Ok, Heres A List Of My Problems

2719 Views 22 Replies 8 Participants Last post by shoz123, Mar 24, 2004

ct97glvulcan

Discussion Starter · Mar 22, 2004

-hard to shift from P to R and R to P
-needs a new altenator
-coolent system needs to be flushed and cleaned (currently the fluid is black)
(so bad the thermostat is already sticking)
-power steering system needs to be flushed and cleaned (currently a dark, deep brown)
-AC system needs to be cleaned and re-charged
-needs a new pully
-needs a new belt
-and the car idles rough....reallll rough..

and the sad thing is... i cant afford ANY of this...not now, and not anytime soon...soo im pretty much screwed.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

silvapain

· #2 · Mar 22, 2004

coolant system flush is easy. just carefully drain the old coolant out, and properly dispose of it. take out the thermostat, and put the thermostat housing back on the LIM. fill the whole system with H2O, and run for a couple of minutes WITH THE HEATER OFF. drain. Repeat as necessary. Install the new thermostat (~$5.00, i think), and refill with 50/50 coolant/H2O. done. and not very expensive at all.

biteableniles

· #3 · Mar 23, 2004

Try this for the R to P shift:

Whenever you use Reverse, always shift to neutral and THEN to park. My car has a heavy clunk from Park to Reverse after I shift from Reverse directly to park (I suspect the motor mounts), but my method above has solved the problem for me.

sundarpn

· #4 · Mar 23, 2004

you can pro'ly find TCCA DIY pro in your area & get it dont for free over a couple of beers & pizza...

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Damon

· #5 · Mar 23, 2004

Originally posted by sundarpn@Mar 22 2004, 07:51 PM
you can pro'ly find TCCA DIY pro in your area & get it dont for free over a couple of beers & pizza...

Not really that free, but there are some out there who will do things on the cheap.
PM Bob about the work.

-DC

G

· #6 · Mar 23, 2004

Power steering shouldn't be too bad either. I'm not sure how to drain it, but once you get the old fluid out, it's not expensive to get new fluid. That would at least help, better than using the dirty old fluid.

A/C system is obviously not a necessity. For an alternator, to go the ultra-cheap way, you could go to a pick & pull junkyard and probably get one pretty cheap. Granted, it's used, but if yours is acting up, chances are, the replacement would be better. My suggestion would be to check for mileage. Lower mileage vehicle would obviously most likely have a better chance of having a good alternator. A replacement belt, even new shouldn't be too much. To get a top-of-the-line goodyear gator back I think was $33 for my vulcan (didn't get it but I think that's what Autozone told me), so an OEM replacement shouldn't be too bad. If these things don't help the rough idle, you could get a can of carb/TB cleaner and clean out your TB and whatnot and see if that helps. The cleaner is only 2 or $3. Hope this helps.

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2

G

· #7 · Mar 23, 2004

If the pulley you are talking about is the idler pulley, replace that asap, otherwise if it seizes you will be replacing the pulley and belt at once

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ct97glvulcan

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 23, 2004

thanks for the ideas guys.

QUOTE

coolant system flush is easy. just carefully drain the old coolant out, and properly dispose of it. take out the thermostat, and put the thermostat housing back on the LIM. fill the whole system with H2O, and run for a couple of minutes WITH THE HEATER OFF. drain. Repeat as necessary. Install the new thermostat (~$5.00, i think), and refill with 50/50 coolant/H2O. done. and not very expensive at all.[/b]

ok, how do i drain it? is there a plug?

also, how do i drain the power steering fulid?

also, if anyone has a picture of the pullys for the vulcan, ill be able to circle which pully is going.

thanks for all the help so far guys.

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G

· #9 · Mar 23, 2004

I have a spare idler pulley that's not perfect, but it's not anywhere near failure. Price, free, you come and get it.

For the rest of the stuff, it's easy, and for the most part cheap. Is the car kicking any codes?

Oh, I have a spare alternator too, not sure how good it is because I never ran it. You can have that too, if it's good.

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ct97glvulcan

Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 23, 2004

thanks Bob, ill see what i can do about coming up. i cant tell if its throwing any codes.

according this diagram... its the power steering pully

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-qaz-

· #11 · Mar 24, 2004

Well one way to drain the power steering system is to diconnect the return line from the pump and crank the engine it will pump the fluid out. Re-supplying the fuild VERY quickly to the pump as its being pumped out (so that the pump isnt ran dry) will in essence flush the system.

silvapain

· #12 · Mar 24, 2004

as for the drain plug on the radiator, 1. remove the black plastic cowling under the front bumper and radiator 2. the drain plug is on the driver's side right at the bottom corner (it was white on mine, IIRC).

sundarpn

· #13 · Mar 24, 2004

ditto on the radiator drain plug on the gen3.

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ct97glvulcan

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 24, 2004

ok, thatll completely flush the coolent system?
and wheres the return line on the powersteering returnline?

also, what does IIRC mean?

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silvapain

· #15 · Mar 24, 2004

(I)f (I) Â®emember Â©orrectly. I flushed my coolant out last winter, but I haven't pulled the cowling off since then, so I can't remember for sure what color the plug is.

Doing what I posted earlier will help the coolant system. Just make sure you properly dispose of the old coolant. Check with Autozone or some other local parts place to see if they take old antifreeze before you go flushing it out.

This is the return line on the PS pump. letter A

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ct97glvulcan

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 24, 2004

ok, thanks

ct97glvulcan

Discussion Starter · #17 · Mar 24, 2004

QUOTE

coolant system flush is easy. just carefully drain the old coolant out, and properly dispose of it. take out the thermostat, and put the thermostat housing back on the LIM. fill the whole system with H2O, and run for a couple of minutes WITH THE HEATER OFF. drain. Repeat as necessary. Install the new thermostat (~$5.00, i think), and refill with 50/50 coolant/H2O. done. and not very expensive at all.[/b]

now, do i install the new thermostat after i fill and run the system with 100% h2o to clean it...or before?

also, where is the thermostat located? and what is the LIM?

davesbedroom

· #18 · Mar 24, 2004

Originally posted by silvapain@Mar 22 2004, 06:35 PM
WITH THE HEATER OFF

Why with the heater off? I know a cobra isn't a taurus, but in my cobra user manual it states in bold to have the heater on high when doing a collant job.

silvapain

· #19 · Mar 24, 2004

I always have the heater off so that the crap won't find it's way into the heater core, where the lines are smaller and it will lodge in. THen you have to flush the heater core separately, or remove the core altogether and flush.

Put in the new T-stat after the flush is done. You can use regular tap water to flush it out with. the LIM is the Lower Intake Manifold. If you stand in front of the car, look for the large (roughly 2" in diameter) radiator hose next to the battery. follow it to the engine. there should be a dome-looking piece of aluminum that the hose attaches to, and 3 bolts that hold that dome to the engine. The T-stat is in there. remove the old one, and put the housing back on without the T-stat to flush.

Here is what the housing looks like.

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silvapain

· #20 · Mar 24, 2004

Also, when you put the new T-stat in, be sure to remove ALL of the old gasket material, so that it doesn't leak. use a putty knife to clean the gasket off. Also, when refilling the system with 50/50, fill the car up to the HOT line on the reseviour. Start the car. The level in the reseviour will drop - keep adding coolant, and sqeeze the radiator hose I talked about earlier as the car is running. When the coolant system is full, the hose should be under pressure and you will not be able to squeeze it.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

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