[V8] the new guy

[Seamus O'Carey]

Hey, everyone.  I just bought an '90 auto V8 with 119k miles for $850.  It
has a few issues, but I'm able to drive it.  The body and interior are in
pretty good shape, except for the headliner was falling down and there are
scratches on the hood (looks like they might have been storing boxes on it
while they weren't driving it).  Nothing I can't fix there, though.

I had to rebuild the rear brakes (po had let the pads wear down so
completely that it spit the ds caliper piston out) and the PS pump needs to
be replaced.  I got a ds caliper and a PS pump for about $150 shipped, but
it still has a few other issues that thought maybe some of you might have
some insight on.

First of all, the "ABS OFF" light stays on continually.  I hit the ABS
button, but it doesn't seem to do anything.  In fact, none of those buttons
do anything.  I noticed last night that the lights behind the buttons were
on, but I pressed one of them and the light went out and would only come
back on if I turned the car off and back on.

The CAT light flashes constantly.  I'm guessing that means the catalytic
converter is bad and I'll probably need a new O2 sensor as well  (the car
was missing the owner's manual).

The AIRBAG light is usually on.  I have no idea what this means.

The CHECK ENGINE light sometimes comes on when I'm idling, but I can make it
go out just by hitting the gas.  I figure it probably has something to do
with either the problem with the cat or the PS pump.

The thing that concerns me the most is there seems to be an almost grinding
noise from underneath the car upon acceleration.  It's not constant and
sometimes it doesn't do it at all.  I'm hoping maybe a driveline bearing or
u-joint or something.  I'm hoping it's not the transmission.

I think that's pretty much everything.  I figure for $850, though, I'm still
not doing too badly.  If I have to I figure I can sell the interior and the
engine/drivetrain for what I have into it so far and still break even.  I
was also considering maybe buying that grey manual V8 someone posted about
yesterday, then swapping my black interior into it so I can just sell my
pearl with grey interior. Grey with black interior would be sweet! =D

By the way, do these cars come with headers from the factory?  This car
appears to be completely stock, so I was surprised to not see clean,
individual tubes instead of rusty cast iron exhaust manifolds.

Anyway, I'm open to any thoughts, suggestions, comments, etc...



Seamus