What to buy for the EIGHTIES WAGON
- Thread starter Altron
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Altron
Well-Known Member
Well, I started reading 'Christine' by Stephen King.
A book about a semi-nerdy kid who buys a 20 year old car from an old dude, a red and white Plymouth Fury, and fixes it up.
I'm semi-nerdy. I bought a 20 year old car from an old dude. It's red and white (and brown).
Anyway, there are enough similarities between Christine and Das Boat that it's kinda eerie.
So, on Friday, I take the boat to work. I have the lights on, because of that retarded 'if your wipers are on your lights need to be on' even though it was really fuckin' bright out. I instinctively punch the dash in the spot with the light knob when it's dark out and I expect to have my lights on, but when it's bright (albeit overcast), I don't. So they stay on. After an hour, which should barely put a dent in the battery, battery is toast.
So my friend and I try to jump her, but it won't work. It was very weird, however. As soon as he connected the wires, the wipers and the interior lights came on, but the starter wouldn't even crank, even when he revved his car.
So he gives me a ride home, and I end up having to take the CR-V to the SAT II tests this morning. I know my mom digs it, but seriously, I don't like driving trucks at all. Too cramped and high-up, not to mention, overly sensitive pedals.
Then I head back to work, this time with my dad in the Mazda. We bring his little battery-charger jump-start thing, which is a little battery that you start your car off of. We get the boat running with that, although she really wants to stall. Despite being only a 307, and having a real muffler designed for quiet, not glasspacks, it's still roars. I kinda dig the sound of it. It's nothing like those punk kids in their lil' Jap four-bangers. It's quieter, but it's very low, and it's not a screaming sound, it's a whooshing sound, like a lot of air moving very fast. Not to mention, there are fuckin' hurricane winds in the engine compartment. With all the fans and stuff, looking into the engine compartment when she's running is like sticking your face directly in front of a fan.
Well, she makes it home alright. On the way to work tonight, I needed to jump her with the little battery thing. Got there, and needed to do it again to get home.
It's a very unsettling feeling. The engine won't even crank, there's no noise at all. However, on the way home, the motor did crank for a few seconds before needing to get jumped.
Well, anyway, I'm thinking it might be time to invest in a new battery.'
The problem is that I'm still not ready to daily drive the Maxima, being that I can't hill start for shit, yet. However, in the near future, I do intend on replacing the boat and saying a temporary goodbye to owning a carbureted GM V8 until I buy my project car in a few years, at which point, I will again have a V8, unless I manage to get my grubby meathooks onto an '87 gnX or a Grand National in general. I would give up V8s forever for that ass-kicking, name-taking, completely badass 3.8L V6. Interesting bit of trivia - My car has the same transmission as the Grand National, the Turbo-Hydramatic 200-4R.
Anyway, because of that, I don't want to go all out high-tech fancy battery.
I was told to go to Walmart and buy the best battery they got, because it will be cheap and they have a 4 year warranty.
Comments? Suggestions?
Also, while I'm bitching about the Boat, can I recieve some enlightenment about how A/C systems work?
Directly across from the Alternator, also connected to the crankshaft with a belt, is this little cylindrical thing with metal hoses coming into it. When I turn on the A/C, it looks like it tries to spin, but the belts keep slipping so it doesn't move, only makes a really loud noise. How do I fix it?
Also, is there a specific kind of air filter I should get? The current one is pretty beat.
Also, how do I check to make sure that the coolant is flowing?
The big rubber hose going to the radiator seems to not have a lot of pressure in it. I can squeeze it and it gives.
A book about a semi-nerdy kid who buys a 20 year old car from an old dude, a red and white Plymouth Fury, and fixes it up.
I'm semi-nerdy. I bought a 20 year old car from an old dude. It's red and white (and brown).
Anyway, there are enough similarities between Christine and Das Boat that it's kinda eerie.
So, on Friday, I take the boat to work. I have the lights on, because of that retarded 'if your wipers are on your lights need to be on' even though it was really fuckin' bright out. I instinctively punch the dash in the spot with the light knob when it's dark out and I expect to have my lights on, but when it's bright (albeit overcast), I don't. So they stay on. After an hour, which should barely put a dent in the battery, battery is toast.
So my friend and I try to jump her, but it won't work. It was very weird, however. As soon as he connected the wires, the wipers and the interior lights came on, but the starter wouldn't even crank, even when he revved his car.
So he gives me a ride home, and I end up having to take the CR-V to the SAT II tests this morning. I know my mom digs it, but seriously, I don't like driving trucks at all. Too cramped and high-up, not to mention, overly sensitive pedals.
Then I head back to work, this time with my dad in the Mazda. We bring his little battery-charger jump-start thing, which is a little battery that you start your car off of. We get the boat running with that, although she really wants to stall. Despite being only a 307, and having a real muffler designed for quiet, not glasspacks, it's still roars. I kinda dig the sound of it. It's nothing like those punk kids in their lil' Jap four-bangers. It's quieter, but it's very low, and it's not a screaming sound, it's a whooshing sound, like a lot of air moving very fast. Not to mention, there are fuckin' hurricane winds in the engine compartment. With all the fans and stuff, looking into the engine compartment when she's running is like sticking your face directly in front of a fan.
Well, she makes it home alright. On the way to work tonight, I needed to jump her with the little battery thing. Got there, and needed to do it again to get home.
It's a very unsettling feeling. The engine won't even crank, there's no noise at all. However, on the way home, the motor did crank for a few seconds before needing to get jumped.
Well, anyway, I'm thinking it might be time to invest in a new battery.'
The problem is that I'm still not ready to daily drive the Maxima, being that I can't hill start for shit, yet. However, in the near future, I do intend on replacing the boat and saying a temporary goodbye to owning a carbureted GM V8 until I buy my project car in a few years, at which point, I will again have a V8, unless I manage to get my grubby meathooks onto an '87 gnX or a Grand National in general. I would give up V8s forever for that ass-kicking, name-taking, completely badass 3.8L V6. Interesting bit of trivia - My car has the same transmission as the Grand National, the Turbo-Hydramatic 200-4R.
Anyway, because of that, I don't want to go all out high-tech fancy battery.
I was told to go to Walmart and buy the best battery they got, because it will be cheap and they have a 4 year warranty.
Comments? Suggestions?
Also, while I'm bitching about the Boat, can I recieve some enlightenment about how A/C systems work?
Directly across from the Alternator, also connected to the crankshaft with a belt, is this little cylindrical thing with metal hoses coming into it. When I turn on the A/C, it looks like it tries to spin, but the belts keep slipping so it doesn't move, only makes a really loud noise. How do I fix it?
Also, is there a specific kind of air filter I should get? The current one is pretty beat.
Also, how do I check to make sure that the coolant is flowing?
The big rubber hose going to the radiator seems to not have a lot of pressure in it. I can squeeze it and it gives.
Inkara1
Well-Known Member
1) How old is the battery in there now? Sometimes a battery will have circles removable from the label to indicate the month and year it was purchased.
2) Is everything OK with the starter solenoid?
3) That "cylindrical thing" is the A/C compressor. That's what compresses the freon; your A/C won't cool for shit without it. It sounds like it's frozen up and will probably need either replacemnt or expensive repairs. In other words, unless you've got some money sitting around, your car will not have A/C. Trying to run it will engage the clutch to make the compressor run, but since the thing won't spin, the belt slips and makes a shitload of noise; the more it does that, the smoother the underside of the belt gets and the less it will grip the pulleys.
4) If you want more performance, you should be able to find a K&N air filter for it, which flows more and is reusable... but costs $40-$50. If you're not keeping it around too much longer, a standard filter will be OK. Just tell the guy at the parts counter what kind of car you've got, or look it up in the book by the filters, or whatever way they have to look it up.
5) It's normal for the top hose to the radiator to be squeezable. The bottom hose has a spring in it to keep it from collapsing. If the car's not overheating, you can assume the coolant is circulating fine.
2) Is everything OK with the starter solenoid?
3) That "cylindrical thing" is the A/C compressor. That's what compresses the freon; your A/C won't cool for shit without it. It sounds like it's frozen up and will probably need either replacemnt or expensive repairs. In other words, unless you've got some money sitting around, your car will not have A/C. Trying to run it will engage the clutch to make the compressor run, but since the thing won't spin, the belt slips and makes a shitload of noise; the more it does that, the smoother the underside of the belt gets and the less it will grip the pulleys.
4) If you want more performance, you should be able to find a K&N air filter for it, which flows more and is reusable... but costs $40-$50. If you're not keeping it around too much longer, a standard filter will be OK. Just tell the guy at the parts counter what kind of car you've got, or look it up in the book by the filters, or whatever way they have to look it up.
5) It's normal for the top hose to the radiator to be squeezable. The bottom hose has a spring in it to keep it from collapsing. If the car's not overheating, you can assume the coolant is circulating fine.
Professur
Well-Known Member
1: try a scrap yard. They pull good batteries from scrappers and sell them cheap.
2: Didn't you just have the electrical system looked at? their report should include a status of the battery. But ... if I recall, you had the alt changed. Often a failing alt with cause sulfates to form in the battery. I've changed an alt without changing the battery, but only because I knew that the alt died fast. If yours just wore out slowly, odds are it took the battery south with it. And I'd not be too pleased with the garage that did your work for not catching it.
3: is it a serpentine belt? Are there other things on that belt? How's the belt tension. There's a clutch in the ac compressor that engages when you switch the ac on. Suddenly the weight of the compressor is added to the belt. If it's loose or glazed, it'll slip instead of turning the pulley. Just like when your power steering belt slips when you turn the wheel, but doesn't when you're going straight.
4: Your old filter is a ring. Take it out and either hold a work lamp (60 watt bulb) in the middle, or hold it up to the sun on a bright day. If you can see light through it, it's still good. Unless there's obvious deposits on the surface. Just ask at the counter of your autoparts shop for the right one for your car.
5: The hoses shouldn't crush. Ever. Unless you're a freaking gorilla. If you can crush the hose, it's worn out, and is a liability. Even when the outside still looks good, it's being eaten away from the inside. And don't forget to check the skinny hoses for the heater too. If any one of them fails, you've got hot Prestone pissing all over your engine, and none running through it. And you get to be the freak show at today's road side carnival.
The top hose is the return. When you first start the car, you won't see or feel any coolant flow because it's blocked by the thermostat. The thermostat housing is right where the top coolant hose meets the engine. Once the car warms up, the thermostat will (should) open. Then you'll feel the top hose heat up in a hurry.
BTW, I'm glad to see questions like this. Too damn many people just drive a car like a bic lighter. Either it works, or it doesn't. Asking the questions here means that you've a good idea what might be a problem before you go to the mechanic. A little knowledge on your part is usually enough to prevent bullshit charges. And there's still no winklegromet in the engine yet, and they don't cost more than 9.99 anyways.
2: Didn't you just have the electrical system looked at? their report should include a status of the battery. But ... if I recall, you had the alt changed. Often a failing alt with cause sulfates to form in the battery. I've changed an alt without changing the battery, but only because I knew that the alt died fast. If yours just wore out slowly, odds are it took the battery south with it. And I'd not be too pleased with the garage that did your work for not catching it.
3: is it a serpentine belt? Are there other things on that belt? How's the belt tension. There's a clutch in the ac compressor that engages when you switch the ac on. Suddenly the weight of the compressor is added to the belt. If it's loose or glazed, it'll slip instead of turning the pulley. Just like when your power steering belt slips when you turn the wheel, but doesn't when you're going straight.
4: Your old filter is a ring. Take it out and either hold a work lamp (60 watt bulb) in the middle, or hold it up to the sun on a bright day. If you can see light through it, it's still good. Unless there's obvious deposits on the surface. Just ask at the counter of your autoparts shop for the right one for your car.
5: The hoses shouldn't crush. Ever. Unless you're a freaking gorilla. If you can crush the hose, it's worn out, and is a liability. Even when the outside still looks good, it's being eaten away from the inside. And don't forget to check the skinny hoses for the heater too. If any one of them fails, you've got hot Prestone pissing all over your engine, and none running through it. And you get to be the freak show at today's road side carnival.
The top hose is the return. When you first start the car, you won't see or feel any coolant flow because it's blocked by the thermostat. The thermostat housing is right where the top coolant hose meets the engine. Once the car warms up, the thermostat will (should) open. Then you'll feel the top hose heat up in a hurry.
BTW, I'm glad to see questions like this. Too damn many people just drive a car like a bic lighter. Either it works, or it doesn't. Asking the questions here means that you've a good idea what might be a problem before you go to the mechanic. A little knowledge on your part is usually enough to prevent bullshit charges. And there's still no winklegromet in the engine yet, and they don't cost more than 9.99 anyways.
Inkara1
Well-Known Member
Not the cops, no... but she put them in their place if I remember right. Then, when I was in high school, my band director bought a Mustang from the same dealer, and did a TV commercial for them... he looked at me weird when I told him never to take the car to the service department there.
Altron
Well-Known Member
As I recall, they were like "Well, your alternator is broken. We can install a new one for about $200..."
The dude I got it from said that the compressor was pretty new. Being Janurary, I didn't try it out until recently.
I believe that the starter is fine, it cranks it nicely once the booster is hooked up.
Not really interested in a high-performance filter.
I believe that the water pump? is on the belt.
There are six things in the front.
The crankshaft.
The cam.
The alternator.
The fan.
The compressor.
What looks to be the water pump.
There's a belt between the camshaft and the crankshaft (I think it's a belt, he mentioned something about the timing chain when I bought it.)
Another with the fan and alternator.
And one that connects the pump and the compressor, and maybe something else to the crankshaft.
I consulted Consumer Reports, and they really dug the Walmart Everstart batteries, which are cheap, like $60 vs. $100 for some other brands. Not the best in lifespan, but lots of cold-cranking-amps and power reserve. If I had some wimpy four-banger I would get a long life battery, but I got a 307, and it wants POWER!
I believe the battery is about two years old, but it's never been that amazing. It also appears to be a decent amount smaller than the battery clamp was designed for, there are cut sections of rubber hose to fit between the battery and the clamp.
My uncle will be here on Wednesday, so he can help me check the hoses. The 307 is a fair amount smaller than the 1,400hp 4,000 ft lb (at 10,000 feet elevation) 18 liter inline 6 diesel he's used to working on, but I don't think he will mind.
The dude I got it from said that the compressor was pretty new. Being Janurary, I didn't try it out until recently.
I believe that the starter is fine, it cranks it nicely once the booster is hooked up.
Not really interested in a high-performance filter.
I believe that the water pump? is on the belt.
There are six things in the front.
The crankshaft.
The cam.
The alternator.
The fan.
The compressor.
What looks to be the water pump.
There's a belt between the camshaft and the crankshaft (I think it's a belt, he mentioned something about the timing chain when I bought it.)
Another with the fan and alternator.
And one that connects the pump and the compressor, and maybe something else to the crankshaft.
I consulted Consumer Reports, and they really dug the Walmart Everstart batteries, which are cheap, like $60 vs. $100 for some other brands. Not the best in lifespan, but lots of cold-cranking-amps and power reserve. If I had some wimpy four-banger I would get a long life battery, but I got a 307, and it wants POWER!
I believe the battery is about two years old, but it's never been that amazing. It also appears to be a decent amount smaller than the battery clamp was designed for, there are cut sections of rubber hose to fit between the battery and the clamp.
My uncle will be here on Wednesday, so he can help me check the hoses. The 307 is a fair amount smaller than the 1,400hp 4,000 ft lb (at 10,000 feet elevation) 18 liter inline 6 diesel he's used to working on, but I don't think he will mind.
chcr
Too cute for words
The AC compessor draw more power than anything else connected to the engine. Make sure the belt is in good condition and very tight. It sounds like it's trying to turn and the belt doesn't have enough purchase. Did you notice any belt slipping noises when you ran your defroster this winter. The AC compressor on most cars runs when your defroster is on to dehumidify incoming air. Every GM car I've ever owned did.
Re. the battery, like prof says, an alternator going out can take a battery with it.
Re. the battery, like prof says, an alternator going out can take a battery with it.
Professur
Well-Known Member
Altron said:
Yeah, that's what I figured. With a serpentine belt, there's an auto tensioner, so your tension is always right (until the tensioner dies) but with your setup, each belt has it's own tensioner. You'll probably find that the AC unit has a slotted bracket, allowing it to be pulled to tighten the belt up some. Probably, it wasn't tightened properly when they changed out the alt.
If you've got a mechanic coming, wait on him, for sure. But do yourself a favour, and go buy the Hayes/Chilton manual for your car. Even if you're not gonna keep it long. I make a point of buying one for every car I own. If nothing else, it gives you where to find stuff in the engine compartment.
As for batteries .... actually, if you keep your oil fresh, a V8 can start easier than a 4 banger. Since you've got 8 chances per revolution to 'catch' a cylinder as opposed to 4. In winter, downgrade your oil one grade. 10w30 goes to 5w30. Makes for easier starts. Don't do this with newer engines tho. They don't have the tolerances the old ones did. Some new engines will actually not be able to pass 10w30 at all, even in summer.
chcr
Too cute for words
There is no belt that runs the camshaft, It's a pushrod V-8. The timing chain is behind a cover. You can't see it without disassembling the front of the motor so whatever you're looking at isn't the camshaft. Typically only overhead cam (non-pushrod) engines have timing belts (and not even all of them) and they are generally behind a cover as well.
but prof is right. 10 bucks that will save you hundreds.
If you prefer, you can do yourself a favor instead
but prof is right. 10 bucks that will save you hundreds.
Altron
Well-Known Member
I have the Oldsmobile shop manual, just not next to the computer.
I probably got mixed up with the fan belt. The fan is right in front of the camshaft (or at least where the camshaft is in most diagrams, directly above the crankshaft at the point where the V comes together), and there is definetly a belt running between there and the crankshaft.
The alt is on the opposite side of the engine, completely different belt.
I probably got mixed up with the fan belt. The fan is right in front of the camshaft (or at least where the camshaft is in most diagrams, directly above the crankshaft at the point where the V comes together), and there is definetly a belt running between there and the crankshaft.
The alt is on the opposite side of the engine, completely different belt.