Unksol's Metro build thread.... Maybe

@brainmist I simmer well. The is probably going to take a while and I know meh is not the best place for projects with very infrequent updates/niche things. Or to ask if anyone has spare G10 exhaust valves. Lol.

But I like you all so it may just pop up every now and then as progress is made.

@unksol I am gonna say that the mechanic-specific/ Youtube fora have provided me with ridiculous advice, fixing a fuckload of mundane issues (I had to call brakes on one where it was easier/ cheaper for me, an end user, to replace than repair, but my golly, people were so willing to help!)

I’ve replaced more parts on washers than I’ve replaced washers, entirely because of the DIY community. Anyway, I really hope you can find that help!

@brainmist I think that’s an across the board thing that was not used to people before. That’s pretty well covered. But yea you have to cuver it.

@chienfou I believe it came in a convertible at the standard ~50 hp

@chienfou
It’s deja vu all over again…

@chienfou
It’s deja vu all over again…

@chienfou @phendrick
You may ask yourself, Well, how did I get here?

@pmarin I would not call this a vintage classic. Or anything. However because I’m my dad’s son I appreciate a good high mpg car. With a manual transmission of course.

Personally I think the Saturn SL hit it right on the head. I miss her.

However the Metro is the OG on MPG. And the body is pretty good

There’s some emotional payload that I don’t think I can explain.

Although… If you can get a date to step into your metro… They must trust you. There are people I would not ride with lol

@pmarin also not a convertible. This is a hatchback. They were sold as a Chevy from 1998-2001. So she probably got a post OBDII. They had a lot of names

@pmarin I think that was floated a few times over the years. The Saturn probably would have been a better/easier/more common platform. And since it ONLY made 40MPG…

The central spirit was to rebuild the engine not just make it move. and it really is so simple… I need to do that first.

Yes it could be turned into an shell on an electric Zamboni skid… But that’s not a metro. Not in spirit

@pmarin I always dreamed of making an electric car when I was a kid (overlaps when Metros were current). At some point I decided the best way to go about it would be to convert a small car, though I didn’t know where I would find any of the parts. (and it would be a few decades before I could have afforded any of it, even if I did know how to go about it)

It sure seems like there should be a much larger electric conversion market than I think there is, but I sure haven’t seen it. I guess because it’s so much simpler to just buy one already electrified at the factory, and just not worry about it?

@pmarin @xobzoo oh there are plenty of electrification projects. You can do it with lead acid. A zamboi motor. Etc. But none of it is going to a bolt on. Well not most. I have seen a few that could use an adapter plate to the original transmission but that kinda defeats the purpose. And regardless you have to weld in new mounts etc

You need a good high tourque motor and a good power source. Now that those are kinda just out there you can get your hands on one but still need to weld in/etc.

It’s probably a lot of money to put into the cheapest car. And again. It was designed this way cause gas. And it’s being saved because nostalgia. And the manual transmission. I might like an electric but it will probably be a new one.

Examples of metro/saturns on a quick search. Not going to say I read them all to the end but the basic ideas there at least

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solectria_Force
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/02/junkyard-find-electric-1995-geo-metro/
http://evxteam.org/vehicles/electric-saturn-sl2
https://www.diyelectriccar.com/threads/2000-saturn-sl-conversion.181954/

@pmarin @xobzoo EV Geo Metro, you say? Meet the Solectria Force:

(And yet, it’s not an odd enough vehicle for Aging Wheels, who has a Trabant, Lada, Wheego, Coda (x3), and a Reliant Robin. Maybe he needs a Zap Xebra.)

@narfcake @pmarin @xobzoo that was the first one of my links lol.

Like I said I think dad thought about it a little back in the lead acid days. As a maybe. But I think he always just planned on rebuilding that engine. I really don’t know why he didnt. It would have only taken a day or two plus parts and I wanted to help. Maybe just to busy/tired…

Turns out there was a lot of things they could have asked for help and he “didn’t want to bother me”. Not entirely sure what that was about. Since I offered on things I knew about. And he didn’t tell me about others… Dads are complicated

@narfcake @pmarin @unksol @xobzoo Having watched (from a safe distance) several other people try to make a useful DIY EV and fail on the “useful” part, I have to support the plan to just fix up what the factory gave it.

@narfcake @pmarin @werehatrack @xobzoo yea the EV is not a real thought. It is what it is. Once you take take that 3 cylinder out it’s… Just not a metro anymore.

You can put any body on any frame at that point.

To be honest I just feel a need to have it run again. And that should be simple. I just don’t know why he kept it… Maybe he just liked it. I know he liked MPG. I know he liked going out west. If you were going to haul a car behind an RV that would be a good one to run around town. Maybe it was the last car that was only his and had a stick shift. I don’t think Mom ever learned to drive one. That I saw.

Who knows
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@narfcake @pmarin @unksol @xobzoo I have a stickshift Escort Wagon in the carport that I will be driving again next summer. One way or another.

@werehatrack what’s wrong with her?

I drove a Saturn SL stick for almost 15 years. Most of my adult life. And 100 HP is way more fun than 220HP in a giant SUV.

If the metro goes well that’s good. They don’t make many 5 speeds these days. Maybe I should start hunting for abused 5 speeds as a backup now that used car prices have realigned

And 100 HP is way more fun than 220HP in a giant SUV.

@unksol @werehatrack AKA “slow car fast” – which is why I feel something like a Miata is more engaging driver’s car than any exotic will be.

@narfcake got any other recommendations? A miatata I here about a lot. But with the expedition hitch now I guess I can dip below the rust bealt if I wanted…

But one project at a time I guess.

@unksol As the meme goes:
(M)iata
(I)s
(A)lways
(T)he
(A)nswer

An older Porsche or BMW can offer the driving experience and engagement, but purchase and parts pricing are premium. Honda S2000 – also $$$. For straight line performance, there are a number of domestic options, but you don’t get the same handling. An older RWD Volvo (aka Turbo Brick) can make a great sleeper build, but they are commanding premiums nowadays too and manuals are very very rare.

@narfcake it’s just not the same if it not cheap. Although I’ve been working through that issue too… allowed to have a little fun. So who knows

@unksol The Escort wagon needs some rust repaired on the windshield frame, and a new windshield glass installed. Other than that, it’s just a matter of cleaning out all the damn mud dauber nests, finishing up the fuel pump swap and fuel system cleanout, fabricating and installing a new dipstick tube on the engine, and doing the preventive maintenance like the timing belt and water pump before putting it in service. It will need new tires as well, and the size it came with does not appear to be manufactured anymore. I’ll end up with something that’s a trifle wider and harder on gas mileage. Not ideal, but sometimes you have to go with what’s possible.

@werehatrack I assume then the front/rear suspension are all set?

The expedition has needed new tires but one front hub went bad. I replaced it and had the second to match the other. But when I started looking at it the parts were mismatched, some had zirks some didn’t. Boots were cracked. Some tie rids were a little sloppy…I’m just going to do the whole front end suspension.

THAN drive it in for tires/allingment. I didn’t want to spend $700 on tires if anything else was wrong. But. I think she’s actually fine

@narfcake @pmarin @unksol @werehatrack @xobzoo
A guy down the street from me has a DIY electric conversion on a small car using an electric forklift motor. He’s put a few thousand miles on it, but it’s not running at the moment.

@macromeh I have to replace and feed the hamster winding up the rubber band first. Plan of attack matters

@unksol Hey, could you retrofit a one of your many cats to replace the hamster?
(Or maybe to turbocharge the hamster…)

@macromeh no but I do somehow have a hamster aquarium in the garage, and when they were cleaning out my parents basement I found a bag that I know was mine from some dumb school event full of those plastic hamster tubes. You could put on top. In my defense there were 5 kids. It was not my hamster. Dad wouldn’t let us have a cat or a dog so one day she just… Surprised him with hamster lol.

I haven’t seen a hamster in almost 20 years.

I’m not a hoarder but I also hate wasting/throwing things out. I guess it just tagged along/there is not a goodwill close.

@macromeh @unksol Gerbils will wind up the rubber band about 50% faster than a hamster.

@macromeh @werehatrack I liked the gerbil but he was ways more orney. I mean I can take the bites but still annoying . And let’s be honest… You want torque. Give me a rat

@G1 Many modern (post-1945) exhaust valves are multi-material, with things like a stellite face and a hollow sodium-filled stem. They tend to have different hardnesses in the sten and head, too. Cutting something down to a custom size can be fine for a racer, where the valve may only need to be in service for a very short time, but it’s not good in a street mill.

@werehatrack I’ll take your word for it, but are we sure that the exhaust valves on a Geo Metro are much more than hardened steel?

After all, that is what fails on the engines.

Also, what is the point of sodium-filled stems? Is it elemental sodium? If they crack when you start the engine (with condensation in valve cover) will they explode? That would be cool to see, but not for the owner, of course.

@G1 @werehatrack from what I’ve been able to tell is a two material valves. People did all sorts of things over on geometroforums. I might ask around there but it seems like it’s now so old there’s less people doing custom stuff/orders/batches for the G10. Thinking about advancing the timing at least. Supposed to help avoid burning the valves. Maybe. Supposedly the cam could be swapped out if you could find one. I’m sure it would be more fun with another 25HP but I’ve never even driven it.

It’s not building it to spec it’s just even getting it running first. I know the brake lines are shot lol. So the whole car needs gone through not just the engine.

@G1 Sodium is used as a coolant, you can look it up. That’s not common in low-tech stuff, but i seems like what used to be bleeding-edge hypercar tech is turning up in econoboxen now. I guess I’m just getting ancient

@G1 I believe you can get 14 inch tires on it as is without rubbing. Have to deal with the speedometer/odometer obviously. Someone did 15s but they are going to rub on bumps and I like to take some back roads so. That might be pushing it a little too far.

@walarney where did you get the valves/parts though? But since it was a Subaru they are probably stocked lol. The work I can do. The parts are little elusive on the one. Well known good parts

@unksol Rock Auto had the valves, got some of the gaskets on Amazon, bought new head bolts from the dealership. Decided to leave the bottom end alone because cylinders looked ok and some bushings and parts were scarce.

@walarney no valves for me at rockauto which is my largest concern. The china/enginetech ones are probably going to be it. But I haven’t started unbolting things yet so lol

@unksol here wishing you luck with the rusty exhaust parts! (and don’t forget to order a new timing belt while your at it)

@walarney exhaust? I don’t need no stink exhaust!

But seriously I have replaced them multiple times but the current 97 expedition I cannot get the damn flange bolts out even if I wanted to spend $700…

No inspections in my state so. Mixed feelings. Metro is better than laying on my floor

@unksol A few things to try-- Look into Suzuki Samurai exhaust valves. I think that the Samurai 1.3L engine (G13) is largely just the G10 with a fourth cylinder. Somebody on Suzuki Forums might know. There’s a guy named Fordem over there who seems to know everything.
Another thing to possibly look into is Maruti parts. Suzuki Maruti is the India-based Suzuki operation, and has continued making parts for some of the older Suzuki vehicles they still use more commonly over there.

@Limewater I’ve been deep down the g13L 1.3 liter valve well. I’m not convinced the ones I could get would be better/worse. But I have a cleare work surface. Just need to start unbolting

@djslack I feel like my definition of restoration involves body work/rust/interior/etc?

The interior is near immaculate as is the body. Just needs a good bath. It was in an (unconditioned) garage except for the last 2 years. However I haven’t been under it yet.

I’m really hoping the head is flat which. It just shouldn’t be warped. Then it’s just replacing parts if they can be found. I suspect enginetech is just packaging available parts and since parts are limited still just Chinese valves. But. Seems to be the only one having some parts…

I’ve never taken anything to a machine shop so I don’t have that relationship/they are harder to find in a ruralish area. But we’ll see

@werehatrack more finding one. Or is any machine shop just going to take random work? Dad was a machinist plus had a guy. I do not yet lol. Or know if you just call. Or who to talk to.

@unksol I used to be one of them, but mosy of my equipmen is long one.

@werehatrack right. There are 10k people here and I drive past a machine shope or two now and then but what… Just knock on the front door and ask could you take x off my head? Cold calling feels off

@unksol what I meant to do was show the cylinders from two different directions. Only managed in cylinder three. Let’s try angle 2 on cylinders 1 and 2 again

@unksol grumbles… I said marks on the crank when I clearly meant marks on the cam. The metro doest have camshaft bearings like many other cars do. Which might be nice in this case

Side note, do any of you other people have that OCD thing where you read it back 100 times, send it, read it another 100, than catch it?

I definitely… Err certainly… Er never… Do. That

@unksol Proffreading your own stuff only catches some of the misteaks. Spell-check would have missed that cam/crank error, too.

@werehatrack lol at misteaks. Nice

@unksol @werehatrack what’s the best marinade for misteaks?

A salt, pepper & garlic solution

@unksol had a Focus that munched a valve seat and bent the connecting rod. had some pretty deep scores in that cylinder. machine shop sleeved just that one. might be an alternative to avoid having to buy oversize pistons – if they’re even available.

a little hard to find a shop around here that does small engine work these days. place that i went for the Focus engine was great… even ordered parts for me at about the same price i was seeing online. but they do diesel only now. if they’re even still in business.

@walarney it’s just a fingernail catch. I mean I’m sure it would run but. Eh.

Haven’t gotten the block out they were doing the roof the last three days then it rained… I mean I can work on it inside but it’s just better with some sun and the door open and the radio going. Saturday looks okay

@unksol I need to drop the fuel tank on my truck to replace the pump and have not enough room indoors at the moment. let’s hope for both of us for a sunny weekend – or at least not raining for once.

@walarney ugh. I hope it’s not full or you pump it out. Dropping a full tank is unpleasant. I guess at least it’s a truck so some room to work

@walarney any luck? I was going to have to start late yesterday then there was rain. And temps started dropping. Been in the mid 30s so meh lol.

@unksol Been driving the truck putting only 2 gallons in at a time. Not entirely sure if it’s the pump, filter, or regulator… but it’s all one module anyway. And it was a beautiful weekend, hit close to 70, but had guests over.

@walarney yea I just dumped 10 gallons in and let it go for the main car. Deal with it later

@walarney procrastinating is the best lol

@walarney excuse me wife I’d rather go get soaked in gasoline than stay at your party.

Probably has negative consequences

@unksol it was a nice weekend, got the fuel pump swapped. Secondary locks on electrical connectors you can’t see and can barely reach are just plain evil. Unfortunately, didn’t fix my problem and now the level gauge doesn’t work.

on the bright side… pretty sure i found the source of that rattle that’s been bugging me for about a year.

@walarney Uhhh, yeah, that’d do it, all right. I hope that yoke is still usable, or it’s going to be driveshaft shop time.

@werehatrack the yoke is… um… it’s less than ideal. but i’m going with “better than it was” and/or “that’s a problem for future Walarney”

@walarney Eep. Yes, it’ll probably work for at least a short while if not overtaxed, but the less than perfect support for the bearing cap is going to become the failure point for the new joint all too easily if the driveline is subjected to much shock or strain. I’d be shopping for a good used replacement while driving carefully. Hopefully you’re driving a model that was made in number sufficient to have left a ready supply available.

@unksol much depends upon the goal of the project. If you’re trying to create something that’s going to last 75% as long as a new one would have at a minimum, then I’d say to go ahead and bore it. Whether it would work with just honing or dingleberrying is something that I really can’t evaluate very well from here. But generally, the rule of thumb has to be that if you can feel it, it probably matters. Once you have the pistons out, you’ll be able to make a better guess about whether it really is serious. My gut instinct is that it probably should be bored.

@werehatrack yeah. I’m kinda leaning there I mean it’s going to be a second car and I work from home so only 5K miles a year and it’s just a metro. Could paint it. If you’re going to do it for fun might as well… I don’t have a machinest but I guess there’s time to find one

@pakopako lol my first car was a 1990 Plymouth acclaim which my dad bought for $500 with a blown head gasket. I did alot of the work so he sold it to me for $500 after it was working. Granted he paid for the parts, not that a head gasket swap costs much if the head isnt warped. In 2001 or 2002.

The reason that resonates is there was a dodge spirit, which is the same car, R/T with a 220HP engine and a manual vs the 100HP automatic. And I just thought it would be funny to be in a sedan that could move. The sleeper thing. Idk what for.

The 99 100HP manual Saturn SL was just fun to drive and 40 mpg. 4 doors. OBD2. $1650 in 2004 with 100K. Was a great car. Went to 250K Miles/drove it for 15 years before it started knocking and still ran. Was going to swap engines. But other body damage/rust/issues… If I saw a nice SL… I might be tempted.

It’s been a 1990, jumped to 1999, 1997, 1991 now… Hmm

@unksol Looks pretty good from here.

@werehatrack IDK how I can tell anything till I pull the pistons, check the bearings and the crank. Did feel a bit of metal in the oil pickup. But it wasn’t blocked. That I saw or bearing material. And there were chunks of the valves gone so… Could easily explain the material and the scratches in the walls. But yeah. Need to pull pistons. Then find a shop

@werehatrack well and I don’t know how to inspect a clutch but that was always going to be replaced

I think I see some points it was rubbing though

@unksol I’d call that one “just about used up”, but since it’s out, I assume you’d have replaced it with any significant wear.

@werehatrack right I mean it’s a wear component so any time your in this deep you swap them anyway. They still make good clutch kits too. Looks like it was rubbing on some rivets though. Yikes

@unksol @werehatrack on my Justy, when they surfaced the flywheel, they also turned the clutch mounting surface so the engagement distance/force remains the same. I think maybe someone didn’t do that another time, because my clutch doesn’t engage until the very top of the pedal travel (and the cable is adjusted as far as it can go). Or is it the same on the Geo?

@G1 Machining the top of the block is almost never a good idea. Machining the head is done only when it’s not straight, which is why it’s important to have a good straightedge to check it with. Peeling metal off of a head that is straight increases the compression ratio and messes up the cam timing, both of which can bring emissions up and cause detonation, neither of which is a good thing. But if the head’s not flat, there’s not much of a choice short of machining it. And what I see that tells me to check really hard for head unflatness between the chambers is the fact that two of them show the characteristic carbon absence that results when an engine is operated with the head gasket leaking for longer than it takes to get parked.

I’m not sure what grooves you’re seeing in the seal bores, but if there are any, they’d be present to make seal or bore-plug retention more certain. I’ve only run across them once in a while.

I’ve seen terrible-looking cam journals last 200,000 miles without loss of oil pressure, and so few engines have replaceable cam bearings that they would be a common service item if cam bearing surface condition was truly all that crucial. I see no reason for concern in these.

@werehatrack Seal seat groves do not look like they are supposed to be there.

First pic of cam journal tops, groove on lhs of seat, not even wear across part and not perpendicular to cam axis. Just slightly crooked. My seals had metal “washers” fully encapsulated with the pliable seal material. Metal let you tap them home while keeping pliable stuff in place. If they make them all like that, then pliable got worn thru and steel washer cut groove into (Al?) journal seal depression.
Different wear on other 2, might be typical.

Might be typical to have cam seal cut a partial groove for all I know. Not an expert. Hell, I can’t even paste the pic I am referring to.

@G1 That dark line coming down from the left hand side at a slight angle? That looks like a trace of sealant. It was common to put a dab of sealant at the parting line, and if the seal was sitting there in that bore when the sealant was applied, and a thread of it followed along across part of the seal, it would have ended up on the cap. I really doubt that that’s a groove.

@werehatrack Are we looking at the same pic? (Serious question, not mean.)
I’m looking at the first pic showing the cam, without the valves. The first of 3 in a row showing the camshift and the cam clamp/journal/bearing next to the corresponding cam wear surface (the “round” lobe ).

It looks like a fingernail would easily catch the groove in the seal seat where the round meets the flat surface.

@G1 Note that the dark line is at a slight angle; if that’s a groove (which I don’t think it is), it would not have been possible for it to have been made by the rotating cam or anything spinning with it - which would have carved it perfectly parallel to the shoulder. To me, that looks exactly like a line of old non-silicone sealant. And such a groove would have made the full circle or not been present at all. If that’s a groove, the only plausible possibility is that it’s a scar created by somebody’s hamfisted attempt long ago to get an old seal out without taking off the valve cover and cam cap, but that kind of damage is usually across the face of the bore, not along it. (And it usually leaks if not dealt with carefully.) Looking at the mating face of the head would answer the question; if a matching mark is not visible in the seal bore in the head, the likelihood that it’s anything but a line of old sealant drops to near zero, leaving only the scant possibility of it being OEM damage in manufacturing, which even Suzuki would have been unlikely to allow out the door. In any event, it’s certainly of no significant consequence even if it’s a groove; it’s easily eliminated as a potential leak source via any number of routes.

@G1 @werehatrack it is indeed a realitively deep groove. I hadn’t been looking at the sealing surfaces at the time, just breaking it down. Considering it’s in the middle and there’s plenty to each side I’m not sure it would impact much/how it got like that. There should still be plenty of surface area for the seal. It’s not all the way around on the cap and the head seal surface is perfectly smooth. Not sure how that would have happened? Manufacturing defect? The seal itself looks fine too.

I havent cleaned anything the gasket material on the head pretty much rubs right off though.

The cam journal/cap “striations” are visible but can’t be felt. I’m thinking they’d “buff” out a little bit with like a scotch bad or something but not like I can get replacements anyway so. Some things will have to be what they are.

The known and obvious issues are the burnt/chipped exhaust valves so might as well clean it all out and do the rings/hone the cylinders/all the gaskets so it’s got a shot. Something was leaking oil but I dont think that seal.

Coolant looks more like someone mixed orange and green then it say for 2 decades than a head gasket to me. No coolant in the oil at all

@unksol @werehatrack “No coolant in the oil at all”.

I think there might be oil in the coolant.
It can be one or the other, and not be both. My car had the blown head gasket, which resulted in exhaust gasses (with a bit of oil) blowing into the coolant passages. The oil was uncontaminated, but the coolant took the hit. I was unaware that this could be a thing, yet there I was, polishing the heads on a glass table, and cleaning small amounts of the light brown mold-looking crap out of the cooling passages.

But I can be wrong on lots of stuff. That should be on my Family Crest.

@G1 @werehatrack I think it’s unusual to not see coolant in the oil since the coolant system would be at pressure? The current head gasket looked fine when I pulled it off but it’s always possible it happened and the previous owner didn’t flush it properly. I guess if blew at the cylinder and the oil passage and the coolant passage the pressure from the cylinder exhaust gas would push it one way

I don’t think Dad drove it long based on the title/license dates so he may have just picked it up for cheap and waited to flush it till the rebuild… That never happened. He was doing a lot of work on the new old house at the time too. Lots of projects.

Can’t say I don’t make those choices either. But either way. It’s apart and will get as cleaned as it can. Still need to pull the pistons though/check the crank. And it’s time to start yard work up here now. Sigh

@unksol @werehatrack Both oil and water are under pressure (pumps). Don’t know which is higher pressure (Probably coolant ??).

The issue with my car was very specific, always happened in the same spot on either head, and always resulted in random overheating. Exhaust gasses would find their way into coolant passages, end up behind the thermostat, and the big bubble of “air” would cool off. Thermostat would stay closed, thus, overheat engine. The quick “fix” was to drill a small hole in the thermostat to let air pass through.

Porsche can make a head gasket last forever-ish on a boxer engine, why not Subaru? Gasket always had part soaking in oil and coolant. That’s where it blew out. The low point was the bottom of the rear cylinders.

@G1 @unksol Cooling system pressure never exceeds 14 psi on that one. Oil pressure typically runs between 25 and 45 psi. But if a head gasket failure occurs allowing coolant to get into the passages that return oil from the cylinder head down into the block, there is no oil pressure at that location. If the head gasket fails at the point where the pressurized oil is flowing up through the block into the cylinder head, and allows flow into the water jacket, then you get oil contamination in the cooling system. It’s all in where the failure occurs. And it is perfectly possible to have both kinds of failure at the same time.

@G1 @werehatrack I’ll readily admit I don’t have stats on either. Mostly it did not look blown/wasn’t what I was checking for.

@G1 @werehatrack any other thoughts on that groove on the cap for the seal? I’m honestly not worried about it. It’s high enough up it wouldn’t be a major place to leak and like I said there’s plenty of room on both sides of the groove to still fully seal.

I could see how it could be intentional so that when you bolt the caps down it bites into the seal a tiny bit to keep it from spinning so the cam spins in the seal. Couldn’t find any actual documentation on it though.

Or maybe it just left the factory that way. It was a cheap car/engine and to me was easy to miss. I guess technically it doesn’t matter. Not going to hunt a new engine over that. Kinda ruins it if it can’t be rebuilt too

@G1 @unksol Ignore it. Where it’s located, it’s not going to cause a problem.

@G1 @werehatrack yeah, I wasn’t going to worry about it. I think it’s fine for several reasons. Can’t imagine how it happened though except from the factory…

I was focused on the rotating surfaces. @G1 I appreciate the catch didn’t even think to look there.

Still need to pull the pistons and crank. I got lazy again and it’s finally time to mow…and a bunch of other chores… But it would only take an hour… We’ll see

@werehatrack very nice. Glad it could be saved.

Dad had a fully stocked driveway two across and three to four deep. With the running ones at the end. He had a hard time letting things go although they were more late 90s/early 2000s. Finally all got cleared when… Well… Yea.

I am glad the metro was “mostly” in the garage. Not that that fixes all those issues but definitely helped/tires seem surprisingly fine since it was out of the sun for most of the time. The garage it was in also had one of those old school brick pits for you to work under it, instead of a lift. So the lower temp in there probably dehumidified the garage to some extent.

IDK why everyone hates on the PT Cruiser. I think it’s fine style wise. Way better than the weird boxes. Grandpa had wanted one…

What’s wrong with it?

@unksol The cruiser actually runs just fine, but it needs a preventive timing belt swap (and water pump, because labor overlap), the torque strut bushings and one motor mount need to be replaced (I’ll do all of the driveline mounts), the sunroof needs new cables and sliders, the paint is supercrazed and needs to be completely redone, and I’ll replace all of the 21-year-old water hoses just because. And the thermostat, again just because. The brakes were worn past ridiculous when I got it, and I need to finish that part of the work; new calipers, rotors, pads, hoses, and master cylinder. Probably the O2 sensor as well. I had to build new battery cables for it already, and there are a couple of other minor things. It’s an '03, so it goes into antique status in four years.

@werehatrack well. Yeah if your draining the coolant on something that age, replace all the hoses etc.

The only thing I think I might not do, out of cheapness, would be the calipers if I could crack all the bleeders… But often even with a 6 point socket and a drill bit to support the center… Something goes awol that old.

Def did not let this happen

Or this on the rear when I bought it.

Why I didn’t have pics of the pulled axels and diff open IDK. That was fun because it wouldn’t shit into park when I bought it and the emergency brake wouldn’t hold so you made sure you parked on very level spots and carried a chock.

@unksol The right front caliper was seized, so the left front caliper had been doing all the work. I didn’t think that was a useful operational situation. And if I’m going to replace one caliper that’s that old, I might as well do them both.

@werehatrack I agree there. I was able to tap the overextended cylinders on the one caliper back in and get the bleed screws open. Then equalize.

The back end hardware. There is only one set of shoes because the other was literally gone. They had disintegrated so badly they fell off. But it’s been even wear since

But one side being off especially with braking will not be good.

@werehatrack in did have to sawsall through half the rotor than use the bolt to brackect trick to get those dam rotors off. They did not want to go. At all