I've only had the car since friday, but it seemed fine over the weekend, and then the past 2 days have been rough. Yesterday I drove to work with no problem. The drive home is where It first stalled on me. It stalled waiting for a train. When i started it back up I left it in neutral until the train passed. when I put it in drive it stalled again. I kept trying this for a little bit with the same result. So I started it in park and let it run for a little bit, and then put it in drive and it worked to get around the corner and did the same thing again. From there I could not get it to go anywhere. So First I thought it was overheating because the light came on that just says "Temperature". I dont have a temp gauge or tachometer (a little dissapointed chevy just gave ya a speedo and a gas gauge). So i dont know where the temp is. I thought it could be though because it was making a boiling sound when i parked it. It was in the reservoir for the coolant. I let it sit for a few hours and then checked the coolant and it was a little low so i filled it up. This morning it ran fine the whole way to work until i was getting off the freeway, then it stalled on the offramp. it was doing the same thing where I put it in drive and it dies. So I had to get it to work holding the gas pedal down the whole time from the offramp to the parking lot. and thats how I had to drive home too. And When I left work I checked the coolant and it was still full so Im a little lost. The car seems to idle low in drive and high in neutral and park. I dont know where to go from here.
my old 89 sunbird did EXACTLY what you are describing... it turned out to be the over drive module....
Were you able to get that fixed? If so how bad was it??
I took it to a mechanic...first off to get it diagnosed... he reached down by the tranny and flipped a switch.... turned the over drive off... i ended up fixing it myself after... but drove it for about a year with it turned off... it would be costly threw a mechanic... it requires you to drain the tranny... remove the tranny cover... also involves some soldering
May I share with u what is MORE likely the problem.It probably the TCC switch the torque convertor solenoid.It is mounted on the transmission and has a electrical switch plug going to it.U can simple unplug the switch but,recommend u drain the trans fluid,and replace the trans gasket,fluid, and the switch.What happens is the trans fluid over time breaks down and fries the switch and will cause the car to stall coming to a stop and irractic idle.This is a common issue nothing to fret over. U can buy a new solenoid from autozone,advance auto.I do not know the exact location being I have a manual trans,but if u do a search here on the jbody u can prolly read old post about this.So I would check the 1st gen forum in the old post I know there is something in there without linking it here.Simple FIX for sure.U can run the car without the switch hooked up the only result is ur mpg may be less thats it!Check out the first gen forum since u have just that for any further ?s about ur ride we prob would be better able to assist u with just about anything with your car mechancially in most cases.
I looked around the engine a while today. its really clustered and I cant really tell which part is the actual transmission today. I searched for pictures of gm trans and found something similar to what i could find. It has a plug on it with 4 connectors but only 2 wires. I tried running the car with that unplugged and it didnt change anything. Im guessing this is probably not it. I will keep looking. Also looks like my oil filter is made from coal, and my antifreeze looks like melted chocolate, milky orangish brown. This car needs some serious work im scared. Thanks though I will keep looking!!
head gasket is blown, sorry mate
Ah crap. That would explain alot. Eh, Still gotta drive it though. Might as well make the best of it.
i'm not familiar with them motors...but, is there a reason why you don't just change the gasket?
Fallen I Am, Cursed And Destined To Burn -Dimmu Borgir
Thats a repair I surely could not do. And I think that repair is going to cost more then I paid for this beast? ($300) Or is there a cheap way
the cheapest way is to do it yourself, then all you do is pay for the parts....find a haynes manual for it, if they exist, and tear that beast apart...
it can't be
too hard...thats what i'd do.
Fallen I Am, Cursed And Destined To Burn -Dimmu Borgir
Umm before u go and spend money like stupid.I would consider 1 the oil may not have been changed since a decade ago,2 the antifreeze being discolored is NOT always a blown head gasket.3 if the cars antifreeze is wayyyy old it will become discolored brown,orange colored and more than likely needs to be flushed and replace the thermostat,and both upper and lower coolant hoses going to the radiator being u are not sure how old they are (prob TOO old). If those who read the intial post would see u did not state the car loosing power just stalling,a blown head would make the car OVERHEAT all the time in most cases.I think changing the oil,filter, a tune up new plugs,wires,rotor button,cap and pcv valve,clean the egr valve and flush the cooling system and repl the themostat and upper/lower hoses and drain the trans fluid new gasket for the pan,and new TCC switch that should correct the cars running properly.Start simple bc if after doing the cooling flush then u see issues with the coolant changing to a slurpy then I would lean toward maybe the head issue.I would recomm pouring one can of seafoam into the oil fill cap run for a day or so that way it will help remove the trash inside the engine so when u change the oil the internals should be clean.And also change the 02 sensor would be a good idea and fuel filter which is back at the fuel tank near the rear axle.The first gens are solid cars u just need to do some maintenance to bring the life it really has back to it.Keep in mind who ever owned it may not have been very maintenance oriented and just drove it,put gas in it and no upkeep for the car.
I've got alot to start working on then. Thanks Ron! I get paid the 11th so Ill start working it up next weekend! The engine looks very easy to do the tuneup, I know I can do the oil change, Doesnt autozone sell radiator flush? and Im gonna print this out and price everything up. Got alot of work to do but i'm ready to bring this beast back from a coma.
I priced everything so far (- the solenoid) and I'm at 132.00so this will take me a little bit, possibly two paychecks but I'll be able to do all that myself (Thank god!!) The solenoid will be the last part I pick up and that I will need to figure out how to install I cant even locate the transmission from the bottom of the car and I have a feeling its going to be a tuffy. If i'm not mistaken is the tranny on the drivers side by the wheel well? just curious im not a mechanic but Im going to try, right. Thanks for all the help!! Lets see how it goes!
it could also just be "a little blown" if i may...
is the exhaust white at all, even when you start it up ???/
or is it overheating at all, on the highway especially,... thats a big sign of a blown head gasket
I cant tell where the temp is ever :-( im not equipped with the gauge, the first time it stalled out, the temperature light came on, but I have not seen it since. If i drive with my foot on the gas and the brake to prevent it from stalling it doesn't overheat or anything and seems fine when i get to work or get home (30 min trips) However, its a mess under the hood and I've had cracked gaskets before leaking green sludge. I cant identify that in this car because everything is coated in crude oil that looks like coal. I don't know
Well I would invest some money in a haynes or chiltons manual for about 15-20 bux.Yes the trans is on the LHS and u see the axles going into it.Just a note if the coolant has basically been contaminated or is old it tends not to do the job intended to cool the engine.I bought a coolant tester which cost under 5bux and it will show u what mix/ratio of antifreeze with water added is in the car and I am guessing urs is prolly toast.Buy the walmart super tech antifreeze (normal green color) it is a good product and the lowest cost and run in both of my veh.Once u do the work as stated u should have a solid,effecienct car running proper.Have fun I am getting ready to do some work on mine myself.
If it's any help, this link is what I used to change the solenoid on my '93 2.2.
I know this link is for a Fiero but it was very similar to mine and relatively pailess to do.
I jacked up/supported the car on the left front and only replaced about a cupful of trans fluid. That was about 100,000 kms ago, been running fine ever since.
http://www.kichline.com/chuck/fiero/TCC.htm
Alont
Heres what I've done so far:
- Fram Air Filter
- Seafoamed the Engine Oil
- Oil Change with Fram Oil Filter and Valvoline Maxlife Oil
- Cooling system Flush
Nothing noticeable yet but im just getting started.
Tomorrow I get my new doors (Not a performance issue but its really needed.)
And when I get paid in two weeks im doing more. I will keep updates on this thread.
Monday Night on the way home the car overheated. I was already on the way home early because I was feeling sick. So when I got home I popped the hood to let it cool off. Tuesday when I woke up I figured it was the heater core because I didn't have heat anyway. So I bypassed it with a copper pipe and hose clamps. I went to fill up my radiator and it just poured onto the ground. I was confused because I didn't drain it at all. I looked down where it was leaking and it was the lower hose. I thought the clamp got bad and the hose blew off but I was wrong. the clamp was snug and the part of the radiator that you clamp the lower hose to, blew off. the weld is completely broken. So, I removed the radiator. In the process of removing the radiator, I broke both lines going into the transmission. So this car is going to be constantly getting fixed. The tune-ups going to have to wait yet again while I get a radiator in this beast, and either have someone get the tranny lines out for me, or im going to fabricate something to replace them and leave the old pieces there (I cannot unscrew them, they are so old they are practically welded to the tranny.)
This is the saga of the 86 so far.
Here is what was done so far this weekend:
- New radiator
- New thermostat and gasket
- New transmission oil cooling lines
- New upper and lower radiator hose
- Radiator cap with safety and release lever
- New locks on doors and trun (my trunk lock was missing)
- Cleaned all the rust from the intake and air filter housing with a wire sanding wheel and drill
Seems to be running good although I had a hard time getting the lower hose to fit the way I wanted, I still want to get a longer hose but its good for now
It is kind of ironic that in my first post I did state replacing the upper and lower hoses HA.I would bet the rad had not been flushed for a very long time which in turn caused the problem u had to fix.Too bad the trans lines broke but,I see things are going back together and once u spend lots of money to bring the car back to where it should be it will a a very reliable car indeed.I myself have just started a project on mine a new intake gasket,everything is apart and painted most of the stuff,but still need to clean the intake which I have been soaking and will start to try and get some of it ready for reinstall in a wk or two depends of my time to do it.At least my car sits in my garage and have a trk to drive in the mean time.Nice to see the improvements coming along.
