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Just bought a little project called a Geo; my new car w/ photos and the work i would like to do on it.
Topic Started: May 22 2012, 12:59 PM (3,908 Views)
clb5578
New Member
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I bought a 1996 Geo Metro Lsi from my friend for about a grand. It only has 57000 miles on it. so far i really like driving the car. It feels more like a go cart than a car. The gas mileage is so good, and the hatchback fits my lifestyle very well.

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i would like to clean my headlights up, but im waiting for a home recipe to do it. i wanted to fill my gas tank up instead of buying the kit to clean them

going over 65 becomes a fight for your life, Geos arent supposed to have power steering are they?

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The body is in good shape

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i bought a custom license plate that says: "THE GEO" and will be putting that on once it comes.

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I built my system myself, and have it on a board attach to the back seat. I cut the sides of the board to allow me to put my backseat up. Car audio is something i'm pretty good at. And would be plenty willing to try and answer any questions you might have about it!

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It sounds great inside. I have a single Rockford Fosgate P1 that sounds really good (Hatchback=better sound). ive thought about upgrading to something else but its really not necessary for this little car. I did buy a JL Audio W6 for it(supposedly one of the best sound quality subs ever made) but the voice coil in it burned up. Im currently looking how to repair the sub by making a new voice coil out of copper wire. Its another project lol

I upgraded the power wires and negative ground for the battery. My battery actually died and wouldn't start without the help of jumper cables. i had The workers at Autozone do a read and it came up as a bad battery. Having just bought the car i didn't want to buy a new battery immediately so i tried to fix mine. I took all the battery acid out it. and filtered it through a coffee filter 4 or 5 times. i put it back in the battery with a little distilled water, and Epson salt. to replenish the sulfuric acid. Its a risky procedure that ruined my pants and a tabletop lol. BUT my battery started up every time. And has not failed since. i took it back to Autozone for another test and it tested as a good very strong battery. It actually had 100 more cold crank amps than it was rated at!

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Oh and the Best part

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now for the not so nice part, it needs a bit of work. I think i would like to learn how to repair rust myself, that way i can hit all the little spots before they get worse.

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Passenger door

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I really do love my car but im a little rough on it. i drive it like a go cart sometimes, hanging my head out the window to see as i take turns.

the windshield was cracked when i got it, and last night while driving home my hood flew up and cracked the windshield further(very scary while driving). i left a multimeter in my engine area that wouldn't allow it to clip shut and then i forgot about it. needless to say i will try to never do that again.
I found a replacement Windshield for 75$ from a junkyard and i was considering putting it in myself. i dont know how to do windshields, but it might be interesting to learn. plus im the type to fix something myself rather than pay someone else too.

the hood also bent, i am going to take it off and use a rubber mallet to bend it back so it looks nicer
im not positive how well that will go,

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my inspection is due at the end of the month and i want to fix as many things wrong with it before i go to the mechanic.

Problems
-sometimes there is a gravely noise from the rear end when i go in reverse upon first starting the car, it doesn't happen when its been running a while, and its only ever happened about 3 times. i would like to find and solve before it gets worse. (bad wheel bearing?)

-a high pitched squeaking noise just about every time i start my car and drive it. it goes away if i tap the brakes but is happening more and more often. it does it no matter which way i turn the wheel. This is what i would like to fix most (CV axle?? loose bolts maybe?)

-airbag light is on. I think the sensor may of been tripped, the airbag is still good, fuses are alright. i would like to fix this so i can trust my airbags but its not on the top of my priorities.

-The horn doesn't work. There is no current going to the green power wire that goes to the horn (maybe a bad relay??). i know the horn itself works because i tested it on my car battery. i want to get a truck horn and put it in my car. but i have to get the horn wires to work first.

finally, what do these two connectors plug into? they dont plug into each other lol (Their next to my air filter)

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I really like this car and want to make it run real good, maybe even modernize it a bit. A set of 13 inch rims would make it look fancy and a new paint job would make it fresh, i was thinking a blue... anyways anything i do to it, i would like to do myself! i would have to learn how to paint as well. fixing it myself would give me an understanding of cars i never had before. im decent with electronics and wiring but this is my first crack at an automobile.

Geos are pretty cool and its part of the reason im so willing to do my own work on it.

Let me know what you guys think!
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evmetro


Looking good!
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evmetro


Pics right from the start! It took me a while to get the pics figured out...
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Murf 59
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Looks great. Welcome to the forum
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

Welcome to your new forum, clb5578! :coffee

Take a look at Buyer's Info for more general info. The body rust you might treat with a product like POR15, Rust-Oleum products, Ospho, Evapo-rust.

You'll need to jack the car up and test the wheel by (1) rolling it, (2) grab at 3 & 9 and twist and (3) grab at 12 & 6 and push/pull. If there is movement then the bearing are going or gone. Some grinding may simply need to be repacked. I had to get a 22mm socket to remove my rear nut and pull the housing to find no grease except in the bearings. Packed it well and it's better but will need to be replaced soon.

High pitched squeal is usually the alternator/water pump/crank pulley belt. The Alt. may be looses - the belt has stretched. Two bolts under the Alt. to loosen and ant one on top. I like to pull the belt, scrape off the pulleys with a wire brush and clean the pulleys with some brake cleaning spray then reinstall the belt very tight. The worse option is alternator bearings. you might want to get a mechanic's stethoscope from Harbor Freight to check more closely.

The horn will likely be a bad ground or electrical connection. Looks like you are on top of that. Check your fuses.

You can readjust your hood latch or you can get Hood Pins to secure the hood.

The blue connector you picture last is for A/C as is the single prong sensor (red?) on the intake manifold above the alternator.

I like to use Google Advanced Search http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=google+search&hl=en&prmd=ivns and the domain geometroforum.com to search GMF.

Hope that helps. :-/
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dayle1960
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Fastest Hampster EVER

Leave the electrical plugs alone. They go to things not outfitted on you metro.

You have a great looking metro. I like the color but was bummed to see the rust. Might want to take a very close look at the horn frames to see if they need some rust prevention also.

Also you must do a seperate write up on how you resurrected the battery. I am intrigued to entire steps and materials involved.

Thanks for sharing and welcome.
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MR Bill
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WAelcome to GMF
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Nyquil-Junkie
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If there is no rust on the front horns, and you got it for 1000 bucks, I hate you.

:lol

We want horn pictures. :popcorn
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clb5578
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Since i messed up the hood last night that's what i decided to work on today.


i tried the rubber mallet technique. i tried, and was not impressed with the results.

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So i Put electrical tape over it, the tape will stop any more paint from chipping, and makes the imperfections not so noticeable. (it actually looks a little better than the picture)

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Will it hold up against the weather? will it blow off in the wind? will it leave sticky goo behind when it comes off? these things i do not know. but thats the solution im willing to try for now lol.

on to the next repair! tomorrow i think im going to the junk yard. I was told they have a Geo there :thumb
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evmetro


You could get this thing over to a "project" thread
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Metro Fanatic
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Nice car, welcome! Great idea for the personalized plates.
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evmetro


The winshield is a piece of cake in a metro. I usually cut it out with a flexible putty knife. Razor blade the mess off the flange, lay down a bead of urethane and set the new one in. Less than an hour.
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490k


Is that a factory color? Looks great!
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clb5578
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evmetro
May 22 2012, 07:54 PM
The winshield is a piece of cake in a metro. I usually cut it out with a flexible putty knife. Razor blade the mess off the flange, lay down a bead of urethane and set the new one in. Less than an hour.
that exactly what i wanted to hear, i saw a video where they use string to pull the rubber trim through, would i need to do that step?
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clb5578
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490k
May 22 2012, 09:04 PM
Is that a factory color? Looks great!
Yes its factory, i was thinking about changing the color actually, im not sure how big a project that would be...
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