Just bought an 84 Sunbird, need repair advice

I picked up an 84 Sunbird today. A greasemonkey not to far away from practically giving it away because he didn't have time to repair it (I'm sure there must be other reasons too).

Currently the car is in very desperate need of new rod bearings. I'm going to find someone to do that on Friday, it smokes like a mother at the moment and stalls when idle. The seller said this was because of the worn out rob bearings. He put in 20-50 oil, saying that would temporarily help keep it together until I got to a mechanic.

I'm pretty sure the car has been sitting idle for months. Apart from the piston problem, the engine sounds ok (it's a little louder than I'm used to :), it's the turbo model.

My question is, once I get the rod bearings replaced, is there anything else I should immediately look at?? Obviously oil will get flushed during this and filled up with fresh oil. What oil should I be using? Am I correct in thinking I should use 91 octane fuel (high performance), because it's a turbo?

Any advice at all that can be lent to this newbie will be greatly appreciated! Thanks !

Reply to
Mang0
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Rod bearings won't help the stated problem.

Reply to
« Paul »

Really? The seller seemed pretty certainthe rob bearing being worn out would cause that. Of course he might just have been trying hard to get rid of a car that can't be fixed :-(

What do you think is up? It's going to cost me about $150 to get the rob bearing replaced. If the car will survive with them replaced, I'd like to do that. If it won't, I might not bother..

Reply to
Mang0

sounds more like no compression in the cylinders by way of bad or no rings left,complete overhaul or new engine is probally the fix

Reply to
robert -wanda fox

Ouch :-( Would replacing the rings work as a temporary fix? I really can't afford a new engine or a rebuild :-(

Reply to
Mang0

It sounds like the engine is worn out. Bad rod bearings would contribute= to low oil pressure. However, if the rod B's are bad, then so are the mains= =2E That means that the crank is probably bad as well. The oil pump is proba= bly shot, also. The oil consumption could be due to bad rings (as another =

poster said). If the rings are bad, then the cyl walls need to be honed,=

new rings put in, and the lip milled out - IF the walls are not too badly=

scored. It may need new pistons as well. The oil consumption could also be due to a blown oil seal on the turbo. My guess is both rings and seal. It probably needs a new engine.

Reply to
« Paul »

yup should of pick up my 1992 grand am GT it way nicer then that and i only want 1000.00 for it IT RUN GREAT..it need rear frez plugs and seal rear window leak a little on floor board but it sounds better then that.....FOR SALE

Reply to
Salmon Slayer

Caveat Emptor = Let the buyer beware.

Dude, it sounds like more than just a rod bearing problem. With all that smoking, your talking rings & valve guide seals. A replacement engine will cost more than the give-away price you paid for the car.

Was this the " Only " car in the county for sale?

Good Luck.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~296,339 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan
Reply to
Harry Face

My friend HF asks the best question. I cannot imagine why anyone without the knowlege or ability to diagnose and replace a blown engine would buy a car that's fffffed. Hopefully you have retired neighbors? My shop will not TOUCH something as old/crappy as a 1984 Sunfird. GW

Reply to
Geoff Welsh

You are a BEAR for punishment. He should have paid you well to take it off his hands. Bad bearings on a Turbo engine, and it's smoking. Bad bearings means low oil pressure. Low oil pressure means poor lubrication to the turbo, which means turbo bearings. Smoking is usually due to oil consumption - which is usually rings or valve seals.

HOWEVER: You MIGHT be lucky. First things first - do a compression test. If the compression is even and good, do an idle speed oil pressure test.If the compression is bad and you THINK you might want to fix it do the oil pressure tests. If the pressure is low, disconnect and plug the oil line to the turbo and do an idle speed oil pressure test. DO NOT REV THE ENGINE. If the oil pressure is significantly higher with the turbo disconnected, the turbo is shot.

If oil pressure is good, and compression is good, you may just have bad turbo seals pumping engine opil into the intake.

Very slim chance - but to find out, disconnect the turbo, and block the line and see if the oil smoke dissapears after a bit of running.

Wouldn't be the first car "given away" because of a turbo seal -

On the whole though, chances are excellent you've got yourself a "georgia lawn ornament"

Reply to
nospam.clare.nce

An 84 Sunbird with a Turbo 4 cylinder? Could you have picked a worse car to start throwing your money at? I don't think so. I would just get rid of it as fast as you can.... I guess you will have to hope that someone else is as gullible as you were.

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

I agree, to put money in a POS like that would be a waste. IF I were going to try to get it running, like,say, if the rest of the car is in like-new condition, I think the first thing I'd try to do is find a running engine to drop in. And even THAT would be more trouble than it's worth. To tear down that engine, put a crank kit in it, not to mention how much filings went through the cam bearings, etc., you're talking about a complete overhaul, $$$ And what will the car be worth when you're done? Less than you have in it.

Reply to
James Goforth

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