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You can drill/grind the rivets out and then use small machine screws & nuts to hold it back together. I think I used 8-32 or 6-40.
I can't remember exactly what the different sway bar sizes are. And I'm lately being plagued with 'misremembering' stuff. I will have a clear memory of a fact or piece of data...
That is completely wrong. It's starting to drive me nuts.
Testing the fans isn't all that hard. Pulling them isn't either.
Pulling the radiator and flushing it out is likely a good idea. Maybe even take it to a decent radiator shop and have it properly cleaned out.
Yeah, when it's one thing after another after another after another, it gets more than just a little bit discouraging.
But, keep in mind that everything you fix right is not likely to break for at least a while, right?
So the more you do, the less there will be to do in the future (I keep telling myself that).
Fans are running good, I could hear them when I got home in the garage. Car performed fine driving home, mid 70*F outside, it started to climb a hair on the offramp sitting, but never hit the second white mark on gauge.
I have an AWESOME radiator guy 2 miles from the house. Old School guy that actually fixes brass ones still.
True about things fixed. I got lot of leaks showing up now that she has fresh fluids at full pressure pumping thru her. DOH.
Front swaybar - bushings are being a %&*@$ They do not want to fit in the clamps and bolt up to the mount. Cooling - I think I mentioned that it had overflowed on us in the driveway.
Check your swaybar again...you said 25mm, but it is probably 25.5mm. Although, depending on what the car was originally fitted with, the PO could have fit either a 23mm, 24mm, or 26.8 mm bar. Regarding your bushing issue, are you having difficulty getting the C clamp, once over the bushing, mounted to the vertical bracket? If so, instead of trying to squish the C clamp together and then bolting to the bracket, try sandwiching the bracket between the C clamp ears...that will give you an extra mm, or so.
After the car puked coolant in your driveway, did you burp/bleed the coolant system, multiple times, and install a factory expansion tank cap?
Check your swaybar again...you said 25mm, but it is probably 25.5mm. Although, depending on what the car was originally fitted with, the PO could have fit either a 23mm, 24mm, or 26.8 mm bar. Regarding your bushing issue, are you having difficulty getting the C clamp, once over the bushing, mounted to the vertical bracket? If so, instead of trying to squish the C clamp together and then bolting to the bracket, try sandwiching the bracket between the C clamp ears...that will give you an extra mm, or so.
After the car puked coolant in your driveway, did you burp/bleed the coolant system, multiple times, and install a factory expansion tank cap?
I do have 25.5mm and bought that size bushings. you nailed what it was doing completely. To me it seems just too much friction so the bushing sticking to clamp. I tried soapy water, but did not have enough soap in it. I plan to use form bushing lube and try again and will keep the sandwiching of the mount in mind as well.
I did not do a big purge and burp, I found that the cap was bad so I topped off the tank, put a good cap on it and have run it a number of times, it pulled coolant back in, so I will keep doing that and watching it as well as a few hard highway runs.
Now I have issues with the steering rack. It did not leak bad when we bought it. It had fluid in the res, but I topped it off last week and now it is puking all over the place. So much that I cannot tell if it is the rack, lines or pump, or all of them. Almost certain the pump and lines are leaking as there is oil on the pump itself, and fully expect the lines to be bad.
Based on all the horror stories, At this point I have started down the line to depower it. I have been told 4 different ways, to do it, and at this point the stories don't add up and I am left wondering what to believe. I have heard people say options 1&2 are best, better than manual rack, but I do not buy it?
Depower by just pulling the belt - had a few said they did this and it is fine. This is how far I have gone so far and no, it is not fine, fighting the fluid/pump system, classic failed power steering feel of needing to hulk out trying to park.
Depower by drain all fluid out and pull belt. - I would think this would be better than 1, but still have seals in there and fighting air instead of oil?
Depower by drain, pull belt and connect lines between left/right side - This makes some sense as it would equalize air on each side of piston, but where to get the lines to link sides..?
Full monty tear down, remove piston/seals and grease up - To me the most complete and "proper" option for depowering, labor intensive, but otherwise cheap.
So the question is, who has done any of these options and how was it? How does it compare to a OEM manual rack? I have driven my share of manuals, and usually the manual racks have different ratios to offset the lack of power assist, but those racks seem impossible to find, at the same time I do not want to be constantly replacing fluid and having a system leaking oil every day.
Or are the stories of power steering always leaking overblown?
I did not do a big purge and burp, I found that the cap was bad so I topped off the tank, put a good cap on it and have run it a number of times, it pulled coolant back in, so I will keep doing that and watching it as well as a few hard highway runs.
When I filled mine I heard that the best method is to use a cooling system pressure tester to pressurize the tank and force fluid through the lines. I came up with a $0.00 DIY solution using an air pump for inflating toys and a champagne cork that fit into the tank opening:
I haven't driven the car yet (project ongoing) so take this with a grain of salt, but it did seem to work great at pushing a lot of fluid into the system. I had to refill the tank a couple times while pumping before coolant came out the bleeder screw. May be worth a try.
Originally Posted by lamrith
Now I have issues with the steering rack. It did not leak bad when we bought it. It had fluid in the res, but I topped it off last week and now it is puking all over the place. So much that I cannot tell if it is the rack, lines or pump, or all of them. Almost certain the pump and lines are leaking as there is oil on the pump itself, and fully expect the lines to be bad.
Did you use the right fluid? I think it should be Dexron III ATF (non-synthetic). Might be related to your sudden leaks if you used something else.
I don't have a lot of experience here but as I mentioned in my thread on replacing the lines, I think I'd try to keep the power steering intact if economically feasible. Hoses are cheap and easy, and Paragon sells a rebuild kit for the power steering pump for $20 which sounds pretty easy to install. If the rack is leaking that's trickier - kits are available but I'm not sure what the success rate is for DIY reseals. I've heard of some parts store chains selling steering racks with lifetime warranties, which sounds worthwhile. I hear you should replace the reservoir too when replacing the rack... something to do with a filter in it that can contaminate a new rack.
...Or are the stories of power steering always leaking overblown?
imo yes they are overblown probably due to incomplete maintenance or repair. If it’s sealed correctly and new lines and reservoir fitted after a reseal, they will last a long time. The original rack, on the 944 I bought new in 86, lasted over 150k miles before I needed to reseal it. I did the lines and reservoir at the same time and it’s still good, car is 30yo+ now and 235k miles. Only possibility is a pitted or worn rack shaft that could make short life of new seals, easy to check when you have it apart though.
Only viable alternative is a manual rack which is what I have on one of my other cars. If you have any doubt there was a good write up on Pelican recently.
More miles on the car, wife and I have both driven it to work. I drove it like a stolen porsche, well not quitee, but I enjoyed every rpm of that engine singing it's way down the road.
Good news:
Put a set of Cooper C5S on the car and it runs smooth as silk on the freeway all the way thru 80mph. I was concerned the front shocks were gone, but they are running nice and smooth once the tires wre properly balanced.
95% sure it is not the steering rack that is leaking. Dawned on me that it was "real oil" leaking on the floor, not steering fluid. Sp we will keep the power steering, no drama with son trying to park at school, etc.
Bad new:
There is a significant oil leak coming from the passenger front corner above/behind the power steering pump. I fired the car up on jackstands and got under it with a flashlight/ No issues for a long time till I revved it up a few times, held 2 rpm for 30 seconds and generally got her fully up to temp, then a drip started. It is not the filter, the port under the filter or the pressure sensor. 95% sure it is not the relief because the lip under the relief stays dry, however the oil is coming out ontop of and from under the bracket below the relief. It is the bracket that links the power steering bracket and the block from the looks of it? Is there a good place to get a breakdown or exploded view of that part of the engine so I can see what is over there and formulate a plan?
My gut is telling me it is the Oil cooler gasket? Item #28 in this picture. Is that common to be leaking? I am tempted to remove the L shaped bracket the oils is flowing around and check again with the car running.
I would get a mechanical oil pressure gauge and put it where the sending unit plugs in. Get a real oil pressure reading and verify things are good and then diagnose the sending unit and wiring.
Originally Posted by lamrith
My gut is telling me it is the Oil cooler gasket? Item #28 in this picture. Is that common to be leaking? I am tempted to remove the L shaped bracket the oils is flowing around and check again with the car running.
most likely oil cooler so change it out and put in fresh coolant and oil again if you havent already. Pop the bottom radiator hose off to drain system instead of opening or unscrewing that blue plastic pos drain plug. It will break off or strip every time leaving you without a radiator.
use dexcool and just change it every 5 years or so. Works well. Flush system with a hose about six times. Forget about using distilled water. Mix half dexcool and half water or buy 50/50. Replace thermo fan switch in radiator and thermostat and all hoses while coolant is empty or you will have to do it all again next year. Hand tighten with gloves on it with seal on or it will strip and leave you once again without a radiator
Burp the coolant daily for about 3 weeks til your hot cold guage sits at the right spot. Then burp it again for another week
See utube or clarks garage for help and hints here. its messy. Buy a brand new radiator cap Every couple years.
Other issues you will have that I had on my 89.
I drove it without power steering for 10 years just let the reservoir drain itself out and rack worked fine for me. Cost zero dolars.
Replaced passenger rubber bushing on sway bar about 3 times due to oil leaking onto it. Buy the blue racing bushings if you can find them and they last forever without rotting from oil drips and oil will always drip on this thing for whatever reason
Fix control arms with balljointkits for 40.00 a piece. This does more for stability than shocks and is dangerous if it falls apart. Also doesnt require alignments to put back together
Unhook all the brake pad sensors and just leave them off. They constantly cause issues and not worth the headache. When your brakes are bad you will hear them and if you replace them all They will last 100,000 miles. Get ceramics. Dont buy drilled and slotted rotors cuz they wear down pads unnecessarily. Just get stock rotors
dont bother replacing front shocks they are like 300 a piece up front and then you need to align. My new right shock blew oil all over 3 months later and so I drove it 10 years that way. Waste of money you can live without. These cars ride smooth enough with 30 year old shocks
instead buy new konis and put them on back only. Replacement time is about 30 mins and it stabilizes the car well enough
definitely change brake pads rotors and bearings. Its time for new bearings for sure. Front definitely. Back not so much
Does it need a clutch? Or is it still using rubber disk from factory? Also if its an automatic..... surprise! its using the rubber clutch disk that the manual uses. Part will cost you 1100.00 easy plus 4 weeks of removing and draining every system and part on the car to change it out. I have done it on three cars myself and it will test your patience and frustration levels
interior windows and door handles remove the panels and spray them down with wd 40 and lithium greese. In fact spray everything that moves with wd40 or lithium as a first attempt. It will usually fix the issue haha
dont ever ever hit the trip meter button ever just dont. If your odometer is still working then dont touch it. When it stops working forget about it. Theres a 30 cent plastic part that breaks and takes 6 hours to get into the box to replace it and get it all back together only then it may sometimes start working again.
Same with clock 30 cent part and 6 hours later it still wont work. Forget about the clock
headlights. Unhook the wiring on the front headlight motor and spin the motor manually on top til lights are up all the way. Then just leave them up. Switch will turn them on and off like normal but they just stay up always. I did this on one of mine for years. Again zero cost. Someday when you are bored read the fixes on clarks garage or buy a new motor and relays and switch for dash and replace it all.
only put one new shock on rear hatch on one side, and it will save your glass from popping off the metal surround
if windshield is cracked in passenger lower corner its from replacing the hood shocks so dont replace the hood shock on that side. Only replace it on drivers side. One will hold it up. Also leave windshield cracked if that is where its cracked. It will just crack again due to poor design when replacing shocks
re route battery cable 4 guage to rear quarter panel and hook it there. Ground it close by to body there. Put in a redtop battery so it can lay in there sideways without leaking then spray flex seal all over the battery tray area up front except over the drain hole and forget about it. The battery sitting there in winter will freeze every time and leak and rust. Redtops dont leak and if inside the car will not freeze. I re routed two of mine this way and never had issues again.
Have fuel filter changed at a shop that makes hoses like ac or power steering hoses. Those hoses or so old they will split and leave you staring at a broken fuel line you cant fix. Pay the 30.00 at a shop and have them change out the fuel filter
engine transmission drivetrain all will last forever just dont push them too hard. 10w-40 or higher synthetic always
Its just these quirky things you have to watch out for or like they say you will end up 4 or 5k more into this thing when you dont need to be.
So we are possibly making the move to replace the passenger fender. What do you folks use to reseal the new fender or replace all that heavy thick undercoating you have to cut out to get the original fender off? Can I literally use spray in bedliner?
If you are going to replace the fender, you will have to unbolt all all the bolts you can find. Then, with a heat gun, putty knife, and a hammer attack the metal joint where the bolts used to live..There are a couple of rogue ones near the front of the door. After about 30-45 minutes+ of scraping and heating the undercoat the fender will fall off and hit you in the head. UNLESS you have #2 son standing nearby to catch it.. Ask me how I know..no don't LOL! Depending on where you live, see if you can find WURTH grey undercoating. They use a WURTH seam sealer all over the bottom of the car. If you want to use the bedliner, get the brush-on or roll on variety. They used grey in the wheel wells and beige for the seam sealer under the car. Some undercoats that are the spray-on type, wash off in snow/salt and ice slush. Apply it on THICK. If it's a rear fender..you'll have to take it to a body shop..those are welded on. I've been working on my '83 for 5+ years now. Pulled it out of a field where it sat for 10+ years and went to work on it. Almost ready to start putting the major components back n..More invested than the car will ever be worth...Just glad it's not a '28 Packard or some such..when you start hunting for parts.
This is a front fender, passenger side (US). I stumbled on a '87 in local wrecking yard with a clean fender, so going down tomorrow to remove that one. Figured start with the thrashed one on my car 1st, can't hurt it any worse. We got the fender off lastnight, a few youtube videos, a razor knife and it came out with minimal hassle overall. Razor knife I found was key to getting thru the coating. I got all the bolts removed, then used knife to cut along entire seam under the fender, thick areas I made a few passes. We used no heat at all. Then I moved up top and used blade between the fender and body from the engine bay side. After that I started at the corner just behind headlight and lifted/pulled them apart, once it started to come it separated pretty evenly and suddenly I had the fender off in my hands.
Now I am pre-planning for a way to seal it back up when I put the new one on, Thanks Tiger!
most likely oil cooler so change it out and put in fresh coolant and oil again if you havent already. Pop the bottom radiator hose off to drain system instead of opening or unscrewing that blue plastic pos drain plug. It will break off or strip every time leaving you without a radiator.
use dexcool and just change it every 5 years or so. Works well. Flush system with a hose about six times. Forget about using distilled water. Mix half dexcool and half water or buy 50/50. Replace thermo fan switch in radiator and thermostat and all hoses while coolant is empty or you will have to do it all again next year. Hand tighten with gloves on it with seal on or it will strip and leave you once again without a radiator
Burp the coolant daily for about 3 weeks til your hot cold guage sits at the right spot. Then burp it again for another week
See utube or clarks garage for help and hints here. its messy. Buy a brand new radiator cap Every couple years.
Other issues you will have that I had on my 89.
I drove it without power steering for 10 years just let the reservoir drain itself out and rack worked fine for me. Cost zero dolars.
Replaced passenger rubber bushing on sway bar about 3 times due to oil leaking onto it. Buy the blue racing bushings if you can find them and they last forever without rotting from oil drips and oil will always drip on this thing for whatever reason
Fix control arms with balljointkits for 40.00 a piece. This does more for stability than shocks and is dangerous if it falls apart. Also doesnt require alignments to put back together
Unhook all the brake pad sensors and just leave them off. They constantly cause issues and not worth the headache. When your brakes are bad you will hear them and if you replace them all They will last 100,000 miles. Get ceramics. Dont buy drilled and slotted rotors cuz they wear down pads unnecessarily. Just get stock rotors
dont bother replacing front shocks they are like 300 a piece up front and then you need to align. My new right shock blew oil all over 3 months later and so I drove it 10 years that way. Waste of money you can live without. These cars ride smooth enough with 30 year old shocks
instead buy new konis and put them on back only. Replacement time is about 30 mins and it stabilizes the car well enough
definitely change brake pads rotors and bearings. Its time for new bearings for sure. Front definitely. Back not so much
Does it need a clutch? Or is it still using rubber disk from factory? Also if its an automatic..... surprise! its using the rubber clutch disk that the manual uses. Part will cost you 1100.00 easy plus 4 weeks of removing and draining every system and part on the car to change it out. I have done it on three cars myself and it will test your patience and frustration levels
interior windows and door handles remove the panels and spray them down with wd 40 and lithium greese. In fact spray everything that moves with wd40 or lithium as a first attempt. It will usually fix the issue haha
dont ever ever hit the trip meter button ever just dont. If your odometer is still working then dont touch it. When it stops working forget about it. Theres a 30 cent plastic part that breaks and takes 6 hours to get into the box to replace it and get it all back together only then it may sometimes start working again.
Same with clock 30 cent part and 6 hours later it still wont work. Forget about the clock
headlights. Unhook the wiring on the front headlight motor and spin the motor manually on top til lights are up all the way. Then just leave them up. Switch will turn them on and off like normal but they just stay up always. I did this on one of mine for years. Again zero cost. Someday when you are bored read the fixes on clarks garage or buy a new motor and relays and switch for dash and replace it all.
only put one new shock on rear hatch on one side, and it will save your glass from popping off the metal surround
if windshield is cracked in passenger lower corner its from replacing the hood shocks so dont replace the hood shock on that side. Only replace it on drivers side. One will hold it up. Also leave windshield cracked if that is where its cracked. It will just crack again due to poor design when replacing shocks
re route battery cable 4 guage to rear quarter panel and hook it there. Ground it close by to body there. Put in a redtop battery so it can lay in there sideways without leaking then spray flex seal all over the battery tray area up front except over the drain hole and forget about it. The battery sitting there in winter will freeze every time and leak and rust. Redtops dont leak and if inside the car will not freeze. I re routed two of mine this way and never had issues again.
Have fuel filter changed at a shop that makes hoses like ac or power steering hoses. Those hoses or so old they will split and leave you staring at a broken fuel line you cant fix. Pay the 30.00 at a shop and have them change out the fuel filter
engine transmission drivetrain all will last forever just dont push them too hard. 10w-40 or higher synthetic always
Its just these quirky things you have to watch out for or like they say you will end up 4 or 5k more into this thing when you dont need to be.
08-27-2018, 11:36 PM
