plastic man

i have an '89 corolla hatchback, auto that i will be selling once i have a replacement. it has been super reliable over the 4yrs i've had it. best car i've had actually.[only had old cars in the past.] its fantastic BUT! around 8mths ago i noticed i needed to top the radiator up a lot more than i'd ever had in the past. i've taken it to 2 mechanics and both said that it probably has a cracked cylinder head! they said they weren't 100% sure but that it looked that way.[btw, i know bugger all about anything mechanical.] well for the past 8mths it hasn't got worse and its been driven fine. whenever i drive into brisbane[60km away] i just check the water before the return leg of the trip. i always carry a bottle of water just in case. more often than not it will need some water, however sometimes after a return trip it doesn't, which strikes me as strange. so i'm wondering how much i should sell it for? maybe i should take it to the wreckers? obviously i'll be up front about what is wrong with it if i do advertise it. maybe no one will be interested anyway? would $300 be fair? it really is a great car. the previous owner bought it brand new and looked after it really well.

i'm after a replacement for my old '89 corolla and i am hoping someone may of heard of one selling in brisbane thats in my price range. i don't have a load of money so i'm looking for one up to $2000. has to be an automatic, have air-con too. thanks.

amazing! the last time i had a car resprayed the cost was $300!!!! that was probably around 1979, and i was good friends with the painter. a hairy lime standard 10! why a standard 10? god knows, maybe i was smoking too much back then?

what do you think the cost would be for painting an old corolla hatchback? just a bit of an estimate? thanks.

i know this will sound ridiculous to most people here but i have to ask anyway. i've got an '89 corolla, and its great. i've just had all the rust fixed up around the windscreen, now it doesn't leak! i've never had a car that is so reliable as this one, just one little thing thats gone wrong with it in 3 years. anyway. the car has what i presume is the original radio/cassette player in it. luckily i still have a few cassettes. however there is absolutely no bass to speak of, its really tinny sounding. so i want to get a cd player for it and thats the problem. the current player sits in it own little cubby-hole in the centre of the dash. so i'm obviously gonna have to get one that fits that area, don't i? i've had plenty of cars over the years but i've never had to buy a new player for any of them. i've been looking at new ones on ebay. do most players have the same width?[silly part]. are they pretty standard as far as dimensions go? i've seen a couple i like but have no idea if they are gonna fit that little compartment. if i do buy one how much would someone charge to fit it and some new speakers? thanks.

the bonnet of my '89 corolla hatch always rubs up against one of the windscreen wipers when i open and shut it. because of this, that section of the bonnet is rusty, as is the particular part of the wiper too. is this a common problem for this model?

the hubcaps on my old '89 corolla hatchback are disgusting, is there anywhere i may be able to get some newer ones? i've seen one or two places that sell hubcaps for much newer cars, would these do if i find what size i need? are most universal? what size would they be for my old car? thank you.

just to let you know whats happened. apparently it was the right side driveshaft boot which had a split in it. oil had sprayed on to the motor which created that overheating smell. thanks for they replies.

first up i should let you know that i'm not mechanically minded. i had to top up the radiator water this morning which is kind of rare for my car.['89 corolla hatchback]. i then went down the motorway for about an hour, and every so often i'd suddenly get a whiff of a kind of overheating smell for up to about 30 seconds coming thru' the vents. then when i was in town, i noticed everytime i pulled away from traffic lights i'd get that same smell for a short time. i checked the temperature gauge and the needle was about halfway, which is a little less than i'm used to seeing it. also when sitting at the lights for a minute or so, i did notice the gauge needle creep up a bit. it never got to the red at any stage though. i've looked under the bonnet to see if there were any leaks from hoses but everything seems fine. this is the first time there has been this hot radiator/engine smell and i'm worried something could be wrong with the thermostat maybe? i know this is a bit vague but i hope someone could throw some light on this problem? thank you.

i know this sounds ridiculous but............... i've just bought a new air filter for my '89 corolla hatch, however i can't get the old one out! i've unclipped the top of the thing it sits in, but the filter won't lift out. it is seriously stuck in place and i have no clue why. i've tried with all my strength and it won't budge.

is there somewhere i can go to that would show a diagram of the wiper motor, linkages, pivot arms, etc? from the little bit of research i've done, i get the impression that the wiper problem i have may be easier to solve than i imagined. can anyone help me please?

hi, i have an '89 white corolla hatch, automatic. theres a little surface rust that needs fixing up, but i don't know the actual colour. i can't find any of this info on the car anywhere, is there any way to find what the name of the colour would be? thanks.

hi there. i have an '89 corolla hatch and earlier today one of my wipers stopped moving,[well, it does still move a little, not much though]. how much would i expect a garage to charge to fit another working unit, just a rough guess?

hi there. i have an '89 corolla hatchback, auto, and i don't know what pressure the tyres should be? they just look like your standard every day tyre, i think it says 165r on them. thanks.

the title track from the motorhead lp 'orgasmatron'.

hi there. no doubt this simple question has been asked in the past but i can't find it with a search. i have an '89 corolla, auto, and i have no idea what the correct brake fluid is for it? could someone help me please?

hi there. first up i have to tell you that i'm not a mechanically minded car owner, i've tried to learn stuff, however it seems to go in one ear and out the other. i have a question regarding my '89 corolla hatch, auto. today i noticed for the first time that as i'm braking and almost coming to a standstill, there is a sorta 'clunk, clunk' sound that is in time with the slowing of the wheels. i can feel the clunking thru' the brake pedal. i presume it is brake related but have no idea in what way. any ideas what it may be? thanks.

forty nine years old. bugger!

here is one of mine. it is the crest/logo of the band queen. the reason for all the bruising is because i broke a collarbone a few days before. when i got my first 2 tatts many yrs ago they cost $5 each!!!

these are the cds loaded in my 5-disc player at the moment. orgasmatron by motorhead sheer heart attack by queen get your wings by aerosmith the wall by pink floyd dogman by king's x.

hi everyone. last week i bought my very first toyata. its a 1989 corolla 1.6 automatic, ae82, 5 door hatchback. i'm only its second owner, it was previously owned by an old couple and they looked after it well. i'm up here in brisbane btw. i'm very impressed with the corolla and i'm so pleased it has air con! i'm not really mechanical when it comes to cars, so i'm sure i'll be asking for your help from time to time. cheers. :)