Everybody's getting winter trucks... (Project $300 Update)

"Tohru" (tohrurokuno) 11/09/2014 at 00:11 • Filed to: None

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... and I've got a winter car so I don't have to drive my truck.

So, to bring everyone up to speed:

I bought a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , only to find that the OEM fuel pump module in this car can't be taken apart in order to use the contents of the kit.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

So, it was off to Autozone to buy what I originally had planned to in the first place - a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

While I was under there, I changed out the fuel filter... and found the cause of the fuel pump failure. That's right, on a 14 year old, 204,000 mile car, it still had the factory-installed fuel filter. The gas that came out of it was blacker than my ex-girlfriend's heart. The threaded line to the filter was all rusty, but I got the filter off without wrecking the steel line because I'm awesome.

So, new sending unit ($229) and fuel filter ($9) later, it's down off the jack stands and ready to go. Hit the key... and nothing. Fuck. Dig out the circuit tester and go hunting... ah, the fuel pump relay got barbecued when the pump shit the bed. Swap it out, and it runs!

When we first started it, it was on the battery charger. The car went haywire - rough idle, it was turning on and off the high beams and foglights on its own, every light on the dash that could be flashing at me was, alternator humming away at what sounded like takeoff speed. Shut it off, take it off the charger, and it started up normally.

It runs and drives... well, normally. The power steering fluid was empty, so we topped that off. There's probably a system leak somewhere that we'll have to chase down. A test with the scan tool found no trouble codes. However, the ABS and traction control trouble lights are on. Who needs those, though? My last 4 vehicles didn't have electronic nannies and I drove them in the winter just fine.

To Do:
- Insurance, for test driving.
- Send registration paperwork off to state DMV.
- Buff headlights clear.
- Install side mirrors.
- Buy and install left taillight.
- Install radio.
- New windshield, maybe.

Current totals:
- Car: $300
- Repair Module: $50 (pending return)
- Fuel Pump: $229
- Fuel Filter: $9

Total: $538

Project $300 is Tohru's crazy idea to take a beat-up '00 Pontiac Grand Am that he bought for $300 and make it back into a reliable daily driver. Yes, he wrote this himself in the third person - but unlike DeMuro, he was wearing pants.

SP23 > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 00:14

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Mmmm denty.

Tohru > SP23 11/09/2014 at 00:20

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It's from a deer. Because whitetailed deer are retards.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 00:27

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This. Can't agree more

mazda616 > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 00:46

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Your ABS and Trac lights are a bad wheel speed sensor. Very common N-body problem. And they do weird things when batteries are low/dying. My old '99 GA GT's battery died on me once and when we jumped it, the speedometer needle froze mid-swoop (Pontiac thought the gauges swooping back and forth on startup was neat, I guess) and my "ABS" and "Brake" warning lights stayed on all the way to AutoZone. Got a new battery and all was well again.

SP23 > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 00:59

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Rats with hooves.

Tohru > SP23 11/09/2014 at 01:04

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Calling them that is an insult to rats.

SP23 > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 01:05

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Louis CK hates deer.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 01:08

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You liar!We all know that you post in the nude like the rest of us!

Tohru > SP23 11/09/2014 at 01:10

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Tohru > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 11/09/2014 at 01:11

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I didn't say how I was wearing the pants.

SP23 > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 01:18

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Awesome.

Takuro Spirit > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 10:18

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Is this a sticker? This needs to be on the Camry.

Tohru > Takuro Spirit 11/09/2014 at 11:30

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Yes it is.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/tohruro…

twochevrons > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 11:56

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I know nothing about GM systems, but on my 850R, starting it with a battery charger hooked up causes the ABS and traction lights to come on. In my case, unhooking the battery for a few minutes, then taking it through a drive cycle would cause the lights to go out again.

I don't know whose ABS modules GM uses, but if it's a Teves system like the Volvo, that might be worth a go.

Sally O'Broder > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 12:44

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Haha wow. You've topped my car project's fuel filter problem, which involved a fuel filter that had only ever been changed once (supposedly) on a 1999!

The things that came out of that filter were really a sight to see.

Tohru > Sally O'Broder 11/09/2014 at 13:26

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Yeah, the actual fuel filter was covered in surface rust. First time I've seen that.

Honestly, the only reason I was able to change it out is because I had the tank removed.

Sally O'Broder > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 13:40

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The only reason I was able to change mine out was desperately dropping way, way too much money on tools and soliciting the help of a HUGE redneck to help me wrench the damn thing off safely.

No surface rust on my black painted filter...all of the garbage that may or may not have been rust at some point was inside of it!

Tohru > Sally O'Broder 11/09/2014 at 13:51

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Whatever came out of mine was just black. It was like... you know when you're washing your hands after a long greasy day of working on the car, and the dirty water in the sink is just black? That's what came out of the filter.

Sally O'Broder > Tohru 11/09/2014 at 14:04

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Yes. I kept some on a rag just so I could show everyone! I'll get to that eventually; I'm building my posts slowly between my tablet and my laptop. Kinja is fantastic for tablet reading, but recently it's become exceedingly buggy for content creation from a tablet...