Howdy !
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05-28-2012, 01:57 PM
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Howdy !
hi everyone, my name is jay , my 1989 240 gl and i are new here. I am a small engine mechanic by trade and late last year needed a car to replace my surprisingly trusty ford explorer, so i bought a SWEET 1992 960 for 2k with 146k on it. well.. i loved that car.it was powerful, comfortable rode like a cadillac and handled like a jetta with rwd ..
.. i'll bet someone here knows why i used the past tense of "love"... yep.. timing belt .. my logic was " i'm over 40, i am a professional mechanic in my field and i can be responsible enough to take such a fine car to the proffessionals who know what theyr'e doing.. well, that was the plan.. until about a month ago when the car started and ran like hell! i put the timing belt as far out of my mind as i could, drove it the few blocks home from my freinds house, shut it off, and when i tried to turn it over again it acted as if the spark plugs had been removed..
it was dark , so i went straight to bed hoping that the next morning i'd find something silly like a loose connector.(i try to be an optomist) at first light, straight off i pulled back the timing belt cover and to my "relief" i saw that the belt was still there and ran the odb, it was giving me all sorts of wacky readings.. but my tools were at work so i had to wait to really inspect it as soon as i got home i took off the cover and instantly knew it was GAME OVER . about 6 inches of cogs were gone, explaining the zero compression.. rather than spending another 2 grand getting it fixed, or a month of trying to tackle it myself i manned up and admitted i'd gotten the absolute wrongest car for me . so i sold it to a kid who INSISTED he could fix it , even after i did my best to convince him to save his money and spent two weeks on the bus (which is a very embarrasing place for a mechanic to be) until i found this lovely little '89 240 gl. with about 212 k on it , and a strong rebuilt engine.
the wave of joy and relief when i opened the hood was nearly overwhelming , i could identify EVERYTHING the seller thought was "wrong" with it , the"squeal" from the "rear" of the motor? just the sound of the belts resonating through it .. the rough running? cap and rotor .. the jolt of electricity when i touched the distributor? wires. the awful alignment? crappy tires. .. .. this guy had no clue.he'd obviously got it from an auction with the sole intent of flipping it . by the end of the next day , and less than 100 dollars later (barring tires)it was running sweet. i've always wanted one of these cars, and now i know why people love them so much.i passed smog with flying colors (no small feat in this part of california) and emission levels suggest a brand new cat and oxygen sensor.
i offer an apology ahead of time for the long introduction, but i'm SUPER excited about this car...
oh.. and the fate of my 960? day before yesterday i went to the wrecking yard to get a tailight cluster and saw a familiar grey 960.. complete with the disneyland parking pass in the window.. the kid hadn't even tried to take the head off. i'd done the right thing.
.. i'll bet someone here knows why i used the past tense of "love"... yep.. timing belt .. my logic was " i'm over 40, i am a professional mechanic in my field and i can be responsible enough to take such a fine car to the proffessionals who know what theyr'e doing.. well, that was the plan.. until about a month ago when the car started and ran like hell! i put the timing belt as far out of my mind as i could, drove it the few blocks home from my freinds house, shut it off, and when i tried to turn it over again it acted as if the spark plugs had been removed..
it was dark , so i went straight to bed hoping that the next morning i'd find something silly like a loose connector.(i try to be an optomist) at first light, straight off i pulled back the timing belt cover and to my "relief" i saw that the belt was still there and ran the odb, it was giving me all sorts of wacky readings.. but my tools were at work so i had to wait to really inspect it as soon as i got home i took off the cover and instantly knew it was GAME OVER . about 6 inches of cogs were gone, explaining the zero compression.. rather than spending another 2 grand getting it fixed, or a month of trying to tackle it myself i manned up and admitted i'd gotten the absolute wrongest car for me . so i sold it to a kid who INSISTED he could fix it , even after i did my best to convince him to save his money and spent two weeks on the bus (which is a very embarrasing place for a mechanic to be) until i found this lovely little '89 240 gl. with about 212 k on it , and a strong rebuilt engine.
the wave of joy and relief when i opened the hood was nearly overwhelming , i could identify EVERYTHING the seller thought was "wrong" with it , the"squeal" from the "rear" of the motor? just the sound of the belts resonating through it .. the rough running? cap and rotor .. the jolt of electricity when i touched the distributor? wires. the awful alignment? crappy tires. .. .. this guy had no clue.he'd obviously got it from an auction with the sole intent of flipping it . by the end of the next day , and less than 100 dollars later (barring tires)it was running sweet. i've always wanted one of these cars, and now i know why people love them so much.i passed smog with flying colors (no small feat in this part of california) and emission levels suggest a brand new cat and oxygen sensor.
i offer an apology ahead of time for the long introduction, but i'm SUPER excited about this car...
oh.. and the fate of my 960? day before yesterday i went to the wrecking yard to get a tailight cluster and saw a familiar grey 960.. complete with the disneyland parking pass in the window.. the kid hadn't even tried to take the head off. i'd done the right thing.
Looks like you got a good one.
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