What have you done to your Festiva today!?

[Twistiva]

Funny all the darn shops tell me slightly right is the correct way. Even when I tell them I do not want it that way. Dead straight is what I want.

Screw that. I'm with you....

I want "straight" to be "straight".

Taking it back tomorrow to get it fully aligned and then some body work and a whoooooole lotta painting in January.

[rbrown]

Picked up my trusty 88L from an auto body shop after they straightened my frame.

Hallelujiah!!!!!! banana time

Shop owner said the driver's side front wheel well panel and portions of the sub-frame had been pushed back almost an entire inch. The old guy pointed out to me how much closer the front left tire sat in the wheel well/closer to the front of the driver's door than the passenger side front tire was positioned to the front of the passenger door. Never noticed that before. Anyway, the driver's door no longer makes a horrendous squeaking noise when opening or closing it (funny because I'm not used to it opening and closing without a sound after driving with it that way for just over 10 years :highly_amused: )

Then.....took it down the road from the body shop to a tire shop to get it aligned. They claimed my Festy would track straight down the road like an arrow. But.....it doesn't. :nono:

They over-compensated the steering wheel....went from being slightly left of center to drive straight down the road to slightly right of center. I'll take it back tomorrow for them to get it right.

Lesson learned: don't drive fast on icy roads in Boise, Idaho.

Funny all the darn shops tell me slightly right is the correct way. Even when I tell them I do not want it that way. Dead straight is what I want.

[Twistiva]

Picked up my trusty 88L from an auto body shop after they straightened my frame.

Hallelujiah!!!!!! banana time

Shop owner said the driver's side front wheel well panel and portions of the sub-frame had been pushed back almost an entire inch. The old guy pointed out to me how much closer the front left tire sat in the wheel well/closer to the front of the driver's door than the passenger side front tire was positioned to the front of the passenger door. Never noticed that before. Anyway, the driver's door no longer makes a horrendous squeaking noise when opening or closing it (funny because I'm not used to it opening and closing without a sound after driving with it that way for just over 10 years :highly_amused: )

Then.....took it down the road from the body shop to a tire shop to get it aligned. They claimed my Festy would track straight down the road like an arrow. But.....it doesn't. :nono:

They over-compensated the steering wheel....went from being slightly left of center to drive straight down the road to slightly right of center. I'll take it back tomorrow for them to get it right.

Lesson learned: don't drive fast on icy roads in Boise, Idaho.

[blkfordsedan]

Today, I bolted the front wheels on, took it off the jack stands and drove it around the block once before backing it in the garage to begin changing the oil pump. It had 70lbs of oil pressure at cold start up. I let it warm up to about 1/4 gauge and idle down to about 800rpm, and it only had about 15lbs. We'll see what happens with the new pump.

[blkfordsedan]

You could always stick a long bolt through the hub with a washer on each end to help hold the hub together.

[DriverOne]

Bought a junkyard Aspire engine for my Aqua car. It was already pulled and sitting on a shelf so condition and mileage is unknown but the yard does have a warranty.
Now I just need to source and engine hoist and swap them out. Also need to get the passenger side axle nut off. It is NOT 29MM. All of my other big sockets are customary and 1 1/16 is too small and 1 1/8 too big.
How far can I move the car without axles in the hubs? The size of the garage I'm working in will require me to move the car out to exchange engines.

You're probably looking at a 30mm socket. As far as the axles not being in the car, it's fine to move the car with the axles out, just as long as the rest of the hardware is mounted solidly.

[fastivaca]

Finally have a replacement transmission! Picked it up at the bus depot this morning... hoping to be back on the road on Saturday.

Sent from somewhere west of here via Tapatalk!

[Oren09]

Bought a junkyard Aspire engine for my Aqua car. It was already pulled and sitting on a shelf so condition and mileage is unknown but the yard does have a warranty.
Now I just need to source and engine hoist and swap them out. Also need to get the passenger side axle nut off. It is NOT 29MM. All of my other big sockets are customary and 1 1/16 is too small and 1 1/8 too big.
How far can I move the car without axles in the hubs? The size of the garage I'm working in will require me to move the car out to exchange engines.

[robmac]

That's what i'm saying lol I've stole the front clip out of that car, a seat belt, e-brake cable and countless other things.

[Festevil3]

^ can't beat free ninety free

[robmac]

I just replaced my ICM because squirrely things were happening, also I replaced my cigarette lighter because those 12v heater defroster things aren't meant to heat a Festiva, but will however heat up the tiny wire on the back of the lighter. Oh and I replaced my windshield wiper sprayer nozzle thingy because mine was clogged and only sprayed the passenger side, which would be great if my car was RHD but alas it is not. All parts were stolen off my rolled car which brought my total to free ninety free and about 10 minutes of my day.

[blkfordsedan]

Well, I know how he feels. Anything with square headlights, blade fuses, and a dimmer switch on the steering column is "modern" to me! Your lucky if you found someone that old that does alignment. I guarantee he'll get it right and not just "within spec". I remember when an alignment was an all day event. They would actually take the time to tweak the subframe if needed to get it dead on. Then they would take the car out and drive it as many times as required until they were satisfied. They were craftsmen. Now, if it falls within the spec range they don't even mess with it.

[MiltonHavoc]

Coolant flush, and cascade in the radiator....
Was green, then brown, then darker brown, then tan, then flakey....now hopefully clear when I drain for the last time in the morning. doing thermostat tomorrow.
Started painting the interior today. Installed a head unit. new speakers all around tomorrow. custom box for 6x9's in the back seat or trunk.....

[Twistiva]

I wouldn't call uni-body construction "modern". Most mid-size cars have been uni-body since the early 1960's. Fairlanes, Falcons, Mustangs, Cougars, Comets, Etc.. Not sure what GM cars were, other than Camaros and Novas.

Brian -

"Modern" was not my word, that was the word used by the body shop owner.

Although, come to think of it, the guy was in his late-70s so I guess a car built in the 1960s, or 1988 like my Festy, would be "modern" to him!...:highly_amused:

[blkfordsedan]

I wouldn't call uni-body construction "modern". Most mid-size cars have been uni-body since the early 1960's. Fairlanes, Falcons, Mustangs, Cougars, Comets, Etc.. Not sure what GM cars were, other than Camaros and Novas.