what did you do to your ride today?

[Mkweaver1958]

Well the INDY blew the heater core hoses on my way home from work last week, so its off to the shop since I'm tired of crawling around under the dash and engine compartment.
I'm getting too old for this!

[Rettax3]

I'm getting too old for this!

On my Berettas, the power steering lines started failing one after another as the cars each hit the same age. Some of these rubber parts definitely have a lifespan. Probably worth-while to change the radiator hoses and flush the coolant on yours, if it hasn't all been done in the last few years...

If I ever reach the point of not being able or willing to work on my own cars, I am totally screwed. I can just picture some lube-tech trying to find the oil filter on the GTU! Sorry bud, take the car back off the rack and turn the wheel to the right! No lift needed...

[woody90gtz]

Found out the wheels I bought, blasted and painted for the truck are the cause of the vibration at highway speed. Took them to get rebalanced and the lip style won't take clip on weights, which is why they recommended the beads the first time. So they used sticky weights on the second try and they hit the calipers...so it's not even driveable.

Ended up buying some stock 16s since they are 12lbs lighter, forged and hub centric unlike the old cast American Racing wheels. Won't look as good, but they'll probably pay for themselves in fuel eventually. Currently stripping, blasting and sanding the peeling clear coat and corrosion off them. Fun job.

[krisverde]

Got it legal in AZ.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[ifixalot]

Fuel tank, lines and exhaust system were sooooo rusty.
Rear brake lines were shot too.
All are new now.

[Rettax3]

Fuel tank, lines and exhaust system were sooooo rusty.
Rear brake lines were shot too.
All are new now.

Woohoo! Looking good, for some reason I am always impressed when people fix the basic necessities of the cars, like suspension bushings, door hinges, brake and fuel lines, gas tanks... I guess it shows dedication to actually keeping the vehicle functional, not just looking or sounding good... Nice work.

For me, DAMN! I added another one! Little Audi TT Turbo roadster... Wasn't planning on keeping it when I was on my way out to 'look at it', but now I think I like it. I knew it had to be trailered, so I went to prep one of the Camaros to lead it home, but found the recently-replaced rear caliper (passenger side) was binding -like the last one. Verified nothing wrong hydraulically -no kinks, clogs etc in the lines, nothing wrong with the e-brake cables either -those were swapped to new when I did the caliper over the Spring or Summer. Looks like defective seals... So, until I rebuild one or two of these things (older rear disc setups as found on four of my F-Body cars, be they 9-Bolt Aussie or 10-Bolt GM, use the same caliper left and right, so a few 'spares' rebuilt, painted, and ready to go would not be a bad idea at this point), that particular Camaro is stuck, haha. So, just out to 'look at' the Audi, and surprise surprise, it actually runs/drives okay and still has legal tags on it too. Nearly perfect body and paint, brand new $3k top, nice window tint and a clean interior with 97k showing on the clock, there is a grocery-list of problems the car has, starting with a tranny on the downward side to dead, but a 6-speed manual swap likely won't run me much over a grand, and this thing could be darn fun at that point. I have worked on the horridly mal-adaptive Audi/VW ECM systems enough to know a lot of their shortcomings, but also a lot of the fixes for them too. Overall, the worst part about the car is the interference-type timing-belt valvetrain (stupid, stupid, stupid!) and the plastic-is-king philosophy used in the construction, but if maintained well, these things can be a blast. After a 35-minute drive home, I really did start liking this little car... I'll try to get some pics posted tomorrow. Still haven't decided for sure what I will end up doing with it, but yeah, adoption is actually an option here.

[woody90gtz]

Been there before on the rusty fuel tank and lines job. Nightmare.

Jay bought an Audi with the 6spd he really likes. His is an A4 I think?

[ifixalot]

Couple weeks ago I saw the driver's side frame section was terrible. So I sought a good used one and ordered other parts for the swap.
I put those in yesterday and the car dives fine so I guess the alignment isn't off by too much. I did have a big problem with new control
arm that I got from RA. The stabilizer bar anchor point was backward and somebody else had seen that and put 4 yellow paint
dots on it and sent it back. Vendor just sent it back out to me. So I'm midway into this project and no local auto parts stores stock this part.
So I wound up heating that area and smacking it with a hammer over some pipe and other anvil type stuff. After a lot of banging I was able to get
it pointed in the right direction. (I've had a bunch of crap parts sent to me from more than one vendor lately.)
After my modifications, I primed and painted it. I was also able to install new upper stab bar bushings that went bad a couple years back.
Once the old frame section was off the car, I was shocked at how bad it really was. Good thing I didn't drive that car much.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ALWAYS CHECK EVERY FRIGGEN PART YOU GET THOROUGHLY!!!!!

[ifixalot]

I posted the running driving 96 For sale on Craigslist for $700 after fixing the frame support and control arm.
I told people it's getting rusty and who knows how long it will last.
I got 10 responses from people who seem very interested. I began to wonder if the scammers have a new trick
up there sleeve. I don't believe how many people are emailing, even on Christmas day. One person says he is
3 hours away and has a trailer and he'll give me the $700 cash. I'm remain skeptical, then another leak in a
brake line reared it's ugly head! So, I pulled the listing until I get that fixed.

[EPfiffner]

I posted the running driving 96 For sale on Craigslist for $700 after fixing the frame support and control arm.
I told people it's getting rusty and who knows how long it will last.
I got 10 responses from people who seem very interested. I began to wonder if the scammers have a new trick
up there sleeve. I don't believe how many people are emailing, even on Christmas day. One person says he is
3 hours away and has a trailer and he'll give me the $700 cash. I'm remain skeptical, then another leak in a
brake line reared it's ugly head! So, I pulled the listing until I get that fixed.

Such a shame, but you've done everything you can to keep it on the road. I also can't believe how rusty that frame member was, wow!!! Hate to see these cars go, but those of us in the rust belt: it's gonna catch us sooner or later.

Good luck w/ Craigslist, Ive had some success but also scammers and tire kickers too.

[Rettax3]

^^^What he said, sorry to hear you need to let it go. That rust is no joke, I am starting to feel incredibly lucky to have rust-free Berettas...

Basic rules I live with on CL are NEVER post my phone-number or address, they can contact me through the double-blind e-mail system (and I have an e-mail set up just for that too), and ALWAYS try to meet at a public place (grocery-store parking lot or Wal-Mart). If I am selling something that I need them to come to my house for, I don't give directions until I've had an actual phone conversation -the hoops aren't really all that hard for a serious buyer, but knocks all the wind out of a scammer's sails and blocks probably all phishing schemes too. Consider keeping a dated copy of a bill-of-sale showing that you have released all interest and ownership of the car, that it is being sold as-is with no warranty expressed or implied, with their name and signature on it. I've heard over and over how months after a sale, someone would get a parking violation notice on the now-abandoned car they don't own anymore -it can be a headache pulling out from under that too. Good luck, keep yourself safe.

[ifixalot]

Yes, I am Leary of people on CL. I've posted that we meet at the police station and if they want the car, we go right over to the currency exchange and they get the paperwork started. I've pulled the post because of the brake-line. When I sold my daughter's car, a black guy bought it. He came to my house but he seemed legit. He said, "I drive the car over to the currency exchange, if I like it, we go in and get the title and plates applied for and I give you your money". He was afraid of getting pulled over without plates. I was OK with it except it took more time then I had planned for. So he, is were I got the idea.
I've got the brake-line fixed but I haven't put it back up on CL yet. I had to replace the hose and the caliper too. Hose was cracked and the bleeder was so rusted, I could not get a wrench on it. I made an attempt at fixing the firewall leak since I had stuff off the car to get to the brake-line. It's suppose to rain today so we'll see if that is fixed.

[EPfiffner]

Yes, I am Leary of people on CL. I've posted that we meet at the police station and if they want the car, we go right over to the currency exchange and they get the paperwork started. I've pulled the post because of the brake-line. When I sold my daughter's car, a black guy bought it. He came to my house but he seemed legit. He said, "I drive the car over to the currency exchange, if I like it, we go in and get the title and plates applied for and I give you your money". He was afraid of getting pulled over without plates. I was OK with it except it took more time then I had planned for. So he, is were I got the idea.
I've got the brake-line fixed but I haven't put it back up on CL yet. I had to replace the hose and the caliper too. Hose was cracked and the bleeder was so rusted, I could not get a wrench on it. I made an attempt at fixing the firewall leak since I had stuff off the car to get to the brake-line. It's suppose to rain today so we'll see if that is fixed.

It figures the brake line repair snowballed, don't they always. Well good on you for making the car as safe as possible for the next owner.

I've had good luck with Craig's usually, and you already know the pitfalls. I'm not sure where else you would list a low dollar car, really. My wife posted my old S10 Blazer on FB marketplace and it sold instantly, but I don't do FB.

[Mkweaver1958]

Spent Saturday trying to fix a coolant leak at the Coolant venting port on top and behind the water pump.
The 3.1 hasn't been cracked in a LONG time and the bolts where really stuck.
I managed to get 1 loose, the other one snapped off at the head just as it started to move (damnit!).
Now I need the water pump housing.
Anyone have one laying around?????????
A bunch of trouble for 1 little oval gasket.

[Rettax3]

I've got one. PM a 'shipped' offer and ZIP-Code, I'll see if I can box it for that.