I hooked one, now of course... questions.

[2ndmouse]

i bought a 96 aspire today, not a crumb of rust but it has a few broken plastic parts (air dam) a dented hood and some other dings and scratches. And it is saturated with cigarette smoke tar, and it STINKS inside. Being a non smoker its pretty disgusting.
but
the engine is really clean, 106k, a pile of oil change slips from showroom to last yr in the glovebox. it doesn't shimmy or wander, brakes good drives real smooth. it has an automatic in it, which had me walking away but u took it for a test spin, its not that bad.... actually its kinda zippy for little slushbox.
even has new tires and a good stereo! I think with a proper tune up and a good fluid change, it will be a keeper.
so whats wrong with it...

ok not being a small car owner for many yrs, its got a few odd things going on...
why does it hummmmmm ..... seems to be coming from the back end but at the same time kinda from everywhere... a low quiet hummmmm.
is that an aspire thing or wha?

and it has a klunk in the front drivers side, when your making a turn and the front end is on a bind... i was thinking it was just the brake sticking, but I'm kinda wondering if it might be the lower control arm bushing? do they tend to wear front end parts out fairly easy?

other than a little leak in the valve cover, the smoke stench is my only real major gripe.. i drove it 50 miles home up hills, on the highway and on back dirt roads... pretty nifty little ride.

any idea/suggestions on the problems?

oh and i ran a compression test in the lot before I bought it, the reading was 180+/-3 lbs on all 4, spark plugs burned all the same color Grey/white and electrode tips nice and clean no oil or carbon.
is that compression normal or low? I read somewhere the normal compression is 210 pounds!! that sounds a bit high to me..... whatca think?

[jeffdjeffd]

The hum is the fuel pump. The rest, I don't know.

I like my ATX Festiva, too. Gas mileage suffers a bit, but I'm lazy, so it works for me

[Pgh5spd]

The klunk is probably a halfshaft.

The smoke smell will disappear - my daughter's Festiva came from a woman whose lungs probably looked like fresh asphalt. Make sure to clean the headliner. First pass, the spray cleaner turned orange on contact. Second pass was yellow/brown. On the third pass it started to look clean. Run your heater when you can leave the windows down to cook the stuff out of the heater passages without having to smell it next fall. And if Aspire steering wheels are like Festivas, they're gunk magnets. GoJo works great on them!

[Gro Harlem]

if the hum is directly related to the speed the wheel is turning, its most likely either the tire (maybe a nail or something is stuck inside of it) or your wheel bearing.

Clunk is probably balljoint, tie-rod end, strut mount. I doubt its the axle/halfshaft unless its "clicking"

[darkdan]

Clean the car with 1 part vinegar and 2 to 3 parts water. Especially the windows with this solution.

Spray the seats (don't soak) and then rub with a towel.

A day later both smells will be gone.

Valve cover gasket takes about 20 minutes to change if you're drinking while you do it.

[nonamekid]

Your compression test is good. When you compression test a car there should not be more than 10% deviation between the highest compression cylinder and the lowest compression cylinder. All compression testers are going to give you a slightly different reading. It is best to make sure you crank the motor over exactly the same amount of turns for each cylinder test that way the tests are balanced. As for 210 psi, I've heard anywhere between 165 and 220 is the right amount, but your numbers look the engine is in great shape.

[Vinlandfrost]

My festiva had a 'hum' at one point, it turned out after I investigated it, it was the rubber hangers from the exhaust at the tail end of the muffler. May help, may not, but worth checking out. :twisted: -Darrin

[2ndmouse]

thanks for the replies..... yeap i am convinced the hum is the fuel pump it does it when your sitting stil too... no biggie.

now the klunk, the inspector guy took it for a ride and had as many ideas but after a thorough checking, we found not a single loose or worn bushing... ball joints and axles all tight as new.

while I was waiting for a pizza later i leaned on the hood and it made an odd noise... so i grabbed the fender and violently rocked the car from the drivers side.... the klunk is heard as the car rocks (gotta rock it hard to) its on the drivers side. Am I amiss in believing its a bad strut then? there are no other loose or worn bits anyplace we could find that moves anywhere near that far to make a noise.
if it is the strut, are their bushings that can be replaced cheap or is it a sign of a totally shot strut?
(All my trucks have been pre 74 monsters... I'm a stranger to motorized tin cans)

the emissions system failed on 3 points right off the line, the cat converter and the erg thing, and a read failure in the diagnostic circuit. fun fun.
after I give the state of PA several hundred dollars I will be awarded a waiver...
they reset the thing to turn off the check squirrel light, as it might have been a glitch. we will know on retest.
my main concern is;
will a bad EGR thing and a bad catalytic converter and a defective emissions diagnostic circuit kill my MPGs??
the catalytic converter, will be the #1 thing to replace to meet my $150 "in parts" attempt to get it to pass for the state requirement, and if any is left, the egr is #2. they said a defective diagnostic circuit is mondo big bucks.

I just dont want the MPGs to be effected. It will be exempt next yr.

while it was up above my head i did discover the front and rear oil seal is seeping. Not a problem yet.

other than that.... it passed with 5 stars.

other than a clogged converter that i know will hurt the mpgs, will those other defective bits hurt the mpgs?

I filled the tank and I have 35 miles on the trip meter... the gas gauge hasn't moved but a hair. (barely a hair). if a 1/4 tank = 2.5 gal heck, I'm already happy. :lol:

[darkdan]

My old fuel pump (that's where the fuel gauge sender is) would read F until about 80 miles.

My new one goes off F at about 35 miles.

So wait until you fill up next to figure out your mpg.

Yes, those things will hurt your mpg.

Try cleaning your EGR before getting a new one. The paths may be blocked with carbon (common problem on all cars).

Don't get a cat off ebay in case that was your next question.

[2ndmouse]

the pop/klunk is a shot ball joint.....
they don't move when they are up on a rack, or when you wiggle the wheel by hand they must be in there on a tight bind to begin with to stay put so well even worn to the point they don't stay in the socket.

violently rocking the car makes the ball pop in and out, if someone is watching the joint, its easy to see.

I learn something every day. :lol:

[bassman]

i too had a stinky car.
what i did was go to a food business chemical supplier and got a jug of remodor or whatever they say is good for smoke smell.
then with a spray bottle i started spraying down a part of the car and cleaning it.
i also took out the seats and cleaned my carpet with a steam cleaner.
the job too 4 hours but when i was done there was a new inside with no stink and i was 28 bucks richer from all the change and bills i found in the corners.

shayne