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man on the moon

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Everything posted by man on the moon

  1. Spare light bulbs for each light are small, and useful. A mixed handful of fuses of varying sizes and amperage are good, too. Relays, etc. All that sort of thing can fit in one or two little film canister/big pill bottle type thing; toss them in the glove box and you're good to go. Also missing from the list: duct-tape. I wrap it around water bottles, lighters, etc. It is fairly easy to put 4-6 feet around a nalgene, and comes in VERY handy. I have no big parts to add to the list, and second all that are there.
  2. I have a special tool for this...my thumb . Once the belt is on, lift (or press, depending which belt you're doing) the tensioner with a couple fingers until it's tight. Check that the cam marks are still aligned. Check that the opposite side of the belt has almost no slack (you can push a bit) and that it can't skip teeth on the cam. Tighten the tensioners. Sometimes you have to re-adjust the belt on the cam two or three times; I usually put it off by a tooth or so and it shifts into position when I tension the belt. I've also used a screwdriver or long crescent wrench to hold the tensioner pulley while tightening. As long as the belt has no play (ok, no more than 1/16-1/8 inch or so) and all the marks line up, you should be ok. Check the flywheel, too, if you didn't lock it in place prior to tensioning.
  3. No. And if HG is all you're doing, it can be done with the motor in the car, no need to pull it unless you really want to. The one valve cover bolt at the back of the driver side cover (by the disty) is a pain in the butt, but a little patience and a long wrench will do it. You will have to line things up to put the timing belts on, but it's quite clearly marked and relatively simple compared to some cars.
  4. When considering a question like this, I try to remember that "can the car do this?" is the wrong question to ask. The correct question to ask is "can the car do this when things go wrong?" I'm pretty sure my back hair is still stuck in the seat of my college roommate's Ford half-ton pickup. The rear differential went out while coming down a steep grade in the rain, in a construction zone, at night, pulling a big trailer full of canoes. It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it ended happily (or at least with everyone alive) because we were in a vehicle big enough to handle things going wrong. We may or may not also be responsible for the faint ammonia-like smell in the cabin of that truck... It's not enough to move the load, you have to control it when it all hits the fan, and as others have said, a Loyale can pull, but will simply not be able to counteract the trailer if you get into wind, slick roads, or are passed to closely by a big-rig on the highway.
  5. There should be a small pulley bolted to the engine block that is a tensioner for the inner belt, the outer one only tensions with the alternator. You can run the entire set-up with one single belt until you figure the whole thing out, just don't turn the a/c on (the second belt helps reduce the load when the a/c is on).
  6. If you can find a really skinny drill bit or something similar, you may be able to gently tap your punch out from the far side, as well. I recommend using something too skinny to jam, as it may break off...(and do be gentle, tug on the stuck part with another tool if needed). Glad it came out! Been there, done that, would be happy to never deal with it again. PS--If it doesn't come out by either method, use bad words, that seems to help.
  7. The temp gauge is at the top of the motor, near the intake manifold. The one for the gauge, anyway. If you get more than a little low it will read cold, even when you are running the car around. The coolant will expand some, so just a cup or two low won't show up much on the gauge. You can't run long without coolant, though, unless it's really cold outside. Low coolant in cool temps will "work", but no coolant or too low is really bad. The car will start lugging, chugging, lose power, and the motor will shut down.
  8. Yes, the picture is there now! You mention it is on the backside of the motor, but there are pulleys in the picture that should be on the front end, near the bumper. Was there a pipe resting across and melting the plastic? Or did it just melt on its own?
  9. Were you meaning to include a picture with that? Your post is not descriptive enough to give me any idea what your question is referring to.
  10. I would recommend grabbing the following: Fuel Pump Distributor Axles (if you have space) Radiator (if you have space, and doesn't need to be rodded) The fuel injector and battery may prove useful at some point, the battery more-so. The spare tire. Dash and seat/interior parts that may be in better shape than the 'new' one, if applicable. I also recommend just biting the bullet and doing a full engine reseal. You will wish later you did.
  11. Don't open up any A/C bits. There are a few bolts holding it down, but none require opening the system--just contorting your wrist/elbow/body to get to the bottom ones. Once undone the whole thing will move far enough that you can set the compressor outside the engine bay, resting against the quarter-panel. Just use a towel or something to avoid scratching the paint. Then it is far enough out of the way to slide the motor forward to do teh clutch (no need to fully pull the motor if you don't want, but if you do, it's just a wee bit more wiggling but still no disconnect).
  12. Junkyard! I find even within parts store companies some stores are better than others. There is one Napa close to me that, well, there is a reason I don't go to that one. There is another a few miles away that has always found what I need, even if I'm upgrading or modifying something that isn't stock for the car, all I have to do is explain what I'm looking for and they will find it! Failing that, the dealer usually has access to what I'm hunting for, though it usually has to be ordered.
  13. Relays normally click when they first power up. Are you trying to say they click continuously? They should just click a couple times when you start the car, and the fuel pump relay may click occasionally as it powers up and down while you drive, though not continuously.
  14. It wouldn't hurt to do a coolant flush and fill, as well, and replace hoses if they need it.
  15. I forgot to mention--the compressor is the A/C piece with the belt, it turns, compresses stuff. The condenser is the small radiator looking piece in front of the regular radiator. The compressor pressurizes the gaseous stuff in the system into the condenser. Then the stuff moves through lines to the evaporator. The evaporator is behind the glove compartment, above the passenger's knees. There it expands and cools [insert stuff i forgot from high school chemistry here], and has air blown over it that is cooled, which you feel coming out of the vents. Eventually the stuff circulates and does its thing! I might have flip-flopped the part names around, but the gist is there.
  16. Probably not the ECU, more likely a relay clicking. The ignition and fuel pump relays are only a few inches from the ECU. That is a normal sound for a relay, NOT a normal sound for the ECU. The ECU has no moving parts to click--if it IS clicking, it probably isn't working.
  17. HC is Hydrocarbons, not gasoline. Just a byproduct.
  18. A clutch fan doesn't cool the clutch. It has a small, heat activated clutch in it. The fluid in the clutch is like water at room temperature, but thickens as it gets warmer, resulting in more and more RPMs from the fan the warmer the engine gets. At optimal engine temp the fan is spinning near it's maximum speed. I forget which way it blows, but I want to say it blows toward the front of the car. Turn the car on and put a piece of paper in front of the radiator and it should become fairly obvious. I rigged my electric fan to come on with a toggle switch. Took and old extension cord with a broken plug, stripped off the outer insulation. Used two of the three innard wires to rig the fan to a switch near the steering wheel, plenty of places to put it, or let it hang. Wire via the battery, and just make sure to shut it off if you turn the car off. I wired it up because the thermo-sensor it is hooked to went out and the fan quit coming on, but you can rig it for whatever reason you like . It is out at the moment due to it having gotten obnoxiously loud, and with the A/C being out of the car the clutch fan is sufficient to cool the motor for now.
  19. But keep the pulley! You will be very sad if you toss the pulley before you try to replace the fan belt. (That fan pulley also drives the water pump). The condensor (the small radiator you mentioned) can stay or go, either way.
  20. The lines disconnect from the compressor easily, and from the fireboard just as easily. I cut and crimped mine near the compressor just to keep the oil in (I poured motor oil in after the gas was released). You can remove the compressor, too, I just left it in and disconnected the clutch wire. If you go the route of venting the stuff yourself, DON'T BREATH IT. It's bad. B A D bad for you. Once it's diluted into the atmosphere you're ok, but don't stand there sucking it in. There is a valve like what you would find on a bike tire on one of the hoses, loosen it up (just twist the inside bit and the stopper will come out) and let it go. The valve is on the line running on the battery side of the engine bay, iirc. That said, a garage has the proper capture equipment and is a wiser choice.
  21. Is your clutch properly adjusted? It is possible to have the clutch fork too tight, it will drag on the clutch enough to stall out. There are also other possible problems, but that one is most likely as well as easiest to check/fix, so rule it out first!
  22. I don't know of any particular life span on the various engine seals, but the rubber ones do get old, worn, or dry out with time. It doesn't hurt to replace them if you already have things apart. They aren't a big job like the headgasket, just a few minutes with a wrench. The are no different from hoses and belts in terms of being prone to age induced damage. If you're putting in a quart a week, it's coming out somewhere! I vote for cam seals, the cam seam, and valve covers and grommets as well. Wouldn't hurt to do the oil pump seals too, as long as you have the timing belts off. Parts stores have degreasers you can spray on and hose off, no scrubbing necessary. Some hose based carwashes may also have a "tires and engines" wash option, I've used the local one here quite a bit and it seems to do well.
  23. No, just the one filter! If you replaced it chances are that is fine. Still not likely to be the ECU, fuel pump could be worn but...hmm. What is the code/s blinking on the ECU? Could you have a problem with the engine temp sensor that is reducing the fuel input? Also--don't burn out your starter by holding the key to 'start'. You'll end up with two repair jobs.
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