I Have Heat!!

[goatcheez]

Looks like the coolant system was low. Topped it off and bled it out (no problems) and heat is working. Won't roast you out of the car but better than I'm used to. Also, no more "water gushing" noise from under the dash. I double check it again tomorrow when I have some daylight.

 

Gotta get the exhaust checked this week too so I can take it in for emissions. It's a little loud up by the motor. Had same problem with my last soob and I'm lucky enough to have an exhaust shop in town (mom & pop place - cheap) who knows these cars very well.

 

Anyone ever deal with the handle on the tailgate?? Milemaker had it break off and I need to replace it. I was just gonna pull it off my old soob. I this a pain in the a%% or an easy fix?? Trim cover is already off and all the mechanics are there just haven't had a chance to take a look.

 

Okay one more for now. Milemaker left the timing belt covers off when checking the t-belts. Could this cause problems with water and road salt getting in there?? I have the covers. Can I put them back on without pulling the AC compressor, fan, alternator etc out of the way??

 

Thanks again for all your help!! I'm sure I'll have more questions to come...

 

goatcheez

[GeneralDisorder]

Anyone ever deal with the handle on the tailgate?? Milemaker had it break off and I need to replace it. I was just gonna pull it off my old soob. I this a pain in the a%% or an easy fix?? Trim cover is already off and all the mechanics are there just haven't had a chance to take a look.

 

Huge PAIN IN THE BUTT. Sorry dude. Those things suck to repair. Last one I messed with I ended up just lubing it up real good (was rusted) even though I had a replacement because I couldn't get the old one out.

 

Okay one more for now. Milemaker left the timing belt covers off when checking the t-belts. Could this cause problems with water and road salt getting in there?? I have the covers. Can I put them back on without pulling the AC compressor, fan, alternator etc out of the way??

 

It's a trade off. It comes down to this: It's a 3 hour operation to change the belts WITH the covers in place, or a 20 minute job without. I've personally run many thousands of miles without issue - just make sure all the splash pans are in place. Will it shorten their life? Not unless something gets stuck IN the belts - I dropped a rag in them once for example. But keeping the covers on means that oil can't get out, and that will break down the rubber on them too. For me personally I would will gladly trade the small potential for failure for the ease of replacement that no covers afford. But it's a hotly debated topic around here, and there is no correct answer - it's a personal preference thing and depends a lot on where you are, and what you are doing with your rig.

 

As to putting them back on - I would move the alternator and compressor out of the way. It's only 4 bolts and makes the job infinitely easier. If the rear covers are not in place you will have to remove the crank pulley to put those back. If you do put them on use zip-ties on the front outer covers as that's the only way to avoid breaking the plastic around the capture nuts the next time you take them off.

 

GD

[goatcheez]

Huge PAIN IN THE BUTT. Sorry dude. Those things suck to repair. Last one I messed with I ended up just lubing it up real good (was rusted) even though I had a replacement because I couldn't get the old one out.

 

 

 

It's a trade off. It comes down to this: It's a 3 hour operation to change the belts WITH the covers in place, or a 20 minute job without. I've personally run many thousands of miles without issue - just make sure all the splash pans are in place. Will it shorten their life? Not unless something gets stuck IN the belts - I dropped a rag in them once for example. But keeping the covers on means that oil can't get out, and that will break down the rubber on them too. For me personally I would will gladly trade the small potential for failure for the ease of replacement that no covers afford. But it's a hotly debated topic around here, and there is no correct answer - it's a personal preference thing and depends a lot on where you are, and what you are doing with your rig.

 

As to putting them back on - I would move the alternator and compressor out of the way. It's only 4 bolts and makes the job infinitely easier. If the rear covers are not in place you will have to remove the crank pulley to put those back. If you do put them on use zip-ties on the front outer covers as that's the only way to avoid breaking the plastic around the capture nuts the next time you take them off.

 

GD

I'll just leave the covers off then...at least 'til summer.

 

Back to the tailgate handle. The mechanism seems to be in place and working just fine except for the missing handle. Is it just a matter of swapping handles or do I have to dismantle the whole thing?? I will be using this car to haul quite a few things, I need to have tailgate working. Is there a way to "rig-it" to work without a stock handle? Again I haven't had a good look at it yet, I just wanna get an idea of what I'm in for.

 

Again, thanks for the help!!

 

goatcheez

[NV Zeno]

You mentioned having another Soob to get parts from. How about swapping the entire tailgate?

[GeneralDisorder]

You have to remove the entire handle mechanism. You can't just swap the handle as it's spring loaded and held on with non-trivial clips that you won't be able to access till you have the whole thing out of the tailgate.

 

Pull back the inside panel on the door and you will see it. There's not much to see but getting access to it sucks.

 

GD

[Milemaker13]

All I was going to do to fix it was make a small metal part (or bend the existing shaft) so it hung on the outside of the "slot" the handle used to pass thru. All that you need is to be able to push that rod down to unlatch the door. The lock works seperatly, so this cheap fix won't affect locking up the car. It should be easy, I just never did it... It was the last time we took the car out w/ the rowboat. Last time I really used the hatch, ya know.

And as far as the tbelt covers... I left them off cuz they are a huge pain in the butt. Only problem I had was when I plowed thru a 3 foot snow drift on a back road. Didn't know the road dipped and hit it doing like 30 or so. Snow packed into the engine bay and forced the belts off the pullys. Never saw anything like it. Next day, I put the same belts back on, timed it and off we went. Amazing little cars! Personally, I would (did) leave them off. Just carry that PCI kit off road or on road trips!