Thread: Gasman's Car Deal and Repair's

The only parts Im looking for are those exterior window seals. Im thinking I should be able to find a roll of it and cut to length and detail myself. But everything I find dont fit my car.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Hi, Vern.
Most door panels are pretty simple after you have removed a few. are you will find a video on how to do it.

Some of those parts that snap in or use clips are annoying, because if you haven't worked with them before it feels like something is going to break when you're pulling them out.

With GM, They would be discontinued. Have you looked at ebay?

Thanks, Tom.
All the stuff on ebay is coming up as not the right stuff for my car. Not sure why as it looks right. And they dont list the measurement very well.

Originally Posted by Gasman

(From an earlier thread, Mar 25th)


About a year ago my stepson (32yrs) got a 2005 Chevy Equinox given to him by his grandmother. He replaced the water pump with my direction and all was good. Two days ago he said it overheats and has no heat. I drive a 08 Nissan Altima Coupe and only drive 12 miles to work whereas he drives 110 miles to work. I told him that the blue book value on my car is about 4k but I could sell it for more because of the used market right now. And with the fact that I don't need a car for the next 5 months (according to the doctors), let's trade. So he gave me the Equinox (146k miles, worth 2k on KBB) with overheating issues plus the 4k cash (in payments) for my Nissan.

It took me 5 hours just to clean the grime, gunk, and trash from the Equinox before id think of driving it. I did all the major cleaning before I took pictures so imagine how it would look if you dumped half a soda in the center console. Added a few smokes and trash including french fries and pickles. Then toss in 6 or 7 bucks worth of change and let it get hard over a years time. Spatter coffee and sode onto everything and not remove your trash for a year or so...

Attachment 340628
I also found a little Coke Spoon under the seat that I'm not going to bring up to him or his mother. Dumb-ass. The Struts and Shocks are shot, trim missing, door panel falling off, a quarter glass shattered, and many other little issues. The overheating problem was a simple fix. Bleed the system as he didn't get all the air out when he replaced the water pump. Dumb-ass again. I warned him about that. Now he is really excited with my Nissan and I know he will trash it soon or demolish the trans being a dumbass but that's on him. I warned him!

I sat up late last night and ordered 800 bucks worth of parts that need replacing or were just torn off (damn kid). Today I'm going to shampoo the hell out of the interior as it's covered in gunk and stains and smells bad. In the end, this gives him a nice little car to drive that is in great condition and me a project to do (being I'm one-handed. One-armed still from surgery, and off work for a few months). I can take my time doing it and will make him help when I need it. I will drive this one to work for a couple of years and then sell it. It won't be worth anything by then but it will drive, be clean and everything will work so what the hell. He gets a nice little car to zoom around in, for now, and I get a little project to spend time on.

Attachment 340624Attachment 340625Attachment 340626Attachment 340627

I love that personalized plate Sir.

Thanks, Steve. It's my Ham Radio Call Sign. The FCC and Government made a deal so that we can use our call signs on our plates. The best part about it is a personalized plate can cost 50 bucks or more a year on top of the standard fees. At least that is what I was told. Mine only cost 2 bucks more a year.

And after I worked my way up the License class to the top (Extra) I put in for a Vanity call sign. K1ING is as close as I could get to my last name.

(Getting closer to what's been done)

After all the interior cleaning and shampooing, I had ordered some low-cost floormats. Being I'm a bit color blind I thought the interior of the car was gray. But I guess now I have found some things are gray and others are tan. Oh well. Doesn't make much difference to me. lol.

new Trim-to-fit floor mats including the cargo area...

Attachment 340653

The Fuel Cap Cover/Door was not secured. There is no Lock for it or release inside the cab that was damaged. What I found was the plastic clip that is inside the opening to the Fuel Cap was broken. The part on the door was fine so I ordered a new one. It was under 10 bucks and took 30 seconds to change...

Before:


After:


I could tell that one of the headlight assemblies had been replaced as one looked new and the other had the dreaded foggy plastic look. It took about 15 minutes of buffing then 2 coats of protector spray and it now looks close to new...

When I opened the hood for the first time I found the big fat rubber seal that goes along the top of the firewall down between the engine and firewall. It was no big deal except it could have worked its way down a little farther and started melting to the exhaust. That would have been bad as it could have possibly caught fire. 15 seconds and it's clipped back in place...



I also found the Hood prop-rod laying over close to the drive belt. This was no good. Losing a belt going down the road, including what damage could have happened if the rod got twisted up in the belt. The plastic clip that holds the prop-rod secured was broken off completely. Less than 10 bucks again and 10 seconds and the rod is now secured...

before:
The red arrow is where the clip should be.


After:


Now, this next item is not extremely easy but I think most people could figure it out.
One of the two rear Licence plate lightbulbs was burned out. But to replace it I had to remove the inner door panel to get to them. Remember that when replacing bulbs that are in pairs, always replace them both. It's worth the extra money when you think you will have to do the labor twice. This goes for headlight bulbs too IMO.

Here are a few pics to get to the bulbs. I found replacements in my lightbulb stock. So no cost on this.

Panel


The only screws. As I said in an earlier post, Screws are normally found around the area of a door panel where you would grab the panel.


Weather/Noise barrier.


The panels interior where you can see all the clips that hold it in place on the door.


The barrier had two areas marked to cut out to get to the light bulb sockets. A quarter twist and they come out. Pull the bulb out and slip new ones in.



I had also found some yellow paint on the rear corner of the car. Someone had rubbed up against a yellow pole like at a fuel station. But not hard enough to dent the body. A little buffing then a coat of wax fixed it right up, Close enough. A little of the clear coat was taken off in the rubbing of the pole and a few scratches.

Before:


After:

Originally Posted by Gasman

(Getting closer to what's been done)

After all the interior cleaning and shampooing, I had ordered some low-cost floormats. Being I'm a bit color blind I thought the interior of the car was gray. But I guess now I have found some things are gray and others are tan. Oh well. Doesn't make much difference to me. lol.

new Trim-to-fit floor mats including the cargo area...

Attachment 340653

The Fuel Cap Cover/Door was not secured. There is no Lock for it or release inside the cab that was damaged. What I found was the plastic clip that is inside the opening to the Fuel Cap was broken. The part on the door was fine so I ordered a new one. It was under 10 bucks and took 30 seconds to change...

Before:


After:


I could tell that one of the headlight assemblies had been replaced as one looked new and the other had the dreaded foggy plastic look. It took about 15 minutes of buffing then 2 coats of protector spray and it now looks close to new...

I always used toothpaste on foggy headlights.

Is T cut available over here?

It is a rubbing/cutting compound that makes old paint look like new paint, unless you go crazy with the elbow grease and rub right through the paint of course. sort of very very fine abrasive paste especially for cars.