GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello all, finally got some pictures of this beast so I thought I'd post and fish for some assistance. Thanks in advance..I used to own this car and it ran like a champ. Very rarely let us down and when it did it was never serious. My wife and I went traveling for a couple of years and didn't need a car so it was sold to a family member. It was recently gifted back to us (2nd time given the same car for free ) and its' been beat up on. I want to get it back on the road but I've never done a restoration project before and I wanted some thoughts on where best to start based on the info below (the Bentley manual is on the way I just wanted some other insight). I should note that my first priority is a safe ride (baby might ride in this thing occasionally) and I'd also like to get the fuel economy optimized as quickly as possible. Not interested in any of the pretty exterior stuff just yet, and budget is defintely a concern.What I know about the car for sure:- 1990 GL Wolfsburg ed.- 226k miles on the clock but from what I understand the engine was either rebuilt or replaced several owners ago, no way to know the exact mileage. My family has put about 50k on it in our time.- clutch was replaced about 60k miles ago- front axle assembly replaced about 5k miles ago- it has been sitting for 2 years like this, jumped the battery and it started right up but definitely blew smoke - drove out of this patch of high grass under its own power but I haven't yet driven the car more than 20 feet or so- clutch shifted fine, no grinding through gears. no grit in the oil.- PO broke both drivers side door handles off- windshield wiper arm on drivers side is stripped and it likes to fling the wiper over on to the side mirror - no serious rust on first inspection, just light surface stuff pictured- alternator was replaced approx. 3 years ago- the wiring is hacked up. Has had an aftermarket amp & subs at one point (used to be a demo car for my brother's car audio shop in PA) and also has a remote start installed that doesn't work properly. It will start the car, but will not shut off after that even with key removed. You have to stall the car out to shut it off . Power door locks don't always work properly besides changing all of the fluids out and the air filter, what would you all do next? Sorry in advance for the dumb questions, but I am humble and I appreciate the help. More interior shots coming soon..Modified by bodhi_tree777 at 4:27 AM 11-1-2008

honestly... because it's a VW..this is what i would suggest.There is a reason why you got it Gifted LOLAND

the thought has occurred to me . But alas, I need a beater and this was free and so it goes. I don't want to be one of those DUBZ RULZ guys that rolls with their car 2 inches off the ground, i just want a decently running car that will shuttle me to work and back so I'm not racking up so many miles on the Vibe (20k in the last year). it'll be a learning experience

the first place i would start is change ALL fluids, then do a compression test on each cylender to see if it's even worth the trouble.check all the hoses and belts for cracks and splits and replace as needed, personally i would replace ALL.Then ( and i actually shuddered when i typed this) sort threw the wiring nightmare, by first removing the auto start, and patch up the wires as best as possible.Worry about the body after you have sorted threw the mechanicals.

thanks, man. I'm not looking forward to the wiring as I know next to nothing about it. The good news is I have a friend of a friend who's an electrician and I may swap him a tattoo for the grunt work.This may be a dopey question but what exactly is a compression test and how/where might I get one done? is that something that any mechanic should be able to sort out? What's an average cost for the test?

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »This may be a dopey question but what exactly is a compression test and how/where might I get one done? is that something that any mechanic should be able to sort out? What's an average cost for the test?It's very simple and any mechanic should have no problem. You just take out the spark plugs and put a pressure gauge in the holes sequentially while the engine is cranked. The readings should be in the correct range as specified by the factory service manual for that engine and should be similar across the cylinders. This is a good measure of how well the piston rings and valves are holding the pressure when the engine turns.

I'll say a prayer for your car in church tomorrow. I like the blue Toyota truck in the back round.

Quote, originally posted by prathman »It's very simple and any mechanic should have no problem. You just take out the spark plugs and put a pressure gauge in the holes sequentially while the engine is cranked. The readings should be in the correct range as specified by the factory service manual for that engine and should be similar across the cylinders. This is a good measure of how well the piston rings and valves are holding the pressure when the engine turns.awesome, thank you. I'm having the car towed into town next week hopefully and this will be the first thing I look to get done. (it'll run but its about 50 miles away and is nowhere near legal at the moment). Thanks for the input!

at this point because it's been sitting so long. I wouldn't even run the engine. There could be other issues that may increase your rebuild issue if you run the engine. Doing the compression test would be the first step. you could do more damage.

Don't forget brakes... Brakes were always a big problem with my MKII GTiMake sure the brake lines are inspected for cracks.. Other than that, most has been covered... The wiring can be easily be fixed, as long as you take your time and go along each wire and remover anything that looks aftermarket.. Then tape with good 3M tape... Telling the difference between aftermarket and factory wiring should be easy... I would also lift the car and look at the struts, the pistons to the struts really, see if any seals are leaking where the piston enters the body... if the piston is rusted at all, I would raplce them.. you have enough to get you well into debt already.. good luck...

I still have a Mk I Rabbit 'vert. They're fun when they run and expensive when they don't run!Good luck.

This might sound odd, but what's a hooptie?

http://www.urbandictionary.com...optie or http://www.urbandictionary.com...oopty My preferred definition is: hoopty - Basically, a piece of s--- car. Usually cheap and/or broken down. Can be any size, make or model, but must (or should) be embarrassing to drive for some reason...No offense Bodhi Good luck with it.

i had an 85 gti. looked just like your mkII, but 2 door and it was red. ok, so it didn't look just like yours. but i drove that 5-speed like a crazy man for 7 years and it never really gave me any problems... i gotta agree w kostby.... they're a ton of fun when they run

Quote, originally posted by kostby »I still have a Mk I Rabbit 'vert. They're fun when they run and expensive when they don't run!Good luck.This was my MKII hooptie... Fun yeah, expensive... you have no idea... the car was the largest warmest pike of crap i've ever known... Surely a Lemon, but me being young and naive, I didn't know what to do... I should have gotten a lawyer really... By the time I sold it (for 1200$) I had almost bought another one in repairs... !!!!!!The flip side to that is, I vowed NEVER to have those sorts of problems again and started doing my own work... I do a lot of my own work now... I LOVE VW's, but will never EVER own one again...

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »This was my MKII hooptie... I LOVE VW's, but will never EVER own one again... hey! that looks like mine! except maybe yours was an 86? my 85 still had the squarish headlights and dfferent.

That's a 92' 8v... Last of the MKII body style.. I miss it, but not that much... lol

little update, but a couple of big steps taken yesterday..finally got this beast towed the 50 miles back home so that I can start plucking away at it (thank you AAA) and, great timing, when I got back my Bentley was waiting on my front porch.restoration budget so far (i'm going to keep this updated out of morbid curiousity):Car: freeAAA tow: freeBentley: $15 + $5 shippingand a little perk, adding this guy to my insurance scored me a multi-car discount and actually entitled me to a $27 refund on my policy. ..so far, I'm in the black.

sunshine in the Mid-Ohio valley, got to work on the Golf a bit the other day. Cleaned the airbox out, replaced the filter, poured coolant into the reservoir and discovered very quickly why the PO reported a coolant leak somewhere. My distribution pipe's got problems.one i got that thing yanked out, i also noticed this:any idea what this l'il wire is poking out of my alternator? My gut tells me it loops around to that nearby connection, but i'm not sure at the moment. new coolant system on the way..

my new parts have started arriving as well, so I'll have plenty to keep me busy..new radiator & coolant temp switch ($55 shipped)new head gasket & intake manifold gasket (for whenever I might venture into the guts of my 8v, $20 shipped)set of fender flares to cover the scrapes and a new grill to replace my cracked and moldy old one $60 shipped for all)Not terribly expensive parts, but I can see this getting pricey

i though you were trying to get it running... why are you buying grills LOL stay focused and on track... your off to a good start.

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »i though you were trying to get it running... why are you buying grills LOL stay focused and on track... your off to a good start. ..got a good price on 'em, couldn't resist. My Christmas present to myself, I suppose. Yanking that coolant pipe out was a real pain. It comes out of the firewall, connects to one hose, bolts to the engine block, connects to the coolant overflow, wraps over the top of the trannie (underneath all kinds of wires and sensors and such), loops down under the oil filter and connects to the water pump down at the bottom of the engine bay. phew. Anyone know what the benefit is of a metal, unflexible pipe to run coolant vs. regular coolant hoses?

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 »Yanking that coolant pipe out was a real pain. It comes out of the firewall, connects to one hose, bolts to the engine block, connects to the coolant overflow, wraps over the top of the trannie (underneath all kinds of wires and sensors and such), loops down under the oil filter and connects to the water pump down at the bottom of the engine bay. phew. Anyone know what the benefit is of a metal, unflexible pipe to run coolant vs. regular coolant hoses? The metal could be for abrasion resistance, it bolts up to places, maybe to keep it suspended over all the moving bits.. I donno.. You could easily replace thay with braided rubber though and some barbed T's and 90's..

You were able to buy a conversion kit for those to get the circles or squares for headlights. Just like you can buy the European style for the MKIII and IVs with HIDs and actual glass lenses.

boring, but I did make some progress today. Mostly, yanked off the front end and cleaned out all of the debris from the engine bay. Found a few surprises.pulled off the rain tray, disturbed someone's home:..if I'm not mistaken, that's insulation from under the dash. That should be fun to explore later on. Anyway, all that junk is gone, so is the blackened cabin filter. Started scrubbing some random pieces, forgot to take any "after" pictures :Dalso found this, amongst the rust and debris in my rain tray. Is this a ground? It wasn't hooked up to anything. I have days off on the horizon, and hopefully sunny weather. Need to rebuild the coolant system and hope to have it running next week so I can start troubleshooting everything else. I'm actually having a lot of fun with this, just soaking up info and slowly unravelling the mystery