Does towing behind a camper rack up the odometer?

[ryanprins13]

Thank you! Makes me wonder what the real mileage is on the engine, what I heard was the seller estimated 30K or under, I can't believe my friends were going to send it to the scrap yard :0

To the other poster below, my windshield looks new, so maybe the previous owner replaced it shortly before deciding they just needed a new tiny car to tow behind their camper? They bolted something to my bumper like I said, no idea what I have only seen the bolt holes in it! I will have to take more photos today when I go out to my dads. Maybe he is done with my stereo wiring


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Doesnt really matter, even with the miles it has its still low. Cars that sit without running for years get their own set of problems.
You might want to change the timing belt just because its old. However these are non-interference engines and should be fine if that does break.
More photos would be cool

I'll look into this! Thank you for the suggestion ^_^ I am hoping to learn everything about this car on this forum it's small enough for me to work on myself, I have all the tools but I've never been able to strong arm anything on my other car, a luxury trim 2003 AWD Mountaineer, it also has so many electrical things and computer sensors, that's way too complicated for me so I always sent it to someone who has experience with complicated cars like that. This festiva has basically nothing complicated about it Computer and sensor wise xD and it's lightweight enough that I can move parts on it myself. I'm just a small 5'5" at 135 lbs and not much muscle lol, but I know I'll be putting more on my arms pulling my festiva steering wheel around all summer without the power steering I'm used to! I took an auto class in high school and helped my dad fix lots of different cars, but I'm hoping to learn how to do everything with this festiva myself. :>

Thanks everyone!

There is one other thing I'm having an issue with, my e brake will freeze on one side if I ever have to use it. I don't ever use it, and my dad said he knows why it's freezing, but can any of you tell me if I can fix this or if I need to replace the parts involved? I have a lot of rust under the car but it's still solid, nothing falling apart from rust and hopefully it'll stay that way lol, it will be parked anytime there's ice on the ground, hopefully I will be able to put it in a garage someplace when it comes to that time. Maybe someplace I can have my auto body repair friend help me learn how fix my rust spots and the previous shoddy body work someone else did long ago that's coming apart now.. I'm excited to learn all this stuff!


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I learned how to work on cars on my festiva, their great vehicles to learn on.
The electronics and sensors are pretty basic on the festiva which is nice, but they are still there. The electronics inside the distributor which control the coil are a little beyond my understanding and the air temperature sensor is in the same unit as the VAF which annoyed me years ago. But all in all very basic and easy to learn.

The steering isnt too bad as long as your moving. However if it annoys you there is a fix for like $50 plus a wheel alignment to make the steering easier than some cars with power steering. The difference really is amazing but you have to be able to make some sort of customized part yourself. If your interested i can find where it was in my build thread.

With the e-brake siezing on most cars its the cable thats the problem. They can sieze up on festivas too, but more commonly it is the self adjusting mechanism inside the drum. It has 2 pivots which sieze and cause your parking brake to stick and the rear brakes to not work properly.
I had that issue for 8 years and whenever i did have to use the parking brake after releasing the lever inside the car i would reach around behind the front of the back tire and pull the cable towards myself which would release my brake. If you search siezed parking brake on the forum here you should find some more detailed info on fixing it. Replacing the self adjusters is by far the best bet but new ones are very pricy when they become available and it takes a while to find a good used set unless another member from arizona wants to ship you a set.

With the rust have a good look at where the rear axle mounts to the frame of the car. Thats the only super important part to check for rust. For the rest just buy a couple cans of fluid film or similar wax oil/rust preventer oil and spray everything. That will slow the rust down.
I worked in autobody for years and rust is never cost effective to fix on a car like this. Unless you want to learn bodywork but there are better and more rewarding ways to learn... i think your better off to use fluid film once a year on everything and save up for another shell 8 years from now and just swap your good stuff from this car into it at that point.







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[WmWatt]

For rust prevention I spray the underside and inside the body panels (that's what the rubber plugs are there for) every October with Canola oil thinned 25% with solvent (ie paint thinner) using a garden weed sprayer. The solvent lets the oil fan out into a spray and helps the oil penetrate cracks and crevaces. I jack up the car, remove the wheels (one end a at at ime) and put plastic bags over the brake rotors. Lots of newspaper on the garage floor to catch drips.

[alena]

For rust prevention I spray the underside and inside the body panels (that's what the rubber plugs are there for) every October with Canola oil thinned 25% with solvent (ie paint thinner) using a garden weed sprayer. The solvent lets the oil fan out into a spray and helps the oil penetrate cracks and crevaces. I jack up the car, remove the wheels (one end a at at ime) and put plastic bags over the brake rotors. Lots of newspaper on the garage floor to catch drips.

Very cool plan! I won't be driving mine past November I assume unless it takes a long time to get cold enough outside this year. I live on Lake Michigan halfway up the mitten and our temps are usually a littler warmer in the winter because of the lake effect weather.

Thank you Ryan up there with all that info! I've got a lot of things to look at and try to do now xD my friend works in an auto body repair shop and I am bringing the car to meet with him soon, he's going to teach me how to do the body work and probably help me learn anything else I want to know. Unless he gets annoyed with me and shoos me away lol! We will see ^_^ I'll take some photos later today and post them in this thread, I go pick my festiva up in a couple hours :>


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[alena]

Another thing, besides the windshield being sand blasted, the headlights and, basically, the entire front end had the same treatment.

Regarding headlights, is there a trick to cleaning old headlights to make them totally clear and brand new looking again instead of yellowish tinted? I bought new headlight bulbs but I want to clean my headlight casings first so they are nice looking and bright ^_^


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[lessersivad]

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Your car could be the twin to mine when I first got it except the wheels.

To 'guessitimate' the miles you could simply look at the clutch and brake pedals for wear. Lower driven mileage would have less wear and the rubber pads.

I would HIGHLY suggest getting at the very least, a Haynes repair manual. Better yet would be a Factory Service Manual (same as dealerships used). They can be found on ebay a lot of times. That's where I've gotten all mine over the years for different vehicles.

[Rick the Quick]

Regarding headlights, is there a trick to cleaning old headlights to make them totally clear and brand new looking again instead of yellowish tinted? I bought new headlight bulbs but I want to clean my headlight casings first so they are nice looking and bright ^_^


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There are kits available to clean the film off of your headlights. You can find them at Auto Zone , etc. You can also have your friend that works in the auto-body field use a buffer with a cutting pad and compound to remove the film. It may not all come off but you can usually remove most of it easily. Your body shop friend should know what to do. Good luck with your Festiva.

[ryanprins13]

There are kits available to clean the film off of your headlights. You can find them at Auto Zone , etc. You can also have your friend that works in the auto-body field use a buffer with a cutting pad and compound to remove the film. It may not all come off but you can usually remove most of it easily. Your body shop friend should know what to do. Good luck with your Festiva.

The kits are for plastic, festiva headlights are glass. Im thinking they have holes and got water in them and have rust in there but i was waiting for pictures before saying anything.

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[denguy]

If you want to go all the way..............

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.XFESTIVA+HEADLIGHT.TRS0&_nkw=FESTIVA+HEADLIGHT&_sacat=0

[alena]

If you want to go all the way..............

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...LIGHT&_sacat=0

Yep I was looking at brand new casings, but I don't have the money right now, so I am going to try to seal the one that's collecting moisture and just clean both of them up. If that doesn't work out, I'll be buying new ones eventually! Going to go take some photos right now


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[alena]

[alena]

Sorry! Added one photo twice. Tried to show my rust situation under the car. -_-

[Rick the Quick]

Sorry! Added one photo twice. Tried to show my rust situation under the car. -_-

The best solution is to find a non rusty shell and use all of the good parts (interior, etc.) from your car. There are still a few rust free gems sitting in the desert south west. On the down side the interiors are usually in tatters from being in the sun and high heat. I think most people will agree that rust eventually is the one issue that sends a Festiva to it's grave. Air fares are cheap. If you have the time and money to get away from Michigan you may be able to find one and drive it back. Good luck.

[alena]

The best solution is to find a non rusty shell and use all of the good parts (interior, etc.) from your car. There are still a few rust free gems sitting in the desert south west. On the down side the interiors are usually in tatters from being in the sun and high heat. I think most people will agree that rust eventually is the one issue that sends a Festiva to it's grave. Air fares are cheap. If you have the time and money to get away from Michigan you may be able to find one and drive it back. Good luck.

That will never happen... unless I come across some lotto winnings or something... lol

Will likely just play with this car until it's done for. Then I guess I'll have to take it apart and sell the good pieces off. That will be a sad time. I hope it's not going to happen too soon lol.

[denguy]

Sorry, but I have to wonder, at what point does this situation become dangerous?

[WmWatt]

I went under my car with a wire brush and a hammer and cold chisel to clean off dirt and to knock off the rust scale, then painted by hand with a brush a couple coats of "rust paint". Takes a bit of time but very cheap. That body rust can be treated by sanding back to bare metal with a sanding disk on an electic drill. A wire brush for the drill and a small gringing stone are also useful. Then patch the holes with wire mesh, fibreglass and resin, epoxy, or whatever, and paint with as close a matching colour as you can get in rust paint. Rust comes from the inside, not the outside, usually where condensation gets trapped like the front of the rear wheel wells, bottom of the door panels, etc. I took the inside door panels off, cleaned and painted the bottom seams and have had no rust. I go over the rust every 5 years or so. Depends on how much time you have to spend on it. It will prolong the life of the vehicle. I've had my Festiva 28 years now. Good luck.