Post by halliebrooke on Jun 19, 2019 15:20:52 GMT -6
{Please no judgement, all repairs done by us, mechanic shops are very expensive and I just do not have that kind of money.}
Hi, all!
I’m new here, I have a black 99 Aurora, I love my Olds. Her name is Goldie, for Goldilocks (get it... gOLDie... plus I have blonde hair). I’ve had her since about 2013 I think. She was in great shape when I bought her but since then I’ve been thru so much in life and she’s gotten me thru it all. I’m in my 20’s with no help from family so I’ve been pretty naive when it comes to having the knowledge on how to properly take care of her. She is a TROOPER. She even was my house at one point.
Needless to say she’s getting really tired...
Everything is slowing needing to be replaced. Luckily 2 years ago I met my boyfriend, who isn’t a mechanic but thankfully has been able to replace everything that’s broken (radiator, starter, brake pads, lights, alternator, coil packs, probably a few other small things I can’t remember). Yes, those have all been done in the past 2 years...
Right now:
•The light switch needs to be replaced. I’ve looked at the part alone for a new one and it’s about $300 or so that I’ve seen. Even when the car is off the interior and exterior lights won’t shut off. They’ll stay on and just flicker the entire time. Therefor I unplug the battery (really wish it wasn’t under the back seat...) everywhere I go so the battery doesn’t die. When I drive I have to manually turn the lights on so they don’t flicker while driving down the road. Pain in my arse #1.
•Both handles on the front doors have broken. Not sure how to fix them but it’s quite annoying and embarrassing to have to climb thru the back seat every time just to open the front doors. I wanted to get a killswitch for the battery to make unplugging it each time easier and quicker but if I accidentally lock my car then I won’t be able to get in since the handles won’t open on the front. Pain in my arse #2.
•Pretty sure I need to replace more coil packs, plus the power steering leaks when it’s cold and a few other minor things.
•Lastly, the repair that’s keeping Goldie out of commission right now (making it very hard to keep my job), is the idler pulley. I was driving down the highway about 3 weeks ago and the serpentine belt shredded. After replacing the belt we noticed it kept falling off after cranking the car. We realized the idler pulley needed replacing. After reading anything I could find on this forum as well as throughout the internet, not much has been resolved. There’s one last nut holding the pulley onto the motor mount and my boyfriend just cant seem to get enough room to unscrew it as it’s tucked underneath that lip. We’ve seen that tool (not sure the specific name for it) being used online that’s an open ended wrench at an angle? It’s almost goes in a zig zag for lack of better terms. But I can’t find it anywhere in stores or even online to order so for now we’re sort of at a loss. We’ve even tried a crowbar try and make space.
I know some are probably thinking that it’s not worth it to keep putting money into it when I’m probably spending more than it’s worth at this rate, but at the same time it’s paid off and I can only afford to replace parts here and there, not a new car or car payment, or unfortunately even to take it to a shop.
But I still love and have faith in my Olds!
Any tips are appreciated.
Hi, all!
I’m new here, I have a black 99 Aurora, I love my Olds. Her name is Goldie, for Goldilocks (get it... gOLDie... plus I have blonde hair). I’ve had her since about 2013 I think. She was in great shape when I bought her but since then I’ve been thru so much in life and she’s gotten me thru it all. I’m in my 20’s with no help from family so I’ve been pretty naive when it comes to having the knowledge on how to properly take care of her. She is a TROOPER. She even was my house at one point.
Needless to say she’s getting really tired...
Everything is slowing needing to be replaced. Luckily 2 years ago I met my boyfriend, who isn’t a mechanic but thankfully has been able to replace everything that’s broken (radiator, starter, brake pads, lights, alternator, coil packs, probably a few other small things I can’t remember). Yes, those have all been done in the past 2 years...
Right now:
•The light switch needs to be replaced. I’ve looked at the part alone for a new one and it’s about $300 or so that I’ve seen. Even when the car is off the interior and exterior lights won’t shut off. They’ll stay on and just flicker the entire time. Therefor I unplug the battery (really wish it wasn’t under the back seat...) everywhere I go so the battery doesn’t die. When I drive I have to manually turn the lights on so they don’t flicker while driving down the road. Pain in my arse #1.
•Both handles on the front doors have broken. Not sure how to fix them but it’s quite annoying and embarrassing to have to climb thru the back seat every time just to open the front doors. I wanted to get a killswitch for the battery to make unplugging it each time easier and quicker but if I accidentally lock my car then I won’t be able to get in since the handles won’t open on the front. Pain in my arse #2.
•Pretty sure I need to replace more coil packs, plus the power steering leaks when it’s cold and a few other minor things.
•Lastly, the repair that’s keeping Goldie out of commission right now (making it very hard to keep my job), is the idler pulley. I was driving down the highway about 3 weeks ago and the serpentine belt shredded. After replacing the belt we noticed it kept falling off after cranking the car. We realized the idler pulley needed replacing. After reading anything I could find on this forum as well as throughout the internet, not much has been resolved. There’s one last nut holding the pulley onto the motor mount and my boyfriend just cant seem to get enough room to unscrew it as it’s tucked underneath that lip. We’ve seen that tool (not sure the specific name for it) being used online that’s an open ended wrench at an angle? It’s almost goes in a zig zag for lack of better terms. But I can’t find it anywhere in stores or even online to order so for now we’re sort of at a loss. We’ve even tried a crowbar try and make space.
I know some are probably thinking that it’s not worth it to keep putting money into it when I’m probably spending more than it’s worth at this rate, but at the same time it’s paid off and I can only afford to replace parts here and there, not a new car or car payment, or unfortunately even to take it to a shop.
But I still love and have faith in my Olds!
Any tips are appreciated.