Just picked up my first cars today, an 88 gxl and 88 base model. The base model is very clean minus some body damage but the engine bay seems to be all together and in good shape, the gxl has a 12a (and rusty underbody) and has been sitting outside without a hood for years. So my plan is to take the panels from the gxl to replace the damage on the base, swap the five lug hubs,rear end and brakes and spend my time on the cleaner chassis for now. I am wondering what kind of things to look for on these cars and what may need to be replaced/serviced as I will probably try to start the car tomorrow.

 

Key things to look out for (don't make the mistake of buying upgrades before replacing all the bad, trust me):
-spark plugs
-all fluids
-clutch master and slave cylinder (the master is very prone to leaking if its old enough)
-brake master cylinder
-radiator hoses
-water pump bearing
-handbrake
-thermostat
-check all break discs for scoring, and its a good idea to measure the thickness to ensure it is within spec. Also check the pads to make sure youve got enough there, and check for leaking brake fluid. If fluid gets on the pads, its game over for them.
-Check in the cubbies behind the seats for water, if there is, you'll need to remove them, remove your seats, take out all the carpeting, and clean out the drain plugs. Very important. Also check the ones in the hatch.
-as far as the engine, best off buying a haynes or chilton and going through checking everything they say to. Is usually all important things.

Good luck with your 7, and post pics along the way

 

Go to the FAQ in this section and see the links on what to look for when buying a car.

 

So I started the base model today, it went up to about 3200-3300 rpm for 30 seconds or so then kicked down to about 1000rpm and idled smoothly, I let it run for a quite a while then went for a little drive, It was awsome. Drove perfectly staight, no abnormal noises or anything, the park brake light was on the whole time, (but the brakes are rusty from sitting outside), when I first started it the temp gauge stayed at cold for awhile then went to less than 1/4 and stayed there the whole time I drove it, so im not sure why that would be (maybe just the gauge?), the engine seemed to be running at proper temp so im not to worried about it. I will take some pics of them if anyone really wants to see, but I wont have a camara for a few days.

 

Yep, 3K startup is normal [though bad - tap the gas to make it go away]

Take the cover off the ebrake and check the switch there for the parking brake.

The temp gauge for 86-88 is supposed to read ~1/4 - if it goes up to half then the gauge is bad or the car's overheating.
^_^ Sounds pretty good.

 

That brake light also comes oon if brake light is malfunctioning.

 

Sounds like the one you drove is pretty normal. Just the average ol' S4 and there is NOTHING wrong with that at all.

I'm more interested in hearing about the 12A in the GXL....

 

The brake light will also come on if you are low on brake fluid.

 

There is a difference between the:
1) parking break light (red exclamation mark in a red circle) - which comes on when the parking break is on or the cable is seized in place, and
2) the break light (i believe it says break on it) - which comes on when break fluid is low or one of the break lights is out.

 

Ah, I've never owned an S4, so I didn't know if they were the same or not. What I said does hold true for an S5, though, as there is only one brake light on the warning cluster, aside from the ABS light on cars so equipped.

 

+ 2. On my S4, there is only 1 brake light. The previous owner put led tail light bulbs, everytime the brakes are applied, the "brake" light comes on. The "same" light comes on when I use the parking brake, not a different light.

 

The BRAKE light (red exclamation mark in a red circle) is hooked up to both the parking brake and the brake fluid level sensor. See the factory service manual page 15-168 or the owner's manual page 3-23.

 

So, it appears I was correct the entire time.

 

Yea the brake fluid is low, I'm going to be getting some new pads and rotors and then I will bleed them out and top it up. Should it really be reving so much at startup, even when its warmed up? it just seems loud right now because the first thing I did was cut the huge fart can mufflers off. Is the five lug stuff easy to swap over from the gxl?, can I just swap the diff?

 

The 3K startup is supposed to warm up the cats to reduce startup emissions. It's supposed to happen from the factory, but is generally agreed to be a bad thing for the engine. You can either start the car in gear or tap the gas right after startup [or get an Rtek 2.0 which deletes the code from the ECU]

To swap to 5-lug is relatively easy.. Front spindle/hub come off of the strut and ball joint [do not disassemble, that makes it harder]; the rear you have to remove the "toe control hub" [as labeled in the front/rear axel section of the service manual]. But that's a huge pain most of the time so just swapping the whole rear subframe might be easier for you.. [Tis what I did]

 

Ill take 2 pics for you later, I have ONE, light. I have seen it 3 times, first, fluid was low, next brake light comes on when brakes are applied, and third, when I use the ebrake.

ALL the same light. Pics later.

The manual can say what it wants, I know when my lights have come on and what light it was.
I have never seen a light on my car (owned for over a year) with a red !

What model are you talking, me I am talking about my 87.

 

see if this works..

 

there they are... The gxl is so bad, I dont think theres any hope for it. Probably gonna just strip the rest of it and scrap the shell. Got the panels on the base, getting a bumper and maybe some s5 tailights..gonna switch the five lug stuff over soon, maybe this weekend. Thats it for now, whatcha think?

 

Start the car In 1st gear,BUT Clutch pedal IN,that will alleviate the High revvin 3000 start up.