BUILD THREAD 1987 Olds 442 Project Build
- Thread starter oldsofb
- Start date
I'd have given you $5 if you just sucked on the end of those hoses to test the door actuators instead of using the mighty vac....
🙂
🙂
Right. But I didn't want to see this guy again.
Back on the A/C box. Time to clean out 32 years of gunk and debris.
Dug out at least a good pound or two of butyl from inside the case. They were serious about keeping it sealed!
"Goo Gone" seems to emulsify this stuff (butyl) pretty well.
I used it on all the parts that had any gunk left on it (used 3/4 of the bottle) and then washed all the parts in the driveway. I used Dawn dish washing detergent in warm water to scrub up after the Goo Gone.
I think the Dawn was too harsh for the plastic. You can see how it looks grey or bleached out. I hit everything with ArmorAll after it was dried and the color came back to normal. If I had to do that again, I would probably use something a little less harsh, like a car wash liquid. I did get everything shiny and clean though.
It's too hot for any more fun today.
Hutch
Dug out at least a good pound or two of butyl from inside the case. They were serious about keeping it sealed!
"Goo Gone" seems to emulsify this stuff (butyl) pretty well.
I used it on all the parts that had any gunk left on it (used 3/4 of the bottle) and then washed all the parts in the driveway. I used Dawn dish washing detergent in warm water to scrub up after the Goo Gone.
I think the Dawn was too harsh for the plastic. You can see how it looks grey or bleached out. I hit everything with ArmorAll after it was dried and the color came back to normal. If I had to do that again, I would probably use something a little less harsh, like a car wash liquid. I did get everything shiny and clean though.
It's too hot for any more fun today.
Hutch
Amazing how much goo was in there and also how unhealthy that is for those that don't know it's that bad? They eventually realized that micro-filters were important.
Great now I've got something else to NOT get done . . . thanks Hutch!
Seriously, this is great information 👍
Great now I've got something else to NOT get done . . . thanks Hutch!
Seriously, this is great information 👍
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Ok, I saw this and I'm kind of a detail nerd in the fact I can spot things that aren't quite right, but only if it belongs to someone else. 🙂
I meant to say something earlier, but I didn't. When this was first posted back on page 27, I noticed the power brake mounting gasket was either the wrong one or mounted upside down. The original gasket has 3 flat sides and a slight arch type top to the gasket to cover the upper part of the hole where the brake booster mounts. The way this is there was a slight hole ALWAYS going to be open at the top. Note where the gasket ghosting marks are. Quite apparent to me. Now, it looks like there was a piece of insulation covering that up, so it may not been much of an issue. I got a feeling it's been like this since new. Or at least a VERY long time. The "FB" coded brake booster is factory-correct, but who knows.
Anyway, if you look at the factory or aftermarket gasket that mounts there, the arched shape goes toward the top for this very reason.
Just thought I'd toss that out there if there was a mystery leak inside the car that couldn't be traced...might have been enough dirt and crud built up to have sealed it off.
View attachment 117536
View attachment 117537
I meant to say something earlier, but I didn't. When this was first posted back on page 27, I noticed the power brake mounting gasket was either the wrong one or mounted upside down. The original gasket has 3 flat sides and a slight arch type top to the gasket to cover the upper part of the hole where the brake booster mounts. The way this is there was a slight hole ALWAYS going to be open at the top. Note where the gasket ghosting marks are. Quite apparent to me. Now, it looks like there was a piece of insulation covering that up, so it may not been much of an issue. I got a feeling it's been like this since new. Or at least a VERY long time. The "FB" coded brake booster is factory-correct, but who knows.
Anyway, if you look at the factory or aftermarket gasket that mounts there, the arched shape goes toward the top for this very reason.
Just thought I'd toss that out there if there was a mystery leak inside the car that couldn't be traced...might have been enough dirt and crud built up to have sealed it off.
View attachment 117536
View attachment 117537
Dayam, waddayadoin next week? That’s pretty impressive. Thought perhaps sharing a series of “before” pictures so you can tell me precisely how I’m about to die with my frame (preferably controlled) drop? 😏
Very astute observation. I noticed it as well. I think it was a mistake on the assembly line. I'm finding most of my car was original (76K miles on the OD). Like you stated, clean body color firewall underneath and a clear imprint of the upside down gasket fail. Guess you earn the cupie doll. 👶
Hope I can do better putting it back together.
Hutch
You'll do a great job. Quality work is part of your signature. It's unfortunate to see the "quality" that these cars endured during assembly. Granted, if I put on 500 of these gaskets every day, I'd probably slap one on upside down by mistake every now and again. That's where USPS got their slogan "If it fits, it ships.". 🙂
I didn't mean to imply you wouldn't do a great job putting it back together. It'll look way better than new when you're done. I have so many first-world problems that I felt needed resolution, and this was one of them. 😋
Oh, and about the spatula for scraping butyl glue. Yours is metal, but do you think that a plastic scraper would work just as well or would it be too flimsy for scraping tar babies off the HVAC housing?
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