**Modifying and Repairing an Old Car: A DIY Guide**

So we'll open this up and start letting it in you can see it's starting to go in then we'll start the car up turn the AC on full blast outside air and we went to this uh 635 it's getting there understand one thing I'm adding this as a gas if the tank is up flooding gas in but if it's upside down it's unloading liquid in liquid is dangerous it takes longer to put it in with the gas but it's safe you put liquid in you can ruin a compressor the liquid can get in there and destroy stuff so you want to put the gas in not the liquid even though it takes longer and here we go 635 well I was off a tiny bit that one little bit isn't going to hurt anything close enough to 635. now I do have to say I've been trying out this vivar refrigerant recovery unit so far it's worked perfectly fine it costs a whole bunch less than more expensive commercial American versions do yeah it's made in China but I mean it's just basically a vacuum pump that sucks it out and pumps it into a recycling jug it's not not that high technology so they really shouldn't cost so much money in some of these months I see some of these things being fifteen hundred two thousand dollars no reasonable price one and so far it's worked perfectly fine I'll see as the years go on so that'll take for a spin and see how cold it gets put a lot of corn away too so far so good ah it's blowing freezing cold and yeah it does have 179 000 miles on it but for an old car hey yeah it's a little bouncy the struts are definitely worn they're still the original one but hey still tracks pretty straight got a reasonable amount of acceleration I reset everything we'll see if check engine light or anything comes back on but their AC is really cooling me down I gotta say it's working good so far I'm gonna drive it about 45 minutes just to make sure not in one cents it is a pretty typical Impala with this kind of mods the transmission often has a little jiggle when it shifts especially second to third gear you feel a little boo it's warm but I mean hey it goes good enough you're not going to put a remanufactured on this whole thing it doesn't really slip much you step out of gas it goes there you felt the loop as it went back into gear it's worn but it's your baby it still could last quite some time and so there you have it 45 minutes later still freezing cold air conditioning now we're going to pray the compressor last old car with a lot of miles on it but it's working perfectly cold now now you know what to do first check the electronics because if there's an electronic problem don't waste your time with mechanical problems you have to fix that first in this case there weren't any we went and found out it was just low on refrigerant and fixed it sometimes it's that simple.

**The Vivar Refrigerant Recovery Unit: A Cost-Effective Solution**

I've been trying out this vivar refrigerant recovery unit so far it's worked perfectly fine it costs a whole bunch less than more expensive commercial American versions do yeah it's made in China but I mean it's just basically a vacuum pump that sucks it out and pumps it into a recycling jug it's not not that high technology so they really shouldn't cost so much money in some of these months I see some of these things being fifteen hundred two thousand dollars no reasonable price one and so far it's worked perfectly fine. The vivar refrigerant recovery unit is a great example of how you can get the job done without breaking the bank. It's not high-tech, but it gets the job done, and that's all that matters.

**Reconditioning an Old Car: Tips and Tricks**

When reconditioning an old car, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, always check the electronics before jumping into mechanical work. If there's an electronic problem, don't waste your time with mechanical problems - fix that first! In this case, we were able to identify the issue as low refrigerant and fixed it without too much trouble.

**A Knocking Sound in a 2004 Expedition V8 Engine**

I have a mystery knock in my 2004 Expedition V8 engine now 2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 124 000 miles it's been making this knocking sound for years and thousands of miles doesn't seem to get any loud I can hear it with the stethoscope in the front of the engine it goes away at about 1500. the engine is good oil pressure seems to run okay but what is knocking just about guarantee you what it is it's probably the timing chain tensioner is not tensioning correctly they work by oil pressure portion them up when it gets dirty and carboned up it doesn't push the tensioner now so a lot of times when it gets hot and warms up then the tensioner fails which causes the knocking sound. The most likely cause of this knocking sound is a failing timing chain tensioner. If you're experiencing this issue, it's probably worth checking to see if the tensioner needs to be replaced.

**Conclusion**

Modifying and repairing an old car can be a fun and rewarding experience, but it requires patience and attention to detail. By following these tips and tricks, you can breathe new life into your old car and get back on the road in no time. Remember to always check the electronics first, and don't be afraid to experiment and try new things - that's what DIY is all about!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines all right the AC on this 09 Impala original owner it works it doesn't work it kind of does as it pleases and we're gonna figure out what's going on they also want me to check out the car generally so let's start with the AC okay he's the original owner the only thing he's done to the AC system is he replace the blower motor once everything else is original so you never know what goes on electronically we're going to scan it first so we'll turn the key on so the idiot lights on get our scan tool Communicator plug it in onto the dash that's right here we can see it's communicating now fire it up and see what happens no Auto scanning it got singles on AC Auto diagnosis here we go it's checking everything all right now you can see it's got problems and different things the computer you're not really worried about that as it stands now we'll look at that later but it's got HVAC codes see what it is it says that the recirculated position command circuit is open well that's just recircra fresh air here that's not going to make it not blow cold time being will clear and see if it comes back after we road test it it's also got a body control module got three codes there let's read those codes right front wheel Spencer right front wheel speed erratic lost communication this is the anti-lock brake system they said that the light comes on every once in a while stops okay they don't want to spend a bunch of money on the ABS it's a Fail-Safe system when it doesn't work it goes back to non-abs and an old vehicle like this with close to 200 000 miles on it you're not going to spend a bunch of money look at the computer it's got codes too three codes we'll diagnose though three trouble codes fast communication transmission control module and an operation module and body control module yeah a little racing those trouble codes too see if any of them come back after we road test it now the transformation control module is the only other code that's left it's got three codes too and there were the same codes as the ECM saying that it had lost the communication yeah weak bet or anything to do with that so now we've erased them all and we can understand that there really isn't an electronic problem with the AC system other than it might not go to recirculate a fresh air correctly that's not going to shut the system down now we're going to look at the mechanical part you always have to check the electronic first you could be peeing in the wind checking the Mechanicals the electronics that feed it are weird then you know you're not going to fix anything you might end up replacing a part like the compressor that doesn't need replacing we now know the electronic parts of the HVAC are pretty good so now we're going to check the mechanical ones now here realize one thing he's the original owner he's never added refrigerant let's pray it's only lawn refrigerant and not a worn out compressor we'll get our blue low pressure line hook it up to the low pressure line on the car the thick fat one coming off the AC in this case it's right here now don't worry about putting it on the wrong one they only fit one one see this snapped on the valves opened now we turn it in when you turn it down in that lets the valve allow the pressure from the line to go to the gauge and you can see there we go we're gonna do a start it up and see what the pressure is with the AC on at idle it's starting to blow cold so I know it's working look at the pressure in this case it's not too bad it's around 40 but we're gonna rev It Up now in this vehicle with the temperature it is out today it's pushing 90 now it should be 40 to 45 PSI on the low side and it's getting to about 30. so it's low on refrigerant now I know you might want to ask me one thing about my procedure and that's why did that hook up the high side well I'll tell you why because it's a GM product and they're poorly made when they get this old if you hook that high side pressure line on to measure the high pressure those valves often break then you got to replace the whole expensive line so unless I have to really do in-depth analysis I will never hook the high side up on one of these older GMS because the systems are so cheaply made that then it leaks and you got to buy a really expensive part that wasn't broken in the first place the fact the connectedness and screwing it on it messes with the valve and then you got to replace the whole line so why get involved if you don't have to that's why I didn't hook up the high pressure side you ask anybody who works on GMS they'll tell you the same thing lost a little refrigerator over all these years it's never been touched 14 years old so what we're going to do we'll look here and it says V6 0.635 kilograms so that'll be 635 on my scale I hook up my recycling machine take everything out to send it and of course I recycle it in a recycling can then I will put fresh new refrigerant 0.635 kilograms I'm hooking my recycle machine up to suck the old stuff out plug it in we open this up it recycles it in here the machine will suck everything out putting the recycling can now some guys will use the recycling over I personally don't trust them because there might be impurities in it who knows over the years what people have added to the system so I just take those two Cycling Center when they're full and I put in virgin refrigerant that's the best way to do it we shut the gauge off they cannot the line to our tank we'll turn the scale on until it goes to zero sometimes it takes a while there we go zero now we want that to say he takes 135 so we'll open this up and start letting it in you can see it's starting to go in then we'll start the car up turn the AC on full blast outside air and we went to this uh 635 it's getting there understand one thing I'm adding this as a gas if the tank is up flooding gas in but if it's upside down it's unloading liquid in liquid is dangerous it takes longer to put it in with the gas but it's safe you put liquid in you can ruin a compressor the liquid can get in there and destroy stuff so you want to put the gas in not the liquid even though it takes longer and here we go 635 well I was off a tiny bit that one little bit isn't going to hurt anything close enough to 635. now I do have to say I've been trying out this vivar refrigerant recovery unit so far it's worked perfectly fine it costs a whole bunch less than more expensive commercial American versions do yeah it's made in China but I mean it's just basically a vacuum pump that sucks it out and pumps it into a recycling jug it's not not that high technology so they really shouldn't cost so much money in some of these months I see some of these things being fifteen hundred two thousand dollars no reasonable price one and so far it's worked perfectly fine I'll see as the years go on so that'll take for a spin and see how cold it gets put a lot of corn away too so far so good ah it's blowing freezing cold and yeah it does have 179 000 miles on it but for an old car hey yeah it's a little bouncy the struts are definitely worn they're still the original one but hey still tracks pretty straight got a reasonable amount of acceleration I reset everything we'll see if check engine light or anything comes back on but their AC is really cooling me down I gotta say it's working good so far I'm gonna drive it about 45 minutes just to make sure not in one cents it is a pretty typical Impala with this kind of mods the transmission often has a little jiggle when it shifts especially second to third gear you feel a little boo it's warm but I mean hey it goes good enough you're not going to put a remanufactured on this whole thing it doesn't really slip much you step out of gas it goes there you felt the loop as it went back into gear it's worn but it's your baby it still could last quite some time and so there you have it 45 minutes later still freezing cold air conditioning now we're going to pray the compressor last old car with a lot of miles on it but it's working perfectly cold now now you know what to do first check the electronics because if there's an electronic problem don't waste your time with mechanical problems you have to fix that first in this case there weren't any we went and found out it was just low on refrigerant and fixed it sometimes it's that simple and here's some bonus questions and answers Ben am says I have a mystery knock in my 2004 Expedition V8 engine now 2000 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 124 000 miles it's been making this knocking sound for years and thousands of miles doesn't seem to get any loud I can hear it with the stethoscope in the front of the engine it goes away at about 1500. the engine is good oil pressure seems to run okay but what is knocking just about guarantee you what it is it's probably the timing chain tensioner is not tensioning correctly they work by oil pressure portion them up when it gets dirty and carboned up it doesn't push the tensioner now so a lot of times when it gets hot and warms up then the tensioner breaks loose and it makes tight and it doesn't make it rattle anymore that's one of the few things that you can hear noises of over years and thousands of miles and doesn't self-destruct let's say you had a bad bearing on the crank bearing and the Piston's knocking now the business is going to go flying off knock on the engine in a reasonable period of time and you've been doing it for years and thousands of miles so that's probably what it is you want to have a mechanic check to see if the tensioner needs replacing but before you do that my friend Bernie's got that ATS he has an oil force that you put in rev it up to like 2000 RPMs for half an hour and then you change the oil filter that can often clean the carbon off of the slide on the tensioner and it stops try that if that defixes it send me a birthday present my birthday's in October 2nd I'm gonna miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell oh\n"