'95 Corollla......err............Prizm....purchased. What to do first????
Picked up a '95 Geo Prizm w/ 128,000 miles on it..........(I'll post some pics here in the morning as I just got home).
Thing looks great & runs great except for a few things.......
#1.) Driver door lock takes about 20 tries of twisting before it'll unlock with either key. (both keys are the same). It feels kinda' rough turning the key. Passenger door locks/unlocks fine w/ the key so I know it's not the key. I think I'd have to take the door panel off to get a good look, but I'm thinkin' it might be in the lock itself. Anyway, I can still get in the car, but obviously it'd be nice if this worked consistently
#2.) Right passenger mirror is missing. I don't know if it just had a black cap or if there was actually a mirror there. I'll probaby check a junkyard for that.
#3.) This is really not a question, but a......"What to check" multi-faceted question...
The guy said he just had it tuned up and it *looks* like the sticker on the timing belt cover says 92,388. In the morning, I'm gonna check the oil, plugs, etc. The coolant was very light green so I wanna drain it & put in some Toyota Red & Distilled water........(yippee). Then I wanna check the trans oil.
Any other suggestions??
P.S. Tires are new, struts sound find...(no clunking)....A/C works great....Power Steering is great, all electrical is great.....pretty much everything is fine except for above + my general inquiry.
about the key thing, maybe the lock needs some lube? i think this happened to my car where it was hard to get the key to turn see if you have any sort of key lube/WD40 to spray into the keyhole
Note: Its late, so I may be wrong. Not responsible for damage done to car.
Ya, I'll probably try that. I didn't take the door panel off today, just cleaned it and stuff.
Also noticed I need to get a couple of those metal clips that clamp the air intake box shut. It's closed w/ on clip. I'm gonna put a zip tie around it in the morning 'cuz I'm gonna steam clean the engine tomorrow. It doesn't look bad now, but it'll look a whole lot better when I get done.
Now the best part........................how 'bout $1800 bucks!!!!
Yup.........got 'er for $1800!!! It's definitely not perfect, but it runs great and it's definitely the best deal I've seen in the 2 months or so I've been searching. It's a nice little niche because you get a Corolla in Geo skin and a lot of folks shoppin' for cars don't know that.
I bought it from a 'dealer' kinda' guy who just has a small office and turns cars over frequently. I still have yet to see when the title comes but it *might* be a salvage title.
I noticed the cover on the passenger side airbag is either discolored or taken from a tan interior 'cuz it definitely doesn't match the dash well. I can't say as I honestly care either way though 'cuz with the savings in gas alone, I could literally afford to drive it off a cliff after about a year!!
Gonna look for a right-side mirror this week, spray some WD-40 in the keyhole & change out all fluids & mild tuneup!
daaaaam 1800!!!!!FUCK something must be wrong......We paid 4800 out the door for my 98 rolla
PRECISELY why I DIDN'T buy a Corolla!!! The Prizm is about the best thing goin' since sliced bread! Too bad they quit the program. They're the same friggin' car, yet the Prizms can be had for anywhere from 20% to 50% less!!! (yeehawww!)
Now, I will say you've got a better machine in you '98 'cuz that's when they went to *timing chain* and made some nice improvements, but this '95 sure ain't ugly and goes from point A to point B as well as my Camry or my F150! I tried hard to find another Camry like my '98 or a Corolla, but you just can't get 'em much under $5K and if you really want a nice one you're lookin' closer to $6 or $7 (even $8K).
This gives me everything I wanted in a gas-saver and for $1800, it only needs to last me a year & it'll pay for itself & then some!! (But I have a feeling it's gonna be around a whole lot longer than that!!)
Oh, and any suggestions/recommendations on the stuff I posted about is still appreciated!! TIA!
Aye, I'm feeling a bindage in my drivers' side lock but i'm pretty lazy and if I just lift up it works everytime... Mine feels like the key has worn and isn't setting the pins perfectly.
You got the window that leans forward yet? Took me almost two hours in a junkyard to find a good window transmission.
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'90 Geo Prizm AE92, 4A-FE, Auto 189K miles | Spray painted headliner | DuraStop pads/shoes | Dual Cathode trunk light | Durabrand CD | Shaved badges and molding
'93 Light Beige Metallic Bonneville SE 187K miles | Disassembled for rebirth
Ya, I sprayed some WD-40 in the keyhole, but no joy.
Definitely feels like a "bindage" thing. What's funny is that it'll turn to the left (locking) every time, but no matter how many times I try, won't go to the right. I' don't know if it's something with the levers inside or if it's like you said...."pins not setting". (but again, why to the left, but not the right??)
Don't know about the "leaning" window, but what I recall checking on them they were working fine at the time. Besides I rarely have windows down. I'm eithr usin' A/C or heat.....
I pulled the plugs tonite..........They're the DENSO's, so maybe the originals?? I'll change 'em out this weekend. Also definitely need to find one in a junkyard 'cuz I still need those clips for the air intake box, and I also need a battery hold-down strap, plus an A/C vent (ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO POP OUT AN A/C VENT FOR REPLACEMENT?) and a few other trim pieces.....(radio knob, drive door sill trim that goes on the white painted portion, etc. etc. etc.)
Do you know if the 30k major service intervals were done, this includes a complete tranny flush? If not do so, you are 8k overdue and you should change the timing belt, valve tensionr every which should be done every 60k along with the water pump at a discount.
Is it required, no, but I have 162k on my 96 and it runs damn good apart from my suspension whoes and a worn out seat belt. Don't be surprised if you get a check engine light in the future, I ran mine 2 years without fixing, turns out the EGR valve and VSV along with O2 sensor bad, now no check engine light on and pass smog just fine. BTW if that every happens just disconnect/reconnect the battery cable to pass smog, it turns off the check engine light, it shouldn't come on for 20-30 miles
Toyotas will run forever true, but long and better if you keep up on the maintence. I am considering trying auto-rx after reading many testionials, yeah I know, just to make sure I don't have any sludge, and consider switching to full synth oil. Watch out 200k here I come!
Lastly, any good shop or possibly yourself can do it. I saved 200 bucks by having Tire Pros do the service interval instead of Toyota and I did my own plugs with regular autolites and they work damn near close to ND's at much less price.
Pick Your Part along Beach Blvd may have the right side mirror. Our Corolla DX has 213k miles, I'm sure yours will easily last that long. Looks like it's in good shape.
The bad driver lock may be a sign of attempted forced entry. Try a different key (from a similar car perhaps--if you have a friend, etc) and see if it opens. Or try this: turn it to the left as if to lock it, then to the right. Will it open immediately? Our passenger side door is like that too.
You can get a new mirror, if you want, much cheaper than the quoted dealer price. Shop around the internet ex toyotapartscheap.com or http://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/ ( they are a toy dealer with internet website), etc for OEM parts, then call up your local dealer and get them to price match, I just did for my seat belt and save $35 plus tax in 3 minutes. We have to stop letting dealers stick it to us. The service dept. quoted my wife approx. $300 to replace the drivers seat belt, lol , I do it myself for $105 for parts with tax. A used seat belt I am not comfortable with.
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