New to cars, new to festivas, young

[Evanhubre]

Hi! I just bought a 93 about a month and a half ago. Im 18 and it was less than 500 dollars. Within a week my boyfriend had to get the alternator replaced, no big deal, it runs fine. However, it maxes out speedwise around fifty miles an hour and has interesting troubles shifting sometimes. Also its very slowly leaking gas. At this point i just want to get it running real nice, or at least on the freeway. I know nothing about cars, I just need to know what parts/services specifically to ask for. Any help would be appreciated, Cincinnati Ohio area, thanks so much !!!!

[william]

Welcome to the forum, I would start with a tune up at least plugs ,wires, air and fuel filter . Your festiva should Bury the speedometer no problem.
I'm assuming it's a auto if it has trouble shifting. I've never owned a auto festiva but like any other auto clean and topped off fluid is important.
If the tank is leaking perhaps it's full of rust and that's why it's not running right. If you flip up theback seat and pull up the carpet there's a cover to access the tank/fuel pump.
New tanks are cheap around 100 shipped on rockauto.com

[TominMO]

If it's a manual trans, then the shifter bushings are worn and need replacing. Easy, cheap and quick job.

It might also need a new fuel filter. Another easy, cheap, quick fix. Also do the tuneup as william suggested, including hoses if they look worn, and belts if they feel soft. I'd also suggest a new thermostat if you are doing hoses.

Doing all this and writing down the mileage/date it is done will give you a baseline for future diagnosis and repairs. If your boyfriend can't do this stuff himself, trade up to one who can. :-) It's much cheaper than going to a shop, and you control the parts quality, not the shop which will probably overcharge you for parts, as well as the labor charge.

Where in Ohio are you? There might be a knowledgeable member near you.

Also get a Haynes Festiva repair manual from an auto parts store or Amazon. It will come in handy.

[ryanprins13]

Welcome to the forum!
Festivas are great cars and lots of fun to drive but not being able to do 50mph is not cool at all.
So, is it a manual or auto? What size tires are on it?
If its an auto have you checked the fluid level? How does the fluid look?
Check the tank before replacing the fuel filter. If the tank is full of junk then there is no point in changing the filter. Checking it is very easy to do. Tanks, pumps and filters are very cheap at rockauto.com and hoses arent usually too bad locally.
Like william said, the festiva should easily be able to do 80mph


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[FestYboy]

Not to rain on the parade of good advice, I do NOT suggest a thermostat change just yet for the simple reason that in far too many cases, the housing winds up broken during the reinstallation and they can be troublesome to find a replacement.

Topping out at 50 may be the beginnings of a clogged cat.

[TominMO]

Not to rain on the parade of good advice, I do NOT suggest a thermostat change just yet for the simple reason that in far too many cases, the housing winds up broken during the reinstallation and they can be troublesome to find a replacement.

Topping out at 50 may be the beginnings of a clogged cat.

Good advice on the clogged cat being a very possible issue.

As far as the T-stat, I'm thinking that it's nice to know you have a good new one, esp. if you are going to change hoses, doing the T-stat is a no-brainer. One less issue to have to check out later. We can give him good advice/tips on how to avoid breaking the housing.