My name is Anthony. I am 27, in good health, mechanically inclined (however not trained), have tons of free time, and I want to keep my 1997 850 GLT for keeps. I love this car. I dated the love of my life in this car, I had my most enjoyable scenic drive in this car, I believe it to be becoming a classic car in the next 15 years, it has treated me well and I want to do well by it. Maybe some day, my son will do well by it too. That being said, it needs some work if it is going to last another 20 years.
It runs well. It has never failed to start. The AC, the Heater, the radio all work. I am missing the fuel door, and the antenna no longer extends and retracts on it own, and I have an oil leak. A bad oil leak. Like a quart every 50 miles bad. Maybe worse.
Here's the story of my 850 GLT
I bought the car for $800 in 2012. I had to replace the radiator, plugs and cables, rotors and pads, tires, and I used zip ties to reduce the distance between the AC magnets so that the compressor would engage and I could charge the AC.
Not bad. In all, about $1500 for a car that has never failed to start or left me stranded. Getting it to pass smog was a problem, misfire in multiple cylinders would throw a check engine light, ecv would throw a check engine light, oil leaked. But, if i used a sure pass smog additive, and got the check engine light cleared by someone with a computer/reader on the way to the smog station, and they didn't check for oil leaks, it would pass.
Needs timing belt soon
And it did. The previous owner mentioned the timing belt needed to be replaced and that failing to do so could cause a whole hell of a lot of problems. Minimal valve clearance and such. Never did that though as the owners manual he passed on to me has a receipt for the belt having been replaced at 128k miles in 2009. Its at 185k miles now and its 2017 so probably need to think about that soon. I digress.
I drove the car. It worked. I worked. We got along. For a couple years. Then i did what i thought was good idea, an oil change. Then only about 1k miles later, another one. Both times using a system cleaner, the type where you add to the oil to be replaced a fluid and then let the car idle for 15 minutes. Then drain, change the filter, and refill. Figured i was cleaning out the gunk. Well, i did clean out the gunk. The gunk that was keeping a relatively small oil leak, a few drops a day, from turning into a big one.
I had taken the car to a mechanic early on, when i had to clear the check engine light before i smogged it the first time and to replace a cv boot/shaft. There was oil all over the undercarriage from the, then, relatively small oil leak. He advised pressure washing the oil off as the corrosive nature would start to damage rubber and plastic pieces along the bottom of the car. So i said sure lets do it. Then he added a purple colored dye to the oil so that we could try to find the source of the leak.
We found it. It was coming from what i believe to be between the engine and the transmission. He said he could take it all apart and fix it for $600. But, as the leak was, then, relatively small. He suggested an oil stop leak additive. I used it. It worked. I was happy. And i used that $600 for god only knows what.
Turn left = car smokes
Then, i performed those two back to back oil changes and, as far as i hypothesize, i flushed out all of the stop leak and any gunk that was holding the stop leak in place. And the oil leak got to the point that it is in now. I drove it for 6 more months. Dumping oil through it. When i turned left, my car would emit smoke and i would lose more oil. Turning right seemed to have the opposite effect. I planned on finishing the season of rowing, i was currently coaching the men's team at sac state, and then donating the car. I got through the rest of the season, 6 months, and i parked it. I rode my bike everywhere for the summer. Letting the car just sit in the garage.
Then the next season was upon me. I didn't want to pollute the earth so i rode my bike to and from practice, 50 miles a day, 9 more months. The car sat. Finally, after over a year of letting the car sit. I moved to la. We had to trailer the car behind the u-haul because i had not yet donated it. (Lost the pink slip, $1k in unpaid registration fee's because i'm an idiot yada yada) so, we had to drive the car up onto the tow trailer. No kidding, i hooked up the jumper cables, turned the key. It probably turned over 3 times max and fired right up. Hell of a car. So i'm keeping it. Everyday i see it in my back yard i think " That's a good looking car" and i want to keep it. I want to rebuild it. I want it to be an heirloom. The universe wants me to keep it. I'm keepin it.
So here i am. Oil leak is probably caused by some pressure in the pcv system blowing oil out of an already brittle and old seal. A seal that, from what i can tell it between the transmission and the engine. Probably a rear main seal. I have brown sludge on my dip stick indicating a head gasket allowing coolant to mix with oil, it could be from condensation in the dip stick tube too but better safe than sorry. I have cylinders misfiring, rubber pieces on my undercarriage starting the crack, a fuel door that i need to replace, interior work if i wanted to be fancy. The whole nine. But i want to.
Rear main seal?
now, if it was the rear main seal, i would likely have to pull the engine. And while i did that, it would be wise for me to replace some components on the front suspension while everything is out of my way. And while its out, handle the head gasket, the timing belt/water pump and... Well shoot.. Lets just rebuild the damn thing and make a project car out of it that i can one day pass to my son. That's right. I'm going to make this old 1997 850 glt. Like new.
Because i have the time and because i want to learn everything there is to know about it.
I'm a DIY'er, and I have a garage
Me? i've done a good amount of backyard mechanic work. Nothing very complex though. I used to have a 1989 chevy s10 blazer. Same deal, $1 and get it running and you can take it home. So i did. I think i'm looking forward to this project. I work at a bar. I start work at 8pm and have the day to do what i like. I have a garage and plenty of space within the gate of my backyard to keep my project out. So i'm going to embark on what i am sure is going to be a huge learning experience. Lots reading and watching videos. Lots of asking forums what to do or what everyone thinks. Lot's of pains in my neck and back and hamstrings. Lots of beer and tons of frustration. But, in the end, i'll know my 850 glt in and out. And my lady and i will go for a nice sunday drive in the car we dated in.
I'm approaching like this, take everything out, replace it, clean it, polish it, work it, rebuild it, touch it, examine it, know it, research it, learn about it, upgrade it, and then put it back in. Not necessarily at the same time. I mean once the engine is out i will have room to swap everything left under the hood piece by piece. It's going to cost a lot. That's for sure. But i think it's worth it. Thoughts? Recommendations?
