The Rolling Tetnus Shot:

[Player0]

Okay, I exaggerate a bit, it doesn't actually ROLL per-se.

My 87 Chevy Celebrity needs to be road worthy for a while. My wife needs to get another job (she currently works from home doing data-entry/marketing) but this was a temporary gig. So, she needs a car. Its got about 170,000 miles on it. It has recently good tires, breaks, and has been mostly sitting for the past year. When I move it made the 50 mile drive to the new house, but the muffler is in BAD shape and it's sprung another gas leak.

I can't (and don't want to) spend that much fixing this damn thing up. It needs to be safe, reliable, and pass inspection. The thing is rusted pretty damn good underneath (thus the fuel line leak) but the engine is in good shape and the frame is also solid.

The fuel and break-lines have been replaced before, well the fuel-lines have been replaced with pieces of rubber here and there. Its a fuel injected car, how much more rubber can I install on these lines?

Im not entirely sure i know where the leak is, how can I find it? Also, i nearly have a full tank, probably 3/4 full. How can I work on this without getting covered in fuel? How can I cut the line safely?

[Synthohol]

as long as it is corded reinforced hose...as much as you want.
throttle body is only around 15-20psi but mpfi is around 90psi so choose your hose carefully, 100lb test should work no matter what:)

[Player0]

Um, okay hehe.

Maybe I can bribe you to come up and help ;)

[dfrancis]

Lol, I can't believe you can't wield a pair of side cutters Tom! put a match to the puddle on the floor, follow the flame as it tracks back to the source of the leak, jobs a good un!:D


Er...usual disclaimer, blah blah, keep forgeting which country I'm in,lol

[Player0]

Sidecutters will pinch the tubing and that = bad ;)

[Player0]

Okay, another question:

The emergency breaks were disabled by my mechanic on the wagon the last time I had break work done. Thinking about this now, that's pretty damn unsafe. I'm unsure of how good the break lines are on this car. i think they were replaced, but I did have them go out on me once before.

It's rear drums, and I'm pretty sure thats where the e-break connects to. When I look online, the parts list is kind of funky.

There is a left and right rear ebrake cable, and theres a 'front'
ebrake cable. All of em are about $20 each. The front ebrake cable looks like the longest one, and the rear cables are only a foot or two. So i think the front ebrake cable doesnt actually go to the front wheels, its just the junction between the ebrake pedal to wherever the lines split.

I'm going to doing a lot of work under both my cars, and I want to purchase some safe lift gear. Do you guys recommend ramps, or just a really good hydraulic jack?

thanks

[dfrancis]

always use a solid block/ramps, christ even bricks before getting under a car, never rely on a lift/jack

[Player0]

Well the ramps are nice, but dont go as high as the jack stands.

I might just go buy a Subaru tommarow. Im not sure my wife has any sort of credit at all yet, so we probably can't get one. I sure as hell cant cosign for her.

At this point in our lives, we need a decent car though. So hopefully the credit gods can help her out.