I am really getting frustrated with my car lately. I just did a headgasket job not even 3 months ago because I had the infamous leak in the drivers back corner. Well now I am leaking oil from the passenger side back corner, and I think it is coming from the headgasket! Then my stupid alternator belt will not stop making noise since I put a udp on it. I have tightend it to the point where there is almost no play what-so-ever and it still is making noise. I am seriously getting fed up with this car, but I still love it to death, and how can I complain with 35+ mpg's. I don't know, I guess I am just venting, and looking for some advice...

Originally posted by spartan
I am really getting frustrated with my car lately. I just did a headgasket job not even 3 months ago because I had the infamous leak in the drivers back corner. Well now I am leaking oil from the passenger side back corner, and I think it is coming from the headgasket! Then my stupid alternator belt will not stop making noise since I put a udp on it. I have tightend it to the point where there is almost no play what-so-ever and it still is making noise. I am seriously getting fed up with this car, but I still love it to death, and how can I complain with 35+ mpg's. I don't know, I guess I am just venting, and looking for some advice...

It's okay, we all run through those times. If it makes you feel any better, I replaced my HG in late july/early august. After about 50 miles of driving it took a shit on me on the highway. Turns out I forgot to tighten a bolt and it fell in between the t-belt and crank sprocket. I had to pull the head again and replace it. It all started because I too had what I thought was a HG leak from the rear passenger corner of the head. Turned out to just be the cam seal was FUBAR'd when it was installed.

Originally posted by spartan
Does it ever end?

To be honest with you...no, it never ends. Never. In the past month the GS had brakes fail, both accessory belts pop off, clutch master cylinder fail, axle starting to pop and I just noticed that it's leaking from the rear main seal again.

Well this is all very encouraging information, haha. I can't wait to graduate college and afford a car I don't have to fix everyday.

no, no and no. but I love my car :love

I haven't run a timing cover since the first timing belt change I did right after I bought the car, no problems related to lack of a timing cover since. blew up that engine, swapped for a fresh used one and left the timing cover off. alternator belt took a shit and launched into the timing belt making it skip. now I have no compression ;(

Originally posted by spartan
Well this is all very encouraging information, haha. I can't wait to graduate college and afford a car I don't have to fix everyday.

Yeah, its nice to graduate college and be able to get drunk, yank your engine out and not have to worry about how you'll get around. However that for me was almost two years ago... an my car still isn't running. It makes me feel a little better to see the engine back in with that big turbo on it though. Just need the time to wire it. Good luck man! and try not to worry so much.

Originally posted by spartan
Well this is all very encouraging information, haha. I can't wait to graduate college and afford a car I don't have to fix everyday.

But you also have a GVR4, sir. Remember what Besso said, "If you like to cry and often think about killing yourself, then the Galant is the car for you." :order

Don't sweat the HG if you don't have to. Mine's been gone for over two years, leaks a quart of oil every 400 miles, and only recently has it developed a misfire code due to compression dropping below service limits in cylinder #3. :D My Galant, on the other hand, has run a total of seven months since I've owned it. I bought it dead in November 2005, so that's seven out of about 23 months so far. Hooray for project cars!

Originally posted by spartan
I am really getting frustrated with my car lately. I just did a headgasket job not even 3 months ago because I had the infamous leak in the drivers back corner. Well now I am leaking oil from the passenger side back corner, and I think it is coming from the headgasket! Then my stupid alternator belt will not stop making noise since I put a udp on it. I have tightend it to the point where there is almost no play what-so-ever and it still is making noise. I am seriously getting fed up with this car, but I still love it to death, and how can I complain with 35+ mpg's. I don't know, I guess I am just venting, and looking for some advice...

You have a ten year old car with high miles I'll assume. You think it won't need maintenance? Especially for things like oil leaks? Who did the headgasket job if it is leaking again?

UDPs are famous for causing sqeaking and squealing belts. Sometimes from mis-alignment, sometimes from belt tension. Sometimes from over-aggressive ratios. Put the stock pulley back on like many people do. UDPs are not always worth the hassle.

Originally posted by azdave

Originally posted by spartan I am really getting frustrated with my car lately. I just did a headgasket job not even 3 months ago because I had the infamous leak in the drivers back corner. Well now I am leaking oil from the passenger side back corner, and I think it is coming from the headgasket! Then my stupid alternator belt will not stop making noise since I put a udp on it. I have tightend it to the point where there is almost no play what-so-ever and it still is making noise. I am seriously getting fed up with this car, but I still love it to death, and how can I complain with 35+ mpg's. I don't know, I guess I am just venting, and looking for some advice...

You have a ten year old car with high miles I'll assume. You think it won't need maintenance? Especially for things like oil leaks? Who did the headgasket job if it is leaking again? UDPs are famous for causing sqeaking and squealing belts. Sometimes from mis-alignment, sometimes from belt tension. Sometimes from over-aggressive ratios. Put the stock pulley back on like many people do. UDPs are not always worth the hassle.

I don't know about that. I have my AFX on and I noticed a pretty good difference in throttle response w/ no squeeks. I did have to repace my PS pump because it was squeeking but thats on a car with 85K on it.

Don't argue with Dave. He will beat you down with his vast knowledge about this platform. He is also correct that many people do put the stock pulley back on because they have problems. Although some people do not have any problems.

To the OP:
With an old car there will always be maintenance issues. Always. I have 155K miles on my car and I've replaced many seals to stop oil leaks. I still have more seals to replace. I have a couple small maintenance issues that are electrical. It's part of the process of the car aging.

If you can't accept the fact that all cars do this, you should just buy a new car every few years. Then instead of a small maintenance cost you have a high cost of owning a new car.

"Although some people do not have any problems."
Which would be me. Which would be why I posted what I did. Neither one is necessarily right, neither one is necessarily wrong. No beat downs are required when it comes to opinions my friend.

Originally posted by msl-man
"Although some people do not have any problems." Which would be me. Which would be why I posted what I did. Neither one is necessarily right, neither one is necessarily wrong. No beat downs are required when it comes to opinions my friend.

Agreed. I have always run a UDP and never had any problems with it. I don't recall any threads around here that have stated people putting their stockers back on merely because of squeaking. Using a cheap product, misalignment in installation, and using overly loose or tensioned belts will cause 99% of the squeals anyway.

Don't get frustrated, it's a learning experience. Don't just worry about things breaking, find out WHY they break and what you did wrong. In the end, it makes the car more reliable.

Originally posted by spartan Well this is all very encouraging information, haha. I can't wait to graduate college and afford a car I don't have to fix everyday.

I've finished all my schooling but I still don't won't ever get rid of the eclipse. She's more reliable than any honda or toyota my family has had.

Well I decided to say screw what I have been told and just put some belt dressing on, and it worked great. No squealing for 4 days now. I also think that my oil leak is coming from me spilling everywhere when I fill it up with oil. My damn strut tower bar is almost directly over the filling spout making it hard to fill without spilling some on the back of the engine.

Seems to me that your having problems with thing YOU fixed. Perhaps your not doing a good job repairing maintenance items or there are small details you didnt pay attention to..

I cant relate to your issues but I was a mechanic so I have more experience at my finger tips. I find that when people half ass the repair, try to save money, or sometime inexperience plays a good part and the problems comeback very soon.

If the headgasket is indeed leaking then you didnt check for warpage or didnt install it correctly so that it was free of contaminants. The belt squeeking is poss because you installed a cheap belt or its not adjusted correctly. Just go fix it, then enjoy it.

I dont care what car you buy, its going to need maintenance and if you do it yourself you may deal with the same issues.

If you access to a grinder of any kind (or a dremel, but it takes longer) you can actually flip the strut bar around so it's not over the oil cap. Take off the strut bar and swap the mounts; driver to the passenger and vise versa. You'll find you'll have to cut a notch in the driver side mount for the battery stud, but it makes life a lot easier and then you won't be spilling oil everywhere and hating your car! Ahhhh ... simple fixes.