First, a little background....................please excuse the lengthiness, I am not here to rant or rave. I'm looking for some advice or suggestions.
It was a dark and stormy night..................... Okay cheesy beginning, but sometimes we need some comic relief.
Now for reality: I began having a continual squeal emanates from the front brakes of my '84 T/A. At first I was thinking it was wheel bearings and brakes getting ready to belly-up, but my 17 y.o. son, wanting to be helpful and have a learning experience, asked me to take the car to his vo-tech school's shop so he could look into the problem. I thought, "what the heck, examine and diagnose," besides, I want to be a supportive dad.
Well it turns out, according to the shop instructor, that GM's have had this problem with front disc brakes rusting the caliper compression pins (hey, I'm not that well versed in brake terminology) in such a way that they do not completely release the brake pads from the rotor, hence the continual squeal. OK, we can say, problem solved, just rebuild the calipers, polish the pins and guides, lubricate with silicone (being careful not to get any on the pads or rotor surface), and be on your way.
That's not where the problem lies, though. It's the way my son elevated the car for the examination. When my son went to lift the car he positioned a floor jack under the crossmember right behind the front bumper and under the radiator. I asked him if that was a good place to put the jack and he said everything is solid, and in this way he could check both wheels at once. Apparently that turned out to be the wrong thing to do.
By raising the car by THAT crossmember the front bumper gap to the hood is now at 1/2 inch when it used to be about an eighth or quarter. Also, the left side of the hood is higher that the left fender. It's like the fender has drooped a half inch. The right headlight, when activated, contacts the hood, but does come up. Enough of the cosmetic, now for the mechanical: The fan is now in contact with the fan shroud, preventing it from turning. I didn't find out about this for three days. Most of my driving is typical city traffic, but I, fortunately, have the luxury of cruising along above 40mph most of the way. Well, tonight I didn't have that luxury. At the later point of my commute home, traffic came to a standstill, and physics, mechanics, or whatever, finally took over and caused the engine to overheat. After a little cooling down period I limped my Bird to my local mechanic. At first he thought that my front engine mounts may have failed and caused the engine to droop down. When I told what my son had done he told me to go visit a body shop, maybe they can do something.
Any advice or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks in advance.
Fire-TA '84 T/A w/ T-Tops