Hello,
I received a lot of help here a couple of years ago. I wanted to touch base to say thank you before I head to the repair forums. THANK YOU! I had been helped by many of you, I remember in particular Driver #3 and Bumpin'Monte (I can't remember what year.) I don't know that they are still here, doubt they'd remember me, and I'm still not to great at navigating this site, but I'm sure grateful for it.

I ran into my car's original owner. She said "This was my car, my husband picked it out, but it's my baby! I bet you didn't believe it when they told you so at the dealership, did you? LOL. Now I know that this really was a one owner car and that the car itself was, indeed, her baby.

You guys advised me on the radiator, on the windshield, on the transmission, on the treatment I was receiving at the shop where I'd purchased this car (namely to leave it) and all of these things REALLY MATTERED. I put in a new radiator, replaced the windshield, learned that what I'd suddenly began feeling from the moment the radiator was installed was not an air bubble but a misfire in cylinder 1. Plug wires 1-3 have to be pulled to get that radiator out, and the plugs and wires themselves were possibly as old as the car....wire 1 had failed in the neck.

I pointed this out and they wouldn't take me seriously, how could they not hear and feel the very same mifire is beyond me. I dropped it off for another radiator after a couple weeks of finding the leaking point and instead they let it idle FOR AN HOUR BY ITSELF AFTER HAVING INSISTED I HAD A BLOWN HEAD GASKET MAKING IT RUN RUOUGH AND LEAK. Driver #3 assured me that there was no way I was driving around with a blown head gasket, as I had thought myself. The oil leak was not oil, I'd asked and they had assured me it WAS, because transmission fluid is pink. Giggle. They never pulled the stick to observe that it was actually black and had been burnt.) Anyway they told me I had a blown head gasket and a major oil leak, my transmission was fine, my cooling system was fine, I was welcome to pay them to trace the electrical lines and to continue to place cardboard underneath.

I went back in asking kindly for them to replace the radiator cap correctly, I can't get it off myself when they don't line the arrow up, and they insist that makes no difference. One of the owners was there that day and he told me to wait a moment, then ran inside and came out with windshiled wiper fluid, which he shook all over the inside of my engine bay and then he proclaimed "There, now at least what you catch on the cardboard will be blue, not orange." He'd already told me not to look for a week because he'd spilled antifreeze and I had promised I wouldn't! Driver #3 told me not to go back, to forget about the radiator they claimed was defective after having replaced it once, to forget about the money I had invested with them on the repair process and just leave.

I did. I got lucky because my check engine light came on shortly thereafter, I had it scoped at Auto Zone and learned about the misfire I'd been feeling in cylinder 1 and, the kid there said he was mistreated terribly at my shop and recommended another. I went there with my new spark plugs, they told me the plug wires might be bad so I was prepared, replaced it all, changed the oil, we did a drop and fill on the transmission, I'm saving up to have it flushed, they use its own pump rather than the high pressure ones the owner's manual warns not to use, but the drop and fill with the new gasket did wonders. I quit losing transmission fluid, and that was the oil the other shop insisted was not transmission fluid... I had to replace a power steering fluid line (nice location for the reservoir, Chevy, giggle)

Another year has gone by and we've determined that since the coolant only leaks when it's less than 20 degrees outside that we are looking at a LIM gasket in the future, as is the trend here. That's another thing I learned here. The other shop refused to look that far into it. I keep the oil changed and pay close attention to how it's running and fluid levels all the time. I'm ten miles from town over two big passes on a nearly shoulderless hwy. I want it to last as long as possible, because that's a long mountain bike ride amongst the semis and snowplows.

I came back to say thank you and to ask about my completely stupid accidetnal ruination of the button for the flashers. The shop doesn't think they can tap in with a toggle switch for me because so many vital wires pass through right there to go to the steering column and the overhead sensor panel. I'm hoping there's a trick to it, just like there's a trick to fixing the leaking through the cabin air filter in my model year. This corridor is very dangerous, especially in Winter, so much of the populus lives on dirt roads that connect to this hwy that there is often stopped traffic with little warning....I REALLY need flashers. The guys said to just turn my headlights on and off, but I really don't have a free hand to do that when I'm driving on black ice with limited visibility.

I'll go ask in repair, there's NO WAY anyone read this big, long, boring post.

 

Im sure everyone will read it, lol. Can only give a half answer if you only half read the question. Youre talking about the hazzard button, correct? That needs to be replaced with another. No tapping into it. Like the shop said, other stuff goes thru it.

You can find them quite cheap on ebay. I might have one but thats a long shot. Ill look in a little bit.

 

Hey Karen, I read all of your post - I like hearing about cars like mine! My car is also a 'one owner car' and I am the one owner. I bought it new for my 40th birthday, and still have it. I've bought 4 collectors since, and recently a Buick to drive in the winters, so I could do rust repair on the Monte and keep it going permanently. My first 'real' car was a 76 Monte, you can read about it in the 'gone but not forgotten' section. Hope you get your issues sorted out and keep on motoring!

 

Yes Mam I remember you. Some of the stuff you had to deal with is just off the scale. Most of the issues that you are dealing with I have lived with too. I used to drive truck and then was a sales rep for years and had to provide my own vehicle. I recall a few of the instances where I broke down on the road and it was up to me to fix it. so I would take along some supplies to get me by till I could make it back to civilization. Then my son was really hard on vehicles so I had to fix his stuff. One time the master cylinder on the brakes went out on the truck I was driving and it was over a weekend and there were no shops around that were open. So I drove the truck home using the manual trans. for braking. I only drove at night so there was a limited amount of traffic to deal with.
So now I have a whole new adventure I have my daughter back at home now with 2 grandkids and she wants me to teach my grandson how to drive wait ---- what ? He is going to hate me when were are done but he will be a good driver when it's over.
If one of the guys I deal with sometimes for service would spill some anti-freeze on the engine he would be getting his nose rubbed in it and have to clean it up. I can't understand why some people have to be so rude. We are always glad to help around here. So when in doubt ask.
I have a request, I know that the photo you have there must be your Kitty Cat, I used to have a few as well, now that the population of my house as increased by 3 people and also 2 Cats.
The request is me and all the drivers that have given you some tips want to see what Karen Looks like. So post up a photo so we can see ya. Me I look like Dale Earnhardt everybody knows who he was? Lol


Hershey's You should have seen the looks I got when I bought a candy bar at the store. Lol

ready to go cartin

The 3 photo's at the bottom are me