TeamSwift

My geo metro 92 has been at the fix it shop and they called today to tell me that the engine is bad. To fix it would be 1,000.00 and they doubt if they can even find one to replace it since the engines only last about 70,000. Is this true?
Mine has 86,500 on it. He said they could either replace the engine or send the cylinder head out to be fixed. What should I do?? Buy another metro??

Thanks for any help!![/b]

I doubt the entire engine is bad. Odds are you burnt an exhaust valve. My guess is cylinder #3? I have seen remanufactured heads on e-bay from $99-$179 plus shipping. The cost of labor to replace it is where it might get expensive. Maybe you can find a junk yard head cheaper, but I don't know how long that one will last either.

Thanks M3 for such a quick reply!!!
My son has been working on the car, checking out the smaller things but he doesn't know how to put an engine in. Do you think it would be worth having it fixed or should I just buy another metro or something else?? I am a single grandma on disability and I am trying to figure out the least expensive way to go!!!!

To my knowledge the 1.0L engines last forever, mine started burning oil at around 180 000KM, but i rebuilt it (rings/valves) and it ran prefectly fine. They're very simple to rebuild.

- Amer

ask for a detailed list of what it needs. a burned valve or a bad head is not a big job. the price don't sound to bad if you want to hang on to the car. as far as saying these cars don't last . he's wrong i've had 7 and 6 of them went well over 150,000 miles . the other one got run over RIP.

I just put a used engine in my 91 metro. You can get used low mileage engines from Japan on e-bay for about $350 (plus shipping). It was my first time doing one. It took me about 2 weeks a couple of hours a day. Next time i could cut the time in half. My metro cost me $500. With the new engine, and a few other things I now have $1,500 in to it. I save about $1,000 in labor charges by doing it myself.

If you really need a new engine and you can't work on it yourself, you would be best to get another metro in good running shape. There are thousands of them out there, many for less than $1,000.

If It's just a bad head, you should be able to have a mechanic change it out for about $200 to $300 plus parts. There is a head on e-bay now for only $99.

granny,

i'm just north of you in columbus, oh.

i've replaced 3 heads on my convertible cars over the summer and it's just not that hard to do. your mechanic should be able to do it in under 4 hours, the worst case cost for a head rebuild shouldn't run more than $250 if the rebuilder used all new parts. your mechanic should be able to do the complete job for under $400.

it just depends on how much you love that car.

in columbus i can find metros for a couple hundred dollars and since i do the engine repairs in my driveway i can usually have one rolling for under $500. you can buy another 92 metro in decent shape for under $1000.

if you decide that you don't want to save your car, i'm half tempted to cross the river and come to get it!

Thanks for all your answers!!!!
I am going to tell my son about your suggestions and see what he wants to do. He really would like to see me get rid of it since it has bad ball joints in the front (found that out this summer) but I love this little car!!!

Thanks again.
Carol

$60 a side for new parts, about that much in labour, per side, to replace them. Not a terribly good excuse for getting rid of the car.


Chris

My son has decided to buy a repair manual and see if he can fix the cylinder head by himself. He was quoted $200.00 to replace the burned valve. Does that sound reasonable??
Thanks for everyone's help. I sure do appreciate it. Hopefully, I can keep my little geo.!!

Carol

hey granny,

if you're back so far in the holler that you have to pump sunshine in, here are some internet resources that i've used for parts to fix my problems. i had great transactions with these vendors and they saved some money over going around the corner to my local engine rebuilder and supply house. i'd recommend replacing the water pump and timing belt along with the head. i'd also probably replace the spark plugs and take a good look at the wires, distributor cap, and rotor, too.

control arms with ball joints and bushings:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 46990&rd=1

head gasket kits, head bolts, timing belt, and misc. parts:

http://stores.ebay.com/PartsDinosaur_GE ... ZallQQtZkm

rebuilt heads:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 39181&rd=1

your son could knock out all of your metro's problems in a weekend and have your car running great for around $300. i'd do it for my mom and be glad i could give her something back.

Thanks so much for the links. I will have my son take a look at them.
Can you tell me how you get the gas line off? That seems to be the only thing he isn't sure about.

Thanks again
Carol

the gas lines on my cars fit the throttle body with 2 rubber high pressure hoses that run from the steel lines on the fire wall to the inlet pipes on the throttle body. there are either pinch clamps or band clamps that hold them on.

remove the ground wire from the battery, wrap a cloth around the rubber line to catch spilled fuel, and loosen the clamps to pull the fuel lines free from the throttle body. there will be a little residual pressure in the lines that will release when the lines are opened.

do not smoke while pulling the lines.

Also remember to loosen your gas cap to help relieve fuel system pressure before you start.

We are taking off the cylinder head. Everything is off except the valve cover. Is there a trick to taking this off without damaging it?
Thanks again for your help!!!

Carol

Edit: (I was thinking about the timing belt cover, so my last message was sooooo far off...)

If you're talking about the valve cover (which you probably are), you'll need to take off the 4 10mm nuts, then work the 4 associated rubber seals (with the brass ring around them) out of the head. If you get the valve cover gasket set, you should get these with the kit, so it'd be simpler to just burn them out.

Otherwise, if you're reusing the valve cover seal and the little rubber seals, you can get them out by using a small slotted screwdriver and carefully prying at them from the metal edges of the seals.

Don't use anything to pry between the cover and the head, or you may score the sealing surfaces. Just pick away at the little seals, which will be the things keeping the valve cover seated right where it is, and they'll come off eventually. Even a small pocket knife might be useful if they're stuck in the cover.

The cover may be hard to get off as well after you get the seals out, so lightly tapping it with a rubber mallet ought to give it the proper persuasion without actually damaging anything.


Chris

Granny, could you be more specific on what you are trying to remove without damaging?

granny,

i've had my best luck in getting the valve cover stud seals off by using a little pointed pick to push the seals on the valve cover studs 'round and 'round as if they were nuts. that way they "un-screw" right off without damage.

most of the aftermarket head gasket sets don't have those little seals so i'm careful to not destroy them while removing them. after they come off, the valve cover should lift right up as the valve cover gasket is an o-ring type seal and isn't glued to the head. don't pry on the valve cover or hammer on it as the aluminum is soft and will get buggered up.

Of course, you guys all know that I don't know what you are talking about...lol....but my son will.
And I appreciate all your answers so much. He was trying to pry the valve cover off with a chisel and hammer so I guess I will tell him to be very careful. It seems like it still has a bolt in it but I guess not.

Thank you again!!!

Carol

Hi again. My son took the cylinder head in and they rebuilt 2 of the cylinders. Now....the car still won't start. He wants to know if it needs to be primed with some gas?? He can't figure out what's wrong now.
Thanks so much for any replies!!

Carol

Granny,
Here are some things to check for:

Spark to the spark plugs.
Fuel being sprayed in the throttle body while cranking.

See if you have that first and check back here.

Also, check the connector on the distributor. It'll be a two-conductor white connector (I believe) and if it's not connected, the computer won't know what's going on with the cam and won't spark.

Make sure that the fuel pump primes when the key is switched to 'on'.


Chris

Chris, thanks a lot for your answer!! My car is finally running and very good too.

My son said he could have never done this without everyone's help here and he wants to say "thank you" too. It was the first one he had done and now HE wants a geo.

Carol

Glad to hear it's running Granny.

I know these cars are addicting.

No problem! Glad to help, and I'm happy that you're back up and running again.


Chris