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.

Missed a whole month

Wow, I can't believe I missed a whole month's worth of posts.  A lot's happened lately.  My job's been going great, but I haven't has as many chances to update the site.

Old Blue had an oil change last week, and I tried some different oil.  Usually I only use Mobil 1 synthetic, or Valvoline synthetic.  This time I tried out Royal Purple.  I couldn't believe how slick it is.  Customers at work always ask if it's really the best, and if it makes a difference, so I thought I'd try it out.  It really does work great; I noticed a huge difference in oil flow / pressure.

My car club has a meeting soon, and after that, we have our annual car show.  Now that it's summer, I'll have more photos and stories to post.  Coming back...

Mini Update Part II

I've been working a lot lately, but Old Blue's been running really well. I cleaned out the vacuum lines earlier today, and now she's running really smooth, idle's perfect at 900 RPM. That Seafoam always seems to do the trick. I haven't had much of a chance to find extra parts. My days off have seen some bad weather; not good for junkyard hunting. Every salvage yard I go to only has 1990 Omni / Horizons that I can't use any parts off (except for a few body parts, that are in useless, poor condition).

Maybe it's a good thing that I don't have much to write about. If my car doesn't have any problems, there's not much work to be done. So I won't complain. I still have a few cosmetic things to do, but nothing serious. I'll update again soon. Maybe after the next cruise night.

Mini Update

OK, so I thought it's about time for a small update. I've really been trying to become more regular about this, even though I don't have much to write about--maybe I should not have mentioned that. I haven't done that much with/to Old Blue lately. As I've mentioned before, I fixed the radiator overflow tank, and the radiator. I've also given her a complete going over/tune up, of everything she needs. Only a few cosmetic things remain. I'd like to find some cheap--possibly junkyard--window scrapers for the driver's door, and a driver's side drip rail cover. If I can find a nice one, I'd also like to have an extra front license plate bracket. They're really hard to find in good condition, and expensive NOS. Other than that, everything's nice. My next day off, I'll try to take some different photos (instead of just Old Blue in front of my front yard). Maybe I'll go up to the mountains after the snow...just a thought...

Recent Photos

Since the weather has been so nice lately, I've had a chance to take some photos of Old Blue. I've always liked the front end cover on the L-bodies (really all 1980's cars). So here are some new ones of the front, rear, side, engine, and interior. Hope you like them:

New Radiator

I finally fixed that last nagging problem with Old Blue: the radiator. It really wasn't that bad of a problem, just annoying. Old Blue never overheated or anything like that, she just leaked coolant. The hole was decent sized, but the temperature never went even close to 200 degrees. Oh well, I got tired of cleaning up the puddles of green liquid on the driveway, and sprung for the new radiator.

She just turned over to 96,000 miles. I'm actually glad that she's almost to 100,000. My odometer only reads five digits, so when the clock finally turns to the big 100, it will read: 00,000. Just like a new car (wink). But for such an old car, it really runs great. I change the oil ever three months, or 3,000 miles. Only Mobil 1, or Valvoline synthetic 5W-30 (10W-30 in the summer), and a really good filter. Clean K&N air filter, and Bosch Platinum +2 or +4 spark plugs and premium wires...I could go on for a while here, but you get the point.

I also a new bra for her a few weeks ago. I haven't put it on until now because of the weather. It's been pretty wet up until a few days ago. Now It's beautiful. I'm off work tomorrow, so I'll try and take a drive and take a few pictures while it's so nice outside. I'll be back soon...