Revived 1995 Geo Metro...

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Hi guys. Just bought my room mate's 1995 Geo Metro for $325! I'm a full time Pizza Delivery Driver so I thought this would be a great back up vehicle just in case. At that price I just can't lose. My Roomy has put in a new clutch, timing belt, brakes and it is running good except for the fact it is using/losing oil at about one quart per 250 miles. I see no smoke unless I rev it up close to red line then I see a little blue/gray.

I have changed all the fluids, tune up, cleaned the vacuum lines, pcv valve. Now I just have to deal with the oil loss. My mechanic says the oil appears to be dripping out of the distributor seal and possibly the oil pan gasket. He also thinks it's burning some oil but that it should have a substantial life expectancy still with only a little over a hundred K miles on her.

What do you think of my plan?: Replace the distributor seal and oil pan gasket then use Maxlife 5w30 with a Mobil 1 M-209 over sized filter and some LubriMoly Ceratek?

My other option is to use some AT-205 Re-Seal and see if the seals swell up enough and am able to avoid having to replace the distributor seal.

Any other ideas? Thanks in advance!!!
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How tough is it to do the distributor seal?

Problem with cheap cars is that you pay more in insurance than it cost to buy it. Id try to replace it DIY. Sounds like you have another car, so no big deal if this is out of commission. Id attack the easily replaced parts with actual parts, and then try another fix for the ones above your skill level.

Because of the value of the car, Id want to get it fixed for cheap, so Id look into a local technical school or something like that where they could do the job for just the cost of parts... If you decided you couldn't attempt any fixes. Real fixes are far superior to any chemical in a bottle.
 
Thanks, the mechanic said it a fairly easy job to do the seals. He works out of his house and usually charges half price of a mechanics shop.
 
Always replace any easy/cheap seals or gaskets. Don't try a seal sweller for something easy.

I assume you have a few problems. But deal with them one at a time.

Have you checked compression?

Color of tail pipe?

Smoke at startup?

Your oil control rings may be gummed up. A good synthetic may do the cleaning or Kreen or Auto-Rx.
 
bargain
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As badly as I abused my Suzuki Swift (same car w/ G13 4 cyl instead of G10 3 cyl) I still wonder how so many of these little Canadian made Geos died. It was not a pleasant car but it was tough.

I don't know if I would spend the money on the Mobil 1 filter.
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Seems to me the little 'Zook might reject quality filters
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"Chateaubriand? Don't you got no chopped steak?"
 
Thanks Donald. I cleaned up the engine with MMO with a couple of oil changes. There's no smoke at all at start up, only when the engine is hot and revs high is there a little blue smoke. The tail pipe is a little on the black side so I changed the spark plugs and wires, etc. I'm pretty sure I'll just go ahead and change the seals.

One other thing I was thinking about is trying some Hyperlube oil stabalizer, or lucas synthetic oil stabilizer. I know there a many critics here who would abhor such an idea but there are those who swear by the stuff on high mileage engines. they seem to have good customer reviews.
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If I were you, I would just use an oil that is formulated to help older engines (i.e. Valvoline MaxLife or Pennzoil High Mileage). I tend to use those in cars that leak or burn oil. It does help for leaks, just not so much for burning IMO.
 
Yes, there's an o-ring on the distributor housing shaft part, a 2 dollar deal that you can get from either aftermarket or dealership. a small dab of vaseline, a punch to scribe the housing to block (so as to remember the orientation of the housing in respect to ignition timing), 12mm socket and 15 mins (max) of your time and that's it.

Also: as mileage creeps up, valve stem seal may become an issue due to poor oil maintenance from previous ownership. oil control rings may become stuck if there were thermostat failure before (kept wide open/coolant cold).

Q.
 
I think your plan is sound, you said you got the mobil filter on sale which is fine, once the go off sale/your stash runs out is run whatever cheap filter you can find, probably like a purolator classic or something similar. You can't go wrong with a fill of maxlife. I'd probably skip on the extra additive maxlife will do great on its own, but that's up to you.. But me paying only 325 for a car, I'd dump as little money as possible into it.
 
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Thanks guys,

I'm thinking the same Miller. I got a great deal for the Prius at an auction. Thought it'd be a great delivery vehicle, and it has, but the insurance is cheaper on the Metro, I don't have to worry about getting the little Geo damaged, and it's actually a lot of fun to drive!
 
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Don't forget that the Geo Metro was also on the list of top 10 death cars along with Mustangs and Corvettes. I guess if you drive mostly in the city you're probably fine.
 
Originally Posted By: dino33
Thanks guys,

I'm thinking the same Miller. I got a great deal for the Prius at an auction. Thought it'd be a great delivery vehicle, and it has, but the insurance is cheaper on the Metro, I don't have to worry about getting the little Geo damaged, and it's actually a lot of fun to drive!


Also consider your appearance when you deliver pizza. Prius might say "law school grad not employed in their field" while a Geo might say "thrifty student going to make it big". Or, IDK. Run a double blind test and see what gets better tips.
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The cars disappeared largely due to underbody rust.The attaching points for the rear suspension have doomed many a Sprint/Metro/Swift to the junkpile for failing inspections.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
The cars disappeared largely due to underbody rust.The attaching points for the rear suspension have doomed many a Sprint/Metro/Swift to the junkpile for failing inspections.


I followed one for about 40 miles through the hills of eastern NY with a control arm for the rear suspension dangling.

Darn two lane roads - I couldn't pass it! Thing was only going about 35 up hills (with a speed limit of 55)
 
It's Vancouver OP is in where traffic congestion in-town is ranked one of the worst in NA city.

OP won't die in a metro in metro vancouver, just gets toasty stuck in the traffic..

*smiles*

Q.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
You could jump in there and re-ring the engine.


Yeah, just grab a screwdriver, that shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. Jeez, it's a $325 car - run Maxlife until it dies and don't spend a nickel on it.
 
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