i have been gone a while due to a bad password situation with this site. i could not get my recovery password.
Finally i figured it out.
I now have another corolla. I own a 1994 with 249,000 and a 1995 dx with 180000 that i bought for my kids.
My corolla had a clunking noise in the suspension that I could not figure out. After figuring that it was a tie rod end (wrong) , strut mount(wrong) , I checked the passenger ball joint and it was a goner ($34 for 2 shipped off ebay). The same week i fixed that ,I went for a Saturday cruise, got to the end of my street and my exhaust falls off. The studs rotted off and the flange rusted partly away. I already had a $3 gasket because i knew it had a leak . I used wonder epoxy putty to seal the leak until the exhaust fell off. worked pretty good as a temporary fix. I backed the car up into my garage and drilled the studs out after i sawed them flat. 2 5/16 by 1 inch bolts, washers and locks and an hour later I am back on the road. of course i am not done . My starter switch had given me trouble . I changed that and it got worse. The starter contacts I changed 3 years ago (40000 miles) were going bad. On a Sunday with the car barely starting,I stopped at a guys house who parts cars and bought a clicking starter for $9 . My car took about 15 tries to start Sunday morning. I found starter contacts for $2 each. bought 2 sets.I had to take my truck Monday a.m. because the corolla would not start. I rebuilt the newer starter and planned to just swap. turns out the new starter has a slightly larger ignition wire spade connector that would have had to be adapted to fit. I just rebuilt my original starter again.
What a hassle to get back in. The bolts would not line up. A couple hours later it is fixed.. so I am back on the road again waiting for my kids car to get a free day to change the rear strut/ spring combo's that i bought for $25 each from my parts buddy.
NOT COMPLAINING . The car has given me 40,000 miles of 38-40 mpg . I have less than $1500 into it and could sell it for what I paid for it. It also cuts my insurance of my kids by running 2 pl/pd cars by at least $1200 a year.My kids car I paid $1500 for it and have not had to do one thing yet.
I just like everyone to know what cheap fixes are available for these cars and to know that an old car will not be trouble free.I am now shopping for a set of tires. I found a set of aluminum wheels and tires off a 96 escort for $125. warrior tires. anyone had experience with them. They are a Chinese subsidiary of Michelin. Discount sells them.
Thats enough for now. I'm back. doubletrouble OUT.
