What have you done to your Festiva today!?

[htchbck]

I drove it in fifth gear for the first time today! I even helped with the trans swap....goodbye junky 4 speed!

That first shift into fifth is an awesome feeling! Takes a little while to get used to though, after I swapped my '88L to a 5 speed I would often catch myself running 65MPH in 4th because I forgot I still had another gear to use. It will make much more of a difference on the highway than in town in terms of MPG.

[RhodeStiva]

Got a tag for it finally, now i can drive it. For some reason , i have fixed everything i can,
but im a little scared about being stranded in it somewhere.

[link5186]

Got stranded in the country in it! Miles from home, no tools , and the front left caliper locked up. A lady stopped and I asked for a hammer. She of course didn't have one but lent me her beefier-than-a-festy tire iron. So I took a few swings and nothing, still stuck...Damn.

I gave the lady back her tire iron and thanked her several times and she went along her way. I put the Mrs. to work getting ahold of my dad while I scrounged through everything to find anything I could use to cut or puncture the brake line. The wife joined in the search. Anything sharp, anything at all... Spare fuse? No, I can find something better. After several more minutes shuffling through what little was in the car and shouting things to look for: knife, razor blade, scraper, sharp pencil, scissors, cuticle nippers, finger nail clippers, pick. My wife interjects my listing with, "I've got tweezers and a roach clip."

Score!

So I take the alligator clip and use it like a saw to remove the rubber layer. I then took the tweezers and began digging at the nylon braid. I just can't quite get through. After about five minutes digging furiously trying to break my car to drive it home I think I'm close enough to blow it with the pedal. So I get up off the hot pavement and hop into the driver's seat and push as hard as I can... Pop! Now the moment of truth... Success!

The caliper released. The Mrs. called dad back while I limped home without brakes. That was my afternoon.

Sent from the bathroom via crapatalk.

[Darlo]

and the front left caliper locked up. .

How / Why would that happen?

[link5186]

How / Why would that happen?

Worn hose. The inside collapsed and acted as a check valve keeping pressure in the caliper. I guess that should be expected with 20+ year old hoses.

Sent from the bathroom via crapatalk.

[Spike]

^^Sheesh! Glad you got home okay.

~Spike

[navdoc101]

Installed Junspeed Vent Visors. Pics to follow.

[link5186]

^^Sheesh! Glad you got home okay.

~Spike

Me too, wound up fixing it twice. Had tools the second time it happened. :thumbleft:

I found the first replacement lying around in the shed. Lasted about 7 stops. Loosened the banjo bolt and drove home again without brakes. Pulled the next one from Red. Still attached to a caliper and full of fluid. That's promising. Installed it and had my lovely assistant help bleed brakes for the fifth time today (rear brakes and m/c earlier in the day). Test drove good, finally. What a day...

Sent from the bathroom via crapatalk.

[Oren09]

I replaced a lot of the major positive wiring.
I used 4ga amp wire I had laying around and bought a battery terminal with multiple connections. I removed the old alternator and starter wiring and ran a wire for each directly to the battery. I then took apart and cleaned the fuse block under the hood. I reassembled it leaving out the alternator wire (heavy white one) and ran the black wire that connects to the plate to the battery. I cut the white white that runs from the alternator to the inside fuse panel and ran that straight to the battery as well. I also connected my subwoofer amplifier to the battery terminal and mounted the amp fuse on the firewall.

Everything works great. The only weaknesses now are an aging battery and a small alternator. If I turn on all loads (lights, wipers, blower, radio, hazards), the voltage will drop to about 12.5v at idle.


Starter wired. Other blue wire is for alternator.



Finally mounted it. Its been laying loose for about a year.

[88FestivaLX]

I drove the Mustang to work yesterday. Lest the Festiva at home with the windows down b/c it was hot (my wife stays at home). Well a nice downpour came through yesterday afternoon. I was mad b/c the Mustang hasn't been in the rain in forever. Then I started thinking about my windows being down on the Festiva. Called my wife, no answer. Keep calling and nothing. I get home and my windows are still down and my car is full of water. So I've been drying my Festiva, ha.

[gauge_half_inch]

Hey, atleast you got some rain. It hast rained in almost 2 months at my house. My grass is crunchy.

[kellen302]

I was out working on starting the disconnect of the BP from the Protege, then got chased inside by mosquitos... Discouraging, guess I have to do the work in the mornings

[Darlo]

I was out working on starting the disconnect of the BP from the Protege, then got chased inside by mosquitos... Discouraging, guess I have to do the work in the mornings

You should get some of this ---> http://www.amazon.com/Repel-Insect-R...538242-2211823

[Christ]

MPG seems to have gone up significantly running 1 liter of MMO with the 5ish gallons of gas left in the tank, and running is improved again, slightly from before.

It's idling and starting better, won't stay running when the temps are below about 80 though for the first few seconds, another lean indicator, but that's totally expected with the amount of oil that's currently in the gas. (Metering the same volume, higher oil content means less gas per volume of air, so a lean condition, even though the fluid:fluid ratio is close to the factory settings).

When I get down near "E", I'll fill 'er up and put the last 10 oz or so from that gallon of MMO into the gas tank and see what MPG I get through the next full tank using the simple calc. If it's significantly above 30, I'll know I've made progress.

[kellen302]

You should get some of this ---> http://www.amazon.com/Repel-Insect-R...538242-2211823

Yikes, that stuff sounds foul. Can't imagine what it leeches into your body. I would be out there this morning, but it's thundering and raining, not really the best conditions to wave large wrenches around in.