So many problems

[brownj218]

Alright, well I just got back from the mechanic. And the bg that I bought that was I thought was a "steal"...turns out to be a pos. Here are the problems (from what I can remember)

Ball joint is gone

E-brake is snapped and seized

Rear brake cylinder is leaking

Rear brake lines are gone.

Gas tank is leaking

The joint that connects the shifter to the transmission (under the car) is rusted and loose

Oil is leaking from somewhere (tho i don't think its too too bad)

Hood won't close properly

One wiper doesn't work (feels like it is disconnected from motor because I can move it full range and more with my hands)

Among other problems that I am probably forgetting, the main problem that pisses me off are the tie rods....or stabilizer rods....i cant remember the name of them. Anyways, my mechanic said that you can drive without them fixed... they will just make noise and the ride will be a bit bumpy. But now he is saying he won't saftey the car with those things broken. Now things like the brake lines, the shifter joint, I can see why he won't saftey without those fixed...and I agree; i wouldn't drive it without those fixed. But this mechanic actually safetied my last car without even looking at the car..i just brought him the registration. And now he is screwing me with these damn tie rod things.

I used to trust this guy, but now I don't know so much. He actually told me that it would be safe to drive with the tie rods broken, it would just be bumpy...but he still wont safety.

Anyways, my main reason for posting is I wanted to find out how hard it is to change things like the gas tank and the ball joint. I would ask how hard it is to change the tie rods (or whatever), but i don't even know if that is the right name for them. I would buy a new ball joint, and see if I can get a good condition gas tank from the jy, but are these things that I could fix in the driveway with a few jack stands and daddy's toolbox?

And I was also wondering, from what I listed there, are those most of the common problems these cars usually have? because i will be dumping about 800- 1000 into the car to get everything fixed, and i dont want to find out a month later that I now have to dump another 500 for something else. is there anything i can ask my mechanic to check before he starts working on the car?

[bcowie]

Alright, well I just got back from the mechanic. And the bg that I bought that was I thought was a "steal"...turns out to be a pos. Here are the problems (from what I can remember)

Ball joint is gone

E-brake is snapped and seized

Rear brake cylinder is leaking

Rear brake lines are gone.

Gas tank is leaking

The joint that connects the shifter to the transmission (under the car) is rusted and loose

Oil is leaking from somewhere (tho i don't think its too too bad)

Hood won't close properly

One wiper doesn't work (feels like it is disconnected from motor because I can move it full range and more with my hands)

Among other problems that I am probably forgetting, the main problem that pisses me off are the tie rods....or stabilizer rods....i cant remember the name of them. Anyways, my mechanic said that you can drive without them fixed... they will just make noise and the ride will be a bit bumpy. But now he is saying he won't saftey the car with those things broken. Now things like the brake lines, the shifter joint, I can see why he won't saftey without those fixed...and I agree; i wouldn't drive it without those fixed. But this mechanic actually safetied my last car without even looking at the car..i just brought him the registration. And now he is screwing me with these damn tie rod things.

I used to trust this guy, but now I don't know so much. He actually told me that it would be safe to drive with the tie rods broken, it would just be bumpy...but he still wont safety.

Anyways, my main reason for posting is I wanted to find out how hard it is to change things like the gas tank and the ball joint. I would ask how hard it is to change the tie rods (or whatever), but i don't even know if that is the right name for them. I would buy a new ball joint, and see if I can get a good condition gas tank from the jy, but are these things that I could fix in the driveway with a few jack stands and daddy's toolbox?

And I was also wondering, from what I listed there, are those most of the common problems these cars usually have? because i will be dumping about 800- 1000 into the car to get everything fixed, and i dont want to find out a month later that I now have to dump another 500 for something else. is there anything i can ask my mechanic to check before he starts working on the car?

Ball joints and tie rod can be had at CDN tire for like 20-30 each. Gas tank really isn't that hard if you can get under the car.

its worth it if the body is in good condition.

Shifter bushings are about 20-30$
REady brake Cylinder - 20 - 30$


Most expensive thing there is probably the gas tank. Other then that if you can do the work yourself you're probably looking at less then 250$ excluding the gas tank.

[sube]

Alright, well I just got back from the mechanic. And the bg that I bought that was I thought was a "steal"...turns out to be a pos. Here are the problems (from what I can remember)

Ball joint is gone

E-brake is snapped and seized

Rear brake cylinder is leaking

Rear brake lines are gone.

Gas tank is leaking

The joint that connects the shifter to the transmission (under the car) is rusted and loose

Oil is leaking from somewhere (tho i don't think its too too bad)

Hood won't close properly

One wiper doesn't work (feels like it is disconnected from motor because I can move it full range and more with my hands)

Among other problems that I am probably forgetting, the main problem that pisses me off are the tie rods....or stabilizer rods....i cant remember the name of them. Anyways, my mechanic said that you can drive without them fixed... they will just make noise and the ride will be a bit bumpy. But now he is saying he won't saftey the car with those things broken. Now things like the brake lines, the shifter joint, I can see why he won't saftey without those fixed...and I agree; i wouldn't drive it without those fixed. But this mechanic actually safetied my last car without even looking at the car..i just brought him the registration. And now he is screwing me with these damn tie rod things.

I used to trust this guy, but now I don't know so much. He actually told me that it would be safe to drive with the tie rods broken, it would just be bumpy...but he still wont safety.

Anyways, my main reason for posting is I wanted to find out how hard it is to change things like the gas tank and the ball joint. I would ask how hard it is to change the tie rods (or whatever), but i don't even know if that is the right name for them. I would buy a new ball joint, and see if I can get a good condition gas tank from the jy, but are these things that I could fix in the driveway with a few jack stands and daddy's toolbox?

And I was also wondering, from what I listed there, are those most of the common problems these cars usually have? because i will be dumping about 800- 1000 into the car to get everything fixed, and i dont want to find out a month later that I now have to dump another 500 for something else. is there anything i can ask my mechanic to check before he starts working on the car?

Well number one a mechanic that would safety a car without seeing it,I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw him. He could be giving a safety to a deathtrap. And now you are pissed at him because he refuses to safety a car that is blatantly unsafe. (2) the stabiliser is your sway bar and prolly has broken end links, tie rods on the other hand are the universal joints on your steering wrack and there are inner and outer. (3) he is giving you conflicted info, or you are confused.

My advice if you are not competent to do the work yourself, find a new mechanic, cause the one you have now sucks.

Pat.

[southerncross]

you named off a bunch of quick fix problems. . . i dont see a ton of money being spent on all that. my first pro was a 92 dx i still own. . . i spent $300 on brakes the first day i owned it cause they were totally shot. stuff like ball joints and tie rods arent that bad though. go to autopartswarehouse.com and put yourself together a price list and go from there.

[chrisdawg]

Stuff I would do:

Group your problems together in safety first:

Problems:
- E-brake is snapped and seized
- Rear brake cylinder is leaking
- Rear brake lines are gone

Solutions:
1.) drain brake fluid and keep it somewhere
2.) replace lines
3.) replace cylinder
4.) refill
5.) bleed all wheels
6.) test drive
7.) repair e-brake cable or buy fitting if broken.

Problem:
Gas tank is leaking
Solutions:
Replace gas tank with one from junkyard.

Problem:
The joint that connects the shifter to the transmission (under the car) is rusted and loose
Solution:
- goto junk yard or online and get some replacements. protege should work also. If not bend them to make them work.

Oil is leaking from somewhere (tho i don't think its too too bad)
- check head gaskets.
replace with oem parts

Problem:
Hood won't close properly

Solution 1:
Hood Latches

- get a friend to hold the other side
- wrench it up to make sure its aligned properly.

Solution 2:
Front locking mechanism

- WD40 for the locking/opening mechanism in front of car where the hood lock in.

Solution 3:
Lever in drivers side?

- tighten cable or replace if thats broken. (junkyard/online resources)

[sube]

Stuff I would do:

Group your problems together in safety first:

Problems:
- E-brake is snapped and seized
- Rear brake cylinder is leaking
- Rear brake lines are gone

Solutions:
1.) drain brake fluid and keep it somewhere
2.) replace lines
3.) replace cylinder
4.) refill
5.) bleed all wheels
6.) test drive
7.) repair e-brake cable or buy fitting if broken.

Problem:
Gas tank is leaking
Solutions:
Replace gas tank with one from junkyard.

Problem:
The joint that connects the shifter to the transmission (under the car) is rusted and loose
Solution:
- goto junk yard or online and get some replacements. protege should work also. If not bend them to make them work.

Oil is leaking from somewhere (tho i don't think its too too bad)
- check head gaskets.
replace with oem parts

Problem:
Hood won't close properly

Solution 1:
Hood Latches

- get a friend to hold the other side
- wrench it up to make sure its aligned properly.

Solution 2:
Front locking mechanism

- WD40 for the locking/opening mechanism in front of car where the hood lock in.

Solution 3:
Lever in drivers side?

- tighten cable or replace if thats broken. (junkyard/online resources)

When you drain brake fluid dump it, do not reuse, , brake fluid is cheap. Old stuff is probably full of moisture. Brake fluid should be replaced on a regular basis, every 2 years or 40k kilometres/24k miles.

Pat.

[brownj218]

Ball joint is gone

E-brake is snapped and seized

Rear brake cylinder is leaking

Rear brake lines are gone.

Gas tank is leaking

The joint that connects the shifter to the transmission (under the car) is rusted and loose

Oil is leaking from somewhere (tho i don't think its too too bad)

Hood won't close properly

One wiper doesn't work (feels like it is disconnected from motor because I can move it full range and more with my hands)

Well I've decided that I am going to attempt the work myself. Between me and my brother, we should be able to figure most of it out. Now I am pretty mechanically inclined, good at following instructions, yadda yadda, but no1 would really say I'm especially good with cars or anything like that. My question is, with all those things I listed, is there anything that anyone would recommend I let a real mechanic do? My car is at the mechanics now, so if he's going to do work on it, he will be doing it tomorrow.

I'm planning on just grabbing a Haynes manual and going from there. I'm basically just not sure about the brakes, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Also, if there are any instructions online about how to do any of that stuff that would be better than the Haynes manual, could someone send the links (i looked but I couldnt find anything).

Cheers,

Justin

[bcowie]

Maybe just the lines those can be unpleasant.

[brownj218]

O really? I thought you could just buy the pre double-flared lines of the right length, use the old lines as a template, and just use a bending tool to replicate the shape....or is there more too it? Do they just unscrew with a nut or do you have to start taking things apart?

[MazdaNoob]

i've just completed all the exact same repairs on my car in the driveway on jackstands. nothing there is very hard @ all just plan ahead.

with the gas tank my straps were pooched as well as the filler neck was rotted ... the filler neck cost me more than the tank TBH as i wasnt too hopefull of getting one from a wreckers in good shape. have the fuel pump access panel gasket ready as well as the rubber couplers for the fller neck to the tank handy ( dealer only parts). the rear brake lines are a bit of a pita in that everything you touch leads to the next part breaking lol. if you replace one wheel cylinder do both and replace both lines. if one has rotted that bad then the other is most likely gonna fail the moment you have to hammer the brakes.

e-brake cable? cut old ones off ... put new ones on simple as that ... when you do the wheel cylinders you will have the assy apart anyways ... lube the hell out of it .

oil leak ... 90% of the time it will be valve cover gasket and the distributer o-ring. get both from the dealer ( less than 30.00) will take you up to an hr to do and that includes spending time looking @ the valvetrain , drinking beer, losing tools , cleaning and painting valvecover, ect.


shifter linkage , JY part + some new bushings .... not too bad to do

balljoints and tie-rod ends .... this is where the haynes manual will be a little handy.... take your tyime and do it right it isnt that hard ... but safety is critical!!!!... you realllllly dont want to loose control the 1st time you get on the 401. you WILL need an alignment after doing those and dont skinp ... do both sides if 1 side is needed

[brownj218]

Sounds good, I'll tow it home tonight. I have time anyways, since I wont be driving it until spring.. so it's not like I need anything done right away. And I guess I can just hit some of you guys up if I'm having problems with anything. I'm mostly just worried about the brakes. Anyways thanks alot.

[bcowie]

Im sure youll be fine I've done all that stuff on my driveway with ramps./

[sube]

Im sure youll be fine I've done all that stuff on my driveway with ramps./

what he said, all of that stuff is pretty straight foreward if you are mechanically inclined. Brakes are easy, do one side at a time, , if you are in doubt what you are doing you still have the other side fully assembled to refer to. Brake lines are also easy, I would suugest you do all the steel lines in the rear end, you can be sure if one is rotten the rest aren't far behind Just take your time don't rush it, and good luck