Engine coolant, battery light, and more...

[koalrus]

Working on getting my recently purchased '85 Sedan on the road... And I have a couple of questions.

Background info: Just purchased her. Been sitting for god knows how long. Title issued 1/30/97 says 072,829 actual miles. It's sitting on only 073,919 now. Started right up with a new battery. I know she slowly, slowly leaks transmission fluid, and I've got the gasket for it, just need to put it on.

1) My battery light is always on, and I just put a new battery in it, and there are no noticeable problems yet... Any ideas?

2) Brakes need work (push to floorboard to stop), light constantly on. Where should I start?

3) Starting in Park, sounds fine. After shifting to any other gear, and then back to park, it seems to idle high. Constantly revving, like my foot is on the gas.

4) After running for 25-30 minutes today (mostly in Park), the plastic coolant container (pictured) was boiling, up to 7-8 minutes after shutting her off. The line running to the top of the container (pictured) was also shaking the entire time. Radiator very hot and a slight hiss coming from the radiator area this whole time. This is all well after the engine is completely shut off.



5) What is the best way to reattach "Eagle" emblems that have come off the hood and behind one of the wheel wells? One of the prongs from the hood one is broken off and lodged in the hole in the hood...

6) What is this? Haha. I know I'm going to look bad after this one...



Thanks in advance, everyone!

-Jesse

[IowaEagle]

The last question is easy.  We affectionately call it the "squid release", to release any captured squid you have picked up over the years.  No, its the fresh air vent that allows cool air to come in to freeze your toes if you leave it open during the winter.

You have multiple issues inherent in any old car, regardless of mileage.  Your brake system needs to be looked at by those who know brakes.  You have an issue or issues somewhere in the system.  Is the master cylinder full?  If not, fill it and then see what happens. I am guessing, at the least, you have air in the system but probably leaks or bad components is the real issue.

Is the radiator topped off?  What does your temp gauge read when driving or idling for a while?  Any green fluid leaks?

We know your battery is probably fine.  Probably a bad alternator, or some bad grounds.  I am guessing the alternator, either a bad diode trio or the regulator within.

Idle and racing issues take time to solve as they can be either the carburetor or vacuum system issues, or both.

[Jurjen]

1. You need a reman alternator, it is a very common one (Remy Delco S10), they are about $60.
2. Check brake fluid level, search for leaky brake lines (on top on rear diff) or leaky wheel cylinders, if no external leaks, than bleed the brakes. If this doesn't help, than the master cylinder is leaking internally (most likely, I think).
3. Check the high idle cam (toothed thingy) on the carburetor, you should be able to rotate that freely, it can be rusted tight.
4. Your engine is running too hot. Why? I don't now. Because of the very high idle and not enough cooling from the fan?
5. Yup, squid release

[LaGuardia]

Just adding some suggestions...

Battery light: probably Jurjen's right, you need an alternator, but - on the simple side - did you check out the belt ?
A car sitting that long develops many issues, and a dry, broken, loose or even missing (it happened) belt is among them.

Brakes: fill the MC, then bleed the system, then check fluid again. It's the first thing to do. Then you can worry about the MC itself. With the engine off, push the pedal several times: if it floors anyway the MC is shot, but if it hardens and eventually stops moving everything should be ok.

Coolant: I'd check if fluid is flowing freely in the circuit. Much likely you have air in the system, or maybe some clogged hose somewere: in both cases, coolant just doesn't do its job.

Idle: 2x what Jurjen said. Those tiny bits on the carb tend to freeze with time. Start looking there as it's the simplest thing to do. If it doesn't solve the issue, you'll have to deal - as IowaEagle says - with the magic world of vacuum

[IowaEagle]

So far, responses from Italy, Holland and the US.  What an international group we really are.

[Sunny]

I'll add a Canada response.
It's basically what everyone else said though.

I had no idea what the last picture was, but I came to the assumption it was a squid.. but then Iowa stated it was fresh air vent.. I'm glad I'm not crazy for thinking it looked like a squid though .

Everyone had good ideas though.. so I'm not going to restate them all..
If you hear hissing from the rad, it could be a slight crack [my old car has that problem when I bought it.. the owner let it overheat with a plugged rad.] I'd make sure the coolant is actually flowing.. Could be a seized thermostat..plugged rad.. kinked hose..etc

[koalrus]

Boy, am I glad the belts were mentioned. Hadn't even crossed my mind. There is one missing coming off the alternator, and another missing from right behind the radiator fan. How do I size a belt to make sure I get the correct ones?

And no leaks that I can find besides the transmission fluid. And the temp gauge sat at the ideal temp the entire time I idled it. No smoke or anything.

The brake pedal does tighten up when not running. I'll be bleeding first and crossing my fingers.

Thanks again!

P.S. - My squid capture count is zero. What's the deal? 

[thereverendbill]

yup, your missing the alternator belt (accualy the air conditioner belt).  your local parts store should have the listing of your AC belt that you need to run the alternator (I know it's kind of a goofy design)

[Jurjen]

It looks like you have the same belt set-up a I have:

http://forums.amceaglenest.com/index.php?topic=18165.msg173363#msg173363

[LaGuardia]

Never overlook the obvious... Probably belts will solve 60% of your troubles !

[mudkicker715]

check your radiator cap. the rubber seals on them will get dry, and wont allow the cooling system to pressurize. then all the pressure just pushes coolant into the reserve tank. as it cools down, it slowly sucks the coolant back into the radiator. its designed to do that, but only after the cooling system hits between 13-15lbs of pressure. if the cap is bad, no pressure, so it will allow it to start boiling. when pressurized, a cooling system can handle higher tempurature before boiling.

Agreed cheap to just replace it

[koalrus]

Thanks again, everyone. I got that belt and put it on, and the battery light went off, the a/c is pretty cold, and, after actually driving it around for a bit, the coolant didn't boil. Still a minor hiss, but it sounded like it was coming from the cap. So I'll try replacing that first.

Can anyone get me a picture of the high idle cam? I'm not really sure what I'm looking for...

I appreciate everyone's help so much. You'll never know. I'm sure everyone's experienced it, but everyone just laughs at me around here.

[BenM]

I found a picture on image search:

It's the screw closer to the carb (top). The one further away (bottom, that's tuned in further) is the "curb" idle.

The Eaglepedia has the procedure for adjusting idle speed, but you need to have a tachometer and a vacuum gauge to do it. It doesn't hurt to work it by ear, though. If you're patient and don't mind some trail-and-error tuning you will get it pretty close. I did it that way for years.

[IowaEagle]

Thanks again, everyone. I got that belt and put it on, and the battery light went off, the a/c is pretty cold, and, after actually driving it around for a bit, the coolant didn't boil. Still a minor hiss, but it sounded like it was coming from the cap. So I'll try replacing that first.

Can anyone get me a picture of the high idle cam? I'm not really sure what I'm looking for...

I appreciate everyone's help so much. You'll never know. I'm sure everyone's experienced it, but everyone just laughs at me around here.

I hope its not us that laugh at you from the Nest!  We pride ourselves in treating everyone with respect.  None of us know everything and we enjoy learning from each other.

[koalrus]

Thanks everyone. My dad helped me with the carb. I know we cleaned it all down really well. Other than that, I'm not sure what magic he worked, really. Haha. But it worked.

And the new radiator cap seems to be doing the trick!

As usual, all the help was greatly appreciated!