84,000 mile colony park-- overhauling, what would be on your list?

[BerniniCaCO3]

Alright!
Picking up a 1989 colony park wagon for my little sister next saturday from PA. She lives in Iowa but is visiting over christmas and will be driving the car back.
So over 1-2 weeks, I want to overhaul everything that is either going or likely to go in the near future. $50 spent here on my time, with my tools in my garage, could save her $500 going to a shop when it needs attention a few months from now. We want to fix every thing that is likely to become broke, even if it ain't broke just yet.

I have spoken with the owner over the phone, and asked after the condition of the car, but I won't see it until next saturday, and with all low-mileage old cars, it's best to presume that if I don't know, it probably hasn't been done.

I've got on my list:

check for rust!
check that the heater core blows hot, a/c blows cold, and it doesn't overheat up a hill. my own cooling system was neglected and both the radiator and heater core clogged with rust...
tires (it needs 'em)
alignment if the old tires look unevenly worn-- leave it the hell alone if it looks OK, cause I know it'll all be frozen!
brakes-- I don't know yet
wheel bearings, if we do end up doing rotors?
spark plugs and wires
brake flush, coolant flush, tranny flush, oil change, fuel filter
pcv valve + screen
brass tv bushing
water pump
timing chain worth it @84k, or leave it alone?
is the fan clutch an age-sensitive item?
drive belts
valve cover and oil pan gaskets at a minimum
is it worth preemptively doing the headgaskets and lower intake gasket while we've got the car in my bay @work?
all the cooling hoses. 20 years old, they're gonna be rotted. Mine were.
shocks? Mine were bad. I don't know if they ever last 20 years, if it looks like these are original, just get 'em done?
window motors. They might still be on sale @rockauto, and I know that every last one of mine died over the course of 3 months after I bought my GM.
rear springs, if sagging?
differential fluid? I don't think many people get around to ever changing it in their car's lifetime, hah.
starter motor? Only if it sounds weak. I replaced mine when it wasn't dead, but was getting worriedly slower.


Is there anything I'm overlooking?
Is there anything I'm overthinking (especially the ? items, that I don't know if it's really so important)?
I have learned a LOT over the past year, but I still have, just 1 year of car-maintenance experience and could make naive mistakes. What other things should I check for, listen for, drive and feel for?
I know that the overdrive band is weak on these transmissions. So I'm told, my own car had a tranny rebuild at 100k, though I've got no record. At 84k, will my sister likely be looking at a $1500 bill in 16,000 miles?
Are there good signs for when the overdrive is starting to let go, or not? I have more book knowledge than practical experience/ feel for cars at this time, and may not recognize a worn transmission when driving one.
Anyone near Lititz, PA?


thanks!
Just wanna make sure this ends up a good fit and a successful and reliable car for my sister. It would certainly be straining if something major went wrong down the road, financially for her, and for our relationship as family, if her brother talked her into a lemon!

-Bernard

[gadget73]

leave the head gaskets alone. they pretty much never go bad.
leave the oil pan gasket alone if its not leaking. Again, seldom a problem
if the lower intake isn't leaking, let that be too, though these are more of a problem
change all the fluids including the diff oil
leave the starter alone if it works.
leave the timing chain alone, its probably fine
replace the shocks if they are rusty or leaky. They probably will be.
Springs can wait unless they are really saggy or she plans to haul lots of weight in the back
leave the water pump alone unless its leaking, unless you just enjoy doing them. I do not.
the rest you're good to go on, though use judgement. If the plugs and wires look recent, they may not need changing, etc.


The OD band isn't inherently weak, at least not on the 89+ transmission. It fails because the TV bushing comes apart, and it roasts it. They also get awful damn hot, which doesn't help any. Hang a small trans cooler and a brass bushing in there, and you'll be good to go as long as its currently got all 4 gears. There often isn't al ot of pre-warning, other than you *may* have some slipping in overdrive when running at highway speeds or going up a slight incline just before it dies completely. I'd expect this to go with burnt looking/smelling trans fluid. If its black and stinky, stick a fork in it cuz its done.

[BerniniCaCO3]

Thanks; I'll take your advice on all those points. I'm glad to hear that I can leave well enough alone on a lot of things. Some of what I did on my own car, was because it was fun to learn how to do for the first time. This time around, economy --both in time and money-- is more important than, say, doing headgaskets that I've already learned how to do.
Now that I think about it, my water pump started leaking only after I overheated the engine, because the lower radiator hose blew on the highway. Probably the heat is what degraded the gasket (and it was the gasket, not the water pump itself).

Is there warning after a tv bushing goes; do you know that something's gone wrong and have time to pull over on the side of the highway before roasting it? I do need to drive it back from PA, although it would be very bad luck to go in just an hour's drive, so I think it unlikely.
My own transmission slips at around 30mph if I coast uphill-- it can't decide if it's supposed to downshift for more torque or not. If I'm coasting uphill and losing speed and give it gas, it might slip a little and shift downshift harder than usual. I suspect that that is normal.

[johnunit]

Thanks; I'll take your advice on all those points. I'm glad to hear that I can leave well enough alone on a lot of things. Some of what I did on my own car, was because it was fun to learn how to do for the first time. This time around, economy --both in time and money-- is more important than, say, doing headgaskets that I've already learned how to do.
Now that I think about it, my water pump started leaking only after I overheated the engine, because the lower radiator hose blew on the highway. Probably the heat is what degraded the gasket (and it was the gasket, not the water pump itself).

Is there warning after a tv bushing goes; do you know that something's gone wrong and have time to pull over on the side of the highway before roasting it? I do need to drive it back from PA, although it would be very bad luck to go in just an hour's drive, so I think it unlikely.
My own transmission slips at around 30mph if I coast uphill-- it can't decide if it's supposed to downshift for more torque or not. If I'm coasting uphill and losing speed and give it gas, it might slip a little and shift downshift harder than usual. I suspect that that is normal.

the warning is basically that your shift points go haywire. In efi cars it goes to shifting SUPER early, so you'll be in OD at like 20mph. On the highway you might just feel the slipping/engine racing.

[1987cp]

:lol: Thanks for reminding me of the Mustang I test-drove years ago that had a missing TV bushing. Since there was a Ford dealer handy, I went directly there, bought one, and installed it. When I told the owner about the issue, thinking she might thank me for fixing it for her, she just looked at me like there was something the matter with my head.

[tjc78]

I had the TV bushing go out on both my 89 MGM and TC, aside from the crazy shifting the gas pedal feel changed (it got softer)

[gadget73]

You can eyeball the bushing before driving it. If its cracked or has parts missing, or is obviously distorted to one side of the hole, its done for and really needs immediate replacement. If it looks basically intact and of the right size and shape, drive it home and replace it as soon as practical. Do not try to poke at it or remove it because its sure to turn to dust if you mux with it.

[1990LTD]

You can eyeball the bushing before driving it. If its cracked or has parts missing, or is obviously distorted to one side of the hole, its done for and really needs immediate replacement. If it looks basically intact and of the right size and shape, drive it home and replace it as soon as practical. Do not try to poke at it or remove it because its sure to turn to dust if you mux with it.

+1 open and close the throttle and make sure it's smooth

[marquisman]

if your looking for make work stuff, removing the TFI module and apply thermal goop to the back side. that will protect it from heat and lower the odds of being left stranded in a parking lot. just some food for thought.

[sxcpotatoes]

That age and mileage you want to redo every hose and belt on/in/near the car. (aside from maybe the gas filler neck) All the fluids, tune up, hardcore injector cleaning if possible too.

[BerniniCaCO3]

oh, is it worth $40 to do the odometer gears for her? They still work, but if failure rate approaches 100%...

right-- forgot about injector cleaner. any recommendations? can any of them do damage?
a coworker claims injector cleaner has broken many an intake...but those were plastic intakes on certain toyota models at the dealership he used to work for.

For the egr, just take it off, and hose it out with brake cleaner or throttle cleaner?

[1987cp]

I don't know, seems an awful lot of original odometers just keep on ticking regardless.


Is the EGR valve not currently working right?

[Lincolnmania]

lititz is a little over an hr from here.......stop by mang

[gadget73]

89- doesnt really have issues with the odometer gears. That was mostly the realm of 90+ cars. Besides, if the odometer quits, does it really matter?

[BerniniCaCO3]

Ah, too late, lincolnmania! I did not check my email this morning before heading out.
Picked it up this morning. $850 for an 84,000 mile car; leaves plenty of money for maintenance!

The good:
engine purrs. Valve covers seep oil lightly-- NO other leaking fluid, not power steering, no other oil leak, no coolant leak.
transmission shifts smoothly.
a/c works, the shocks don't rock much (though I'll check for leaks, on the lift), all the gauges work (I guess 1989 had no engine temp gauge?!?), including fuel, and the odometers. If only 90+ had that problem, then yes, I'll leave well enough alone.
Oh, and turns out, it's a 1989 colony park with factory dual exhaust, the heated windshield option, and of course the matched large case alternator. If the alternator is still good, is the 3g alternator still a beneficial upgrade over a stock large case?

the bad:
hahaha-- 50 miles on my way home, the right front caliper started seizing. Called AAA for a tow the rest of the way (free tow). Luckily, luckily! The police officer who stopped to see if she could help, did not notice that the tags on this 1989 white colony park, were in fact registered to a 1990 blue colony park.... That would have been a nice fine.
Two lock actuators, one window motor, and the antenna are broken. Big deal.
One set of keys only. Also-- big deal. The driver's seat seatbelt sometimes does not retract; are those easy and cheap to just replace?
The heater core only blows lukewarm. The heater core hoses are hot. It could be, that the thermostat opens too early and it's running cooler than it should? "hot" heater hoses is a relative term.
It's also possible the core is partially clogged. On my 1990, it was mostly clogged, with only the edge of the chill taken off of the outside air. This blows warmer than that, but noticeably not as hot as my new heater core on my own wagon now does. My sister is in iowa... so it might, might just be worth the time to just get 'er done and put a new heater core in it. It's frigid there.
It needs new tires. I found some uniroyal white walls of the right size on craigslist for $120; 8/32" tread left-- basically new. cool beans.
It will need a new battery; it's 2006, the car sat, and even after a long drive to recharge it, it was slow to start the car-- unless the starter motors were just designed to turn the motor over at a slower speed in 1989 [being facetious]. I guess it could be the starter itself, but I think starters just die, and a slow starter motor is a weak battery, right? Iowa is frigid, batteries loose cca in cold weather, 2006 is due... probably just do it before someone gets stranded somewhere.


the ugly:
There's a dent in the right quarter panel. The woodgrain shows the usual fading and is not immaculate. The interior.... is tan, and is disgusting. The steering wheel is blackened and cracked like the parched basalt flats of hell itself; the carpets are filthy, the seats somewhat less filthy. The driver's door handle is fraying in the back side. However, nothing a good steam cleaning. OK, a REALLY good steamcleaning, can't fix.