Hey guys. Thought I'd introduce myself. I'm about to purchase a 97 Lumina for my daughter to help her get on her feet. I found this car on Craigslist about an hour away. It's only got 50k miles, brand new BF Goodrich tires, and has a clean Carfax record which shows a two-owner, dealer-maintained car!

The only problem with it is that it hasn't run in about a year, needs a new battery, and all the lines on the underside of the car are rusted out badly - gas, brake, and tranny cooler. Advance Auto has the transmission cooler lines and I'll be cutting and bending replacements for the brake and fuel lines. The funny thing is that the rest of the underside of the car looks nearly immaculate. I don't understand why just these fluid lines would rust! Seems a bit strange. Probably a quality control thing. Anyway, the interior is near flawless! Should be a great car for the yungun once it's up and running.

I'm a certified GM enthusiast, with my other cars being an 05 GTO and an 08 Trailblazer SS. The Lumina, while not exactly a performance car, will fit nicely into the family though.

Greg

 

Oh, does anyone know what size the fuel lines are that go back to the tank? These are the ones that run parallel to the rear brake lines.

 

Well, we got the car home today. It really is a peach and looks great after a good bath. Some of the current problems I'll be working on:

- Rear and possibly front brake line complete replacement
- Transmission cooler line replacement (GM parts 10271467 and 10271468). - Fuel lines need replacement. Fuel filter will get changed at the same time.
- Power steering fluid is empty. Not sure why, but I have to get some fluid from the store to see if there are any leaks.
- Serpentine belt replacement
- The car has a slight hesitation when revved. I'm hoping it's just old gas. I'll run some fuel additive through it and get some fresh gas in there.
- Some minor rust on some underbody components needs to be cleaned up and repainted.
- Paint is oxidized and needs a good polish and wax.

Completed tonight:

- Oil change
- Air filter change
- PCV valve looked brand new
- New battery - what a PITA!
- I bypassed the cooler to be able to move the car around. This is the main reason the PO was selling the car - a couple of $10 parts!

 

It's been a busy week with this car.

It started out with finding that the hydraulic lines on the rack and pinion had rusted through. A couple hundred dollars later the car has a new rack and pinion, supply and return lines, and tie rod ends. I got the alignment really close using the string method. I'll still have to take it in for a true alignment though.

I replaced three of the six brake lines. Six, you say? Yes, the lines going to the rears are in two parts, and split just in front of the rear wheels. I replaced the front sections and bled them Sunday night. Upon applying moderate pressure the right rear line blew out. Hey, better to have it happen in the driveway than on the road at the worst possible time! I've gotten real good at bending new line and flaring tubing.

The car now runs good, steers, and brakes. Now to get it registered and titled...

I've got an ABS light that's on constantly. I may clean the four ABS sensors to see if that helps, and check the fuses and relays.

 

Just a friendly comment. If the vehicle still has hesitation while accelerating; try changing the fuel filter. My Lumina did the same thing n the filter had never been changed. After I replaced the filter the car ran very smoothly. I also have rusted fuel lines and need to replace them soon!!!