Quote: Originally Posted by 89RsPower! If the car is simply getting too hot, and not actually overheating (coolant boiling over, steam everywhere, etc.) It's most likely a stuck thermostat, or the fan(s) arn't coming on for one reason or another. Head gaskets are normally the end result of overheating, not normally the cause. If the oil looks clean and you didn't find anything in the cylinders when you pulled the plugs why not try starting it and see how it runs? needs a fuel pump, it wont start, i guess. i havent tried yet lol, nd i havent pulled the plugs yet, still cant find them, i havent really been able to check out the car anymore...

dude the plugs are in SAME EXACT spot as any other car in your driveway.. in your city.. IN YOUR STATE. they are the SAME place.

Do as I said. Follow the plug wires to the plugs on the side of the engine. Really, it's easy, and will make you feel good...

As for 18 year olds, yeah they are like new cars: all nice and comfy inside and then they get older and you never know how they are going to turn out. You buy a used car and you know how it is!! (Plus used cars or women are cheaper) I'm not being crude, it's just that a woman goes through a change of personality between 18 and 25. It's the reason most young marriages dont work. I will stick with my old wife, she's like my thirdgens: Nice and broken in to where she's a perfect fit for me. (Get your minds out of the gutter. I was talking PERSONALITY, wise!!!) LOL, plus she puts up with all of my cars and endless dollars spent on them. She even races autocross with me. She's a little hard on the clutches, but I dont care. The other guys wives are sitting under the tents or worse yet, at home!! LOL

On top of the head? He said he had a 4 cyl in the driveway, keep in mind ton of 4 cylinders have the plugs on top of the engine accessable through the holes in the valve cover Also aside from what everyone else said. the plugs are in the sides of the heads under the exhaust manifolds, follow the wires as Dr said.. can't miss em..

yep my plugs are on top of the engine...

LOL, see? I had a caddy that you had to remove the valve cover to find the plug wires to get to the plugs.
MOST cars have them in the same place. Not all.
You have a lot to learn, James. That's a good thing, though! We all started somewhere and we all learned somehow (Or from someone) I wish you all the luck!

thats my main goal lol, to learn nd i wanna go to school for auto or diesel mechanics, thanks

wasnt aware that he had a 4 cyl. and im extremely sorry to hear about that to. glad your moving up to a v8!

Rather entertaining reading... idk if any of you have ever changed plugs on a durango but they are on top and its a v8, or a chevy lumina (z34 v6), they are on top and a pain in a$$ (fire wall gets in the way). but not finding spark plugs on a chevy 305/350 is kinda like throwing yourself at the ground and missing lol. Don't worry about him finding the plugs though guys, he'll get it. As to whether to or not to buy it, thats already been decided haha, so i'm kinda late. But if i'da been sooner i'da said buy it definatly. About the not being able to start it up cause of the fuel pump i almost said dump some gas down the carb but caught myself lol. no carb. I'm not super familiar with TPI motors, but could he unhook the fuel filter (if you can get to it, mine is outside the motor) and then crank it and see how much if any fuel pumps out? just throwing things out there. heck the filter could be clogged. you should get more details as to how it 'stopped running'. like if it didn't start up one morning etc etc. there are a million reasons it couldn't be running. id start with just cranking it over and seeing what happens LOL

when i get it running i should be able to burn the tires pretty good right? lol nd dumb question but how do you do it in a standard?

Depends on if you want to power brake or not. To power brake take the rpm's up to about 4,000 with the trans in first drop the clutch fast, & use your clutch foot (left foot) to press the brakes. Never let it go in the redline unless you want to blow the motor.

To burn out do the same just dont push the brake. You can also let the clutch out a little slower when burning out since you dont have to use the brake too. Do not do this too many times in a row. If you do then your clutch springs will get weak. That will kill your clutch.

It is best to get to know how your motor sounds before doing any burn outs. If not you will have to watch the rpm's, not where your going. Also I need to stress that burn outs may seem cool but their is no reason to be so hard on your car. Any car guy will tell you that the less wheel spin the faster you will go. You will learn, little grass hopper.

I agree! If you end up rebuilding the motor, you will want to take it easy on it for a while (Break in period). Yes, you will be able to do some fantastic and cool looking burnouts!! Nothing looks better with a cloud of tire smoke behind it than an F-body! (F-body = Letter designation General motors uses to describe the camaro and firebird)

You will instantly gain at least 45 cool-ness points with the females when they see that you have one of the sexiest cars ever made!

Having a car like that will say: And you will get it!!

how much does it usually cost to rebuild a motor? i'd use as many junkyard parts as possible.

When you rebuild a motor, do it right. You can't use junk yard parts. It depends, are you going to do the work yourself? are you capable of doing it yourself? Its alot cheaper if you can. and it depends on the amount of money you want to dump into the rebuild. A seriously cheap rebuild may only cost 150-200 $. where as a really good one could cost 600-900. or more. or less.

oh alright and ya well im 16 but plan on learning and wanna do it myself. lol.

You will have the most pride and a real sense of accomplishment, if you do it yourself. Any idiot with a fistfull of cash can take it to a shop and say " Duuuhhh! Fix it." But to be able to say; "Yeah, I built it myself." will give you pride that shows! I rebuilt my first motor when I was 16. trust me, you can do this. Just do a lot of research, ask a million questions, and think about it before you spend any money.

its not that complicated to rebuild an engine. theres a ton of books with step by step. just make sure you take your time and make sure you keep everything as clean as possible. i rebuilt my dads engine with him when i was 14. i was just born in a racing family. dad and grandpa both raced dirt cars for many years so ive just learned from them. if you never had a background like that, then its best to start as soon as you can.

im gonna get the car this week, buy a haynes manual, and start crankin away hopefully get it running, nd then ill attempt to rebuild the engine. there is a code on the engine? that will tell me if its an actual 350 or just a 305? thanks guys nd my grandpa was a mechanic for 30 years but passed away 6 years ago, my brother knows cars too tho.

Yes the code should on the lower drivers side of the motor closer to the trans. I had put in a new oil sending unit in my 305. The sending unit was right by the oil filter. In that area I saw the code. From the oil filter it was toward the front of the motor and a little higher then the filter, also. You will have to get the car up high so you can get a good look. Make sure you use jack stands. You will have to go past the front cross member, & look towards the front of the car in an upward diagonal angle. Does that help at all lol.

wow i think the guy im gettin it from is full of ****. sorry for the language... but ya he keeps makin excuses as to why he cant get the title nd keeps tryin to convince me that the car has a 5.7 liter 350 and it came stock like that but its a 5spd. he said they quit makin third gens in 91 which i know isnt true, they stopped in 92. He had the car gifted to him so he has to go to the bank and get something?

my mom talked to a few stores about the fuel pump and they said that it would need a module assembly or something and quoted us at $600 plus labor... is that anywhere near right? autozone has a pump for that car at $66 and the gaskets at $21 a piece?

DIY and itll be a hell of a lot cheaper than 600 dollars. you can change a fuel pumo and put a brand new one in for little over a 100.

what why? the pump is only $66 what else do i have to buy? you guys think im gettin in over my head?

DIY= Do it yourself. He's saying don't pay someone to do it, buy the parts and do it yourself and it will be a lot cheaper. Do a search on fuel pump replacement and decide for yourself. It sounds like this car is going to need a ton of work so simply replacing a fuel pump shouldn't scare you off. The short of it is this, place the car up as high as you can on jackstands, lower the rear end down as far as possible or remove it entirely (not nessicary), unbolt the straps holding the tank while supporting it and slowly lower the tank and dissconnect the lines. Disconnect lines, remove pump, install new pump, reverse installation. That's the basics of it. Not a real easy job but not a terribly hard one either.

i heard you could just cut a hole in the floor? id rather do that cuz its easier i hear. but also the car confuses me, it has a 5spd, but on the back of the car it says 5.7 tuned port injection, i finally got the car, the battery is not hooked up so i couldnt try to start it.

you can, but that's kind of the hack way to do it.. if you do it that way you have to cut the lines and splice them with rubber lines. Ok so it says 5.7 tuned port injection on the back, so you have one of the following: The rear bumper was replaced with a bumper off a 5.7 car, the rear bumper emblem was replaced, or if the car does actually have a 350 in it someone swapped the origional auto trans and converted the car to a 5 speed. Check the RPO list in the center console and see what options the car origionally came with. As you already know a 5.7 with a 5 speed was never available from the factory so if it is in fact a 350 car either the engine was swapped in or the transmission was swapped in. Either the RPO codes or the vin number will tell you what engine the vehicle origionally came with.

Before you even worry about replacing the fuel pump determine what you have. Since the car supposedly has bad head gaskets first thing you should do is pull all 8 spark plugs and see what they look like, see if there is any coolant in the cylinders. If there isn't coolant in the holes and the plugs look good reinstall them and hook the battery up and attempt to start it, see what happens. See if you can hear the pump come on for a second when you turn the key to the run position. Hook up a fuel pressure gauge and see what it reads while you are cranking. Also do a cooling system pressure test and a compression test to see if the head gaskets are in fact your problem. You said you already checked the oil and it looked ok? How about the coolant level? Get a digital camera and take pictures and post them here as you go and we can help you as best we can without actually being there. Sounds like you have a good deal of work ahead of you.