[Excelsior]

I flew home from work today so I could finally pick up my newly purchased Manta from the warehouse it has lived in since 1998.

I wasn't even IN the car 5 minutes and had many walk-by traffic checking the car out as I drove past. One mother even said, "Hey look Bobby. Look at that old car. I think its a 66." The kid couldn't have been over 5 or 6 and the mom probably in her early to mid 20s.

There were quite a few drivers on the road that I could clearly see getting their eyes full of it.


Now I get to pull and repair the auto-transmission. It has a leak and I gotta take it out anyway, why not get it done right!

 

[chuckspeed]

that's cool.

When it comes to repairing leaks - wait a bit before ripping it apart.

Old seals take some time to re-seat - a little patience can go a long way.

Took Maggie out after her eight year sleep and:

a) The water pump seal leaked at a pretty fair clip.
b) Front main was dripping
c) Rear main too
d) Trans pan gasket leaked
e) A/C compessor seal was shot.

After the 'get-everything-right' checkout, I:

1. Drained and replaced engine coolant
2. Added seal softner and detergent to engine oil
3. Added trans medic to auto trans.

ALL leaks save the A/C seal disappeared after 100 or so miles. I'm now driving a leak-free 30 year old car - YAY!

As long as the leak isn't a silly one (more than a 2" circle on the pavement overnight), you should be able to stem the flow with seal softners.

Same is true for compression - I've bought cars with low compression and tore them apart only to find a stuck ring. Valve medic is a strong detergent that can 'free' stuck rings and lifters w/o rebuild.

Beats the heck outta tearing stuff apart...

 

[GoinManta]

Now I get to pull and repair the auto-transmission. It has a leak and I gotta take it out anyway, why not get it done right!

These trannies are pretty bulletproof... The Chevette used the same (exception being the bellhousing) transmission. So any transmission shop should be able to fix it. Tell them its a basic GM TH180 Trimatic. Unless you are rebuilding it yourself. Then I can get you a kit.