Gilhuly

Sunday NYT article/release

Yeah, in many cases its better than a service manual for the experience challenged. He sounds like he's probably between the ages of 17 and 22 (not a general slam against the younger) and his ignorance and "learning experiences" always seem to be somebody elses fault. To be more constructive, you can look at any number of brake job tutorials and see pretty much the same thing. The caliper bolts on the back of the caliper can definitely be tough. Patience and PB Blaster will pay dividends. If you would like a sure fire fix, get a piece of 15" or so muffler pipe from the bin at Autozone tha

Sounds like you're pretty far down the line at this point. I don't recommend people to buy these cars unless they're willing to turn a wrech and continue their education in the automotive world. With some basic/moderate skills you could easily have shaved at least $500 out of the shocks/struts and brakes, but its a choice. Hey, big picture, If I knew out front that all that stuff would need to be done, including the cat and 02 and somebody offered me that car for free I'd take it in a second. Nothings free. Conversly, you could definitely sell it for 4k if it runs well and you have less t

Definitely do the water pump. The downside to doing it it a relatively cheap part cost and the downside to not doing it is a new boat anchor in the form of your old engine.

Victor did mine - A+ work and service.