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I just bought yesterday, a 1989 EA wagon for $1000 with 8 months of rego. I think it was a great deal! Here is the scoop -
It is a GL with over 356,000kms on it and needs a bit of work. It has never been crashed and still has the original paint. For its age and kms it handles very solid, the steering is tight, the suspension firm and but has a few rattles that I suspect point to the need to check the various bushings and etc. The brakes are smooth and do not have any unnecessary shakes or squeals. The interior is in good conditon other than a fallen rear headliner. A few specks of rust aroung the drivers side rear wheel well. The engine mounts need replaced. Of course, the A/C does not work, but for a $1000....
So a few quick questions, how can I tell what engine it has in? I do know the it is a CFI but not what size. It has the 3-speed tranny with column shift.
What should little clues should I be on the lookout for to prevent any major problems?
All in all I feel like I got a good deal, and will use the car for many years. I am sure as I start to bring the car back to scratch, you will be hearing from me quite a bit.
Thanks fellows,
P. Lynn Miller
Oh, I thought you engineheads would appreciate knowing it has extractors and 2.5" exhaust, for whatever it is worth.
That sounds like an excellent deal too me, seein as ive paid around $3G just too get my engine up 2 scratch. :) I have a 91 EB1 wagon. Its hard too say whats better, the sedan has the reduced weight but the wagon is versitile... I think choosing a wagon was a good choice tho :) Im also interested in how ya can tell the difference between the 3.2 and 3.9L, by driving it i suppose...
The plate under the bonnet says that it has engine "D". I assume that that makes it the 3.9 CFI because the 3.2 is code "A" according to the info at this web-page
MODEL CODE
CODE BODY TYPE YEAR RANGE
18933 GL Sedan 1988
18963 GL Wagon 1988
18934 S Sedan 1988
18964 S Wagon 1988
18937 Fairmont Sedan 1988
18967 Fairmont Wagon 1988
18938 Ghia Sedan 1988
18968 Ghia Wagon 1988
FIRING O
6 CYL. 1,5,3,6,2,4
FLUID CAPACITY
Engine - Oil 3.9L
Trans - Oil
Manual 1.9L
Auto 8.5L
Rear Axle - Oil 2.92L (manual) 2.27 (auto)
Fuel Tank Sedan 68.0L
Wagon 72.0L
Cooling System 15.0L
As you can see...I AM bored lol...
But this could be useful
Did you make a mistake with the above mentioned engine codes?
Also I am just had a sneaky feeling crawl over me. I was skimming posts and found reference to belt configurations. Here is what I have?!?!
The crankshaft has a serpentine belt pulley with a double v-belt pulley on front of it. The serpentine drives the A/C compressor, and 1 v-belt drive the alternator and the other v-belt drives the water pump and power steering unit. Is this normal? I have never seen this before
The engine has a knock in it, which definitely a wrist pin, I knew when I bought, not loud, just barely audible until you take off the oil fill cap. I am figurng that I will do a rebuild or swap in the future. With 356,000kms, I am sure that this car has aready had a swap or rebuild. But the belt drive set-up seems very odd??
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