Muppet mechanic's 2001 LE.

[mnahmnah]

My PT .... Oh, the suspense.

Yesterday I finished putting in new spark plugs and wires. It did not change anything.

I noted that the radiator hose was nice and flexy... but opened the cap and the coolant was rusty. Rusty? I had a new radiator put in in 2010. AFter reading the HOAT coolant sticky in the Tech(?) section, it could be brown sludge from mixing antifreezes. Which I didn't do - I wasn't around while these past repairs were being done - and I didn't know any better. Could be a little bit o'this, a little bit o'that!

Today I bought a multimeter & will test the charging system. (seems to be within limits!)

This page was helpful:
Automotive Charging Systems -* A Short Course on How They Work | CarParts.com

[mnahmnah]

What is this orange stuff spattered all over, and is it bad, and do I need to do something about it?



This has me kind of cheesed off... It doesn't look like a missing bolt here is a big deal, but it's just a big WTF. It doesn't look right to me.



Is this it? I found it in my car a couple years back and never figured out where it went or came from.



This is just the beginning... haven't even gotten under the car yet. All help is welcome and appreciated.

[mnahmnah]

[Ray_Dockrey]

The orange speckles is surface rust on the rotors. Very common and the first time you hit the brakes it will come off.

[mnahmnah]

Originally Posted by Ray_Dockrey

The orange speckles is surface rust on the rotors. Very common and the first time you hit the brakes it will come off.

Thanks, Ray. Glad to hear it's not another trouble area.

[Busted_PT]

It's the other side of the filter that gets dirty first. That bolt looks like it has green paint. If so not from the heat shield. Check in the hole to see if bolt is broken off. Not something to worry with if it doesn't rattle.

[mnahmnah]

Originally Posted by Busted_PT

It's the other side of the filter that gets dirty first. That bolt looks like it has green paint. If so not from the heat shield. Check in the hole to see if bolt is broken off. Not something to worry with if it doesn't rattle.

.

[mnahmnah]

I decided to buy the carfax for my car just to see.

Owner 1 - it was a rental. 24,600 miles.
Then it was auctioned off.

Owner 2 had it for --2 yrs. 9 mo.-- and it was driven less than 4,000 miles!

Owner 3 had it for 4 months and drove it 4,000 miles.

Owner 4 had it for 3 yrs. 7 mo. Drove 31,850 miles.

in 2009 it was traded in to an auto lot in my city.

I am owner 5. Owned from 7/2009 and from 80,674 miles until now, at approx, 128,700.
3.5 years and drove almost 50,000 miles.

No accidents recorded by any owner.

[mnahmnah]

Repair History


Bought in July 2009.

Immediately sent in for:
ABS light continuously on. Dealer notes on invoice say "scanned controller and found stored code for PCI communication. We found no message from cluster and no problems at this time." The code was cleared and vehicle OK'ed. HOWEVER, the light stayed on and has always been on. $135.
Fuel pump module recall - installed insulation on tank sending unit module. $0.
Power steering hose recall - inspect and re-route power steering hose. $0.

Later in 2009:
New/used window lever unit. Bought on ebay used but nice. I did this replacement.
New CD/radio/cassette stereo from a PT that had one & fits exactly. I only had a radio/cassette before. Done myself.

In May 2010 many parts were replaced by a local chain shop.
Head gasket & warped head - $1,332
Water pump / Thermostat / Timing belt / Radiator cap - $315
[ The timing belt was only $70 plus $95 labor because the car was already taken apart. Glad I let him talk me into the belt, cuz I don't even remember that!]
Install copper plugs & Tailor resistor wires - $70 [THESE WERE NOT THE WIRES ON MY CAR when I changed the wires this week!! What did they pull here??]
Radiator - (this totally bites) $417 AND they threw neon green coolant, which is why I have brown sludge now.
Cooling fan, fan motor (haven't found the invoice for this stuff yet, there may be more that I've forgotten.)
Bypassed big electrical junction box to keep fan operable and avoid overheating. Not overheating, but still not resolved.


In 2011:
Replaced underhood fuse to cooling fan (don't remember if hi or low)..
During overheating probs, TRAC light started coming on, is now continuously on. Don't remember if it was continuous to start, maybe.
New front brake pads. Friend's hubby did this.

In 2012:
transmission hose replacement - pulled too far over a concrete brick at the grocery store, and a hose got trapped when I reversed off it. Lost all fluid.
New passenger outside heated power mirror. Old one broke off, put it back on ugly style with Super Putty, fell off a year later. Got one on ebay and doesn't fit right. Did it myself, but need to do again with one from an actual PT.
All new tires, 2 at a time.

In 2013:
128,000 mi. Transmission flush with ATF done at lube shop.
128,000 mi. Duralast wires & Autolite double platinum plugs, done myself.

To be continued

[mnahmnah]

Multimeter fun:
I am not really keen on learning about electricity, never have caught onto it, but I do know that metal is a conductor and plastic is not.

So I felt like a real dummy when I was trying to test it out on household batteries, and nothing lit up, didn't register any voltage at all. After testing several batteries with same results, and reading through the manual, I realized that - no - the leads do not, in fact, have special tips that register electrical charge through plastic. They aren't encased in plastic, there are removable caps!!!

Great idea to make the caps the same color of the lead handles, guys! Why not white? We got a good laugh out of that one. I was pretty stumped.

Soooo, checked the battery with car off: 11.8v. (on another day this reading was 12.3.)
Annndd, checked the battery with car on: 14.5v.
Going to check the amperage and see ....
(edit) Ok, I must not have used the right setting for amperage. It would flick a number out and then go straight to zero.