I had new tires put on yesterday and, while it was on the rack, I was able to take some pics of the undercarriage. When you look at them, please keep in mind that I bought this car (5/5/09) on ebay from a local custom car shop. They bought it at auction as well. I know that the last time it was a daily driver was back in 2007 (the old registration was still in the glove box). This car has always lived in Orange County, California. And, of course, has a squeeky clean carfax report. I hate to bother you guys with this, but my dad lives to far away to help and my guy friends don't even know how to change a tire, let alone anything else. There are a couple of things that concern me in these pics, but I'm not sure if they are really cause for concern. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

first... what concerns you in the pics? couple things I noticed, looks like the AC compressor has no belt on it. second it looks like there is a cover missing in front of the oil pan where that gear is exposed.

 

I only see two things.
1) The inspection cover for the torque converter is missing. It would be a good idea getting one back on there soon, so that you don't get any dirt, rain, snow, stones, or roadkill packed up in the cavity or on the starter and flexplate (flywheel).
2) The pipe from your engine's smog (emissions) system that should be connected to the catalytic converter is missing. My guess is that some of that stuff may have "fallen off" by the previous owner. It's not a drastic thing that it's off, since the main purpose is to oxygenate the cat and help to heat it up faster to keep the exhaust emissions low until the engine gets up to running temperature. But if your car has to get emissions tested, it might fail the "visual" test.

 

i dont think the belt supposed to be on the backside of the pulley like that. it looks like the balancer hub is not all the way in and the belt for the alt, pwr steering, etc. is riding on the back part of it. not the way it is on my 93 but could be how it is on a 95. looks like the front seal on the trany is/was leaking a little, not bad though. need to get a converter cover like 69 says. looks like u have or had an oil leak somewhere on the motor. most likely the intake and its draining down. your rearend looks good. exhaust looks like it just got done but is not the type that will compliment the headers. if its the oil your concerned about i think most of it is from a bad intake gasket which is not that hard to change. thats how my car looked from underneath and thats what it was.

 

The inspection cover that you guys mentioned - would it mount where the green dots are in pic #1?

The big grooved wheel in #2 (green arrow) is appears bent when u see it up close. It was hard to really see that in these pics.

I put a question mark in pic #3 because it seemed like it was missing a belt. I'm not sure if this was the A/C belt that niteman was referring to. BTW, my A/C works great (so far ).

The shop I bought the car from had already smogged it and registered it in my name before I went and picked it up. I didn't ask them to do this, but I'm not complaining. I did ask them if I was going to have problems smogging the car next time its due but they said I shouldn't have any problems. I am concerned about what 69 stated regarding the fact that it might fail the 'visual test'. My car is very rumbly, it catches everyones attention... including cops. I've had friends with imports that were pulled over and towed because their cars didn't pass visually. However, I do have the printout for the last smog test showing that it passed. I'll just carry that in the glove box I guess.

I have to tell you, that big grooved wheel just seems like it sticks out like a sore thumb to me. I've never seen anything like that on a vehicle, seems misplaced or like its fallen down. To me, it just seems very exposed. I was wondering if it might be the reason why I hear metal rubbing when I turn a corner or pull into a parking space. Not like a CV joint, more like two metal pipes sliding across one another. Its not extremely loud and I'm learning how to minimize it with wider turns.

As for the exhaust... anything you guys tell me to do, I'll do it. I love the rumble but I don't think its as healthy of a sound as it could be. Do all headers look as ugly as mine? I was thinking about replacing them because they look like they are starting to crumble on the bottom. I only paid $3k for this car. I want to upgrade it correctly, definitely not half-***. Where should I start and what, exactly, should I get? Woohoo... lets go shopping boys!

 

well I just noticed it looked like a belt was missing... first thought was AC because what else could you do without that requires a belt to run?

if you look on the 3rd pic of your original post... it is very obvious where that cover is supposed to be mounted, there are 4 bolt holes right there (not sure if there are more...).

 

All I can say the previous owner liked to take speed bumps and inclines at a good clip. The dust cover was ripped off the flywheel/torque conv. and the bottom of the tanny pan is scraped clean of all the undercoating. It would surprise me if the Transmission or the tranny mount is not damaged. More damage then I would like to see under the car in my opinion.

 

yes the green dots are were the bolts would go for the inspection cover. the groved pulley is the harmonic balancer. is the belt on a groved pulley behind it?

 

Don't let that previous comment worry you, the inspection cover was not "ripped off" from a speed bump. It's mounted a bit higher than the oil pan and trans pan. If it was ripped off, both of your other pans would have been flattened, and they don't even look the least bit dinged. Neither does your front cradle crossmember, which hangs down even lower than the two pans. It's obvious somebody was wrenching on the engine, and the cover was left off. Besides, I don't know of any speed bumps that are nice enough to remove the bolts so cleanly.
You also have some leaks going on from the rear main seal on the engine, and the torque converter to trans seal, and an accumulation on the front from the main seal (but that one looks more "normal" considering the age).
And that belt looks like it's not tracking straight. From that angle, it looks like its half falling off the pulley adjacent to the idler, unless it's wider than it looks?

 

thank you so much for taking the time to help me out, guys! you have no idea how much i appreciate it.

well, i'm taking my car back to the tire place to have my shocks/struts replaced (per their recommendation). i convinced them to give me a free oil change (hopefully they will find the broken off tip of my oil dipstick, lol -it came like that with the car). more than likely, this car sat parked for many months before the shop that i bought it from snagged it at auction. do you think the seals might be cracked because of that? also, the cover that's missing... how do i get my hands on one of those? do you think it would be easy for me to pull it off of another car (salvage yard)? or can i order one from the dealer?