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1G 1989 Colt 4wd wagon - what am I getting myself into?

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poomwah

Proven Member
48
0
Jul 26, 2014
west unity, Ohio
Later today I am going to test drive an 89 colt wagon. I know, it's not like what you guys run, but, call me crazy, I like it. I saw it today but the owner wasn't home. I'm supposed to meet him at noon tomorrow.
He said he will take 500 for it, which around here, if you can find something that isn't rusted all to @#$ for under a grand you are doing great.
It is a 4wd with a 5 speed.
The body is very solid, the interior is a bit rough. And of course, a 500 dollar car has issues. He said it smokes a bit, especially when you start it. I figure for now I'd throw a set of valve seals in it (along with the other basic things, plugs, wires, air and oil filters, fluids, timing belt and tensioner, etc).
He said it runs well unless you go over 40 mph, then it "randomly dies". Said he replaced the fuel pump with no effect.
What would you suggest I look into as far as the not being able to go over 40?
I'm hoping its not a terrible idea to get the car, because I doubt I'll get many, if any responses to this before I go to look at it. So if anyone tries to warn me off, it will probably be too late.
Also, does anyone know of a good source of information on 4wd colts, I can't seem to find a whole lot about them.
Thanks everybody
 
Is that a Colt Vista Wagon ?
If so, vehicle carried the 4G63 SOHC motor.
Also, it has a carburetor, no fuel injectors. Thus, sounds like the carb needs to be overhauled.
Transmission was similar to the Subaru where it was definitely full time 4WD and had a shifter that would unlock the transfer case from the rest of the transmission.
You don't even know how the axles are if they all need to be replaced or not, let along front end work.

Flash $400 in his face and see if he bites, for you got a lot of work to do on this vehicle being so worn out as it is.

Good luck-DSM
 
nice, I see that car once in a while, and always think it'd be cool to own. I live in bryan, ohio now. I don't know anything about them, but good luck.
 
Just got back from my test drive.
I didn't get it :[ The guy was SUPER nice, really decent guy. He doesn't want to drop the price though.
The bad things :
Needs tires NOW. Smokes (not like mosquito fogger, but it does smoke, worse when you start it). At 40 mph the car shuts down, no sputtering, just like shutting the key off, after a few seconds it will restart. The door panels and "mini dash" over the radio are torn up. Radiator fan is wired to switch under dash. Car is pulling to the right (could be tires, could be something else). Battery is literally half the size it should be, you could put two side by side if you wanted and they'd still fit. Lug nuts are REALLY rusty, can't say whether the studs are going to be ok.
The good things:
Body is surprisingly solid for the age and for being in this area. Except for the above noted items, the interior SHOULD clean up. The engine is quiet, even with the oil cap off there isn't any noise (nice oil flow to top end by the way), up until it cuts out at 40, it runs very well from idle up to wide open throttle, very smooth, decent throttle response, starts easily, clutch feels good, brakes feel good, transmission felt very good, steering felt tight, no noises when backing off the throttle and getting back on it, no noises or vibrations when turning whether coasting or under acceleration.
The worst part is, I REALLY liked that car. It was totally cool. If he would have come down to 400 I would have snatched it up in a heart beat. If it didn't need tires right away, I'd give him the 500
 
Think it ran the 4G32B, 1600cc motor.
Not a bad little motor for Mitsu/Dodge Colt had that motor in many of their subcompact vehicles.
I forgot about this wagon since it really wasn't as popular as the Vista Wagon
Doing a timing and BS belts are easy to do on this motor.

Cut off at 40mph almost sounds like a fuel filter needs changing along with the carb overhaul since it has a filter in it, or in the fuel line just before going into the carb.

I had a 1982 Dodge Colt with the 4G32B motor in it, and the battery was the same - half size yet it had no issues operating the vehicle.

Up to you if you want it or not, but 500 bucks for this vehicle really isn't that bad. Just a project vehicle for you though.

Good luck - DSM
 
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It has a 1.8 liter fuel injected engine.
the weird thing is he says it doesn't sputter and die when it hits 40. Says its more like if someone shut the key off. It just instantly dies. And it doesn't matter how much throttle you give it.
If it was fuel starvation, wouldn't it do it sooner if you were accelerating hard?
 
well, it could get interesting , because he agreed to 425, I'm picking it up tomorrow morning :]
 
It's home! pics coming soon.
I absolutely love driving this car, even with it dying, LOL.
It is SO weird. if you accelerate slowly, it will die between 35 and 40. If you accelerate hard, you can get to a higher speed, then you can maintain 60 for a while, could be 1/2 mile, could be 5 miles.
When it does die, if you wait about 2-3 seconds, it will restart, but ONLY if you turn the key off first.
If you are doing between 40-50 and it dies, when you restart it, if you try to maintain that speed, it will stall again right away, but if you restart it and accelerate it will go.
I've only driven it about 30 miles, it's died at least a dozen times, but every time was while while holding a steady speed or during gradual acceleration. It never died while accelerating above half throttle.
While its running it runs super smooth, the idle is super smooth, it starts quickly and easily.
I am definitely confused.
 
thanks again.
I didn't even know ECU's could be rebuilt, I always thought it was just a throw away and replace thing. which scared me because its not like I'm going to find another one
 
Doesn't that model year have a carb on it instead of injectors? Definitely an interesting problem. Don't know if it pertains or not, had a similar problem years ago on an old Ford. Found out my problem was a weak coil.
 
from what I've been reading , the 89 2wd had a carb, and I THINK the colt vista 4wd had a carb.
This one definitely has injectors
 
ok, got the volt meter out and hooked it up to the diagnostic port. a continuous stream of short pulses. from what I understand that indicates "normal state". But the service engine light is on while its running.
I pulled the ecu out to see if the caps were leaking. The ecu had a label saying that it was rebuilt by an idependent rebuilder in june 2011
there was no smell when I opened it.
It looks like one of the caps had leaked and the board had been repaired.
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1g90, I'm pretty sure that one does have a MAF, I'll have to double check. I didn't know that could cause them to die like that. The only MAF's I've dealt with are Fords, and all they do is make the car run like crap. Hell, you can even unplug a ford maf and the car will still run. I'll look up the testing procedures for the DSM one though.

Thom, don't tease me, LOL. I would LOVE to do that, but don't have the skills, and DEFINITELY don't have the money. I'm going to be lucky if I can scrape up the oney to fix this let alone do a swap.
4g63t would be DAMN nice though.

PS... Thom, I LOVE your car
 
Thanks!. You would just need a 1g turbo harness and maybe some motor mounts. You would definitely need to trace your wires for the dash and tach. Would be a way-cool and unique swap! Think about it when you are looking to rebuild that thing. http://www.4g61t.org would have all the info you need. Shoot, you could even go with a N/A harness and a stock N/A 4g63. That would be a power bump by about 30-40hp. :)
 
It's not the turbo harness and motor mounts that worry me, its the turbo motor itself, LOL.
The tach would be easy... I don't have one :p
When it comes time to rebuild I probably will find a wrecked eclipse and swap an N/A 4g36 in there.
In the mean time I need to get as much use out of this one as possible. I'm hoping I can at least get this one to last until spring.
 
ok, I'm an idiot, the CEL isn't on, the service required light is on. The CEL comes on with the rest of the indicators when you turn the key on, then goes off when its running.
I don't know if this makes any difference, but when the car dies, the indicator lights don't come on for at least 5 seconds or so. And no matter how long you wait, it won't restart unless you turn the key off first.
 
quick update and an update. today was the first time I drove it when the engine was completely cold. It ran perfectly for almost 4 miles, gradual acceleration didn't cause any problems when you hit 35. But after I hit about 3.75 miles it was back to the deal like yesterday.
 
Definitely a work of progress to find what it needs to take to pinpoint this dying issue - be it fuel or electrical/ignition.
Interesting that, when cold, it runs great and even on idle, but at certain speeds thing just collapses on you. Is it a sudden shutdown, or sputters to shutdown?
 
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