Quick Tune

I’m normally not one for tips and tricks, but here’s one of my favorites.  About once or twice a year, it’s a good idea to clean out a car’s vacuum lines, carburetor jets or fuel injectors, and intake valves from carbon deposits.

This can usually be accomplished with a simple fuel injector cleaner poured into a full tank of gas.  Most auto parts store recommend this at every oil change.  If you really want to do the job completely, feed a cleaner—such as Sea Foam—through a vacuum line.

It’s really a simple thing to do, and it improves drivability and mileage dramatically.  Make sure and read the instructions on the can first, but anyone can do it.  Good luck.

The Tune-up is Complete…

OK, so this isn’t really an new news either, but I finally finished Old Blue’s tune up.  Now she has new Bosch +4 spark plugs, new Bosch wires, Duralast Gold distributor cap and rotor, fresh Prestone coolant, and finally a new fuel filter.  I thought I’d show some new photos with my freshly painted front license plate.  Everything seems to be running good.  Next project…sunroof?

 

Finally something new…

Ok, not that new, but here are a few updated photos from the last cruise night. I’ve also fixed the original front license plate, and cleaned up the engine bay, so there are more photos to come later.  Enjoy…

July Photos

Again, It’s been a while since I’ve done much with my car (as far as major changes go), so it’s no wonder why I haven’t taken many pictures.  here are some of the latest from the beginning of the month at a Cruise night in town.  If all goes well, I’ll take some more in the next couple of days.  Everything’s been great though, and Old Blue has been running great.  Thanks for visiting the site, and I hope you come back soon.

 

Finally, an update…

OK, so it’s been a while…again.  I guess I’ll start with the oil change.

The 18th was the oil change, new Mobil One 10W-30 oil, Mobil M-102 EP filter, and some Lucas Synthetic Oil Stabilizer.  After running Royal Purple (which was still purple after draining out), everything seems to be running great.  The only problem was a bad transaxle seal.  After replacing that, everything is running smooth—even the A/C seems to be nice and cool despite the 108 outside temps.

I guess it’s hard to update lately, but it’s too hot to do much, I’ve been working more lately, and not much as really gone wrong to speak of (although I guess that’s a good thing).  I’ll try to take a short trip somewhere soon, and maybe post a few different pictures.  ‘Till then…

More work to do…

Well, I guess I got my wish; a new project to tackle.  After a work-related trip to Bakersfield (about an hour drive), I noticed that the trunk lock was having more trouble opening than usual.  I tried to grease it up with some graphite, but that didn’t help.  Finally, the key wouldn’t even fit in the lock cylinder any more.

It’s an easy enough fix; just replace the lock cylinder.  But that doesn’t make it any less of a pain in the butt.  Since I couldn’t unlock the trunk, I had to fold the seat down from the inside, crawl into the trunk, and un bolt the striker plate  from the lock.  Hey, I’m just glad I can still get the part: $17 at AutoZone.  Time to make a tutorial about how to install…

Preventative Maintenance

Time for a little Old Blue lovin'. Why oh why do I wait so long in between posts. At least I'm pretty happy with the way the site looks; well, for now anyway. I've done a little more restorative work on Old Blue lately.

First up was the annoying click-clack sound from the timing belt tensioner. Thanks to a Goodyear Gatorback component kit from AutoZone, she sounds as good as new. After that, it was time for a grease job. The grease job itself was not much of a problem at all. L-body Chryslers are generally very easy to repair and maintain. Only four grease fitting in the front to deal with, once the wheels are removed. A nice bonus to doing your own grease job is checking other parts. With the wheels off, it's easy to inspect the brakes, rotors, tie rod ends, ball joints, axles, etc.

While I was doing my inspection, one thing was very obvious; I had recently blown a CV axle boot. The boot itself is a cheap part (about $17 plus tax). But if it's not replaced soon, I will cause serious damage to the axle joint and subsequently, the axle itself.

Thanks to a little extra maintenance, a costly repair was avoided. Proud of my work, Old Blue got a bath a few days ago, as well a fresh coat of wax. Everything else seems great at the moment. In about a month, I'll change the oil, and tomorrow I get to go to work. After that, maybe a short road trip. Thanks for reading.