Have any 1987 Toyota Corolla FX Tips?

[87_FX_Guy]

Hey all this is my first time posting in this forum, i figure since i own a corolla i should join and post. Alittle history behind my auto, i bought my car used from a friend for like $10, new spark plugs and thats about it. My dad used the car for about a year down in florida while i pursued my drivers license here in new york. In about 2 weeks i will be going down to florida and registering my car under my name and insuring it. From what i understand, i need new tires. Im flying down to florida and plan to drive back to new york with the car.

Now i have no idea what type of condition the engine is in right now, i was in FL in april, and i drove it and it felt ok, but it needs work.

On to the question, what do you suggest i do to reduce chance of breaking down en-route back from FL to NY?

Ive gotten some tips, replace oil, break fluid, steering fluid, anti freeze, and tires.

What else could i possibly do to the car to have a near 0% chance of breaking down on the drive back?

I appreciate all help

[jon the greek]

Be shure to check the belts as well, look for corrosion and if the belt is fraying. But its sounds to me like you did all that you could do for the mean time, but then again maby I missed something. Good Luck.

[REN69]

Yeah.. if you're going to drive that car back to NY I would suggest doing a tune up before attempting to drive so far. Spark plugs, cap and rotor and maybe cables, air filter, oil change, check your brakes and all your fluids, etc.. just make sure everything works.

[87_FX_Guy]

Well i have gotten the car back to new york, damn that was a long drive, now its time to fix the damn thing, in driving it for the past couple days i notice alot.

Few things i can spot myself, My Belt is brown and looks like it needs a change, i have to constantly pump my breaks to get them to work, my car easily gets hot, not near the H but not that far from the first line on the way to the H, secondly, i need a new muffler, i notice that the cars exaust is leaking into the car, i have to change all the interior, also i need a new a/c (since summer is almost over ill wait till next summer), aside from rust thats all i could spot, im sure if a real mechanic took a look he/she could find alot more things wrong.

[crockdaddy420]

Check your coolant and oil, probally burned some of that shit up.

[87_FX_Guy]

added oil the other day actually i cleaned the dipstick put it in and shit was hanging off L, as for the coolant, i add anti freeze and water and the shit still gets hot, i think i gotta change my radiator or maybe the water pump, or maybe some of the hoses.

[tashirosgt]

There is a plus side to randomly replacing things on old cars, since they will probably need replacing eventually. A more conservative approach would be to diagnose the overheating, as on the page:
http://www.troubleshooters.com/tprom...210/200210.htm

Before you invest in changing fluids and belts and accessories, see if the engine is fundamentally sound. Do a compression test on it. This is something you can do yourself. The natural time to do it is when you are inspecting the spark plugs.

[REN69]

Originally Posted by 87_FX_Guy

added oil the other day actually i cleaned the dipstick put it in and shit was hanging off L, as for the coolant, i add anti freeze and water and the shit still gets hot, i think i gotta change my radiator or maybe the water pump, or maybe some of the hoses.

Change the thermostat and do a system flush, the coolant is probably old. If not then yeah the rad is probably too old. Touch the fins on the rad, if they just come right off at the touch of your finger, or if they sink right in then it's time for a new rad.

[87_FX_Guy]

while in north carolina i emptyed what was in the radiator it was a mustard brown, i put brand new anti freeze in with some water, as for the fins i will try and see, my friend whos a mecanic told me that the problem with my breaks are they need to be bleed in order for them to work correctly, so i shall try that tonight.

[87_FX_Guy]

Well i spent the morning bleeding my breaks, so far i guess i did the right thing, i had my brother pump the breaks 3 times, then i pulled the cap off and it came out, did the same to the other side, except i think i bled them too much because now i have next to no break fluid, i just hope when i replenish my fluid everything is fine, when i inspected my drums and pads i noticed my drum is completely rusted, im planning on buying new drums and pads for all 4 wheels, do 87 fx's have rear break pads?