Mullet's Metro Project

[Johnny Mullet]

Here is the transmission installed in the car........................



Here is the hose and O-ring from behind the water pump......................



I had to remove a 10MM bolt located on the block just above the starter and carefully wiggle it free. I found an O-ring the same size from a simple shop O-ring kit, added some vaseline to it and when the hose popped on, it felt good. It felt real good. After burping the coolant, we went for a 20 mile ride and the car feels like a completely different vehicle!

[Cd]

Thanks for all the 'how to' pictures !

[Johnny Mullet]

Well, instead of fixing the car, it's nice to just drive it for a change! The new trans is sooooo quiet and shifts very smooth. I am actually glad I fixed this car instead of just junking it.

I have gone through a lot of cheap, beater cars, but anytime something major went wrong, I would just get rid of it. This car is a different story and even though I had to do 2 major repairs on it, it's still saving me money in gas.

[MetroMPG]

Nice thread, Mullet!

I also did the blank/silicone installation over the passenger side mirror gap, but took it off this spring - the plastic I used wasn't as thick as yours, and its edges started curling up (probably from getting hot in the sun). I need to do v.2.

[metroschultz]

We have half dozen or so old mud-flaps laying around at the shop, I never even thought of using one for the blank-off for the mirror. I justed lurked around the boneyard till one came available.
Keep it up JM I've enjoyed your thread and will probably use some of your ideas (Chrome-In-A-Can) when I can finally get mine off the street for her re-man.
Schultz

[Johnny Mullet]

The car has been doing good and I already notice a MPG increase. I was getting almost 59 MPG before the trans started grinding and slowing the car down and I believe I shall get close to that again.

This is not any kind of mod (unless you include sleekness ) or repair, but what the after affect of me cleaning up this hidden jewel for 5 hours today and boy was I surprised





Also notice the new wheel covers. They look good on the car and not intended for aerodynamics, but seem they might cut through the air better than the dished steel rim.

I will be making my permanent partial grill block here real soon and will post the pics up!

ABS Plastic wheel covers = $29.00

[MetroMPG]

Wow - that cleaned up nicely. Quite a turnaround from kicking it to polishing it lovingly

Glad to hear the efficiency is back. Did I miss it in the posts above... what exactly was causing the noise?

Those wheel covers don't look bad from an aero perspective.

(You should save your images as "JPG" instead of "GIF" though - better quality for photographs.)

[Johnny Mullet]

I did not know what was internally causing the noise and the junkyard needed the core, so I happily gave it to them. It must have been the idler shaft bearings or support bearings that were bad.

I actually resize all my photos from 1200 resolution to 500 so it's easily seen on the forums and using .GIF makes editing (adding text) to them a lot clearer. A crappy computer has trouble scrolling down these pages with oversized images resized by the forum software.

I like the wheel covers also. I will be updating my fuel log in a day or so. I got 1/4 tank left and driven almost 400 miles on 7.5 gallons so far. This is gonna blow away my 53 MPG average. I never knew a bad trans could hurt the MPG so bad, but after the replacement I can feel the difference and the car coasts better and don't downspeed as bad in gear. I think removing that extra mirror was a big help also.

The MPG shown on the car's profile is without "Pulse and Glide", "Engine off Coasting", or any other extreme hypermiling techniques. I use most of the common sense tips, don't idle, monitor my vacuum gauge, drive slower, and I am happy with the outcome.

Fender skirts are on hold until I complete my partial grill block.

[Greenblazer]

Go Johnny, go Johnny, go Johnny go! I am starting to miss my '87 Chevy Sprint Turbo that I bought new back in 1988. Good thread thank you!

Later,

Allan Greenblazer

[NoCO2]

Still wish I could find a good MANUAL transmission metro. I found one in an automatic, but the mpg difference is astounding between the two.