>Buy shitty 1995 Geo Metro 4 door cause have no money and want to save gas
>Pay $250 for a car that needs a new alternator
>Car works fine first 2 weeks, drains battery but no problems other than that
>Getting onto a highway the car isn't speeding up
>Tops out at 45mph
>keeps jumping up to 5th gear but doesn't go any faster
>Pullover
>Pop hood
>Engine is shaking and rattling like a motherfucker
>Turn car off
>Turn car on
>Still doing this
>Get car off highway and on to back road to my house
>Car just gives up and shuts off
>Coast to a stop 5 miles away from my house
>Car sounds like it's bubbling
>Fill the radiator with some more water
>Fill engine with a gallon of oil cause it needed it
>Try to start car
>*chunk*
>Sounds like someone's hitting a tin cup when I try to start it
What the fuck is wrong with it? I don't have a lot of money and knew this was going to happen eventually but now I gotta cross this bridge.
>>14771641
have you checked oil? it is chocolate-milk like?
>>14771671
I have checked the oil and it does resemble chocolate milk a bit but it isn't as light colored as chocolate milk.
>>14771680
>head gaskets
where were you when geo was kill?
>>14771680
that means coolant in the oil, most probable cause it's a blown headgasket ... did temp gauge go up before engine stopping?
>>14771714
>>14771720
Temp gauge didn't go up before geo was kill.
I don't have much faith in the dials though so I wouldn't be surprised if it was this.
Is there any way I can fix a blown headgasket myself?
Would a blown gasket also keep the car from starting and making a tin chunking noise?
>>14771714
>>14771739
Also I was merging onto a highway when geo began to slow kill itself
Went on back road going at about 45, then it just gave up
>>14771739
>Is there any way I can fix a blown headgasket myself?
yep, but requires some skill and discipline because you will be opening the engine, almost rebuilding it. You will need:
- engine service manual
- torque wrench
- new head gasket
- new piston rings
- new head bolts
- a complete oil&filter change
- a complete coolant change
>>14771782
How much do you think that would cost at a back alley mechanic shop?
>>14771794
Probably at least $700 to $800 for the labor alone.
>>14771641
>Sounds like someone's hitting a tin cup when I try to start it
Engine's seized, man. It's dead.
>>14771814
>>14771821
Well fuck.
I bought it for $250 and used engines aren't too expensive. I could buy an engine and put it in and get it will be like new?....
>>14771794
once opened, engine will never be the same again and bad procedure opening or closing it can cause worst problems on the future (head warping and other chronic stuff) so engine work must be performed by someone you trust or by yourself if you're confident enough ... just follow service manual procedure and you'll be fine ... there are even some youtube videos of people doing the work
>>14771821
It is not necessarily dead, just not lubricating and not having compression/explosion
>>14771826
engine swap and head gasket replacement are relatively equal in terms of complexity and work but the later it's way cheaper, just try the repair faggot! you'll learn a lot about engines and mechanics and even if you fail, you'll be proud of having done the job.
>>14771739
>Temp gauge didn't go up before geo was kill.
That's because you also filled it with coolant/water so not all the coolant went to the oil reserves
>I don't have much faith in the dials though so I wouldn't be surprised if it was this.
Being a metro, wouldn't be surprising if the dials were fucked
>Is there any way I can fix a blown headgasket myself?
Yes, but if you dont know how to wrench you are in for either learning, spending money on a mechanic, or in a world of pain. They are in between the cylinder heads and the block, the geo's engine is a i3 SOHC, right? so you need to remove the timing belt, which i hear to no end how much of a bitch it is to get it right when placing it back again, and since the coolant/water and the oil got mixed up if you want it to run without a trouble you have to drain both since they are dirty and put new oil and coolant again.
If you want it to run as much as you can, try getting the alternator now since you are removing the belts, make sure the waterpump works just in case, since you are taking the timing belt off it could be a great chance to get a new one and a new belt tensioner if its not in good state already, since you are changing the head gasket you could look into wether or not increasing compression (slightly reduced reliability, increase in power) or decrease compression (minor increase in reliability, big decrease in HP, but it let you use worse fuel, if you are not using the worst one yet)
When you change oil, everyone suggests that you change the oil filter.
No idea how much everything costs, but since these are some of the cheapest things on a car, considering that you do it right, the car will last over 100k miles more (assuming there isn't anything major in the block like metal wearing down or piston rings) i think its not a bad investment.
>blown gasket also keep the car from starting
Yes
>making a tin chunking noise
No idea what it is, could be the coolant getting inside the oil pump?
It's the distributor
My geo did the Same thing
Needs a tune up bro
>>14771863
This is actually quite encouraging. I think I will...faggot
>>14771864
Very informative and encouraging in a pushing a boulder up a hill kind of way.
>>14771879
Is this something I can easily do myself?
>>14771909
just ignore this guy >>14771879
>250 dolla Metro
I think it would be cheapest to just buy a new one and hope it doesnt blow up.
>>14771924
Okay, but why?
>>14771985
Because you already stated that the oil and coolant mixed up and he says the problem is the distributor when you already stated the problem was the alternator.
>>14771997
Oh, I just thought he might know something none of us do. But alright, I will disregard
>>14772012
well, there's not much to talk besides what's already been told, first thing you'll need to get it's your engine service manual, that will be your bible for the process and will tell you the exact procedure and materials you'll need. Good luck m8!
>>14772079
I am mostly worried about OP being able to wrench himself.
As i stated above, this is a hard procedure, if he wants to make sure not to fuck anything up and to learn slowly this shit, fixing the car could take weeks.
OP, if you know someone/a mechanical school, you might want to try and learn from that person/get yourself some money and join there. Being able to learn how to do things yourself instead of relying on someone else is one of the most important aspects of the human education that we are lacking right now.
>>14772120
I know it's a complex procedure, but wrenching it's not a mystical superpower its just a part of becoming a real man.
Also for a USD$250 car thats already dead, worst thing that could happen it's it it will remain dead and OP losing a couple of days wrenching. That's why first thing he should do it's getting the engine service manual, so he could choose based on the procedures, parts involved and tools needed that will be described on it, if he's capable or not to do the work.
>>14772232
ok, good point.
OP: If you are hearing this, let me give you a few tips they forced me to learn in my first classes in the engineering univeristy
1- Keep all the bolts and shits that you take off the car in a bag, closed so that nothing end up missing, visible in a table for the same reason, and label it depending on its function, if the car was not ghetto'd up, all the bolts holding a single thing in place should be the same.
2- If one bolt is shorter than the other and looks cut from the bottom, it could mean it broke in half and the bottom half is still inside the car, good fucking luck in that one, you wont be able to fix it by yourself and you will need external help
3- do NOT leave ANYTHING SMALL on the floor EVER
4- disconnect the battery and fuel lines/make sure there is no fuel inside your tank/car before doing anything related to heat/electricity, make sure that the engine is cold when you start working on it or the fuel tank (i am sure it is tho)
5- Be careful with liquids spilling, some of them can stick to most surfaces forever.
>>14771641
So wait. Let me see if I can interpret your post
>blah blah backstory blah blah bad alternator
who cares
>keeps jumping to 5th gear
That's a neat trick for a car with a 3-speed automatic, but mostly irrelevant. The full-throttle shift points are controlled by a centrifigual governor, and pretty much nothing can go wrong there. If it's clunking into high gear at 45, it's either because that's redline in 2nd, or because the kickdown cable isn't hooked up right. Either way it's not your main problem.
>Engine is shaking and rattling like a motherfucker
shaking because it's probably only running on 3 cylinders (I assume that since it's both a sedan and an automatic this Metro has the big 1.3L 4 cylinder). Rattling is probably lifter noise, see below.
>Car just gives up and shuts off
>Car sounds like it's bubbling
Ok so you overheated it, GG
>Fill engine with a gallon of oil cause it needed it
The oil capacity on these engines is almost exactly one gallon, so you were running it completely dry, also the source of the lifter noise, double GG
>Try to start car
>*chunk*
Because you've seized it, either from running without oil or from the severe overheating.
So this is the part where I stop being an asshole and start trying to help.
First, you should confirm that the engine is still siezed, by trying to turn the engine over, either with the starter and a known-good battery, or by sticking a wrench on the crank pulley bolt and trying to spin the engine by hand.
If it seized just from the overheating, it should have loosened back up once it's cooled off, and you should be able to spin it. If that's the case, deal with the cause of the overheating and you can drive it again.
However if the engine seized from the lack of oil, it's probably spun a bearing, and that means it's going to stay seized until someone machines the block and puts a new crank in it. That's not going to happen, so the car is ready for the scrapyard. Your $250 is gone.
