Hello from Alabama - New LeSabre Convertible Owner

Your water pump experience will come in handy.
That water pump will be going soon. The bearings will have gone bad from not running for six years.
And don't use ether.. it's BAD.. carb cleaner. WD-40 , penetrating oil is better. Ether detonates rather than burns , that's NOT good

Welcome !!
I love LeSabre Convertible !!

 

Day 1:

Well....after blowing air back through the gas tank vent line, and replacing the fuel pump the old Buick fired right up. Got her running and let it run for a good hour. Ran somewhat rough and smoothed out as it ran more, but still is still a little rough. I would say the idle is rough and real low, and when you rev the engine it is smooth. I did turn the idle screw to raise it up a little. Decided that we would try and drive it around the yard once it ran for a minute. I jacked up the front and noticed that the right front wheel was frozen and jacked up the back and the right rear wheel was frozen. Took each tire off and used a small 2 lb hammer to knock the front caliper around to loosen it up (front disk brakes). Got it to where I could turn rotor by hand and replaced the wheel. Then I removed the rear drum and cleaned everything there with a wire brush on a drill. I checked the oil....OK....transmission fluid, low so I added a quart (all we had).....still showing low. Antifreeze a little low, Brake fluid and power steering fluid good. Tried to back her out and no clunk from the transmission like it was going in gear, but with much throttle it would slowly get going and would pick up and drive good. The brakes worked good too.



Day 2:

Went down and replaced all 8 spark plugs, changed the engine oil (added 16 oz of MMO), flushed the radiator and replaced with 1 gallon of antifreeze and the rest water (per the parts store manager becuase I didn't know the capacity and didn't have cell/internet service), filled up the transmission fluid (held almost 1 gallon), and if she hasn't been sitting overnight she will fire right up on her own at the touch of the key switch without hitting the gas. Still has a miss in the engine though. We took her down Highway 43 this time (in front of the house) which is a 4 lane highway and got her up to around 50 - 55. The transmission clunked in gear like it should and performed perfectly now that I had gotten enough fluid in it. The car did seem like it was starving for some more power but still performed very good driving down the road aside from some shaking (partially the tires I'm sure). The tires were new when parked and still look very good with no dry rot but I'm sure they have flat spots in them.


All-in-all I think it is worth fixing on up and will make a good car with some cleaning and a little work.

Oh.....and found out that the car has been sitting up in the basement for alot longer than 5-6 years. It has been almost 15 years since it was driven which makes a little more sense.

 

Here are some pictures .........

 

Only 1 gallon of anti-freeze is not enough for the capacity of your car. System should be 50/50. I completely drain the system. I add 1 gallon of straight anti-freeze to compensate for what stays in the block, heater core, etc. I then mix, in a clean gallon jug, a 50/50 mix of water/anti-freeze. I start the car and add the mixture until the system is full. BTW, when the system is drained, it would be a good time to change the thermostat. Remember to drill a 1/8" hole in the outer perimeter to help alleviate an air pocket.
And get rid of those tires immediately. They can come apart and damage your car. Trust me, it happens.

 

Thank you for the tips. Yeah we plan to get all of those items addressed plus some. We just wanted to get a baseline to see what shape it was in and to be able to transport it to a mechanic (or better shop for me to fix).

Here is a short video a couple hours after I had started it for the first time in 15 years. My buddy had been hunting while I was working on it, and I started it up for him when he got in that evening.

[video=youtube;cD7dxf23frk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD7dxf23frk&feature=youtu.be[/video]

 

I once met a Red Farmer from Hueytown Alabama. Raced stock cars.
Are y'all some kin ?

 

haha nope but we are from that area as he is. I just collect "red" Farmall Tractors. get it? haha

 

So, I would guess you are not related to Fanny either.

 

I've seen a few of those around here/

I'll be in Irondale Alabama on Saturday. That's the home of Irondale Cafe, Fanny Flagg's inspiration for "Fried Green Tomatoes" ​ . I might get some of those fried green tomatoes while I'm there....