Finally fixed my car

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Joe ex PNG

Finally fixed my car

Post by Joe ex PNG »

As I posted way back in August, TS Fay did a number on my little '99 Ford Escort.

Or should I say that I did a number on my Escort by driving through a knee deep puddle and vaccuuming up about a gallon of water into my engine, breaking all four connecting rods/pistons. Science fact- water, especally in an engine, does not compress. Another fact: pushing a car through a puddle while listening to Deep Purple's "Highway Star" makes one feel a right twit.

Therefore, as I am quite cash starved, buying a new car was right out. So, I had to fix it up. The engine block was in pretty good shape... excepting a small gouge on one of the piston walls. Thus, a trip to a local machinist for a cylinder sleeve. The head was fine, so I just cleaned it up a bit. The pistons and rods, of course, were scrap. I did find a shop in Utah that offered a nice rebuild kit for $700 total, which included all gaskets, recon Ford rods, and Ring Power pistons/ rings.

And, of course, since I had the engine out, I went ahead and replaced the clutch and timing belt.

So, this past week, after having to shut my non-profit garage down for a few days, I got the car running again. And well- better than before the unfortunate water injection. No leaks, even after 140 miles. And, at the moment, I'm getting 30 mpg.

Now, I just need to do somthing about the fading paint...
Fivetoes
Posts: 1466
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:21 pm

Re: Finally fixed my car

Post by Fivetoes »

Garage therapy is good for the soul, especially when your engine fires up the first time after a rebuild you did yourself. I saw someplace on the web that there was instructions for using a roller and cheap machinery paint on automobiles.
Joe ex PNG

Re: Finally fixed my car

Post by Joe ex PNG »

I do have a few spray guns (I used one to spray laquer on a bass I made) and other chemicals if I wanted to do it myself. However, I may just take it to one of the local Vo-Tech schools and let them have a go. It's just one panel, after all.
But I need to pay off this repair- it will be about $1200 for all the little bits and pieces.
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308Mike
Posts: 16537
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:47 pm

Re: Finally fixed my car

Post by 308Mike »

That investment is going to add quite a bit of life to your car. Lower registration fees, lower insurance, etc., PLUS good gas mileage and any other perks from driving an older car (you don't have to worry about dings and scratches).

How'd the interior fare? Did any of the puddle water get in and soak the carpet so now you have that beautiful musty smell? ;)
POLITICIANS & DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON

A person properly schooled in right and wrong is safe with any weapon. A person with no idea of good and evil is unsafe with a knitting needle, or the cap from a ballpoint pen.

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Joe ex PNG

Re: Finally fixed my car

Post by Joe ex PNG »

The interior only got a little wet. So, the carpets, which were a bit grungy to begin with, are now a nice, uniform coffee colour. And the car smells like stain remover- which didn't work, but smells better than musty.

Another advantage is that it has features I like and would find hard to replace: manual hand cranked windows, and a manual transmission. A bit hard to find either on quality sub $2500 cars with under 120,000 miles.
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