The Flight of the PHOENIX !

OK No more tires from me. 5W-30 motor oil should help MPG especially in cold weather. Cast iron from the rings and cylinder walls, and unburned fuel all make motor oil very dark. The oil is used. I think a 195 degree t-stat will help MPG and evaporate some of the unburned fuel byproducts from the motor oil and keep the engine cleaner on the inside. Maybe not enough to measure.

Earlier on, I had asked a question about the alloy composition of Rings - no answers.

Which is harder - the Rings or the Cylinder Walls?

When I changed them, my Rings were tougher than Hell!

I had thought they would be brittle (don't know why I had that notion!?).
The old Rings were tough and would not break when bent! Hard but flexible!

So what kind of Alloy are Rings made from?

Are the cylinder walls made of good metal compared to the Rings?

Where is this Molybdenum in the used oil coming from?

And the Aluminum....! No wearing metal parts are made of Aluminum - it is way,
way, way too soft for moving parts - just structural parts.....

DoctorBill

The pistons are aluminum. Did you get an oil analysis? There should be a legend on the report that explains. Part of the fee for the service allows the owner to contact a lab tech.

Some rings are cast iron, some are moly alloy, and some are chrome. The bearings are made of a variety of metals, tri-metal (babbitt, copper, and tin or steel), or solid aluminum. And ALECULAR SI bearings. The soft material is what touches the metal parts.

http://www.kingbearings.com/oem.html

Your cylinder head is aluminum with the cams turning in it. Rings and cylinder walls wear. There are different mixtures of iron for blocks and different types of rings. Rings must be harder considering the narrow surface that runs against much longer cylinder surface.

Most wearing parts are aluminum or use soft aluminum bearings. Very few parts are run metal against metal.

Cams and lifters or rockers are steel against steel. Rings are iron against iron. Timing chains are steel and at least one steel sprocket.

When I changed them, my Rings were tougher than Hell!

I had thought they would be brittle (don't know why I had that notion!?).
The old Rings were tough and would not break when bent! Hard but flexible!

So what kind of Alloy are Rings made from?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

oK, SILLY REFERENCES ASIDE,:nono:

Add Vanadium & manganese to your hardness & ductilly alloy list for rings.
Call Gandalf :evillol:


thx
reg

JSG - can you tell me where Aluminum is scraping against Aluminum or anything else?

Other than as a portion of the bearing metal (from your web link reference - thanks!) alloy, I
cannot see where Aluminum should wind up in the oil.

Every surface where a metal is moving against another metal is a bearing or
ring situation.

The camshaft bearings are embedded in Aluminum and just hold the bearings in place.
The camshaft (made of steel) rotates within those bearings.

The only use for Aluminum is to encase some other metal that moves against a third metal.

If Aluminum were ever to move against itself or any other metal, it would wear away
instantly! Soft as butter! It would spall.....

The Aluminum piston has embedded rings doing the scraping of Iron cylinder walls.
In all cases the Aluminum does not touch any moving body other than to just
hold it in place.

Can you name one place in the engine where Aluminum rotates or scrapes against
itself of another metal?

Except perhaps for the empty Beer Cans rolling around behind the driver's seat...

DoctorBill

PS - Remember those oil analyses web links someone gave us about a month or two ago?
Those analyses are what I remember reading - they ran one car under different circumstances
and finally had to give up for lack of time and money....

Reg Saretsky - "oK, SILLY REFERENCES ASIDE"

The "silly" references, if I understand your meaning, are what give you credence.

Otherwise it is just your word and opinion.

Where did you get Vanadium & manganese at? Do you have some web link or
printed material to substanciate your claim? Ever been in court?

You gotta prove your claims.

Not that I don't believe you. There are probably 10,000 different formulas of
Steel out there!

I am not disputing the metals that were in those oil analyses...just wondering
what "things" they came from.

I can understand all of them except for Aluminum.

Now if Aluminum is a component of the softer Bearings, then OK!

They probably add the Aluminum to the bearing metal alloy in order to make it soft!

After all, bearing are supposed to wear as opposed to the rotating shaft
component that is difficult and expensive to replace.


BTW - do you have Gandolf's address? I'd like to ask him several thousand questions....

DoctorBill

As I wrote previously, I changed the Oil and Filter (FRAM) after 700 miles on the
New Rings in the phoenix yesterday.

I swear to you, today the engine runs quieter and seems to have more power!

Maybe I am just wishful thinking, but even my daughter (who I drive to school)
said that it sounded quieter!

Is that possible?

Damn! I love this little shit car!

DoctorBill

the aluminum is probably off the piston skirts, they rub against the cyl walls as the pistons go up and down, the rings just seal the compression in, they don't keep the piston from rocking as the crank goes around. also there are no bearings for the camshaft, it just turns inside the aluminum holders in the head

Aluminum within normal parameters is from the piston skirts as crvette69 stated. If there were a huge amount it would be from something abnormal like a piston the grew larger from heat and didn't have enough clearance causing it to seize against the cylinder wall or in the case of engines with timing chains that are hitting the aluminum front cover. Depends on what type of engine and it's characteristics on where you would make an educated guess if there is a problem and where the problem might be.

The soft aluminum parts do not wear (much at all) as the steel turns against them because of the oil that washes between the parts keeping them cool.

As crvette69 wrote, there are no camshaft bearings other than the aluminum cylinder head.

High performance and heavy duty bearings are (have been) solid aluminum. Bearings were never steel. The first layer of crankshaft bearings that contact the metal crankshaft first used to be babbitt which is very soft lead, much softer than the next layer of copper. The aluminum is not mixed with the other metals. They are layers. I think most newer engines (that probably includes your 93 Metro) are using solid aluminum bearings. The manufactures must save millions of dollars on solid compared to tri layer bearings.

Oil analysis measures very small amounts. Vehicles running near the coast or near salt flats show more sodium than those traveling inland. Glycol is from anti-freeze and should not be present. Silica is from dirt as in silica sand that for the most part made it's way through the air filter, past the rings, and into the oil.

Molybdenum could be from moly piston rings but I think it is as someone posted before, part of the additive package and is measured to determine depletion of the additives. Ask the lab tech for a correct answer.

DOCTORBILL,

Lend me your ear.

1.) Stop using Fram oil filters, they are absolutely the worst constructed oil filter in the world. Use anything else but. The cardboard endcaps inside won't seal against the antidrainback valve and will cause dry startups. There are much better filters for cheaper money out there. And please don't say you have been using them for years and therefore they are ok, because theat is wrong, I have personally witnessed 4 Fram failures and it ain't pretty. Plus Frams have 1/2 the filter media as any other filter, which is probably why your oil was dirty prematurely.

2.) Check you tire pressure cold, never warm, the rated is for a cold tire, common mistake made.

3.) Reinstall the other valves you took off the engine. They are there for a purpose and you will be doing nothing but harm by leaving them off.

4.) Replace the O2 sensor and you will get even better economy.

5.) Grinding manual gear box is from you manual transmission fluid needing to be changed. Check the owners manual for what is in it and you can swap in some new fluid in there and enjoy a slick running gearbox.

Fleetgaurd makes good filters. If oil analysis shows the quality of the oil is good, better may not be an issue. Several engines can be noisy on start up when Fram filters are used because the oil drains back to the pan.

Wix is also a better filter. I think all oil filters pass the SAE tests.

Have you ever seen a Frantz filter? They keep oil looking really clean. Clean looking oil is not everything. Filters that keep oil looking really clean also remove some of the additive package from the oil, or so I have been told by more than one reliable source. The polymers that create multi-viscosity. Seems believable to me.

You must have some thick gear oil in your transmission. My transmission shifts really smooth after flushing the nasty smelling gear oil out and filling with synthetic motor oil. Thinner oil will also improve fuel mileage. I have done this on many different transmissions, never a Metro. Chrysler muscle car transmissions came with type A fluid. They don't shift so well with SAE 90.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away I bought three quarts of Valvoline Durablend
(Synthetic Blend) SAE 80w-90 for The Phoenix, but never put it in as it
was not running then!

Now, I will drain it this week while the transmission is hot and add the Valvoline.

The Phoenix is a '93 and I'll bet the transmission fluid has never been changed....

I found a '95 Geo Metro 1.0 L Tachometer Instrument Cluster at a local wrecking
yard for $55 total + tax....

They have to order it from some where else, so that will be in next week!

Yikes! I'll have a Taco-meter in The Phoenix...!

Hot Damn!

DoctorBill

PS - now if I can just find out what that damned rattle is in the right back end of The Phoenix,
she will be all set....she's had it since I bought her. (?)

If yous guys would take your Filter Discussion to my other thread, you'd see
all sorts of information about them. Nice link was given by a participant.

Wal-Mart apparently sells Filters made by Bosch which are said to be good
and cheap!

Bill,
Your Metro transaxle needs an API GL-4 gear lube, SAE 75W-90 weight.
I researched this exhaustively recently when I found that the '92 Metro Owner's Manual and Service Book said two different things. I think one says GL-4 and one says GL-5 (Thank you, GM tech. service!).
I had what I was pretty sure were bad synchronizers on my Metro, at 165,000 miles. But I saw that people were sometimes able to improve synchro performance with good lube. Anyway, I spent quite a few hours on the internet and talking to oil company chemists, engineers, and technical advisors. My research led me to buy Amsoil synthetic GL-4 75W-90 lube after very thorough education by one of their tech service people, and it worked wonders. I don't know what was in the tranny before, but it has been shifting very nicely and now has over 180,000 miles on it. Amsoil is harder to get than other stuff; you have to find a distributor from their web site. But I recommend it. Whatever you use, make sure it is GL-4 and 75W-90.
I wouldn't Amsoil motor oil because the senior chemist at Detroit Diesel, where I used to work, convinced me it was not all it was cracked up to be, based on a lot of testing.
No, I don't have any of the motor oil or gear lube data handy, but I committed to memory the bottom line of what all these guys told me.

Yea, any synthetic 75w90 will improve the tranny performance overall and also improve fuel economy. But you are not really in a cold area so 80w90 will be good.

DOCTORBILL,

Where is this thread you are talking about? Can you post the link to the filter discussion here so we can continue discussing it there?

BlazerLT, The oil filter link you are asking for is at: http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB6
Lots of good info there, hours of poking around fun.

"Does anyone KNOW which Oil Filter is best?" by yours truly...

I don't know what else to say..... your question befuddles me!

You just posted in it....see confused look on DoctorBill's face....

DoctorBill

Disregard the question, I found your thread after I asked where it was.

BlazerLT, The oil filter link you are asking for is at: http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/postlist.php?Cat=0&Board=UBB6
Lots of good info there, hours of poking around fun.

Ah yes, I am a 3 year member there.

Mr.Bill,

BOO!!!

Awesome! But about time.

I rolled my Metro after getting a flat rear tire recently, and I am out Metro desire. Too bad it was a top running specimen after much labor only to be cut short after grinding on its side and then flipping a reported 4-5 times.

I got out and phoned for a ride home. Just the other day I pulled 2 pieces of glass out of my arm. Would I buy again? Sure. Will I? No.

Cheers,
DieInterim

Hey, man! So nice to have you back here with us! Long time, no see....

What have you been up to? I missed your words here on this forum.....

Have you been following The Oddessy of the Phoenix - the very same Metro
you had commented on so long ago?

I 'fixed' it. Runs like a top now.

I look forward to your postings.

DoctorBill

http://www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/lies.html

I picked up my '94 Metro 3 cyl Tachometer Instrument Cluster ($55) today!

Here is what it looks like. Back Side...

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/7152/finbackdm9.jpg
The number on the back side is 399 E DENSO

Top View
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1897/fintopto1.jpg

Front of Unit.
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1764/finfrontcn2.jpg

On the bottom is the following:

R2 30010412
TN157320-7823

There is a drop of sealer paint on the Top Bezel tabs, so looks like it has
never been opened up.

It has 111,662 miles on it (Mine has ~158,000) and this one has
a trip meter - Hot Diggity Damn!

It is in Miles, not Kilometers!........'merican!

DoctorBill

Make sure you swap your Odometer over to the new one.

Make sure you swap your Odometer over to the new one.


Unfortunately that is not possible as the odometers and speedometers are of a completely different design. Fortunately, for most of us, our cars are old enough to be exempt in most states from having to report the mileage when selling the vehicle.

It is a good Idea to verify what your local laws are before making a swap like this. Some states just require a tag on the car with the odometer readings when it was swapped out. Others require a notation on the title that the odometer reading is not accurate.

worst of all, it is bad karma to lie about how many miles are on your body.

in WA you only need to worry about the car mileage if its less than 10 years old. don;t try to swap the odometer over just put it in the way it is and record old and new mileage so you know when next oil change is due. some of the plastic is glued together and you would have to cut it and reglue it to swap odometer. best to just leave it alone

This has become rather humerous......

All the while I wrote about trying to find a Tach Inst Cluster, not one single
word about there being any legal problems with this.

Now that I have one, suddenly there is concern about whether or not I
have the right to put it in or not.

Screw the legal issues.

Who would want to buy this old bird anyway..... Besides, writing the fact that
I changed out the Speedometer Cluster or not down on the Title is no big deal!

Once I write that the Cluster was changed and the odometer reading is now
different clues the buyer into the fact that the miles don't jive.

So, at that point, the buyer is forewarned.....

Christ, the gypsies here in Spokane are infamous for doing that!

Still, it is funny how you folks react to things......

Well, I am sicker than hell. Seem to have the Flu. Hope not the Bird Flu.
My lungs sound like some old Diesel Engine rumbling away.

Need to suck down some Nyquill and sleep.

I think I had best leave this Instrument Cluster thing alone for a week or so
until I don't die from screwing around outside in this cold rain.

DoctorBill

PS - Were I to die, I wonder if they'd let my wife put me in the driver's seat
of The Phoenix, roll it down a back-hoe'd ditch, and let me be buried
in the car?

Doc,

I just noticed one of the support posts is broken on the back of the cluster. It shouldn't be a big deal, but you might want to break one off of your old cluster and glue it to your new one.

I looked at that support post on the Cluster - yes - never noticed it....

I cannot "break off" one of them exactly like the other one, so I thought maybe
I could "Gorilla Glue" or Silicone Glue a metal bolt of the same dimensions and put
a rubber grommet on it.

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/6479/fixinginstclusterjx6.jpg

I got another tank of Chevron with Techroline and the car is running the following mpg's.
1- 44.4 mpg 2 - 40.4 mpg 3 - 42.6 mpg
Tank #1 was CENEX the crap gas!
Damn! Maybe it isn't crap gas.....maybe The Phoenix likes 10% Ethanol!

The temp around here has varied quite a lot from 10 to 45 degrees!

Am on Antibiotics right now with a Whooping Cough type cold or flu...they get
nastier as one gets older. At least it seems so.

DoctorBill

PS - How much Oil would I lose if I changed my FRAM oil filter for a Wal-Mart
Supreme-Tech filter mid-stream? i.e. just taking the filter off w/o draining
the oil?

I'd guess 1/3-3/4 quart depending on angle of the car, with the capacity of the filter and whatever little bit drains from the block. go for it and top er off. Get well quick buddy!

-mechanicmatt

[/QUOTE]
I got another tank of Chevron with Techroline and the car is running the following mpg's.
1- 44.4 mpg 2 - 40.4 mpg 3 - 42.6 mpg
Tank #1 was CENEX the crap gas!
Damn! Maybe it isn't crap gas.....maybe The Phoenix likes 10% Ethanol!

The temp around here has varied quite a lot from 10 to 45 degrees!
[/QUOTE]

DOC;

I am in the Boise area (similar weather although perhaps not quite as cold) and your mileage pretty much jibes with what I have been getting. I see a 4-5 mpg drop/swing in the winter depending on the temperature, whether the wind is blowing and apparently the phase of the moon. Like you much of my mileage is highway miles coming and going to work so one would expect things to be pretty uniform but that hasn't been the case. I haven't investigated whether or not the kind of fuel I am using makes a measurable/repeatable difference.

just snap the same part off cluster your taking out and glue it in place or do the bolt thing and grab grommet off the other one

While sitting around coughing up several gallons of phlegm with this God awful
cold/flu thing, I worked on the Instrument Cluster Peg.

I made a plaster mold and used Blue RTV Silicone to mold a new "Grommet".

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/369/fixedpostoninstclusterjt7.jpg

The Elmer's Ultimate Glue (Polyurethane) is hardening as I took the photo.

It ought to hold. The only purpose of the Peg & Grommet is to center the Inst.
Cluster - the bolts on the top and bottom hold it in place....

I don't know when I will get to install this Instrument Cluster. We just had 60
mph winds whiz thu here last night - how fast does a storm on the West Coast
have to be to be classified a Typhoon?

How fast does the wind have to be to pick this little bugger up and flip it off
of the highway!? I wonder sometimes....

The weather is just too crappie to go outside right now.

I wanted to change my Transmish Oil also, but that's on hold too!

Thank God for Antibiotics (Ortho's Levaquin 750 mg 5 pack) or I'd have been
dead long ago! I guess most of us would be, too.....

DoctorBill

While still coughing up crap, I decided to stop sitting around waiting to get
better and get to work on this Tach Instrument Cluster.

I took off the Clear Pastic Front and rubbed out the scratches on the front.

I washed it in fast running water to get any abrasive grit off the plastic Before
rubbing it with Windex. That got any grease off first.

Then after drying it, I rubbed it with Turtle Wax "Super Hard Shell" Car Wax.

I used a clean coton cloth and just rubbed and rubbed. Over and over.

This rubs out most scratches and leaves wax in any scratches left over.
Looks brand new now!

I use this technique to repair CD's and DVD's that won't work in the players!
Just always rub away from the center (only!) toward the edges...

You can bring a non-working or skipping CD or DVD back to life this way!

Now - can anyone tell me if there is some way to check the Tachometer calibration
with the unit out of the vehicle?

I thought I saw a reference to such a thing a long while back, but I can't find
it anymore!

There are three plugs that go into the Unit (I have them!) and if I knew which
ones were to the Tach, I should be able to feed it 12 volts DC (12v & grnd) and
a signal (someone said from a 12 volt charger!) and read some value that
a rectumfied DC chopped 60 cycles should give....

Does anyone know how to do that? Which wires to use?

Any help would be appreciated as I sit here coughing and "recovering"....

DoctorBill

I decided to stop being a whimp about this business of testing my Tachometer
Instrument Cluster and did what Metro Mighty Mouse did with his Tach.

This Tach-Inst-Cluster was from a '94 - 3 cyl Geo Metro.

Since I purchased the used Tach-Inst-Cluster with the plugs, I identified which
wires went to the three tach screws on the back and labelled them with tape.
I just followed the PC Leads around the flexible, green wiring on the back of the unit.

They are GND and IG+ and IG-.

I have two old car batteries I saved and keep charged up to use for 12 volt Power Supplies.

I connected wires (with a 4 amp fuse) from the car battery (12.48 volts) to the
GND and IG+. This pulled 150 ma as measured with my VOM in series.

I have a 12 volt battery trickle charger which I used for the 60 cycles signal
input (120 rectumfied peak to peak signals).

Connected the ground to the GND and touched the red (+) wire to IG-.

The Tachometer immediately went to 4800 RPM's.

So - I believe that is what it should read with 60 cycles rectified (120 peaks).
"Let's see, 60hz for a 3 cyl would be 2400 RPM...." from JellyBeanDriver at
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=12108&start=25 @ Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:19 pm

At 4800 RPM's - how many times per second is any one cylinder firing....?
4800 rpm / 60 seconds = 80 rev's / second........

One explosion per 2 revolutions means 40 sparks per second for each cylinder - no?

So 4800 / 120 = 40....OK!

Metro Mighty Mouse is making some gauge overlays for me with The Blue Phoenix
lettering on each of the Speedometer and Tachometer faces facing each other....

Ought to look really nice!

I will take some pictures when it is done.

I don't look forward to removing the "Tach-Inst-Cluster" unit, however.
Sounds like a bugger-all job....especially in this cold weather here in Spokane.

DoctorBill

I drained my manual 5 speed transmission today...let it drain an hour.
It stopped dripping, so I got it all...(?)

I didn't measure how much came out, but it looked to be a couple quarts or so.

It was dark like used motor oil, but not "black" like used motor oil. Just very dark,
not yellow like the new stuff was.

I wonder how old it was. The full 13 years? - my "Phoenix" is a '93.

I found about 1/2 gram or so of metal chips and powder on the magnetic plug.
Cleaned that off well.

I put the oil back via the level check hole and a long 1/2 inch dia plastic tube.

Now - that was fun! Slower than molasses in January. It is 35 degrees outside today.
Stood there forever holding that bottle!

I had to hold the bottle up all the while since the tube would not stay on the
damned bottle spout!

Valvoline 80w-90 "Durablend" (synthetic blend).

That damned, new oil is so slippery that the plastic tube wouldn't stay on the spout -
had to hold it in place as the oil oozed out slow as snot.
Started snowing and blowing as I stood there....

Anyway - it took almost exactly 2 quarts. The Chilton Manual says that the
Transmission holds 2.5 quarts!

I figured it would be OK - what else could I do! Oil was oozing out the hole!

If I were to slightly 'overfill' the transmission via that Clutch Bolt hole on top of the
transmission, would it hurt the transmish at all ?

Drove the car maybe five miles and all seems well.

At least I now know that the Transmission Oil is good.

You never know what a used car has in it.....

DoctorBill

I can never seem to get more than 2 quarts in the 5-speeds myself. Then again, I've always filled them with the cars on jackstands - not level. That extra half-quart is just robbing horsepower anyhow!!

-mechanicmatt

Yah, mine was fairly high up on jackstands, also. Can't really do anything
on a Metro unless it is on jackstands or a lift. Do they make lifts that small...lol?

Couple of questions.

Unless something is wrong with the transmission, does the manual transmission oil
ever really wear out?

Mine was not yellow, but then perhaps whatever was put into the transmission
might not have been yellow to begin with....

I unscrewed that big left side bolt holding the Clutch Lever on the transmission,
but the oil was much too thick to fill it from there. Were it a hot summer and
if I had heated the oil beforehand, I might have been able to fill it thru that hole.

But - how would one know when it is full unless one also opened the
plug on the right side of the transmission?

Can one push a stick down the Clutch Bolt hole and sort of "Dipstick" the
transmission oil level w/o having to use the hole on the side ?

Can one overfill the transmission?

What is the lowest safe level for the oil?

Should I notice any differnce in the transmission now that I have replaced the
oil?

Are there any "additives" that would help the transmission work - like some
powdered graphite added? I am sort of joking, but it is a reasonable question....

DoctorBill

Doc, Here's a tip for Tach cluster swap (I did the swap on my 94 Geo Metro 4-Dr 5 Speed a couple of months ago). Since it's a Royal PITA to try and get your hand back behind the cluster to re-connect the speedo cable to your new tach cluster with the dashtop still on, Disconnect the speedo cable 1st from the transmission (Remove 1 bolt and lift the cable housing out).....Now you can push (From under the hood at firewall cable entrance) about 4-5" of the speedo cable thru the firewall grommet and make it alot easier to connect it to the speedo housing on the cluster. Once you get it connected, slide the cluster in slowly, Then go back under the hood and pull a liltte bit of cable back thru. Repeat the process until the cluster is fully seated and ready to be screwed in......Reinstall and seat the Speedo cable to the tranny (It only lines up one way), Put bolt back in.......Done!

I just received Metro Mighty Mouse's Gauge Overlays today.

All are installed except for the Tachometer needle which I think requires that
I put 12v to the gauge before I try placing the Needle back on - so that it is
at zero when I put it on.

Looks nice!

Pictures coming.....

DoctorBill

Doc,

Use your test set up to set the needle. I know you no longer have the connector but you should be able to make a probe to apply the signal to the tach. Most people installing the overlays have the advantage of being able to note the position of the tach at idle so they have a reference point. The other option is to use a Tach Dwell meter to determine what rpm the engine is operating at and set the needle there. The problem is that the needle rests against the stop even with the key on and doesn't move until there is a signal to it.

MMM,
Jon

OK - I got the Instrument Cluster all back together....

I thought I had screwed up the Tachometer! I hooked all the wires back up as
before and the Tach wouldn't work right. Jesus!

So I rewired it (was a loose connection) and it worked.

Then I had to pull the needle off and put it back on many times before it would
go to exactly 4800 rpms on the dial.

I hope I didn't booger up the Tachometer Shaft Bearing!

Put both the black front and the clear bezel back on.

I just hope it works correctly when it is in The Blue Phoenix!

Probably won't....

Here is a picture gallery of what I did:

My current Instrument Cluster
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2554/fincurrentinstclusterbw8.jpg

The "New" Tachometer Instrument Cluster I purchased used
http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/650/finfrontsm9.jpg

Pictures of the work in progress
Working 1
http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/7272/finmmm1hy3.jpg

Working 2
http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/6537/finmmm2ou0.jpg

Working 3
http://img284.imageshack.us/img284/7417/finmmm3dj8.jpg

The finished product !
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/1622/finassembledicyt1.jpg

Looks pretty good.....yah?

DoctorBill

Doc,

The Tach bearing will be fine, I have had mine off repeatedly over the last 4 or 5 years and the only problems I have had were related to the plug not making a good connection.

I have to admit I am getting quite a kick admiring my handywork. Since I painted the black plastic part of mine silver/chrome the contrast isn't quite as dramatic. I might swap in an extra that I have if I take the cluster out again.

If you haven't seen the effect when the lights are on I think you are in for a treat. Also don't forget to take the green covers off of the lights or it will change the color and it won't be as bright.

Be sure to leave the clear cover off when you install the cluster until you have a chance to verify the gas and temperature gauges and the speedometer are reading correctly. Then pop the cover on and finish the installation.

Enjoy!!
MMM
Jon

"Since I painted the black plastic part of mine silver/chrome the contrast isn't quite
as dramatic."

Yah - I didn't like it very much when I saw the picture you had posted.
The Black - White contrast is very nice! Much better. Chrome is too "Hard"

"...don't forget to take the green covers off of the lights...."
Yes - I did that. They were like the tips of green rubber gloves cut off the
"pinkie" finger and pushed over the bulbs.

I dipped the "High Beam Bulb" in clear, blue model airplane paint because the High
Beam light in most cars is too bright for my likes. Hope that works.

If a bulb burns out, do I have to change the whole bulb and black plastic base?
Looks like the bulb is an intergral part of the black plastic twist on base.

I'll save all the bulbs in my old Instrument Cluster!

"Be sure to leave the clear cover off when you install the cluster..."
OK....I hate to 'fart around' with this much more, but I will heed your advice.

Funny thing happened yesterday -

I went to a local "One Stop" here in my small town and as I was getting out of
The Blue Phoenix a guy came out the door, stopped and said hello.

He asked me if I'd sell the car!?

I told him that I was going to be burried in it when I die. He laughed!

He is from Idaho, has no hands (was a High Tension Power Lineman!) and has
those metal hooks for hands.

I lifted the car's hood to discuss what I had done to it with him.

He told me he has six Geos in various states of "repair" around his house in
the back woods in Idaho. He has no electricity! Lives in a cabin! GOD!
He said he has replaced several engines in them, has another engine, but....he
didn't know what a MAP Sensor was! Hmmmm......

Maybe he needs a helper(s) with those artificial hand things - poor guy!
You have to see something like that to really appreciate being whole and not
having any real problems.

"I had no shoes. Then I saw a man who had no feet....." old saying - its true!

Then another guy came out of the One-Stop and came over and said, "Who stole
the engine out of your car!?" lol..... small engine...ha ha.

That guy said he has had several Geo Metros and loves them!

Then a third guy drives up, gets out and joins the conversation!

He has several Metros and fixes them up for his family!

My God!

How many of us Metro Freaks are out there...!? I include myself in that category.

Fascinating!

Only problem with that is - they are all scavenging the parts that I need !

The fewer of them - the more parts for me! Greed.....

Happy new year, folks! May the force be with you.....

Live long and prosper!

DoctorBill

"If a bulb burns out, do I have to change the whole bulb and black plastic base? Looks like the bulb is an intergral part of the black plastic twist on base."

Both size bulbs just pull out. I've had to use a pair of pliers to get the smaller indicator lights out, just have to be careful not to crush the bulb.

Thanks for that information - I wouldn't have tried pulling them out any harder
than I did....

Now I know I can do it.

Both my old IC and the new IC have no bad bulbs - they must be running at
80% of their recommended voltage to last that long.

i.e. - they are probably 14 or 16 volt bulbs running at 12 volts.

Doesn't any car's sytem run at about 14 volts when the alternator is running?

DoctorBill

I am midway thru getting my cataracts removed and new acrylic lenses put into my eyes.

Had the left eye (worst eye) fixed three days ago. The right eye will be done the 24th.

15 minute, absolutely painless surgery!

Folks who have not had this done would be amazed at what I am seeing!

You don't realize how yellow colored your natural lenses get as time goes by.

This represents the difference between my two eyes right now!

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/493/effectofcataractsju4.jpg

Just thought someone should know - maybe it will get them into the eye doctor and get the cataracts removed

...it is worth it!

DoctorBill

Ever since I changed the oil in my Transmission, when I am stopped and put it into
first gear, the gears touch - not a full "grind" but I can feel them not meshing
as they did before I changed the oil.

I used Valvoline Durablend 80w-90.

Is this to be expected?

In order to stop the gear "bump", I have to push it in more slowly and gently.
If the synchromesh is wearing out, what would have been in there before that
kept the gear bumping from happening?

I am almost sorry I changed the oil!

Other than that, everything is OK with the transmish.

DoctorBill

Ever since I changed the oil in my Transmission, when I am stopped and put it into
first gear, the gears touch - not a full "grind" but I can feel them not meshing
as they did before I changed the oil.

I used Valvoline Durablend 80w-90.

Is this to be expected?

In order to stop the gear "bump", I have to push it in more slowly and gently.
If the synchromesh is wearing out, what would have been in there before that
kept the gear bumping from happening?

I am almost sorry I changed the oil!

Other than that, everything is OK with the transmish.

DoctorBill

First gear is a straigh cut gear and has no syncros.

You NEVER force it into gear ever, it will go into gear as soon as you have a reached a low enough speed for it to go in.

This is a common problem, people think they should push it in, when, if the conditions and speed are what they should be, it will go into gear with no problem.

I guess I didn't explain it well enough...
"...when I am stopped and put it into first gear, the gears touch - not
a full "grind" but I can feel them not meshing as they did before I changed the oil."

This is when I have been stopped at a traffic light - usually for 30 seconds to
what seems like eternity.

My Karma is to have to stop at every G.D. traffic light between where
I was and where I am going to.....

Maybe even an infinitely long Burlington Northern Train going 3 mph crossing
the road between me and my Chemistry Class Lecture...

The transmission didn't used to do this "tick!" or "Clunk" when I pushed the
lever into first gear....before I changed that oil.

Would a smidgen of STP make that oil more slippery than it is now?

It is 'probably' not hurting the Transmission - it is just very annoying.

Many times it won't go into First Gear unless I pull the shift lever back into
Second Gear before I push it into First Gear....

DoctorBill

PS - this isn't a Clutch Adjustment problem is it?

this isn't a Clutch Adjustment problem is it?

Have you put a new clutch in the car or adjusted the clutch cable stop nut recently Doc?

I have never messed with the Clutch Cable or Lever since I bought The Phoenix
used back two summers ago.

Every time I ever messed with a clutch adjustment, I F**ked it up....I don't
seem to be smart enough to understand clutches!

I have tested the clutch by accelerating when going up a steep hill - the engine
does not wind up (because of slipping), so the clutch is good (I think).

The clutch engages when the pedal is just off the floor maybe a 1/2 inch.

Other than that, I am a "Clutch Moron" - "Clutch Challenged".....

Each automobile I have suspected of clutch problems, took to a mechanic, and
thought I understood - my "understanding" was just the opposite!

So I eschew clutch work! Magic stuff! Not for the likes of me...

DoctorBill

its easy to adjust, just find the arm coming out of the transmission on the top that the cable goes to. should be able to move it 1/8"-1/4" freely. if its to tight you will wear out throwout bearing, if its to loose will be harder to shift. if it needs to be adjusted just turn the nut on the end of the cable

Is the clutch hydraulic or a cable mechanism?

A clutch needing adjustment could make this occur. If it is hydraulic this should happen automatically unless the clutch fluid is low.

Don't add anything to the oil, there is nothing wrong with the fluid in there, the old fluid might have been disguising another problem.

its a cable

Just wanted to say that The Phoenix is still going strong!

It is not burning any oil - the oil stays clean for up to 4,000 miles (I use
WalMart's "Super Tech" SAE 5W-30 in 5 quart bottles for $8).

I also use WalMart's Super Tech oil filters (if they have them) and/or Schucks
"Pentius" UltraFLOW PLB4386 - you may have to order them (inexpensive).
Thanks to Crvett69 for cluing me in to the Pentius Filters!

I had to replace the Heater Motor - was not hard to do...but I had to do it in the
dead of Winter!

Last thing I replaced was the left headlight...finally died...not really - had water in it!
Still worked - but I thought I'd better get it changed.

This '93 Geo Metro 3 cyl is a dream!

DoctorBill