Currently chasing a few gremlins while tackling other small things. The current 2 cooling issues are:
1. The temp gauge is pinned at the lowest reading and the engine is getting pretty hot. The upper rad hose has fluid in it and if you give it a squeeze, you can see/hear it moving into the expansion tank. However, half the upper rad hose is getting really warm, the other half cold. The bottom rad hose is also not warm, neither is any other coolant. On one hand, it seems like the coolant isn't flowing, which could be a water pump? Or maybe the thermostat is shot or something. I haven't run it for any length of time for fear of damaging something. I plan on pulling the current thermostat this weekend and doing a quick blow torch test, instead of just throwing parts in. Anything else I should be looking at during that time?
2. AC is gone. So previous owner(s) installed the AC system from a 79 Grand Prix, but the Compressor is just sort of missing. The connectors are a bit messed up. Honestly I am looking around and it sounds like I should be replacing a large amount of the AC system, on top of getting a new/rebuild compressor, then after I get that done I still need an AC flush. I am slowly adding everything up and man, it is getting pricey fast, $300 for R43 compressor, $25 belts, $200 for the hoses/misc parts, couple hundred for the flush/charge. Now, I could probably score a junk yard R4 for about $50 and work on re-building it myself with all new seals, doing all of this in an inexpensive way, but with zero guarantee it would work. I figure it will be at least $400 for all the parts from various sources plus plenty of time, versus close to $1000 or more for a more profession job. Or, I could buy a $30 block off plate and rip all the AC junk out. It does get pretty toasty here, but I have power windows. Is it really even a worth while thing to pursue? I think the half installed AC system looks like hell right now, so I need to either rebuild or remove.
1. The temp gauge is pinned at the lowest reading and the engine is getting pretty hot. The upper rad hose has fluid in it and if you give it a squeeze, you can see/hear it moving into the expansion tank. However, half the upper rad hose is getting really warm, the other half cold. The bottom rad hose is also not warm, neither is any other coolant. On one hand, it seems like the coolant isn't flowing, which could be a water pump? Or maybe the thermostat is shot or something. I haven't run it for any length of time for fear of damaging something. I plan on pulling the current thermostat this weekend and doing a quick blow torch test, instead of just throwing parts in. Anything else I should be looking at during that time?
2. AC is gone. So previous owner(s) installed the AC system from a 79 Grand Prix, but the Compressor is just sort of missing. The connectors are a bit messed up. Honestly I am looking around and it sounds like I should be replacing a large amount of the AC system, on top of getting a new/rebuild compressor, then after I get that done I still need an AC flush. I am slowly adding everything up and man, it is getting pricey fast, $300 for R43 compressor, $25 belts, $200 for the hoses/misc parts, couple hundred for the flush/charge. Now, I could probably score a junk yard R4 for about $50 and work on re-building it myself with all new seals, doing all of this in an inexpensive way, but with zero guarantee it would work. I figure it will be at least $400 for all the parts from various sources plus plenty of time, versus close to $1000 or more for a more profession job. Or, I could buy a $30 block off plate and rip all the AC junk out. It does get pretty toasty here, but I have power windows. Is it really even a worth while thing to pursue? I think the half installed AC system looks like hell right now, so I need to either rebuild or remove.