The hood was bent into a V shape, one of the headlights was kaput (that's dead in Russian), the radiator support was bent, the radiator had big holes in it, it needed a new power steering pump, rear brakes, and a change of all of the fluids.
At this point it was running nice. I replaced the coolant temperature sensor and sender (a separate unit for the gauge in your dash only). I got a new hood on it although I still need to change out the passenger side hood hinge which I will post a tutorial on.
I fell in love with this car when I first floored it but I've fallen even more in love with it as time progressed. This is hands down the best car I've ever owned. The way it drives, the way it looks... Everything about it. I just love it. I am keeping this car possibly forever.
The car didn't give me any problems for probably six months. During this whole time, although I had the PS pump replaced (I did all the other work myself), there is a separate part of the power steering system - the ACV (air control valve - an unnecessary system) - that has been slowly leaking power steering fluid which is fine for the time being except...
It is killing my alternator. Actually, it killed it yesterday. I had a piece of hose connected to the ACV to move the drip out of the way of the alternator. This worked for a long time until a few days ago the battery warning light started coming on and after some inspection, the hose had somehow moved to where it was probably dripping power steering fluid onto the alternator. Great. I had it tested and it was putting out 11.6v which was enough to keep the car going but it died completely on the road yesterday morning.
I got probably 50 miles out of it after the battery light came on. The car ran fine as long as I didn't have my lights on or anything. Just know that if you get this light, if you keep driving, you WILL die somewhere on the side of the road. My logic was that if the output isn't going down, I figured it would run for a little while. It didn't work out that way because it didn't lose output slowly. Instead it just died all of a sudden.
Because it's the power steering fluid that got onto the alternator that is damaging it, I thought I might have some success cleaning it. I've heard of a couple people taking it off the car and pressure washing it, letting it dry, and putting it back with good results.
Following this logic, I decided to use brake cleaner to get some oil off the alternator because I was washing it on the car. I used brake cleaner (important!) because it evaporates and leaves no residue. Otherwise you have to use an ELECTRICAL CLEANER. I almost made the mistake of using diluted degreaser.
Initially, I was cautious cleaning it. I didn't drench the alternator in brake cleaner because I was afraid of killing it. It didn't kill it so I washed it a couple more times, thoroughly, but it just died a couple days later so don't bother.
When I first cleaned it, I thought it may have helped because the battery was staying charged longer. I could tell because when it would go under a certain voltage, it would mess with some sensors and develop a rough idle. However I realize now it had nothing to do with me cleaning it. It was actually the outside temperature. If it's cold, the alternator puts out less power. Warm, more.
Let's go back to my main reasons for buying this car in the first place. Besides the fact that I needed a car, there is two reasons I bought this car.
1. It is one of my all time favorite cars and is already a classic to those who can see. It WILL be a classic in the truest sense of the word - mark my words.
2. It was a mechanic special and I wanted to learn how to work on cars top to bottom. When I got this car initially, I understood very little about fixing cars. In the time that I have owned it, I have learned SO much. My knowledge and especially competence has doubled.
Bonus! 3. I wanted to restore this car. This is a million miles car, no doubt about it. In the state I bought it, thankfully all the major things are up to date such as the timing belt and transmission. However, small things continually fail.
These are things I can usually fix for $20. For example, getting a small crack in one rubber piece of the intake. There's a lot of dry rotted going on. In the time I've owned this car, I've replaced a lot. I am knocking out one thing after the other. As long as I can afford it, I almost don't mind because my goal is to have this car running like new within a year.
So what's the next step for The Chariot?
Fixing everything wrong with it in one go.
It is in a location that I can work on it and I will have the alternator in a couple days and I have all the other parts. I figure now is a good a time as any to fix all the body work, like the way the hood sits, along with everything mechanical.
I am plugging the ACV part of the power steering system when I get the alternator out. That will actually give me more room to loosen the ACV. It's hard to get a wrench in there. That will cover the slow PS fluid leak.
Next comes the alternator. I will be very happy to know I have a good alternator with no danger of getting damaged again.
And last but not least, not only am I replacing the hood hinge so that the hood can actually close, I am going to replace the whole radiator support if I feel I have enough time/resources.
At that point, dear readers, my car should be running with no check engine light or anything. Finally the time is here! Once I am done with that, it's on to a car back exhaust and I will be SO damn happy. Thanks for tuning in. Anyone wanna send me money?
That's a joke. Happy New Year's!
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