seattlelegacy Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 So, I just brought it home. I had seen it a couple times before, each time at night. That may have been a mistake. There were a couple suprises, but no deal breakers. Its an 84 4x4 d/r 4sp with 208K. It may need a new starter in time. It clicks a couple times before turning over. It starts and runs. I paid 350. - The body isn't as clean as I thought. There was a busted left front signal, dent in the drivers side rear door, and about three dents in the hood. - I noticed it backfired a couple times. Its been a while since I've worked on a carbed engine. Any suggestions here? - Sadly, when I first looked at the car, I didn't notice the torn RF cv joint boot. After driving it, I also noticed it pulls a bit. The axle will probably need to be replaced. I checked the haynes manual, and it says that should only be done at a shop!!?!?!?. This can't be done in my garage with a standard set of tools? Any reccomendations for an axle? - The car came with a folder that had the factory reciepts since new, a factory service manual and the haynes manual. SCORE! Then, as I was looking through the papers, I noticed the car had a rebuilt engine put in it at 110K!! SCORE AGAIN. So the current engine has just under a 100K. I don't even know if the seller knew this... Sweet. - There is a loud clunking sound from the rear end. It seems to happen when turning corners and going over bumps. Not sure of the source and will investigate further at a later date. That's it so far. Any suggestions to address the above issues is appreciated. Maybe this summer I'll order a lift. wOOt!!! Jordan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPGsuperchargedBrumby Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 backfiring- chuck a timing light on it you might get lucky and only have timing out. pull the carb apart an give it a serious degunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjs Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 The axles are easy to change. Simply use a 2x4 scrap and a hammer to whack the axle out of the wheel bearings in the knuckle. The only special tool I ever needed was a ball joint fork if you go so far as to remove the knuckle (not a bad idea to service or replace the wheel bearings). I know nothing of comparitive axle quality but any lifetime guarantee half shaft should do the trick, and don't damage the core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Sometime, when the rains stop, drop me a PM and we'll take a trip to Pull a Part in Lynnwood and we'll (you'll) pull an axle for practice; with luck it'll be a good one you can use to replace the one you have with the torn boot. Timing check is in order for the backfire; I wouldn't tear into the carb unless I had a good reason; no sense fixing what isn't (or might not be) broken. Congratulations on the fine purchase; if this is the one on Craigslist or the one I saw up on 85th a few weeks ago I think you got a good deal. They are great little cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indrid cold Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Don't believe everything in the Chiltons... I am finding that out. An 84 takes no special tools... hardly any, getting hands dirty, reading past posts and diving in are the best way to learn. I found the more that I do, the more I learn and with that knowledge I stand a chance of fixing if mine ever decides to yack a lung along the back road... Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exister99 Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 Loud clunking from the rear: sounds like you are in for a new rear half shaft as well. As has been said before a halfshaft is a two beer job. I abuse the heck out of mine and have also gotten several defective ones so I have lost count of the number of times I have swapped them out. Two tools you will find very hand for the job are a lever type ball joint tool like the one on the left here http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product?storeId=10101&Pr=p_Product.CATENTRY_ID%3A2004158&TID=100&TID=100&productId=2004158&catalogId=10101 and a monstrous three jaw puller from HFT to remove the wheel hub. Do not use a ball joint fork. Those things are damn near useless for anything except tearing up the rubber boot on your ball joints. You will likely replace your halfshafts more often than your ball joints so try to keep them intact. When reinstalling try to keep bearing grease from getting between the splines that mate the half shaft to the wheel hub. These things take a lot of torque and the grease will make it that much easier to strip your hub. This happened to me once and I had to drive an hour to score a junkyard hub to keep from paying the $250 the dealer wanted for it. After installing a halfshat inspect the CV boots frequently to make sure they are not leaking moly grease around the bands that hold them on. I have had three leak so far, and two of them were from a highly respected remanufacturer. Fortunately I had all three replaced under warranty. If you see grease leaking out the half shaft is on its way out and WILL fail and leave you stranded eventually. The '84 is an excellent year. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markjs Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 I have found that the standard pullers and ball joint fork are very cheap and work well. The fork is less than $10 at any auto parts store, and all it requires is a hammer. I never ripped a boot with it. I suppose if you jam it in there and wildly whack on it maybe but care and slow but firm tapping will eventually do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlelegacy Posted January 16, 2006 Author Share Posted January 16, 2006 Thanks for the responses, guys. As for the backfiring issue, I'll run some SeaFoam through the carb, and maybe pour the rest in the fuel tank or crankcase. I'll also look at the timing (as soon as I find a link, I'm guessing the Haynes or FSM will have an excellent description on how that's done - I'm a NOOB). As for the front axle, I'll either enlist the help of edrach (though I'm not sure if it will EVER stop raining! - thanks for the offer, we'll be in touch) or give it a shot myself. Is there a good link for that? I didn't even think of the need for new rear half shafts. Crap. Got to park it in the garage tonight and throw the dehumidifier in the front to let it run all night. Poor things been sitting in the rain for months without being driven. EDIT: I just now found the writeups on axle changing. Seems like it should be a non-event. This board is a frickin' wealth of information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentedfender Posted January 16, 2006 Share Posted January 16, 2006 you can also use an air hammer for the front cvs just put it in the hole on the end of the shaft and hammer it out. Makes it a 5 second job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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