain plug and blowing back when driven. I tried to tighten and it did tighten but I could feel the threads trying to give up. I always tighten the drain plug on anything with a handheld wrench, so I can feel the threads. It is going to need a new oil pan. Needs a complete steam clean under there. Dirt, oil and grease everywhere. Has had new rear wheel cylinders, hardware, drums and lines/hoses. I told her that what she paid for it years ago and what she wants to get for it, $40k, at this point is not gonna happen. Yes, it has the rare factory 4 speed and the rear luggage rack, it also needs work under there and the convertible top rear area needs tightened or some how get the wrinkles out and address wrinkles in the dash vinyl overlay. She could put money in and never get it back out, in this FUBAR economy, the dollar is tight. I see a lot of B.A.T. auctions not hitting the reserve.

Here are some pics of obvious needs.

 

[OR VietVet]

 

[OR VietVet]

I told her that her expectations of getting all her money back, that she paid when she bought the Mustang, is quite literally a pipe dream. She did not have a complete inspection done when she bought it. She has a failing oil pan that is spewing oil all over under the vehicle, the dash vinyl is wrinkled, the convertible top is wrinkled, the convertible top rear window is fogged and wrinkled and the undercarriage is filthy and oil/dirt mixed everywhere and the left rear backing plate has been dragged at one time causing a bottom flat spot.
She thinks that the very rare factory option of the luggage rack and the factory 4 speed will win the day but that is not gonna happen.

She paid $40k for it years ago and the 16k+ mileage shown at the odometer, IMO, is 116k+ miles. I told her she would be very lucky to get anywhere between $15k and $20k.
Yesterday was the first time I had seen the condition of the undercarriage. Very very very disappointing. After all this prep work and pics and me crawling around under the car, when she sold it I was going to get a payment from her but only after it sells. I agreed to that but now I know I am done with expecting any compensation unless she ponies up and decides to do the oil pan and clean up. I shall see what happens.

 

[OR VietVet]

Last but not least, the dollar is much tighter now, Let's Go Brandon, and money is not flowing like it used to. I think the reason she is hot to sell, is that she is looking to split up with her husband and get a place of her own or with a friend. I think these plans have been brewing for a while. I stay out of that crap and don't choose sides. This is business to me.

 

[OR VietVet]

Another neighbor is meeting with me tomorrow. One vehicle is a 98 Suzuki Sidekick X-90 and another is an older small Nissan or Toyota pickup truck. On just this block alone I have 10 customers. I thought I was gonna go back and run shops but I like not having to do the alarm clock thing and pick/choose what I work on and what I don't work on. I also have 8 customers at my American Legion.

 

[TollKeeper]

For some reason I have always likes the X90..

 

[OR VietVet]

I think I am just going to end up doing an inspection for any problems but that could change when I talk to her and see if she has maintenance and repair records. The only thing she has noticed is a small oil leak on her driveway. @TollKeeper, do you know of any common oil leak places on that rig? No info given yet on the small Asian pickup.

 

[TollKeeper]

The underpinnings are complete Geo/Chevy Tracker. Depending on generation, usually just the valve cover gasket, and the distributor O-Ring if Equipped. At some point they went to DIS. Not sure if that was during the X90 generation, or after. I also seem to remember the Oil Filter Housing/Neck was a source.

You could always talk her into dropping a LS into it. Supposed to be a pretty straight forward swap!

 

[B-train]

So, I did get that 1985 Ford F150 pickup here Saturday afternoon. As usual he added other work "while here".

Squeal noise when starting, that turned out to be a very loose set of "V" belts on the alternator and power steering. Especially the alternator. I could turn the alternator pulley by hand easily. The tensioning bolt was hidden in the backside of the lower bracket and was a PITA to get a socket on it because so close to frame rail. Fortunately I have a stubby 3/8" drive ratchet and was able to get it tensioned. Been a long time since I have tensioned "V" belts with a pry bar and ratchet.

Next add on was installing his brake master cylinder. The real clue that it was needed was the obvious brake fluid leak at back of master cylinder that had been going on long enough to allow the brake fluid to blister the paint on the booster. I removed the master cylinder in front of him, with lines attached, and there was a rusty mess at back of cylinder and in the plunger rod pocket on the booster. Biggest PITA was that the attaching nuts at inside firewall were rusted badly and took my 3/8" pistol grip Milwaukee impact to take them off after I broke loose by hand. Then the 4 studs were corroded in the thru holes and had to encourage the booster to let go with a pry bar on the outside and a hammer on the inside at the stud tips. Mounted the new booster, bench bled the m/cyl. and installed and then bled at the attaching lines and had a good pedal. Before anyone asks, yes I did measure the hole depth at back of m/cyl. where the adjustable rod sets in to and I also adjusted the adjustable rod to match the old m/cyl. I also did a new stoplight switch while apart.

Then on to the carb. I did a cold start and sure enough the choke pull off was inop but did have power to electric choke. I knew I wanted to adjust the fast idle up on that cold start. The adjusting screw was angled down and while I was trying to bend over the back of carb and adjust that screw I found could not get a screwdriver on it but then I also noticed that the linkage from the pull off to the butterfly was not attached at the bottom. Could not reattach while on the vehicle so I removed carb. Worked on the carb on my roll cart and had to hold a small flashlight in my mouth to see down in there. Was a large PITA. Adjusted the fast idle, reattached linkage and lubed and reinstalled. By that time the owner had showed.
Did a cold start, set the choke with gas pedal, started engine, went right to fast idle and the owner said had never done that before, watched as ran and saw the choke open up the butterfly plate and stand straight up and then kicked down the throttle and went to curb idle and I adjusted that and road tested. All good.

4 hours labor at $75 an hour and $300 in my pocket. Told him I am not working on that carb again. You can see linkage that was unattached at bottom in the pic. You can see the brake fluid sludge too. I tore this all down on Saturday afternoon and installed new parts on Sunday morning.

Turns out, the next door neighbor wanted to buy my girls K2500 pickup but she does not want to sell but it turns out that the Ford pickup owner, that I worked on his 97 K1500 last week, is gonna sell that truck to next door neighbor and I am gonna do about $800 work on it after he buys.

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You're a better man than I. That's a crusty old setup for sure. I'm too young to fully be proficient on carbs - luckily they were phasing out to EFI by then. I have no desire to learn it....

Also, the ford's from the 80's and early 90's really helped quench my desire to work on vehicles for a living. IMO they were all piles of shit - except for the mazda powered stuff. In the midwest, they fight every step of the way. Their metallurgy wasn't the greatest for sure. In those years GM was much more enjoyable to work on.

Fast forward 20 years and I now have a 2019 F-250 company truck. I hate to admit it, but I actually like it. 6.2L has a lot of grunt and it runs like a rap ed ape. I think quality has taken more of a presence than it had before, thankfully.

 

[OR VietVet]

You're a better man than I. That's a crusty old setup for sure. I'm too young to fully be proficient on carbs - luckily they were phasing out to EFI by then. I have no desire to learn it....

Also, the ford's from the 80's and early 90's really helped quench my desire to work on vehicles for a living. IMO they were all piles of shit - except for the mazda powered stuff. In the midwest, they fight every step of the way. Their metallurgy wasn't the greatest for sure. In those years GM was much more enjoyable to work on.

Fast forward 20 years and I now have a 2019 F-250 company truck. I hate to admit it, but I actually like it. 6.2L has a lot of grunt and it runs like a rap ed ape. I think quality has taken more of a presence than it had before, thankfully.

This truck has numerous emission control components hanging here and there in the engine compartment. Disconnected one by one.

The carb removal and linkage fix was definitely a blast from the past for me. All I know is that I fixed that linkage, reinstalled the carb and when I set the choke and cranked the engine, it fired up and ran at fast idle. Had not done that for me since he dropped off for the cold start problem. I then told him I am not working on it any more, carb that is.

I did talk to him 2 days ago and the truck has been sitting since he took it back. I scared him a bit about the rust I showed him in the brake system. He knows he needs the wheel cylinders and calipers replaced, see the pics I posted of the inside of the master cylinder. Plus flush the brake fluid as best I can or replace every line and hose as well. I warned him about them as well. It is his beater truck but he still has to stop safely. I told him, "Whether I fix it or someone else, it needs done, period".

 

[OR VietVet]

My AL friend called yesterday and asked me to change the oil and filter on his old Jeep Renegade 1.4 turbo, that his daughter now has. She drove up from Ca. for a 5 day visit. Dropped at 11 a.m. and done by noon. 27mm socket needed for oil filter housing removal for o-ring and cartridge. Kind of a PITA to access but doable. 4 quarts of 5w-4- full synthetic. Changed the air filter. Has 28k miles, so looks good with no leaks. The strange thing is that the low pressure a/c port cap was missing and the large under engine/belly splash shield was completely gone. The daughter lives in Santa Cruz and takes to the same place for oil changes. Someone there forgot to reinstall the shield, at SOME time. Few bucks in my pocket.

Tomorrow evening, the 2007 Lexus RX350 is coming back to get the CORRECT right rear side marker light installed. Came from RA. Kind of a PITA location to get to but again, is doable.

Then sometime next week I am going to do a full inspect of the 98 Suzuki Sidekick X-90. Has obvious oil leaks at the valve cover gasket and the distributor shaft o-ring. Is supposed to have a subdued click noise when accel from stop or even when accel while driving. Will be paying attention to that when I road test it. Maybe @TollKeeper has ideas for that. Need to check tune components. Coolant and brake fluid slightly low and will cover that during inspection. Has original radiator cap and will be replaced. Severe corrosion at battery cable ends. P/S slightly low.

The guy has an 86 Nissan Pickup for me to inspect after that.

 

[TollKeeper]

I would be willing to bet it needs a timing belt. Tensioner probably is about done. They will make a clicking noise when they are WAY, like never been replaced, passed replacement time.

Also another point for the oil leak, where the cam shaft goes thru the front face of the head to the timing belt.

May just be a serpentine belt tensioner.. But I am pretty sure they are running V-Belt on those.

 

[OR VietVet]

@TollKeeper, The timing belt was done at 63326 miles on 9-8-2007 but nothing else mentioned. I will be checking for the tensioner(s) and cam/crank seals. Does have serpentine belts.

 

[OR VietVet]

Did my inspection today on the Suzuki Sidekick. She had a rattle she was hearing and found it at the catalytic converter shield and rocks in there, was able to dig them out. Severe oil leak from valve cover gasket and she actually crawled under and saw what I saw. completely wet and dripping from oil pan front and rear. traced up to valve cover. Told her I would do the valve cover gasket and look real close at the distributor seal when apart and would do the PCV valve and oil sender. Needs a new positive cable end and clean corrosion down the cable and skin back insulation. Found a missing front 4x4 hub allen bolt but no grease there and told her to keep an eye on it. Front pads like new and wearing even. Rear shoes about half on bonded linings and wearing even and adjusted correctly. Opened wheel cylinder cups and no fluid leaks. Picked up valve cover and tube seal kit, Fel-Pro. Picked up oil sender. Still have to get battery cable end and pcv valve. By the time I cleaned the old cable end as best as I was gonna, going to replace in a couple days anyway, the metal was pretty thin. They had those red and green chemically treated round felt pads under the cable ends. Didn't do much good, as I showed them.

 

[iamdub]

Did my inspection today on the Suzuki Sidekick. She had a rattle she was hearing and found it at the catalytic converter shield and rocks in there, was able to dig them out. Severe oil leak from valve cover gasket and she actually crawled under and saw what I saw. completely wet and dripping from oil pan front and rear. traced up to valve cover. Told her I would do the valve cover gasket and look real close at the distributor seal when apart and would do the PCV valve and oil sender. Needs a new positive cable end and clean corrosion down the cable and skin back insulation. Found a missing front 4x4 hub allen bolt but no grease there and told her to keep an eye on it. Front pads like new and wearing even. Rear shoes about half on bonded linings and wearing even and adjusted correctly. Opened wheel cylinder cups and no fluid leaks. Picked up valve cover and tube seal kit, Fel-Pro. Picked up oil sender. Still have to get battery cable end and pcv valve.

Props for catching that hub bolt!