Hi there, im new w/ 90' quad4 HO motor question. for sale

[delta88]

Hello all!!

Theree is a decent white 1990 pontiac se quad 4 HO 5 speed for sale near me that I CAN GRAB FOR 200BUX . it looks fine..fiine for 200.. very little rust..very little... but the engine is runnin rough.. I guess the owener changed the thermostate,radiator,fual regulator thing on fuel rail, h20 pump, all tires are brand new.. very very new, and yeah thats about it.. I guess I am wonderin if it runnin rough could be minor or major.. yeah yeah to really know one would have to see/hear in person but hey.. thats all I got.. i GUES SWITH THE BRAND SPANKIN NEW TIRES AND STUFF IF i TOSSED THE 2009 ON IT AND IT DIED IN A DAY i THINK THAT I COULD SELL THE TIRES MOUNTED TO THE WHEELS FOR 200 ehh? ooops sorry bout the caps.. wasnt lookin..

any ways the car is in the plymouth michigan area.. anyone local to me? anyone interested in it? Im interested ion it for the HO motor and its a cheap stick..

btw the heater core is bad.. how hard might it be to replace that... like diy?

thanks d88 in Mich

[RomeoGAOC]

Originally posted by delta88
Hello all!!

Theree is a decent white 1990 pontiac se quad 4 HO 5 speed for sale near me that I CAN GRAB FOR 200BUX . it looks fine..fiine for 200.. very little rust..very little... but the engine is runnin rough.. I guess the owener changed the thermostate,radiator,fual regulator thing on fuel rail, h20 pump, all tires are brand new.. very very new, and yeah thats about it.. I guess I am wonderin if it runnin rough could be minor or major.. yeah yeah to really know one would have to see/hear in person but hey.. thats all I got.. i GUES SWITH THE BRAND SPANKIN NEW TIRES AND STUFF IF i TOSSED THE 2009 ON IT AND IT DIED IN A DAY i THINK THAT I COULD SELL THE TIRES MOUNTED TO THE WHEELS FOR 200 ehh? ooops sorry bout the caps.. wasnt lookin..

any ways the car is in the plymouth michigan area.. anyone local to me? anyone interested in it? Im interested ion it for the HO motor and its a cheap stick..

btw the heater core is bad.. how hard might it be to replace that... like diy?

thanks d88 in Mich

as for the heater core, it depends on how mechanically inclined you are. Brad97GS has done it, hell probably post on this thread or you can pm and ask him about it. I watched as mine was put in. Its do-able, but a royal pain.

As for the car. DO IT! Such a rare and awesome car, you cant afford to pass it up.

[Brad97GS]

Running rough could be a lot of things - spark plugs, coils, coil housing, boots, or more serious things like a blown head gasket. Can you describe more of how it runs? Does it run rough only when cold or hot? Does it get worse with engine load? Is there a Service Engine Soon light on?

As for the heater core, it's a big PITA. But it is do-able. I did it without taking off the center console, so I had VERY little room to work with. First you must remove the two heater hoses that go into the firewall by the steering rack. Then the rest is in the interior: you have to remove the side panels that cover the back of the center console, then remove some ducting and a metal frame. Then there are a bunch of bolts holding the big plastic cover over the heater core. Take off all the bolts (some are hard to see), and the cover can be pulled down. I never got it to come all the way out, but I got it far enough down to remove the heater core. Then just install the new one (I advise you to get an all-metal core as opposed to the ones with plastic tanks and tubes) and put everything back together. Difficult, but not impossible. :)

[delta88]

I guess My GF who was in another car said that when we drove off it was smoking a lot but its cold here right now.. like in the 40's so it could be anything, oil antifreeze.. ehh antifreeze bad...That would mena a bad head gasket.... would it still be worth it if the head gasket was toast? if its not to bad.. only a 4 instead of an 8 like I am used to id fix it.. if it was cheap as well....I just want it to run decent enough so I can beat the piss outta it ;) I am a big olds person, I have a 90 toronado , 66 toronado , and a 77 delta 88 indy 500 pacecar... So I was looking for something to have fun in instead of tearing up the G/F's 2000 civic EX vtec she bought new outta high school years back.. she hates it when I red line 1,2,3rd gettin on the express way ;)

[Brad97GS]

For $200, heck yeah it's worth it! Even if the head gasket is bad. Fix it right and the gasket won't go again... :) And the Quad LOVES to rev!

But with those temps, the smoke could just be regular cold-weather steam. Check the oil, but remember that Quads do tend to get white foamy stuff on the dipstick in colder temps because of the CV system. So the actual best way to check for foamy oil is to drain it...

But obviously you can check for other things, like giant rapid temperature fluctuations, loss of coolant, etc for signs of possible head gasket leakiness. If you can get a compression test done, that'll help.

[4kQuad]

Buy it, even with a rebuild the price would be right for a nice car with a new motor.

Like Brad said do/get a compression test done. That will tell you if a head is bad or a gasket is bad.

The core like other have said it do-able, unless you are the kind of person who like to throw wreches and stuff. I did mine twice in the time I owned the car. Sure went faster the second time.

Good find. Hope you grab it.