Was able to push most of the dent in the roof of the project Pokémontero out from the inside. Still needs more massaging, but maybe not as bad as I originally thought.
Was able to push most of the dent in the roof of the project Pokémontero out from the inside. Still needs more massaging, but maybe not as bad as I originally thought.
Congrats on the Vibe job.
The roof of the Montero will probably be easier to move on a 90 degree day
Picked up a new A/C compressor, condenser, and o-rings, etc from Rock Auto for the Vibe. Gonna try my hand at replacing this stuff. Hopefully we can get the A/C working.
Looks like you are heading down pretty much the same home A/C repair job that I did on my '06 Civic last year. If you don't mind, here are a couple of things that I did / learned that so far has yielded success.
1) If it is no already 'empty', have a local friendly independent garage remove the remaining refrigerant before starting.
2) If your new condensor doesn't have an integral air dryer, pickup a new one. They typically don't cost much, at least not compared to what you already have purchased.
3) Borrow an A/C vacuum pump from Autozone, etc. You'll want that to evacuate the system and check for leaks. I know there are other threads here stating that the system can still possibly have a leak even if it holds vacuum, but I'll also say that if it does not hold vacuum, it definitely has a leak. (Hope that logic makes sense).
4) Check your new compressor and condensor ... are they plugged from the factory? If so, are they still holding vacuum? The Denso compressor that I got and (ultimately) the Autozone condensor/air dryer that I got were both holding vacuum from the factory. The attempt #1 Denso condensor/air dryer from R/A was not ... turns out it was a leaker. Neither was the attempt #2 Denso condensor/air dryer from Amazon. Also a leaker, as well as physically damaged in shipment.
5) Lube the new o-rings with PAG oil when installing them
6) Have that local friendly independent garage charge the system after you get it installed, evacuated, and your vacuum leak test completed. They will do it by weight (the best way, I am told from multiple "real" service people) vs. just using gauges. There will be a sticker somewhere in the engine compartment that tells exactly how much refrigerant by weight should be put in to a newly charged system.
Again, hope it is OK to pass on what seems to have worked very well for me. I am sure there will be other opinions expressed, but this led to success in my case (so far, one year in).
John
einy (Forum Supporter) said:Looks like you are heading down pretty much the same home A/C repair job that I did on my '06 Civic last year. If you don't mind, here are a couple of things that I did / learned that so far has yielded success.
1) If it is no already 'empty', have a local friendly independent garage remove the remaining refrigerant before starting.
2) If your new condensor doesn't have an integral air dryer, pickup a new one. They typically don't cost much, at least not compared to what you already have purchased.
3) Borrow an A/C vacuum pump from Autozone, etc. You'll want that to evacuate the system and check for leaks. I know there are other threads here stating that the system can still possibly have a leak even if it holds vacuum, but I'll also say that if it does not hold vacuum, it definitely has a leak. (Hope that logic makes sense).
4) Check your new compressor and condensor ... are they plugged from the factory? If so, are they still holding vacuum? The Denso compressor that I got and (ultimately) the Autozone condensor/air dryer that I got were both holding vacuum from the factory. The attempt #1 Denso condensor/air dryer from R/A was not ... turns out it was a leaker. Neither was the attempt #2 Denso condensor/air dryer from Amazon. Also a leaker, as well as physically damaged in shipment.
5) Lube the new o-rings with PAG oil when installing them
6) Have that local friendly independent garage charge the system after you get it installed, evacuated, and your vacuum leak test completed. They will do it by weight (the best way, I am told from multiple "real" service people) vs. just using gauges. There will be a sticker somewhere in the engine compartment that tells exactly how much refrigerant by weight should be put in to a newly charged system.
Again, hope it is OK to pass on what seems to have worked very well for me. I am sure there will be other opinions expressed, but this led to success in my case (so far, one year in).
John
Thank you for the response, and help. Can I ask you if I will have to add oil to the system, or should there already be oil in the compressor?
The Denso compressor came with a full charge of oil in it. I actually had to take a little out per their documentation, since I did not replace tge evaporator. Fortunately, I had a good way to measure the couple of cc’s specified by using an old graduated cylinder that I still had kicking around.
einy (Forum Supporter) said:The Denso compressor came with a full charge of oil in it. I actually had to take a little out per their documentation, since I did not replace tge evaporator. Fortunately, I had a good way to measure the couple of cc’s specified by using an old graduated cylinder that I still had kicking around.
Can you suggest what I should do with what little amount of charge might be left in the system, before I remove the compressor, etc? I have a vacuum pump that I borrowed from a friend, but I don't know how to reclaim anything that is left in the system.
Hey guys,
Now that it is closer to the time that my son will finally have his license we've been doing a lot of stuff to the Vibe. Last Friday I replaced the battery which was bad probably from sitting so long as it was only 3 years old. Also I cleaned up, and repainted the battery tie down clamp, and the shelf that the battery sits on, and a few other odds and ens that looked cruddy. With a lot of virtual hand holding from a friend I was also able to charge the A/C system, and I'm happy to report that it appears to be working as I was getting 55 degree air from the vents on a day that was 81 degrees ambient, and the car was only idling in the driveway. We'll se how it works once we have it out on the road.
I also replaced the crusty rear wiper blade, door hinge check thing that was broken, and didn't really hold the door in any position, and the drivers door window switch trim panel that was broken, and allowed to flop around. Neither of the last two things needed to be done, but the parts on Amazon were cheap, and they annoyed me so I bought replacements.
So now after it was purchased we've fixed the following. Interior dome lights(loose bulb), dash power port cigarette lighter (loose fuse), battery, drive belt, A/C compressor and condenser, oil and filter change, window switch trim, door check, over torqued lug nuts(and replaced a couple of crusty ones), lots of missing plastic fasteners on the under belly trays, all wiper blades, rear hatch glass after tree fell on it, cabin air filter after finding mouse living in it, anti-critter screens on the HVAC intake ports to try to keep mice out, and probably a few other things I'm forgetting. I did check the cabin air filter, and it looks like evidence that the mouse hasn't totally left, but I don't know how it would be getting in, so further investigation is needed.
Our son is looking forward to driving the car at some point. Two more Drivers Ed sessions, and he will be done. He's now 18 though so he can take the test without Drivers Ed, but we've already paid for it, and the insurance discount is worth finishing it anyway. Hopefully in the next few months he can take, and pass the drivers test and start driving this nice car.
Our son who this car was bought for wil be taking his drivers license road test later this month(hopefully he passes). Decided to get the car registered so that he can practice driving it finally instead of our cars. Spent 2+ hours to drop off paperwork at a local MA RMV location last week. Got an email, and call yesterday saying that we're all set aside from payment(which I handled online). Going to try to get the plates from the RMV today on lunch break, and possibly bring the car to pick said son up after work this afternoon. Wish me luck.
I would think the Vibe would be great for driving test/maneuverability test. Where the rear window ends, the car pretty much ends. Not too wide for keeping it between the cones.
John Welsh (Moderate Supporter) said:I would think the Vibe would be great for driving test/maneuverability test. Where the rear window ends, the car pretty much ends. Not too wide for keeping it between the cones.
Yes, I agree. However because of Covid the MA RMV is all backed up and getting a regular road test appointment has been really tough so we signed him up with the driving school group test day on the 24th. It is at a local high school, and it included us having to use the drivers ed car(with a nice $120 fee), but it was the earliest we could get hom a road test. I'm getting a little tired of driving his 18 year old ass back and forth to work.
Over this summer I got some insight into how Ohio is handling covid and driving, road testing. A friends mother was here from Germany for the summer. One of the goals was to get the mother an American, Ohio, driver's lisence. For her, this required classes and road testing. The day of the test, my friend was not feeling well so I agreed to join the mother to the testing.
Normal in Ohio would be a state employee in the passengers seat for the road test. Due to covid, they have set up a simulated course in the testing facility parking lot. The state employee stand outside and watches the student navigate through what I can best describe as a "Safety City" type course they have built in the parking lot.
Not really that different than a simplified version of this but with your own, real car.
I drove the car a fair amount yesterday. I was the first time I had driven it since we bought it a long while ago. I drove it from home to the petrol station, and then on the highway to get to where my son works. Then after I picked him up he drove it on back roads to a vintage video game store, and then left there with a friend, so I drove it home from there, all back roads. It handled everything quite well, but the engine seems a bit noisy, but that could just be me. It seems plenty powerful enough, handles well, has good sight lines, and seem like it gets decent fuel mileage. The A/C is working well, brakes were a bit noisy at first, but it has been sitting for almost two years with only slight movement around the yard a bit. All-in-all a great car for what we paid for it, plus what we've invested into it to make it nicer to live with. I'll say it is a lot nicer than my first car which was a 72 Chevy Nova, inline 6 with 3-on-the-tree.
Driving my son to work in the Vibe this morning, and started hearing a weird noise coming from the rear. We weren't far from his job, so I continued on. Dropped him off and crawled under the car to see a rotted heat shield held on by one bolt. That needs to come off.
Also thought the gas gauge was stuck on full, as I had filled the tank on Tuesday and drove it around a bunch, plus a little last night, and this morning
Needle hadn't moved, but just before I got to work after dropping my son off the gauge was down a little bit.
Just driving the Vibe home from work this evening and the brake pedal went spongy. Got it home and found a rotted line just before transition to rubber on the right rear. Best way to fix this? Cut out bad section and splice in new stuff, or replace the whole line?
If that car has lived up here (I'm in MA too) I'd strongly recommend replacing the whole line and taking a long hard look at the others while you're down there. Not the kind of experience I'd want my new driver to have to deal with.
11GTCS said:If that car has lived up here (I'm in MA too) I'd strongly recommend replacing the whole line and taking a long hard look at the others while you're down there. Not the kind of experience I'd want my new driver to have to deal with.
This. Rotted brake lines are a alarming and scary situation for experienced, mechanically inclined drivers like a lot of us here. Having a soft or pedal on the floor situation for a newbie is almost guaranteed bad outcome. If one is rotted, the others likely are too. While you're at it, i'd recommend replacing the rubber lines at each wheel as well.....They are 15 years old after all.
11GTCS said:If that car has lived up here (I'm in MA too) I'd strongly recommend replacing the whole line and taking a long hard look at the others while you're down there. Not the kind of experience I'd want my new driver to have to deal with.
Yeah it has been a New England car I believe its whole life. it isn't super crusty underneath, but a little crusty. I'm hoping to get a good look at the brake lines this weekend. If I can't replace the whole line, do they make some sort of union to splice the line? I have a flare tool I believe, and a bender. You're correct about having a new driver dealing with a lose of brake function. I'm glad we got the car registered before he got his license so I could shake it down, and find any flaws. So far it's a great car, but little things will pop up with any older car up here in saltland.
11GTCS said:If that car has lived up here (I'm in MA too) I'd strongly recommend replacing the whole line and taking a long hard look at the others while you're down there. Not the kind of experience I'd want my new driver to have to deal with.
We probably live close by each other. I see your page says SE MA. I'm in Carver which is definitely in SE MA. Where are you located?
Yesterday started out with trying to replace a portion of the rotted brake line. Lead to a trip to the local auto parts store for some line, fittings, and a couple of unions. Then a trip to a friends house to borrow a flaring tool. Then that lead to a broken bleeder, another trip to the auto parts store to get a new wheel cylinder, pads, hardware, and brake drums. All told it took me the better art of the day only to find one of my flares on the line I made for the passenger side is leaking when trying to bleed the system. So now I need to fix that, and then tackle the other side. FML. So much for a cheap car, eh?
New licensed driver
Of course the Vibe is broken, but hopefully it will be fixed soon. 
Yippee!
The Vibe seems to be only a minor setback. I'd invest in fixing it. Anything else you buy in you climate will need the same, sooner or later.
Winter tires deployed on the Vibe. Subaru wheels mounted on a Toyota masquerading as a Pontiac.
I dig the color on your Vibe!
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