What to look for - Buying a gem

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Crumz
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What to look for - Buying a gem

Post by Crumz »

For those that are looking to buy a gemini, there are always things to look out for. The following is a fairly basic write up, but identifies the worst things to get to geminis. (Stolen from another thread, still written by me)

RUST is the biggest problem. Floorpan/boot are the worst places. Hard to find a gem without it, but easy to find one without TOO MUCH of it.

Blowby. Pull the lid off the airfilter. If its full of oil, walk away.

Cooling. Take it for a GOOD drive, make sure it stays at a good temp, then pop the bonnet. Make sure the system is pressurized, then check around for leaks. Park on dry concrete, if anything leaks, thats where it'll go.

Noises. Gearboxes/diffs/wheel bearings all make noise when they are on the way out. There is a certain amount of noise that you will get (especially with the boxes), but you will know if too much is too much.

Oil. Pull the dipstick out after your drive. Make sure it is either black, or new. If it's milky, you've got either a headgasket blown, or a f*#cked timing chest.

Thats a good start.

Adam
Last edited by Crumz on Fri Aug 12, 2005 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Gene FJ20DEBT
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Post by Gene FJ20DEBT »

if anyone has anything else to add, go ahead and add to the things to look out for :)
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ATG23Q
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Post by ATG23Q »

RUST is the biggest problem. Floorpan/boot are the worst places. Hard to find a gem without it, but easy to find one without TOO MUCH of it.
Just to add to this, gems also rust up in the top corners of the engine bay, the bottoms of the doors and also usually at the bottoms of the front and rear windscreens.
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Post by F|sh »

also check front radiator support for a front impact. This is given away by no chassis number and/or poorly fitted headlights.

check under the rear bumper for rust and bog this will tell you if the gemini u are buying has been bummed f*#cked
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Post by Bugle »

Rust down the bottom of the front a pillars. If there's any bubbling in the paint on the corner it's going to be rusted through, and will probably be completely rusted away at the hidden bit behind the guard. Pretty structurally important piece.
If the bottoms of the front guards are rusted out then all the stuff behind it probably is rusted as well.

If the car has aircon it hides the firewall underneath the big box, if leaves and stuff get there it's hard to see and clean and it causes rust so look under the dash inside the car to see if there's any rust holes there.

Window mounting spots can be checked for rust holes by feeling along them from the engine bay and boot. Not possible to check some of the front one though because of the blower and aircon if it has it.

Where the rear beaver meets the rear guards above the tail lights there's a big gap and if it isn't sealed and painted properly it rusts.

Under brake master cylinder if it's been leaking there will be rust on the chassis rail.. Should be able to see it with a torch.

Boot lids rust a bit where the skin meets the inner at the back edge.
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Post by pattis »

there can be rust were the seats and seat belts are bolted on

take a fridge magnet and drag it along the doors panels ect and if it falls off it means theres body fillers there.....it'll take about 1/2 an hour to do the hole car but if it means finding a bogged up rust hole in the middle of the door then its worth it!
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Post by Crumz »

pattis wrote:it'll take about 1/2 an hour to do the hole car but if it means finding a bogged up rust hole in the middle of the door then its worth it!
When you can buy a door for a pack of smokes? I think not.
Another Quality Post by Crumz

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Post by ZD1T »

crashes!!!!
check that its not pre crashed! check for ripples in the floorpans, bootfloor or cracks in the underbody paint, check all doors and windows open and close nicely. look for bends or ripples in the radiator support panel

rustspots:

bootfloor and it comes hand in hand with under the parcel shelf (leaky back window)
bottoms of doors, inside and out
the bottom of the inner gard (dogleg) from leaky front window
under the bonnet hinges in the engine bay.... usually comes with:
rusty inner fron gards (top)
and the usual floorpans

geminis would have to be one of the cheapest and easiest cars to work on (mechanicals) they are a good learning car, so if things are worn like the clutch, or the brakes need doing etc, yes it will cost you money, but its still going to be well worth it if the body is top notch. changing a whole motor is easier than finding another rust free shell!
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Post by SLIMER »

Have a look under the left front wheel arch (got to get your head right under there) and see if there is any rust underneath where the battery goes..(some i have seen with holes as big as the battery)..its caused from battery acid (eats away at the paint...then rusts)..not a major common thing but will cost a bit to fix...and easily spotted by cops etc etc...



Another major one..(but fairly cheap to fix)...check the torque tube rubber mounts are good..(not split etc etc)
This will cause a pretty big thudding noise when taking off, if you look under the car from just behind the rear left wheel you will see the diff...then the torque tube is what is in between the diff and the tailshaft (its made from alloy on most gemini's older models are sometimes steel cased)..it will have 2 bolts which are about 15mm's then on the other end will 4 allen key bolts..(bolted to the diff) the rubber mount is mounted in the tailshaft end inside the bracket where the 15mm bolts are...if it is shot..most gems usually are either on their way out or stuffed...but you could get lucky..but if its gone it will cause a thud when you take off and will cost you around $60-$70 to replace..(fitting is extra)

Now another thing that will cause vibration/s is the actual torque tube shatf (this is not visable unless you pull it off the car and pull it apart.) my wife and i found this out on her car, only a few days ago actually, it will feel like your axle/s are twisted, like your wheels/diff and tailshaft are going to break...lol..it will cause the car to hav a rough ride at higher speeds also..this can be fixed when buying another torque tube..(never seen anyone sell just the shaft..well not sotck shafts anyway).
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Post by SLIMER »

Another one to look out for (which can save you lots of cash) is the steering side of things..

when the car is parked check to make sure the wheels are straight and on the ground (not on jacks or car stands etc etc....yes there are some dumb ass's..lol) then hold the wheel (like 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock) and see if you can turn the wheel if you hear a clunk noise then either the rack ends are gone or something worse..check the other side also...while your there you could push the top of the rim (12 o'clock)and if you hear a clunk noise it could be the wheel bearing/s...on some cars all of the above could need replacing..

if both rack ends are gone and bothe tie rod ends are gone then you could be up for a couple hundred dollars to fix..even more..
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Post by Rob »

Crumz wrote:
When you can buy a door for a pack of smokes? I think not.
classic, hahaha. i would like to thank you guys for putting this together. Most useful.

Check the basics, horn, lights, blinkers, wipers etc, you can save a lot of money on a auto electrician
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Post by C4 Customs »

i think everyone has mentioned all the places for rust to surface, or decay the panel except under neith the back seat (this is a bi#ch to repair because you cant acess the floor pan easy. There are heaps of different wire brush attachments for your drill or sand blast it and vac, rust convert the surface and seal it. Not to mention underneath the parcel shelf both caused from a leaky back window lip eaten away, get on to the problem ASAP because its a cancer that will eat your prized GEM away!
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re

Post by 93mme »

rust in sils
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Post by charliebrown069 »

ZD1T wrote:crashes!!!!
check that its not pre crashed! check for ripples in the floorpans, bootfloor or cracks in the underbody paint, check all doors and windows open and close nicely. look for bends or ripples in the radiator support panel
also check that there is an even gap between the doors as being closer at the top or bottom than the opposite could indicate being in an accident
rkds.gemi
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Post by rkds.gemi »

cool this helped heaps

thanks :)
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