Here we go again.....................

UPDATE**

Well after freezing my cajones off yesterday I can cross a few items off the repair list.

Finished the headliner install, but it was too friggin cold to snap any photos since my phone kept shutting off. I will say even though it was a PITA and fought me each step of the way, it definitely transforms the interior and makes it look nice again. Did not break anything except for the headliner clips along the windshield. I have looked online for replacement clips and believe I found them, but they are not cheap ($10 each). Hopefully 3 should do the trick since there is no tension on that molding and the front lip is held tight by the sunvisor brackets.

Swapped out the hood and rear bumper fillers. Also grabbed the rear taillights off his old wagon which were in better shape. changed the plugs and wires, but not the distributor cap since we ran out of time. The car has a skip so I am hoping it will be fixed by replacing the cap, coil and rotor since everything else has been replaced.

Now he has to get the car to his mechanic to fine tune everything and install the new exhaust system. Then he can get a trailer hitch and the rear airbags installed at the same time since I'm sure they have a warmer place to work then I do.

If my dad hosts for Xmas I'll try and snap a few photos of the interior.

 

Ted, enjoyed your progress report. I've heard it gets cool in Illinois winters while working on cars.

 

Ha, Ha. At least I'm not sweating installing a headliner panel.

I am just trying to keep the project going and not let it stall out or my dad will resort to parking the car until the spring and then having to deal with all of these minor repairs all at once. Right now, the car can be driven to the shop to have it looked at and as I like to say, "it can be fixed if you throw enough $$ at it."

I just saved him a ton of $$ doing the initial repairs and restoration. His birthday was yesterday, but I was so tired when I left his house I didn't even wish him a happy birthday. Guess the car work will have to suffice.

 

If you'd come down to Pekin and work on my station wagon you wouldn't have to wish me happy birthday either.
to your father!
Actually today is our oldest son's birthday and I did wish him happy birthday.
Good luck on the wagon. Very few good driving days left till spring.

 

Do you at least have shelter? Here in the PNW, it's been'cold' (no biggie dealie), and my friend Steven and I are getting Dad's truck engine back together after blown head gaskets. My niece graciously allowed me to bring it in so that we could do the job, and Steven could learn how to do it. No cracked heads, only a smidge of warpage, taken out with a kiss on the head mill, and all 16 valves are in great shape. Putting it back together, we're doing a full tuneup, so the truck should run darned good after cleaning carbon from the EGR passages in the plenum and out of the Thermactor passages in the two heads. Had enough soft coal to start a fire in the garage....

 

Yes, he has a garage, but no heat inside there and the lighting is crap. Right now, the car is at my dad's "personal" mechanic -- a guy who has worked on his old wagons for over a decade and knows them pretty well. He is going to give the car a once over and repair/replace whatever needs to be done. I am guessing he's going to finish my tune up and install a new cap, rotor and coil, rebuild the carb and get it running smooth. Then, he'll get the exhaust system replaced and install the rear air bags.

I am guessing the transmission pan is leaking, but he'll change the filter and replace the fluid along with checking the mounts and U-joints. After the initial rush to get customer cars winter ready, he has plenty of room and plenty of time to devote to my dad's ride.

I look forward to seeing it at X-mas if he can get everything in order by then.

I'll post some photos when I get a change to snap a few.

 

UPDATE**

Just got a call from my dad after his guy looked at the car, but it was not clear what tests he has run. Without a detailed explanation supporting his recommendation, the guy says we need to install a rebuilt engine and while it's out might as well install a rebuilt transmission as well. Oh, and he was pressing my dad to hurry up and decide what he wanted to do. So much for my hope that this guy would take good car of my dad and his car. I told my dad to pay the $200 he owes him to check the car out and fix a few vacuum lines and bring the car home.

If I have to wait until the spring to fix this thing I will. I am not going to do a leak down test in the middle of December in the driveway. I can't tell you how pissed I am that he was very dismissive of my dad and did not do a proper inspection before handing down a $6 to 8K dollar repair estimate. Seriously?

As I've said before, if it's mechanical, it can be fixed. It's just too bad the weather here is not going to be on my side for several months. Will post any news if we get a break in the temps.

 

That really sucks. As a professional mechanic/diagnostic tech, it just gives the industry a black eye that there are those who only look for the dollar, and nothing else.

 

Without seeing the car it sounds to me like he doesn't want to work on the car, but if he does he is going to get every dollar he can from you. Too bad.

 

**UPDATE:

So I visited my dad for Xmas and went thru the invoice from his mechanic -- $322.00 with no itemized charges, just a list of items he checked. So he repaired a few vacuum lines, reset the idle speed, bled some air from the main brake proportioning block and "suggested" a rebuilt engine, rebuilt trans, new brake booster ($400??) and the cost to install everything. No leak down test, did not pull either valve cover to see if there is a broken valve spring, did not change the cap and rotor which was sitting in the front seat. Whatever, I told him he needs a new guy because it seems clear this mechanic is getting too old to care and properly troubleshoot. I cannot imagine his shop is packed full right now so he had the time.

Right now it's -10 degrees so I am not in the mood to tear into anything standing in his cold driveway. Maybe if it warms up in the next couple of weeks so I can rule out the obvious. Going to finish the tune up I started, replace the MAP sensor, buy a set of wire separators to keep all the wires from touching (I read that could be one cause of the skipping thru cross firing), remove all the plugs and pour a capfull of Marvel Mystery oil in each cylinder and let it soak, run a 1/2 quart of synthetic ATF in the oil to free up any stuck lifters and pull both valve covers if I have the time and sunlight. These are all easy, cheap fixes in my opinion.

I will post more updates when I get a chance to dive back into the frozen pool.

 

You can use zippy ties to separate the wires, no need to spend for separators. With wires, unless you have a rub-through on both, it's that you don't want wires lying parallel to each other. If they cross at 20* or better, no current can induce from one wire to another. so you take one zippy tie and encircle all the wires loosely, then take ties and go between wires, encircling the first zippy tie, so that the slack is lightly taken up. When all the zippy ties are in place, pull the separating ones snug then pull the encircling one lightly snug and cut off the tails.
With the ATF, you only want to run it about 150-200 miles, then change the oil and filter. My understanding is that the chems used in ATF are not 100% compatible with the chems in oil, let alone well-used oil.

 

UPDATE***

Ok, so despite the arctic temps here in IL, I am planning on continuing my troubleshooting on the engine. I posted another thread about the car skipping at idle and my checklist of items I still have to do before I decide to pull this engine and trans and install another pair I found locally.

I was hoping my dad's regular mechanic would take over from me and complete the tune up I started, run a compression test on the engine and make sure this engine could be salvageable. Instead, he reconnected some missing/cracked vacuum lines, changed the oil and charged my dad $300 with an estimate to replace the engine and transmission, replace the power brake booster and a few misc items for the tune of $6K to $8K. I've already done my rant on my other thread, so no going to reiterate things here.

Since I started this project I am going to see it thru. The goal for this weekend is:

1. Complete tune up with replacement cap, rotor and coil (already did the plugs and wires)
2. Replace MAP sensor and rescan computer for any codes (original scan gave code 34)
3. Run the engine and check for skipping and related idle issues. If everything is good to go, continue down the list.
4. If there is still a noticeable skipping, it's time to dig deeper and run a compression test and pull the valve cover on the side where the skip is coming from -- I believe it is the drivers side.

I would hope by now I would know the difference between a skip caused by an electrical issue versus a loose rocker arm or worse, rod knock. It's not a banging sound, so that leads me to believe it is electrical or vacuum related. Will post what I find out. In my heart and with the super low miles on this car, I cannot agree with the mechanic's opinion that my dad needs a replacement engine and while he's in there, a replacement transmission as well. However, if I do all the repairs and tests I expected the mechanic to do and the car still runs poorly, I have already located a matching replacement engine and trans from an 86 Cadillac with less than 40K miles ready to purchase and drop in myself. Not anywhere close to costing $6K.

Moving on down the list, if the tune up does its job, then assuming I don't freeze my lower extremities working in his driveway,

5. Swapping the steering wheel and woodgrain dash bezel in front of the steering wheel
6. Install replacement power antenna bezel/spacer
7. Refinish and install replacement LH fender turn signal indicator housing.
8. Complete front headliner molding install with replacement clips.
9. Trace transmission fluid leak -- may just need pan bolts tightened or new gasket.
10. May attempt installing rear airbags depending on how smoothly the above repairs go...

As usual, I will post whatever photos I can snap and keep this thread going until this beauty is back on the road.

Ted

 

Have you been able to locate a scan tool with datastream? I assume an electronic Q-Jet, and if it is, I'm thinking the AFM 'window' lean-to-rich, rich-to-lean is out of whack or the engine's wear has gone beyond the computer's capability to compensate. First, you need to know the dwell for the mixture control solenoid (the spec calls for 30* dwell at idle), then the oxygen sensor range should be between 100 and 900 mV (100 is the 'lean' part of the window and 900 is the 'rich' part of the window). If you think the misfire's ignition-related, you can do a cylinder manual shorting test at the dizzy cap (I suggested this to another member also: http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/threads/my-daddywagon.27349/page-12 and read post #178. The instructions are exactly the same for GM HEI.

 

** UPDATE **

Ok, I finally got up north to do some more troubleshooting on the wagon. Finished replacing the cap and rotor and while I had the air cleaner base off, I found another broken vacuum line that runs to the MAP sensor base that my dad's mechanic apparently did not see and/or fix. I reattached that line, said a prayer to the car gods and hit the key. Some sputtering until I gave it some decent throttle passes. Then, I had a chance to listen to the car once it slowed down to idle. Less noticeable skip, but it sounds like a metal tick on the passenger side. From the top of the engine listening close to the valve cover, I can hear a faint tick, almost like one of the lifters has bled down or a rocker needs to small adjustment. Huge improvement over the last running of the engine before I completed the full tune up.

From underneath with the engine running I can definitely hear several exhaust leaks near the manifold, but I cannot tell if there is a hole in the manifold itself or whether the pipes are leaking. I can "feel" a knock from underneath that sounds and feels like a metal pulsation (hard to describe) but it could just be the exhaust leaking. I repaired the gaping holes in rear muffler with one of those DIY muffler patch kits until he can get to a Midas and have the entire system replaced. To rule out a lifter, I put 1/2 quart of synthetic ATF in the crankcase to clean up any varnish or clogged oil passages. I told him to drive the car for a few miles at a time and see if there is any change in the ticking. so far, no CEL on the dash so I'm not going to replace the MAP sensor just yet. My guess the check engine light was due to lack of vacuum to the sensor, but only time will tell.

I am still not convinced he needs to replace this engine, but to be fair, I have not pulled the valve cover on the passenger side or performed a leak down test. I would like to replace the fuel filter again in case there is some trash that got sucked into the filter from the tank that could be causing a slight surge in fuel delivery which could account for the slight uneven idle. The leakdown will confirm the health of the valves and rings. The valve cover removal will reveal whether any rockers need adjusting.

He has started cleaning the door jambs, rocker stainless trim and wire wheels, so hopefully this gives him the push he needs to get the car out on the road to work out the kinks.

So far, I still need to do the following:

1. Install rear air bags
2. Swap steering wheel
3. Install replacement driver power mirror switch
4. Complete engine idle diagnosis
5. Replace exhaust system (whatever is needed)
6. Replace power brake booster
7. Tighten up both exterior mirrors on the bases (anyone know how to do this with the mirrors still on the car???
8. Full detail and interior shampoo

Will post more as I go.

Ted

 

Oldsmobile rockers are not adjustable. Could be a lifter or worn rocker arm bridges which are not all that uncommon.