Trying to save an otherwise junkyard bound car

[agarb]

Originally Posted by Dave9
Scrap value in this market is about $200. Repaired ready to drive, it's worth what, about $800 if not rusting out? You didn't mention rust but that would be high on my list of considerations.


Last two non-running, teenager-wrecked vehicles I sold for scrap brought $100-125. I'm within a short drive of you but in a more rural area.

This is a Saturn with polymer body panels so they won't rust. Underneath, the frame is in OK shape. Certainly a few years worth of life left in it.

But you are right, it is nothing special. But even if I discount my time and would put as much as $300-400 in it, I couldn't obtain a similar replacement vehicle for less.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by agarb
I have no desire to use sandpaper and glass (or stone, or tablesaw surface) to "machine" it myself.


Try the draw-file method before you give up on DIY. As you may find that it's only a couple of high spots around the head bolt holes. You have nothing to lose by doing so. As a machine shop trip will remove any "damage" you do.

I've had absolutely fantastic results with this method.

 

[Linctex]

Do what this guy does

 

[Linctex]

Your "valve leak rate" is MORE than acceptable!

 

[dishdude]

The valves shouldn't have been damaged in this overheating event. Have it machined and slap it back together!

 

[spasm3]

Originally Posted by Linctex
Do what this guy does




Thats exactly how i did a saturn oil pump housing.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Rick Ehrenberg (Mopar racer and cheapskate extraordinaire) would be proud.

(He has redone Mopar oil pumps the same way.)

 

[Dave9]

Originally Posted by agarb
This is a Saturn with polymer body panels so they won't rust. Underneath, the frame is in OK shape. Certainly a few years worth of life left in it.

But you are right, it is nothing special. But even if I discount my time and would put as much as $300-400 in it, I couldn't obtain a similar replacement vehicle for less.


No no no, body panels mean nothing (except for vanity), the rust problem is about the unibody frame (but you stated it's OK), the engine subframe mounts, the brake lines and ... everything else under it including floor pan and strut mounts. It's about function and safety. Ugly rusty body panels, are someone else's problem if their eyes bleed from seeing it, lol, unless you are stuck under some home owner's association contract where no rust is tolerable.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Or it will make the car fail inspection.

 

[Dave9]

^ Can you elaborate about any state where body panel rust will fail an inspection?

 

[Jarlaxle]

Off the top of my head, RI, MA, and NH. Rust through any panel is a fail.

 

[A_Spruce]

Yep, NH for sure! I don't live there, but a buddy of mine does. He had to do significant rot damage repairs to one of his cars a few years ago to keep it on the road.

I'd imagine that any of the "salt" states that requires vehicle inspections to register your vehicle are going to have issue with rot damage.

Now, you may be splitting hairs with "body panel" damage, such as fenders, valences, etc., and "structural" damage, such as rockers, outriggers, etc.

 

[dishdude]

I doubt any state that has a safety inspection program would pass a vehicle with rust perforated body panels. Cosmetic rust isn't a safety issue.

 

[dlundblad]

Where are you located? Surely there's a junkyard that would have a head. Assuming this is just a Sunfire/ whatever the Chevy would be, they should be out there.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted by dlundblad
Where are you located? Surely there's a junkyard that would have a head. Assuming this is just a Sunfire/ whatever the Chevy would be, they should be out there.

It's not-completely different engine.

 

[zzyzzx]

I also machined stuff with sandpaper and got great results.

 

[NewtonPulsifer]

My advice is just try this stuff

Head and Block Sealant – For All Cars- 100% Effective – Thermagasket RxAuto

rxauto.com

From the link " We will refund your money if we are not able to successfully help you with the repair. " Try it, and get a refund if it doesn't work. I've heard good things about it working in aged Prius taxis with blown head gaskets.

IMO it's not worth it. I picked up a 2010 Hyundai Sonata 4cyl GLS with 278k miles where the owner thought the transmission was shot (it wasn't, it was a minor electrical problem that they had caused due to their incompetence), an incorrectly installed fuel pump and bald tires for $1,000. Does 0-60 in 7.3 seconds now. That's a car worth saving, even if the transmission actually had needed replacing with a used one. Admittedly I got it end of May when pessimism on the value of used cars was high. A lot of us have spare time due to quarantine to do some wrenching, but even so it would be better spent on fixing up a car worth fixing. One that has real value as classics (like say a 4runner or a sports car). Not this Saturn.

 

[agarb]

OP here. I don't frequent this forum very often... did the format change? I notice my original post is now one big paragraph with no line breaks.

---

The car is fixed. Finished it up two weeks two ago. I ended up taking the head to a local guy I found on facebook. He machined 0.015" off. Said it was really low around one of the bolt holes. He took off enough that put it under spec so he also ordered a shim for me. Total of $80 cash for the machining plus the shim. He had head done the same day but took 2 more days for shim to arrive.

Put it all back together. Fired right up. Went for a test drive, half a mile down my rural road and back. Pulled in the drive and saw flames (hood was still off). Rushed to park out by the the barn where garden hose was hooked up. Jumped out of car and grabbed hose but the fire was already out. Found leak on end of valve cover near EGR and oil was dripping on exhaust manifold and had briefly ignited.

Discovered composite valve cover was warped. After research, determined this is a common problem with the composite covers and not necessarily associated with overheating. Bought an aluminum valve cover from a '95 at a local scrapyard and installed it. No more oil leak.

Since then, I've ran it around the block a few times and everything seems good. Need to get some more miles on it to feel really comfortable.

As Eric O would say, "It lives to die another day."

 

[agarb]

One other thing. I had ordered head gasket, intake gasket, valve cover gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, and head bolts from RA. Grand total of $58 which included shipping from 2 warehouses.

All the gaskets were Felpro. When I took the exhaust manifold gasket out of the box, it was actually an intake gasket. The box appeared to be brand new and had the correct part number on the outside. Not wanting to wite, I put the original gasket back in the car and it seems to be OK at this point. RA says they are refunding me my $5 for the incorrect gasket.

I also figured out (maybe even learned about it on this site?) that shipping to my place of employement saves me a buck or two per package. On small packages, RA actually ships FedEx for less money to my work address than USPS would cost to my house.

 

[eljefino]

Good thing you got it fedex, the post office is really overloaded, and they're limiting overtime to save money.