project "gator" coming soon

[bdyman]

ms.bdyman just bought a 2003 2 door alero, with the ecotec, 140,000 miles on her, and its bad!! real bad!!! shape, real dirty hasnt been cleaned in years, passenger 1/4 has a rust hole in it, door dings in it, drivers side 1/4 has a scrape on it
needs tires
brakes, front and rear pads and rotors
wheel alignemnt
condensor
complete tune up
hazzord switch
drivers side window regulator
left and right lower fender liners,
windshield
windshield trim
serpitine belt
fresh oil
and the worst part it doesnt start,turns over but wont start, its not the passlock either, but i can and will save her, i will bring another alero back to life, make it a nice car again

we pick it up tomorrow, and when its back at the house i will post pics of the car in the dirty nasty shape it is, and when i start to clean it up

furture plans??? tint the windows, lowering springs, and pin striped, warm air intake, maybe a new radio, thats it yes thats it lol i cant go balls out with this car, she wont let me

why the name "gator" the car is for her oldest daughter this is a first car, and her name is allie, and on the softball team her nick name in "alliegator" so i will play off of that when its striped

pics up tomorrow!!

[cherrington17]

sounds specatular....

[clutch1]

Did ya get a real good deal on it or something? Or just wanted a project to mess with?
Can't wait to see what ya got in store.

[heineck]

cant wait to see how it looks

[bdyman]

got it real cheap, the owner needs the money, and she doesnt have money to dump into the car, so her loss is our gain

[CactusWill]

How cheap? Inquiring minds want to know. That 03 eco motor is a gem tho, it'll be rock solid once you get it running.

[bdyman]

exactly!! thats what i told her i said look at my ecotec it sat for 3 years!!! and it fired right up
bought it for 900

[CactusWill]

Thats a good price, considering its an 03 and you can probably get all the parts for under 1000. Just alot of labor thats all, which is no real loss if you're not working anyways. I've been taking on alot of projects like this myself lately, like this 95 firebird for $650:

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2350/firebird.jpg (http://img174.imageshack.us/i/firebird.jpg/)


$500 in parts and tools and some hard work, now she runs pretty good.

[bdyman]

old f-body nice
i get big discounts on parts, and all work will be done by me, and scot will give me a hand trying to get her fired back up
im excited about this lol
happy tiimes!!

[cherrington17]

oh shit.... ms. bdyman just registered....

i'm just going to log off for a decade or two.... i can't handle another "aleroracingsgirlfriend" fiasco...

[heineck]

this other site i was on this dude biz sed he was gunna kill himself, next day bizsmom was a registered user lookin for her son LOL sum peoples attempts for attention are hilarious.... not sayin MBM isnt real

[cavaliers60]

good buy. You got mad skills with cars so it will look great when you are all done.


edit... btw....

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/images/smilies/worthless_thread_without_pics.gif

[bdyman]

pic will be up tomorrow when we get it back to the house
and yes my g/f is registered and no she not like aleroracings fiasco
shes not going to run me over with the car

[CactusWill]

She didn't run him over, he was ghostriding the whip and fell off

[cherrington17]

and yes my g/f is registered and no she not like aleroracings fiasco
shes not going to run me over with the car


no... you ASSUME shes not going to. :lol:

and bdy.. you KNOW you gotta do a little somethin' to this car... its for a kid.. dress it up with a little custom. Nothing like yours... no way.

[cavaliers60]

She can't yet cause the car doesn't run. lol So he's safe for now.

[bdyman]

no... you ASSUME shes not going to. :lol:

and bdy.. you KNOW you gotta do a little somethin' to this car... its for a kid.. dress it up with a little custom. Nothing like yours... no way.



dude cmon ya know iam going too, it will be lowered and pinstriped thats about it, windows tinted, ill do something, i have a whole year to get the car running and fixed up
yes yes pics tomorrow

[Oldsman]

shes not going to run me over with the car

Unless you piss her off then your road kill..............LOL

[bdyman]

lol it has to run first i guess lol

[Alerosaint]

now we wait........

[_01Alero_]

Like the name of the project ha. Have fun with the project and Can't wait to see it. I can only hope that everyone can get a pungent smell off of the pictures you post up, cause I've heard its a doozy haha....

[bdyman]

dude just wait when you see it today, it smells like rotten food, rotten ass, wet rotten dog, and fat people that cant reach in between the folds rotten smell.........................ya kinda like that

[AleroDrime]

fat people that cant reach in between the folds rotten smell
lmfao

[bdyman]

well we made it back home, this afternoon, these are the pics i took just removed the floor mats, and the headrests, and ms.bdymans dad came over with his steam carpet cleaner, its this big ass machine that heats the water to 500 degrees!!! it cleans carpets, auto interiors, and steam cleans engines, so i did that today, ran home got allot of my stuff to keep going the thread i will update as i go along

yes it is bad, rust on both 1/4s are bad, rust inside both doors, allot allot of rust fall out and brake dust cover both sides of the car so what you see is not dirt but brake dust!!! the car does smell really bad!, years and years of negelt is going to prove a challenge for me but i can save her so anyways here are some pics

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00328.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00327.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC003252.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00324.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00326.jpg

[Nate's Alero]

Omg Ewwwwww

[bdyman]

i told ya dude its bad, the drivers side has a hole in the carpet, but im still going and going to remove the front seat, and the center console to keep cleaning, i might start buffing too

[bdyman]

well i found more wrong with it today like
both seats need to be fixed
needs a drivers side window regulator
coming off the tow dolly the front bumper cover cracked so now i have to fix that
radiator is damaged
iam sure ill see more in the day time

[KenshinZero]

what a dirty motor X_X

[Nate's Alero]

well i found more wrong with it today like
both seats need to be fixed
needs a drivers side window regulator
coming off the tow dolly the front bumper cover cracked so now i have to fix that
radiator is damaged
iam sure ill see more in the day time

mien didint have that many issues and mine was 300$!!!!
all mine needed was the LIMG replaced...... cake :glare:

[_01Alero_]

Yea, chris that car smelled like a fat ass grandma that hadn't washed her fat ass within the last year and a half... Oh and did I mention that this grandma would have eaten fast food every meal and had terrible gas problems.... It was bad! lol....
Yea, man I didn't notice that it was that bad as far as the rust dust goes. I thought it looked discolored but didnt know that was the rust showing through buh... Man good luck with that bro. At least it gives you a ton of projects to do in your "spare" time. You will need all the spare time you can get with that..
Oh and I appreciate you talking to me today. Can't wait for the meet and man it will be epic.

[CactusWill]

Bah its only 6 years old. Pull that carpet out and clean it separately, the rest is just body and mechanical.

[Toxin13]

Eeek, I thought my floors were dirty.. Most of what I track in vacuums out though, are those some kind of rust stains or something?

[Psyfox]

holy balls batman...there's a sleeper car project, lol.

[RisenequinoX]

that is fugly hahaha
GOOD LUCK!

[cherrington17]

if anyone can clean that up... its in the right hands. only a matter of time, before that thing flys by all of our cars, in terms of bamf-ness...

...and that'll be in the first month!

[bdyman]

yes as you all saw my alero is very very clean, and this car has been abused for way to long so i have to save it, and i will save her, im doing more work today like pullling the seat the center console, and the carpet
so iam very excite, i got something to do now
aaron awesome you stopped by, see you soon my friend

[bdyman]

all i can say is that i smoke but this woman must have kept the windows closed and never cleaned her car, becasue this is the worst interior of a car i have seen in yrs
enjoy the pics

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00333.jpg
buffed

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00338.jpg


http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00339.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00332.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00329.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n210/bdyman2001/DSC00336.jpg

[CactusWill]

Nice job, that eco is sweet, how was the oil?

[heineck]

i like how he non chalantly slipped his car in there LOL, lookin good so far

[bdyman]

the oil is black, i tried to fire it up and it wont go, but the interior is almost done, its not perfect due to the yrs of neglect, but it doesnt smell anymore

[ServO]

Ohhh man that's horrible! I smoke in my car, but I wipe her down practically every weekend...windows, dash, you name it...I thought my rags looked dirty when I got done but DAAAAMMMM.
Lookin foward to watchin this morph into a decent ride.

[bdyman]

we went through me entire stash of rags and washed them and used them again, it will never look like my alero, not for 900bucks
i still have to do this stuff
replace drivers side window regulator
replace wheels and tires
replce winshield and left trim
tint windows
replace brakes front and rear
remove body side moldings and emblems
buff and buff and buff some more to make it shine again
and get it running!!!
change the oil
fuel filter
spark plugs
clean throttle body
install my old wing
have my striper do his magic
replace serpetine belt
wheel alignment
replace ignition switch
and i think thats it

[lord2heart]

geeeze, the carpet is horrible! are you able to remove the stains? or are you going to buy new carpet for it?

[billytheman1188]

geeeze, the carpet is horrible! are you able to remove the stains? or are you going to buy new carpet for it?

if you read the thread....no, he cleaned it VERY thoroughly. Shes looking better! keep up the good work....

[bdyman]

ya i tried and tried the stains arent going away

[Afugy]

They look like coffee stains. I've got one (not my fault), I've tried everything but once its dried its in there. I even have stuff that will take out sharpie but it only worked a little. Good luck

[lord2heart]

if you read the thread....no, he cleaned it VERY thoroughly. Shes looking better! keep up the good work....

yeah i have but i was just sayn that if all hope fails and couldnt get the stains out, is he ganna buy new carpet as a last resort

[bdyman]

no this is a first car for ms.bdymans oldest daughter so its getting cleaned up, thats it

[_01Alero_]

Too bad Billy Mays isn't around anymore cause you could really use his help right about now for those stains...
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/arts/photos/2009/06/29/billy-mays-cp-6948099.jpg

Congrats on getting the smell out, I wouldn't of thought that would come out. Buh... That smell haunts my dreams. Just an alero driving with a huge fat old granny sticking out of the window with a cheeseburger in one hand and a cigarette in the other screaming "I'm going to get you"....AHHHH ShiT!!...ok I'm awake...

Anyway, the project looks to be coming along pretty nicely ha... Still aways to go, but at least it is a project/something to do for you now.

[pimpalero2003]

Could some of that dupicolor vinyl carpert spray work to clean it up a bit more

[bdyman]

i thought about dying the carpet but then i stoped and said to my self its for a 16 yr old and its her first car, and it looks 100%better then it did when she first got the car
i took apart one of the front seats last night and ms.bdyman washed the covers, and wow!! night and day difference, and the smell of nicotine and rotten ass is gone
i pray it fires up this weekend

[Daytona]

I hope you got a REALLY good deal, from the looks of that crap heap. Not a project I would have bothered with.

[Coldfire]

the smell of nicotine and rotten ass is gone


But that's what gave it character!

[bdyman]

I hope you got a REALLY good deal, from the looks of that crap heap. Not a project I would have bothered with.



lol dude i know, but for 900 bucks, and a first car for a 16yr old plus not to mention iam bored out of my mind so this is keeping me buisy during the day, i dont mind, and i have fixed worse, this is mild to what i have seen over the yrs
from bloody tampons, to crack cocaine, to mice, to roaches

so this is mild

[bdyman]

good news
after me and scot tried to fire the ashtray up, i posted a ad on craigslist, looking for gm techs, and i got one, he came out today and diaognosed the problem in 15mins, the pcm is fried, so i ordered one today off ebay and programed for 66 bucks
and i hope when i get it that its going to fire up, and then the rest is all gravy from there

i hope it does, so far we have 100 bucks into the car, about 3 days worth of cleaning, the drivers side seat is screwed, i took it apart, the foam is ripped and some other parts are destroyed, so i need a seat, 2 window regulators, rt mirror, finsih the tune-up, clean some more, and put scots old wheels on it, and i should be good for now, i really really want the car running for the meet, so i have 14 days to get it done
wish me luck

[whiterider00]

good luck sir

[pimpalero2003]

Just get 2 cans of that carpet paint go black and no stains or any new ones

[Cliff8928]

good news
after me and scot tried to fire the ashtray up, i posted a ad on craigslist, looking for gm techs, and i got one, he came out today and diaognosed the problem in 15mins, the pcm is fried, so i ordered one today off ebay and programed for 66 bucks
and i hope when i get it that its going to fire up, and then the rest is all gravy from there


I was actually suspecting that, but wasn't sold on the idea. I've seen too many replaced that weren't actually bad.

[_01Alero_]

Hey chris,
Not to get off topic on your thread, but the old wheels that were on it, you want to get rid of those? haha... I will take them off your hands if you have new wheels for the ashtray... (need them so I can take the rims off of my car)

Ok resume Ashtray Project. Good luck with the engine bro... Hopefully that new pcm works for ya...

[kwhauck]

i have some stocker seats i'll sell you chris.....

[bdyman]

scot old wheels needs one tire, and the ashtray has one good tire on it, so you can have them, but i just need the good tire of the wheel,,
and i should have pcm monday, i sure hope this thing fires up

[bdyman]

i have some stocker seats i'll sell you chris.....


actually it doesnt matter color, i would be buying the seat just for parts really, how much for the drivers side only
and manual window regulators

i keep forgeting stuff
would you and could you bring the seat to the summer meet, if ya did that i would wear my tassels for ya

[kwhauck]

i don't have any manual window regulators, but i could bring the seat for yah!! price, i don't know $50?

[bdyman]

ok sold

[bdyman]

well i got the new pcm and yes it was re programed, no passlock problem, stupid car wont freakin` run!!! now im really stumped but i have a gm tech coming to the house in the morning, so i guess i will find out then

[CactusWill]

The gas is probably bad by now, at the very least

[bdyman]

right but it would still run, my alero had bad gas from sitting for 3yrs but it fired right up and ran, and i ran the car until it died out put new gas in,
but something else is wrong now, it spins freely, i have fuel, i have spark
no sercurity light, everything works, im stumped i hope this tech can figure it out

[cherrington17]

so it turns over, but doesn't start?

getting air, getting proper fuel/air mix?


dumb thing to suggest, but check wires/connections/fuses...

[bdyman]

yes it spins over and thats it, we did checked and checked all fuses all relays, fuel pressure is good, but no injector pulse, and no spark, so he diagnosed it to a bad pcm, cool right?? go on ebay found a seller that sold them re programed it to the vin, got it yesterday, no secruity light flashing, but i kept the key foward for 10 mins, still nothing!!! so like i said hes coming back out in like 2 hours today, so guess we see what happens today

[Cliff8928]

Did you check if the pink wires at the injectors are getting power? They should be B+ any time the key is on.

[bdyman]

ok here we go again
so he comes out , checks everything again, now the security lights has been staying on this whole time, so i just tapped the key to on and back to start, sat for the 10mins light goes out

go to fire it up it almost fires up, and then the security light comes back on, did it again, almost fires up again and then security light comes on, and the ignition switch you have to jiggle the key around to ge the key forward,

so doesnt passlock cut fuel and cut ignition??? if it is the passlock then i can switch out the ignition switch and lock, recode the key do the re learn, and it should fire right up

and i just checked again the security light is still on not flashing either, if i do the process stated above, it almost fires but then security light comes back on steady, so am i right in saying its the ignition switch?? and passlock is stoping the car from running??

[cherrington17]

sounds like it.

[CactusWill]

so doesnt passlock cut fuel and cut ignition??? if it is the passlock then i can switch out the ignition switch and lock, recode the key do the re learn, and it should fire right up


On this car it cuts the fuel only. You replaced the pcm but you did not complete the relearn procedure which is supposedly 3 full cycles (as per GM). You're supposed to cycle the key into the on postion for 10+ minutes 3 times, and then if its not relearned you'll know its something else. If it ends up being the cylinder or switch after that then the light should be flashing, yes.

[Cliff8928]

There is nothing in the service info about performing that procedure more than once.

[CactusWill]

Every relearn procedure I've looked up online recommends 3 cycles, I don't know but thats what I've read....

[bdyman]

well just pulled the vavle cover off and its the timing chain, snaped off
so we dont know what we are goiing to do at this point right now
it might be cheaper to replace the engine, we dont know right now

[Nate's Alero]

well just pulled the vavle cover off and its the timing chain, snaped off
so we dont know what we are goiing to do at this point right now
it might be cheaper to replace the engine, we dont know right now

O,O....

[bdyman]

:eek: :eek: :eek:
thats what i did when i pulled it off, and now it explains the problems it was having, i dunno what we will do

[cherrington17]

can't just replace the timing chain?

[Nate's Alero]

can't just replace the timing chain?

interference motor...... bet all the valves are smashed

[Noseminer]

it's probably not all the valves, but just the ones that were open when the chain snapped. the valve for eco's aren't too costly you just have to look around. I did my own timing chain when it snapped and it was a little costly, around 1500 cnd. it was fairly strait forward, just used a repair manual and a couple days of work because i had never done one before. The only other thing was that i had to take the head in to a machine shop and get the guides checked and head shaved slightly. I had 8 bent valves, but the guides were good. Also the head bolts are torque to yield so you need a little tool that mesures the degees as you torque the bolts instead of the regular torque wrench. all in all if you can find a better motor for cheaper you could save some money there but if you redo the chain atleast you know it is done. And who's to say that a used motor won't have the chain snap fairly soon down the road. any how that just my 2 cents and good luck with it.

[bdyman]

right that`s what i was thinking, on ebay right now a complete block is going for 450, but if she doesnt want to dump anymore money into the car it goes up for sale, i would rather do a new junkyard engine, then a timing chain
but its not my car, it`s hers so i dont know what will happen

[Cliff8928]

can't just replace the timing chain?

Unfortunately it's not very cost effective to just replace the chain.

It's FAR more cost effective to just swap the engine because they're plentiful.

Just to do a timing chain you're looking at least..

Head gasket set, $115
Timing cover gasket $30
Timing chain set $184
Intake valves $38 (4@9.50)
Exhaust valve $49.60 (4@12.40)

And that's not everything. You can pick up plenty of used Ecotecs in the $500 range and not have to do anything to them. Not to mention get a newer one which has less timing issues.

[bdyman]

well i got prices today i havent told ms.bdyman yet, becasue i dont think she`s going to want to do it, i dont know whats going to happen

[cherrington17]

part out, for the cost of the car?

[Oldsman]

well based on your comment, bdyman............look some more and not in cook county at all

[AZFire316]

Do a 3400 swap! No but seriously speaking, im sure you can get another ecotec in there and running for less than buying another decent car for her.

[pimpalero2003]

And if worst does come to worst part it out and sell me the shell

[bdyman]

here is my cost for the engine, 725 without warranty 825 with a warranty
now we paid 900 for the car sunk close to 100 in it already, im going to ask the parts guy at work to keep looking for something at other junk yards we use
if she doesnt want to do a new engine, then we go from that point forward

[lvemy3100]

car-part.com ;)

[meadus101]

In reality Bdy, You could probably get your cash back for the shell couldn't you? I mean, You've given it the TLC it needs, all it needs now is for a 16 year old gearhead to throw in a V8 Northstar and kill himself with it.



Damn, that's tempting.

[Oldsman]

here is my cost for the engine, 725 without warranty 825 with a warranty
now we paid 900 for the car sunk close to 100 in it already, im going to ask the parts guy at work to keep looking for something at other junk yards we use
if she doesnt want to do a new engine, then we go from that point forward

Chris will you stop looking in cook county. call up junkyards out like morris or in IN. you can get the motor cheaper.

[AbHeLlRaZoR]

judging by the condition the car was in when you bought it, it seems almost pointless to put a new engine in it unless ms.bdyman wants to spend that money on getting her daughters car to work. You still need new tires right? and you'll never be too sure what else might be wrong with it aswell. That's just my 2 cents.

[AZFire316]

I'd say if you can get 900 or close to it selling the shell I would, but if you can't, then I'd try to source a cheap eco for it and it'll be good for years to come, assuming all else is well on the car.

[bdyman]

the interior cleaned up real nice minus the burn holes,, everything cleaned up i still have to buff the car, it does need brakes, and right side bearing plate and mount plate are bad but no biggie there

once i do that and if i drop in a new block im sure everything will be fine with the car, but its up to msbdyman if she wants to invest the money for the block

[AZFire316]

Ecotecs are a dime a dozen, I also have a 2003 cavalier that ive had to replace the engine on.