What is your Cars history?

This should be a long winded thread. I know my post will be.
Bought my 92 Chevy Lumina Z34 for $1375. The previous owner did nothing to maintain this car. in fact, when they changed the spark plugs, they only replaced the front 3 cuz they couldnt get to the 3 in the back. brakes were gone, oil looked like black water. coolant was a funky brown color with floaties all the way thru it. there was a terrible thumping sound from the back and it backfired, had no power at all. here's where you ask "why did you buy it"? wellllllllll, I saw a potential for a hot car. I love the W body and the LQ1 engine. first thing I did was put a new clamp on the sway bar. this stopped the thumping. then moved on to changing the serp belt, upper intake cleaning, pcv and ripped the flatbed ail filter out and put a K&N cone in with a chrome plated elbow. filter = $75, elbow = $55. $180 for the belt/cleaning/pcv. This was when i noticed the dog bone strut was gutted. bushings were completely gone. $26 for a new one. had to have my wife hold the car in reverse so I could get the bolt to line up. a good chance for her to take a finger or two from me. ;)
Now that the car is running fairly good. here is a list of other things I had done to it:
Update Bose system = $700
Front left engine mount = $177
Plugs and coils = $130
Radiator = $266
Altenator = $280
windshield = $190
catalytic converter = $165
tires and align = $380
battery = $90
rebuilt a/c = $410
door handle = $36
fuel pump = $89 plus $50 for towing
radiator hose repair = $100 plus $50 for towing
reseal back window = $136
steering column = $240
starter/solenoid = $300 plus $50 for towing
theres other cosmetic stuff but that covers the major things. would you have held on for so long or sold it a long time ago? lol
oh yeah, there used to be a funky security system in it. had to turn the steering wheel to the left, then the right, then turn the right turn signal on before turning the key to start it. <--- what the fuhell????
got that fixed before I took a hammer to it, again. anywho, thanks for letting me vent while i wait for my car to get fixed once again...

I was wondering if you might have had the same problem that im having now,
since you have replaced a few sensors.
my car is fine when cold(except oil pressure sky high),but when the motor is warm,it wants to die on me,at lights,driving slow{like in a parking lot},when you are coasting with your foot off the gas.the rpm gauge does a free fall,and some times it comes back up,but not very often

just wondering
thanx

Ohhh the lumina stall/idle issue. This may not cure your problem but it did cure mine. Problem: eratic idle and stalling at red lights. first thing I did was drain a pint of tranny fluid and put a pint of Seafoam trans tune in. next, I replaced the tps and iac sensors "both located at the right of the intake manifold next to the pcv valve. they run between $30 and $40 each. be careful with the tps cuz there is a gasket that tends to take off flying when handled wrong. take the tps off first, then you'll be able to get to the iac right below where you took the tps off. go ahead and clean out your upper intake while you have these sensors off. NOTE: you have to properly fit the gasket on the iac before you put the sensor on, and you have to start with it turned away from you a bit so it catches the joints on the inside. be VERY carefull not to drop any of the bolts, its a bad place to drop one. Once you have everything back together, drive the car a couple days so the Trans tune can properly coat the tcc in the tranny. Then get your tranny flushed. Once I did this, it idles at 700rpm and it hasnt stalled since. Hope this will do the same for you. let us know...
tpc = throttle positioning control
iac = idle air control
tcc = torque control clutch

DnaProRacing, Did you have to "reseal back window = $136" because water was getting into the cabin and/or trunk? I have this problem and was wondering if the rear window is a probable culprit. Here's a pic of mine:http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p278/georgew84/100_3529.jpg

i don't know, maybe you guys have had fun with your cars, but my Lumina has been no fun at all. yeah it looks good, but man that's where it ends for me. nothing but problems...i'lll take a small block/big block anything over this car anyday of the week...

yeah it was leaking where the brake light was. i actually tried sealing it myself but it ended up looking like shhtuff. so i took it to a specialist who put it in for $136 and it looks great/no leaks. took them about 20 mins. oh, they have to order the seal for it. its 40 bucks for that alone.

yeah it was leaking where the brake light was. i actually tried sealing it myself but it ended up looking like shhtuff. so i took it to a specialist who put it in for $136 and it looks great/no leaks. took them about 20 mins. oh, they have to order the seal for it. its 40 bucks for that alone.



where was yours leaking to (floor, trunk, etc)? Mine, unfortunately is leaking into both. With all the rain we've had in the midwest recently, it's not been fun getting the water out. As you can see from my photo above, the seal has peeled quite far away from the car. I've been told [on AF], however, that this is not the cause of my leaks. Either way, here are photos of my water-logged lumi:http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p278/georgew84/trunk.jpg
that was over 8 gallons of water in the trunk...nice, huh?http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p278/georgew84/floor.jpg
Sorry if I've drifted from the actual topic at hand

maybe the seal on the back of the truck lid? and yes that is pulled out quite a ways. i'd be surprised if that isnt leaking too. oh, and mine was leaking onto the speakers in the back. nowhere else...

cool thanks! I guess I'll get someone I really trust to hose down the car while I'm inside the trunk with a flashlight, as I've been told is the only way to really pinpoint the problem. I'm just not looking forward to doing it; although it'd be better than trying to remove literally buckets of water;) Although I've been told that the rear window seal is not going to be the culprit, I think it could be because the water could get in there and go into the back floorboard and into the trunk. It's just right inbetween both. Well thanks for your assistance

[quote=savannaz34]I was wondering if you might have had the same problem that im having now,
since you have replaced a few sensors.
my car is fine when cold(except oil pressure sky high),but when the motor is warm,it wants to die on me,at lights,driving slow{like in a parking lot},when you are coasting with your foot off the gas.the rpm gauge does a free fall,and some times it comes back up,but not very often

just wondering

If you go to AutoZone repair guide there is a test for the IAC. That is the first thing I would check. All you need is an OHM meter. Clean both the plunger and spray carb cleaner & clean into the place the IAC is mounted.

add injector service to that mess too. i had one misfiring and the service helped a great deal. $116