Bought my youngest daughter a car

Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
7,933
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
2015 Chevy Cruze LT....1.4T/6T40E

My wife called it to my attention on Facebook marketplace for $850 with a "Bad Engine", As it was very close to me I decided to go check it out just to appease her really.

The car is really good shape with only 66,000 miles, Put my Jump Pack on as the battery was completely flat.....
The Starter wouldn't do anything, Not even a click.
Service Steering message was being displayed.
The Radio didn't work.
Right rear tire was flat.
It hadn't been registered in 2 years, Probably sitting a little longer than that.
Brake rotors had a good coating of surface rust.
Has a new (Cheap) starter, Original starter in the trunk.

All fluids were full, Oil looked pretty good, And nobody had been doing hack repairs that I could see. Didn't really think the engine was bad but it sure has some electrical problems.
We were the first to show up & the sellers phone was blowing up with people want to come see it......Though that could have been a ruse?

With the way the vehicle market is I decided to buy it, She's going to NEED a car when she starts College next fall, I can fix any mechanical/electrical issue on this car myself & even have a low mileage 6T40E.

Went home & got my portable air tank, Test Light, 1/4" drive 4-15mm metric socket set, 1/4" Impact, Pair of Pliers & Dykes, & Assorted Fuses with the expectation of having to Tow it back home with a strap.

The Main 250a fuse was blown, I bypassed that by moving the main cable from the starter to the other side of the fuse, Aired up the tire, Put all the tool up except the jump pack, Told the wife to get in my truck & drive home soon as this thing starts.
It started right up, Threw the jump pack in the passenger seat & away I went with no steering assist & a clear signed title in my pocket. Got the title transferred the next mourning.

I've seen to many sellers get butt hurt, So it's best to not linger around when you fix a "Bad Engine" in 30 seconds.

Things I've purchased to get it back road ready......
New battery.
The tires are garbage, Got some new Michelin Premier A/S ready to go on.
OE Front Brake Rotors & Pads
OE Electronic Thermostat Assembly, High failure rate on the 1.4T
OE Water Outlet, High failure rate.
OE Bypass Hose, High failure rate at the quick connect.
OE Air Filter
OE Cabin Filter
OE Oil Filter & Mobil 1 5w30
2 gallons of AC-Delco Dexcool concentrate
6 quarts of AC-Delco Dexron VI ATF
2 quarts of DOT 4 brake fluid
Gallon of washer fluid

I'm on the fence about replacing the "All in One multi fuse" Block on top of the battery.....
The main 80a electric steering fuse was also blown, I simply moved it over to a unused 80a fuse slot.....Just had to cut off the "Keyed" taps for it to fit.
The starter cable isn't fused on millions of vehicles, And I don't recall ever having to replace a "All in One" Fuse on a Cruze.

The 20a Radio Fuse was also blown. But it was replaceable.

Pretty sure they hooked a replacement battery up backwards judging by the Arch marks on the ID of the battery terminals.

y3HJP07.jpg

zR5UY5r.jpg

86d4X90.jpg

8O7dXaX.jpg
 
2015 Chevy Cruze LT....1.4T/6T40E

My wife called it to my attention on Facebook marketplace for $850 with a "Bad Engine", As it was very close to me I decided to go check it out just to appease her really.

The car is really good shape with only 66,000 miles, Put my Jump Pack on as the battery was completely flat.....
The Starter wouldn't do anything, Not even a click.
Service Steering message was being displayed.
The Radio didn't work.
Right rear tire was flat.
It hadn't been registered in 2 years, Probably sitting a little longer than that.
Brake rotors had a good coating of surface rust.
Has a new (Cheap) starter, Original starter in the trunk.

All fluids were full, Oil looked pretty good, And nobody had been doing hack repairs that I could see. Didn't really think the engine was bad but it sure has some electrical problems.
We were the first to show up & the sellers phone was blowing up with people want to come see it......Though that could have been a ruse?

With the way the vehicle market is I decided to buy it, She's going to NEED a car when she starts College next fall, I can fix any mechanical/electrical issue on this car myself & even have a low mileage 6T40E.

Went home & got my portable air tank, Test Light, 1/4" drive 4-15mm metric socket set, 1/4" Impact, Pair of Pliers & Dykes, & Assorted Fuses with the expectation of having to Tow it back home with a strap.

The Main 250a fuse was blown, I bypassed that by moving the main cable from the starter to the other side of the fuse, Aired up the tire, Put all the tool up except the jump pack, Told the wife to get in my truck & drive home soon as this thing starts.
It started right up, Threw the jump pack in the passenger seat & away I went with no steering assist & a clear signed title in my pocket. Got the title transferred the next mourning.

I've seen to many sellers get butt hurt, So it's best to not linger around when you fix a "Bad Engine" in 30 seconds.

Things I've purchased to get it back road ready......
New battery.
The tires are garbage, Got some new Michelin Premier A/S ready to go on.
OE Front Brake Rotors & Pads
OE Electronic Thermostat Assembly, High failure rate on the 1.4T
OE Water Outlet, High failure rate.
OE Bypass Hose, High failure rate at the quick connect.
OE Air Filter
OE Cabin Filter
OE Oil Filter & Mobil 1 5w30
2 gallons of AC-Delco Dexcool concentrate
6 quarts of AC-Delco Dexron VI ATF
2 quarts of DOT 4 brake fluid
Gallon of washer fluid

I'm on the fence about replacing the "All in One multi fuse" Block on top of the battery.....
The main 80a electric steering fuse was also blown, I simply moved it over to a unused 80a fuse slot.....Just had to cut off the "Keyed" taps for it to fit.
The starter cable isn't fused on millions of vehicles, And I don't recall ever having to replace a "All in One" Fuse on a Cruze.

The 20a Radio Fuse was also blown. But it was replaceable.

Pretty sure they hooked a replacement battery up backwards judging by the Arch marks on the ID of the battery terminals.

y3HJP07.jpg

zR5UY5r.jpg

86d4X90.jpg

8O7dXaX.jpg
Nice find … yeah, the plastic stuff were PIA issues on our 2013, but got 145k with engine/trans still humming … those composite valve covers/PCV units were about $100 and IIRC a 100k service + plugs …
Lost battery ground on ours twice …
Guess you know how bad that Dex VI will look … I thought I pulled the wrong plug, lol
 
Wow, that 2015 looks like it lived a hard life. Sad, but I’m sure Mr Clinebarger will give it all the love and attention it most certainly deserves and have it up and running like it just came off the Showroom floor. Sounds like you have a little project ahead of you.✋😃🤚.
 
Amazing work sir. I would have loved to see the look on their faces when it fired right up.
 
2015 Chevy Cruze LT....1.4T/6T40E

My wife called it to my attention on Facebook marketplace for $850 with a "Bad Engine", As it was very close to me I decided to go check it out just to appease her really.

The car is really good shape with only 66,000 miles, Put my Jump Pack on as the battery was completely flat.....
The Starter wouldn't do anything, Not even a click.
Service Steering message was being displayed.
The Radio didn't work.
Right rear tire was flat.
It hadn't been registered in 2 years, Probably sitting a little longer than that.
Brake rotors had a good coating of surface rust.
Has a new (Cheap) starter, Original starter in the trunk.

All fluids were full, Oil looked pretty good, And nobody had been doing hack repairs that I could see. Didn't really think the engine was bad but it sure has some electrical problems.
We were the first to show up & the sellers phone was blowing up with people want to come see it......Though that could have been a ruse?

With the way the vehicle market is I decided to buy it, She's going to NEED a car when she starts College next fall, I can fix any mechanical/electrical issue on this car myself & even have a low mileage 6T40E.

Went home & got my portable air tank, Test Light, 1/4" drive 4-15mm metric socket set, 1/4" Impact, Pair of Pliers & Dykes, & Assorted Fuses with the expectation of having to Tow it back home with a strap.

The Main 250a fuse was blown, I bypassed that by moving the main cable from the starter to the other side of the fuse, Aired up the tire, Put all the tool up except the jump pack, Told the wife to get in my truck & drive home soon as this thing starts.
It started right up, Threw the jump pack in the passenger seat & away I went with no steering assist & a clear signed title in my pocket. Got the title transferred the next mourning.

I've seen to many sellers get butt hurt, So it's best to not linger around when you fix a "Bad Engine" in 30 seconds.

Things I've purchased to get it back road ready......
New battery.
The tires are garbage, Got some new Michelin Premier A/S ready to go on.
OE Front Brake Rotors & Pads
OE Electronic Thermostat Assembly, High failure rate on the 1.4T
OE Water Outlet, High failure rate.
OE Bypass Hose, High failure rate at the quick connect.
OE Air Filter
OE Cabin Filter
OE Oil Filter & Mobil 1 5w30
2 gallons of AC-Delco Dexcool concentrate
6 quarts of AC-Delco Dexron VI ATF
2 quarts of DOT 4 brake fluid
Gallon of washer fluid

I'm on the fence about replacing the "All in One multi fuse" Block on top of the battery.....
The main 80a electric steering fuse was also blown, I simply moved it over to a unused 80a fuse slot.....Just had to cut off the "Keyed" taps for it to fit.
The starter cable isn't fused on millions of vehicles, And I don't recall ever having to replace a "All in One" Fuse on a Cruze.

The 20a Radio Fuse was also blown. But it was replaceable.

Pretty sure they hooked a replacement battery up backwards judging by the Arch marks on the ID of the battery terminals.

y3HJP07.jpg

zR5UY5r.jpg

86d4X90.jpg

8O7dXaX.jpg
I wouldn't bother with the 250A fuse, like you said millions of cars are running around with the + cable direct to the starter. This was a Saab ecotec issue also with their convoluted + cable protection/immobilizer, the only real fix was/is to toss it and go direct.
Looking good man, she is going to be happy.

Saab + cable.jpg
 
Nice 👍. Not a Chevy fan but at least it’s a good car and good for a starter car. And you won’t need to worry about friends riding with her because those things are small in the back LOL. Glad to see it brought back instead of being sent to the scrap yard over a “bad engine”
 
That's a steal, especially since you can repair it!

One good thing about a common car with common failures, you don't have to worry about getting parts except when there's a backorder! Do you know if the valve cover has been replaced? That is a pretty common part to backorder and has been through a ton of number changes. I've been selling less of them lately though, so maybe they're getting better.

I wonder where the seller got the idea it needed an engine? I'm guessing they just wanted it gone and figured that covered their bases as far as representing the car. It's still crazy even with your diagnostic abilities that you drove off in a 66k mile car that's 6 years old for $850. Even a Spark would be a deal at that point.
 
If its high miles/dirty looking in oil fill cap, might want to do a valve cover....oem is cheap. When off pay att. to small PCV ports in head , and clean out carbon/blow out with air gun. And look at coil....pull boots, and look for rot where springs touch coil. While I'm a mopar tech, we sold tons of these used, so got used to all the weak points(u covered all the plastic failure prone coolant parts).....did u give the seller a wave as you drove away after the quick fix?? 😆
 
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