Not THAT ugly , and it didn't begin to rust out as soon as you drove it off the dealer's lot . 1974 Honda Civic .
Posted on 11/26/2008 7:02:07 AM PST by yankeedame
having owned three Citations and still owe one 1985 x-11 citation! They were not a bad car and the flaws were easy to repair! Most basic fwd a-body cars parts will work fine on a citation!
Ohhh, maybe that was it. It was just messed up.
Heck, I don’t know. I just know we had to run the heat when the thermostat went bad. And my ex-husband isn’t around for me to ask. This was in 1993.
Not THAT ugly , and it didn't begin to rust out as soon as you drove it off the dealer's lot . 1974 Honda Civic .
I had one! V-8 four on the floor. Had to pull the engine to change spark plugs.
Not always correct. If the water flows too fast, it doesn't do the heat exchange and it runs hotter. If you're going to remove your thermostat, rip out its guts but keep the copper ring part to kind of restrict the flow. Learned this on a Vega.
Leave the thermostat out of your RX7 and life just got expensive.
You know it's bad news when the temp goes from normal to pegged in seconds that you've got problems. With a Vega, it's a blown head gasket.
In thirty-eight years of designing heat exchangers, that part about more water flow is a new one. It doesn’t matter if the heat comes from an internal combustion engine or a gas burner in a building’s hot water heating system; if the water flow goes up, the water temperature coming out of the heat source goes down. There must be another explanation.
The water pump might be cavitating, meaning that the pump suction causes the water to vaporize completely or partly, and water flow is actually decreased. There might be another cause. Did anyone ever look inside a molded lower radiator hose? Did anyone notice the coil of wire inside? That coil of wire prevents the hose from collapsing due to pump suction. If the pump is attempting to move too much water, the suction pressure may be high enough to partially collapse the hose enough to restrict water flow. Corrugated after market hoses do not have the wire, but they will collapse.
If your car without a thermostat does not overheat while it is idling, and gets hot at higher speeds, pump cavitation or a collapsing hose is probably what is happening. Basically, something is causing low water flow.
Chevy Monza.
With that argument; it looks like it's time to buy a Hummer!
Saturn: Cars for people who hate cars.
GM REALLY dropped the ball with them. The amount of money thrown down the crapper in developement could have bought Toyota OUTRIGHT.
Then they drop tho oldest, most storied brand in their stable to keep that pile of everybody else’s worst ideas?
GM deserves to die. They’re too stupid to live.
I’m old enough to clearly remember and experience these debacles from GM.
The whole decade of the 1980s was a styling nightmare—boxes, boxes and more boxes.
And any GM car was a 60,000 mile car. At 60,000 miles, every conceivable part of the car starting going.
I remember touring a GM plant in Linden NJ in the spring of 1978. They were building the Caddy Eldorado, Olds Toronado, and the Buick Riviera—all on the same line, just changing the badging and other minor changes.
The big surprise came at the end of the line. One third of the cars failed to start, right off the production line. They were pushed to a 20 bay work area where mechanics labored to get the cars to start. Once started—out the door for delivery.
And these were the expensive, top of the line GM cars!
By 1986, I had enough of GM, and sold my last owned GM car.
I bought Chrysler minivans since then, and had one go 249,000 miles, and another is at 133,000 miles.
Had some Ford T-Birds which surprised me—they were very reliable cars. My last T-Bird just gave up the ghost after 15 years and 180,000 miles.
This article is very good for younger Freepers—we have had a lot of crap from GM for a long time. For the last thirty years, the Consumer Reports annual ratings for new and used GM products caused a run on black ink. They have not approached the Japanese in quality even though they have been making cars since 1903.
The thermostat opens when the engine gets up to temperature.
A stuck thermostat remains closed, preventing the coolant from flowing to the radiator, where the airflow cools it.
No thermostat means that the engine never gets to operating temperature, and because the coolant is flowing so fast past everything, it can actually cause hot spots to develop and the engine to fail.
You got lucky.
I like your handle and your tagline.
The '78 Malibus were beautiful cars for their time. In late 1977 my friend wanted a Ford Mustang II in the worst way. I told him it was a crap car, with a horrible repair record.And a zero as far as being a chick magnet.
I convinced him to consider the '78 Malibu with its fresh style, more room, more power.
Long story, short: he bought the car, got a girl, got married, had the car over ten years.
The car lasted longer than his marriage!
The '78 El Camino is a beautiful vehicle. Wonder how much that curved rear window glass goes for?
OMG, that line was hysterical!!!!
All I could hear was buzzt,buzzt,buzzt, with a few "Oh, Sh#t!"s in between.
Thanks for the belly laugh.
The Ford F-150 is the best selling vehicle in American history. One of the best vehicles I've ever owned.
A neighbor has an old F-150, uses it for work, with almost 750,000 miles on it, on it's 2nd or motor, and he drives it daily. What is surprising is how clean he has kept it.
My wife and I had a Chevette when we got married. I bought a bumper sticker for it that said: "0 TO 60 IN 5 MILES". The worst part is that it was not at all far from the truth.
My girlfriend had a Chevette, we were climbing a long hill between Phoenix and Flagstaff and by the time we got near the top we were going very slow...a rabbit hopped by on the side of the road and we laughed so hard- the rabbit outran her car!!!
I have owned the following: 1980 AMC Spirit (basically replaced the Gremlin - made from parts from the big three), replaced with a 1986 Plymouth Colt GTS Turbo (pocket rocket), replaced with a 1986 Mercury Lynx XR3. Followed by 1986 Pontiac Bonneville SSE (replaced two transmissions and it rusted out). Then purchased a 1993 Saturn SL2 followed by a 1996 Saturn SL2. Then in 1998, test drove a 1998 Toyota Camry LE V6. I never again owned an American car. Followed up with a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, and now drive a 2006 Hyundai Azera Limited, which is the best car I have ever owned. GM lost me with the transmission issues on a flagship car (top of the line Pontiac). Our family vehicle is a Toyota Sienna which replaced a Honda Odyssey, which replaced a Dodge Caravan. The Sienna is awesome. Looking for a 2009 Sequoia now. I will not buy another GM. Nor a Chrysler. Might consider Ford - like an Expedition maybe. I am told the quality of the Big Three is better now - but still not quite up to Asian automakers. Patriotism only goes so far - I don’t feel guilty about it. My family (parents, siblings) all drive American and will never buy a “rice burner”. I laugh when they complain about having to fix this and that. Meanwhile, I drive my 100,000 mile warrantied Hyundai and love it.
I used to have to take my chevette on a short hop on the highway frequently. When tractor trailers would go by I would have to fight like hell to keep from being blown off the road. That was when it ran...in between frequent clutch and brake jobs.
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