AMC Eagle
 

I mentioned a number of months back that I was looking at K-cars but someone pulled me aside, showed me this and told me to make the right choice.
For $2000 it seemed great.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...t/CGS_8127.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...t/CGS_8127.jpg

1982 AMC Eagle wagon. The part-time AWD car that seats six and I had no clue existed. I read over the specs and they seemed to run like a champ and score well in tests. Hell, even the commercials seemed appropriately cheesy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OHj72gFU3M

So what happened here was that I drove to the coast last weekend to inspect, start and test drive the car. It does have a few tiny rust spots and wear but for a car of its age it was in great shape and clean. The largest issue was missing rubberized trim pieces and the Select Drive system was not working and was locked into 2WD mode for safety.
I inquired with a local salvage yard and they happened to have an Eagle that came in a month earlier, so I also had a source of parts to do repairs AND almost all the missing trim pieces I needed.
I was driven down yesterday with the cash and paperwork completed and after the handshake I zipped back to the salvage yard for a three hour session on how to get almost everything I needed with a screwdriver and pliers and then back through the mountains. I now have a complete replacement vacuum line and actuator kit for the 4WD. By god, I cannot believe how many heads this turned on the highway and how many people approached me when I was stopped and asked where I got this car. Snazzy. :smoke:
The 300km trip otherwise was uneventful. The car ran, handled and performed great at mountain highway speeds up to 120km/h.

Anyways after dinner last night I decided to take the car out to see how it handled and get the ropes of driving and parking a wagon. About five minutes after the above photo was taken I drove up the steep hill in town....and the automatic transmission died and dropped into neutral. :sigh:
I did get the phonebook sized service manual with this car. The fault isolation matrix seems to indicate a hydraulic failure. The car itself was hopeless to shift into anything or make any transmission noises unless it was cold. The car was towed with my BCAA coverage to a transmission shop I know and we'll start learning how much more this car is going to cost me tomorrow.

On a lighter note, what the hell is the type of rubberized plastic AMC used on this thing? I cannot believe how flexible everything is after 35 years. There's stuff in my tracker that has long since gone brittle with age.

Probably uses the same plastic as the bumper filler pieces on my '78 Lincoln (which are also still flexible).

Those are somewhat interesting cars (this coming from someone who never cared for most cars 80's and newer), and quite rare here.

I think I've only seen 1-2 in person (maybe more before I started having an interest in cars), and the last one was at a repair shop in Superior this summer.

You probably aren't as bad off as you could be. A friend bought a BulletBird (early 60's T-bird) drove it home from Iowa on barely working brakes (the ride there was quite a humorous story) months later after getting vanity license plates they drive it for the first time since then and go to a restaurant...Now the trans had been leaking badly for a while, and leaving the restaurant they discover they have no reverse (their driveway is a steep hill down to the road so I know why they never noticed no reverse). IIRC they shifted into neutral pushed it out of the parking space, and drove to a transmission shop...The techs there were astonished the car made it there under its own power...The transmission case was cracked in half in the middle (apparently a common problem that year)...He had to find and buy a fresh core, and then pay to rebuild that...Luckily this happened in fall so it got stored/worked on all winter.

More mixed news today while the shop was still closed.

I went and tried the transmissiont this morning after it had gone cold and the transmission was extremely noisy but would go into gear, so it's not completely dead, just, unwell. Still no indications of particles in the fluid, nor does it look burned which is good. :scratch2:

I also dug through a bin of parts that the previous owner had and found the original AM/FM/cassette unit, which no longer fits as the opening had been widened to fit a standard car stereo head unit. There was also a lot of odds and ends for trim pieces, the dome lamp withe dual map lights and little replacement parts that will come in handy like a new lock for the ignition and the drivers door but more importantly I discovered this car is equipped with Cruise Control!
I could not get the cruise control to operate while I was driving however now that I know what the peculiar yellow box I restuffed under the dash was it may simply be a disconnected wire or vacuum line.

The transmission shouldn't be too much of an oddball. In those years AMC used a lot of Chrysler 727 variants and also some from GM. I'm a fan of the various Hornet/Concord/Eagle models but have never owned one. Earlier this year, while facing a possible job change which would have eliminated my company car, I very strongly considered buying a Hornet as a commuter. My job stayed so no Hornet...yet!

Ok.

*cracks knuckles*

You have a 4wd vehicle, that 'goes into neutral.' Red flag. The transfer case may be in neutral. If the 'transmission' sounds like it's grinding gears while in gear, or if it's in neutral completely and you put it in drive for a minute, then put it in park, and it makes a loud fast grinding, you're looking at a transfer case problem. You already indicated that it had a transfer case issue.

Check the trans fluid, engine running, in park, on a level ground. Is it in normal range, or too high/low? Check it again with engine off and compare the levels. Should be much higher on the stick when it's off. If there isn't much difference, the trans isn't sucking in fluid like it should. The filter could be clogged, or fallen down.

I'm not sure which transmission is in that Eagle, but the good news is that it's either a normal GM or Chrysler. So parts will be available.

As an aside, here's a funny story. When I was in college, a friend of mine said that his friend was going to get an oil change in his 'AMG' and asked me if I'd like to tag along. I told him I didn't give much of a shit about Mercedes, but I wouldn't mind coming along. We strolled through the parking lot and stopped at a black AMC Eagle, just like yours. My friend who had thought it was an AMG was all pouty, and I was happy as a clam. It's a fucking cool car. It has shitty toggle switches on the dash board because AMC was so poor! But it's cool.

No grinding gear noises actually, or at least compared to what I know of a manual transmission there's no obvious gear grinding going on. Think more the sound of a power steering pump under load. The previous owner also mentioned he had just serviced the transfer case and the rear differential, so both have recently had their fluids changed as well.

This was one of the first things I did once I was rolled into a parking lot. The fluid didn't smell, did not look burned, I didn't see anything shiny in the fluid but it was topped off before we left and was still reading high, both at hot idle and with the engine off. I checked it again this morning and still read the same, even after the car had warmed up, so I am still thinking it is a hydraulic issue. I was able to get it to shift into a gear this morning while cold but it was noisy, took a few seconds and would fail back to neutral and go quiet if I tried shifting out again.

That has to be the most versatile classic car one can get their hands on. I like the look of the '80 best but I don't care for its always-on 4WD. I reckon that could be changed without much trouble.

Many moons ago a neighbor got an '83 Concord DL wagon for daily use after his '84 Mercury Lynx got rear-ended, a crackup that did little more than cave in the bumper. He didn't have it for long before his son got his driver's license and promptly tore up the driver's side fender.

If you're lucky, the filter just fell out, or failed in some way. Easy fix, you just need to get under the car and have ready a large, deep oil pan. The empty power steering pump whine is tell tale of the transmission oil pump picking up air.

For whatever its worth, Ive never owned one, but about every post office mailman here used them back in the day. 4 wheel drives, except for trucks, were pretty much non-existing at that time. They held a lot of mail, would go anywhere, rode better than a truck, better mileage than a truck, and were decent vehicles. Not to mention decent looking.

You have to keep in mind that front wheel drives barely existed back then too. They were kinda ahead of their time. I always liked them but never owned one. Fix it up good and you'll be set for quite a while.

Take a good look at what vehicles were available at that time and you will understand how innovative they were. Kind of like the VW Bug or Karma Ghia, but in a different way of course.

I always wanted one of those when I was delivering pizza. That would be a beast!

PS- You always find the coolest stuff...

Had something kind of similar happen to me recently. I found a car for sale that I liked, went and looked at it, and agreed to buy it. A few days later I came back, completed the deal, and LITERALLY 30 MINUTES LATER AS I WAS DRIVING HOME the check engine light came on. The car sounded normal and drove fine so I continued on my way, but not without spending the duration of the trip home wondering if I got ripped off. Turns out it was really no big deal, just a sensor in the emission control system. I had it checked by a mechanic and he couldn't find anything wrong. This was my first car purchase, and how I would have paid for major repairs I'm not sure. After a giving it some hammer on the highway and a few hundred miles of driving, no warning lights have returned. Bullet dodged.

Good luck, you found a really cool and unique car. This is one of the few 80s cars I wouldn't mind having, along with a Mercedes diesel of course. BTW what's under the hood? Wikipedia lists several engine options for this model.:scratch2:

I've never been a real fan of transverse engines because it made servicing a lot of cars really complicated. I was okay with the Subaru Justy being transverse however it's a three cylinder so you still ended up with enough space under the hood to comfortably do your own work and not need specialty tools.

Even though this is a much larger station wagon compared to my current Geo Tracker and ten years older there are quite a few characteristics it shares with my parents later Subaru Outback Legacy while also retaining some of those really unique features that are not so much desireable but otherwise you'd want to clutter up the yard with another car just to say you have it, like the bench seats. showing up almost anywhere while playing the role of a clown car is amusing.

Also good christ Vanagon's and their equivalents got incredibly expensive. Even 25 year old import Delicas are $10000+

I'd never heard of a Delica until a guy at church bought one earlier this year to replace his rusted-out Quigley. I told him he's my hero!

Hemming's Classic Car has a cover story this month (just read it today) on the very rare Eagle convertible.

In about 1990 I tagged along on a trip to a mountain resort in WV. It seemed like every other house had an Eagle in the driveway. At the time it really was among the most civilized 4wd vehicle you could find, though SUV's and pickups where on their way up the ladder.

Vanagons suck. I mean, there's a reason literally everyone replaces the arthritic VW motor with something else. If you want a minivan, just save yourself the trouble and buy a Caravan.

I worked on a Vanagon once, with a Ford Focus engine in it. Manual transmission, 4 speed. The man wanted to drive it on the highway, cuz it was a camper, but 4th gear just wasn't tall enough, at 60mph the motor was buzzing away at 4000rpm. After much deliberation and research, we came up with a plan. I replaced the 4th gear gears with 5th gear gears from a 5 speed. There's now a giant ass gap between 3rd and 4th, but in 4th it cruises on the highway with low rpm. Man was happy as a clam.

I'm one of those people who don't get hotel rooms when they travel. I think in the last five years I've only had to get a room once. Minivans are nice for sleeping out of but I've always hated the engine being stuffed up and under the front dash, mind you with these cars it can be not much better but I still remember how much of a pain in the ass getting the back cover off the engine compartment in an Aerostar was.

Aerostars and Astrovans also suck. Caravans are just better minivans than the competition. I suppose the Ford and GM FWD minivan equivalents aren't so bad, though.

So you basically turned it into a 4-speed overdrive hm? The behavior of the modified 4-speed sounds like that of our '84 Lynx. The car may be long gone but I vividly recall many small details.

What did the transmission come out of?

It was the original Vanagon transmission. If I recall, the numbers suggested that the 4 speed was just barely an overdrive as it was, but yeah, basically. Fortunately, there's a company in Cali that does nothing but make VW manual transmission parts. The guy I talked to there was super helpful and knew literally everything about the subject.

I've always thought those Eagles were cool. kind of like a proto-crossover with real 4WD and torque, no effeminate lines, no traverse engines, no dash tablet infotainment.......

The car wasn't in the parking lot when I drove past the shop on Friday afternoon so I am guessing we will know the exact prognosis within the next day or so.

Yeah I figured, I just wonder how that transmission would bolt up to a Focus engine.

Man, you guys really struck gold with that shop. Sure beats swapping out the entire tranny, nothing was wasted, sweet.

Heh, as I mentioned, Vanagon engines suck, and everyone knows it. I suppose so many people owned camper vans with those depressing VW motors, that somewhere along the line, someone figured there was a market to sell these guys engine swap kits. The Focus engine doesn't bolt up to a VW trans, there's an adapter plate. It's like a 1 inch thick aluminum plate, with all the appropriate bolt holes for that particular engine/trans pair.

And the envelope, please...


The Prophecy was fulfilled.
Well, I guess that writes off any personal expenses for the next six months. https://i.somethingawful.com/forumsy...ot-suicide.gif

The transmission was dropped and an inspection was performed. The fluid was found to be burned indeed while particles were found in the filter and the pump had failed. A used transmission is not available (that I already knew) so the only viable solution is to have this transmission torn down and completely rebuilt, which at the least comes with an 80000km warranty. Now that figure is worst-case. If they find components in the transmission are still good that cost will go down but this is still a costly mistake.

No need to get sucked in by a second con artist. There ought to be a few transmissions that can go into that thing. As far as I know it uses the same underpinnings as an ordinary Jeep. I'm sure our resident mechanic can chime in with more info.

Personally I'd take the opportunity to get rid of the slushbox and turn it into a manual.

Didn't you say one of the wrecking yards near you had an Eagle?...What about the trans in the wrecking yard Eagle?

We inquired about that. It and its transfer case were pulled last week.
We also inquired about other salvage units. They are out there in the $800 range (new seals and installation extra, so about $1500) however I'm basing off the luck I had when I did the same with my Tracker. Sure it was a partial rebuild with a quarter the mileage but I barely reached Valemont 350km to the north and the needle bearing whine came right back. There is a chrysler equiv that some research seems to indicate however the AMC bellhousing mounts are not compatible. The option to go Manual still remains however the cost of getting a decent used transmission because of their desireability puts me close to the $3500 mark again after all the work is done.

I did the stupid anyways and gave the go-ahead to proceed on the rebuild. In the long run it will cost me money but if the Tracker sells I end up making even for the forseeable future and have to push paint and upholstry repairs until next summer as opposed to this winter and next spring. I already do 20000km in a car every year so the assurance that the transmission, which is the second most scary thing in this car besides the transfer case, will be covered under a warranty should it fail again under my initial ownership.
What gets me is that the previous owner was not a somebody in the boonies who dragged the car out of the woods, drove it for a few clicks and then decided to turf it before it went on him. Like, the guy had two other cars in excellent condition, a house, two kids and a wife. The purchase came with a mountain of replacement parts, service docs and we went on a lengthy test drive while allowing me to crawl in around and under the car. He didn't try to save his losses by holding to new parts nor prevent me from catching what might be an attempt to hide any problems. I'm starting to think that the car actually was fine for the decade he owned the car as a leisure wagon to the local hotsprings and simply the drive through the mountains was the point that pushed it from "I'm old and my seals are going but I can still do a long weekend drive to Radium" to "If you are going to push me like this I'm going to teach you a lesson about old seals"

Anyways after this I'm swearing off automatic transmissions again unless I'm forced. Stupid things.

Seller could have easily thought it was fine.

Any vehicle Ive ever bought with an AT the last 40 years is always a gamble but a stupid test I learned long ago is to do the following. Put it in drive with a foot on the brake pedal and step on the gas a little. The engine should bog down. If it doesnt the tranny is crap. Do the same in reverse. If it does bog down it could still be crap but its less likely. Obviously it needs to shift well too.

Thats an old mechanic and car buyers test from the 70's. Your results may vary.

You got screwed by that mechanic, dude. Never authorize a tear down of a transmission or something terribly major like that. Once they've taken it apart, they've got you by the balls and can charge you anything they like (like $3500 for a simple old fashioned transmission), because it's in their shop and it's in pieces. You gotta pay them to tear it down whether or not you OK'd the repair, and if you decide to take it somewhere else, it'll be in pieces and the next mechanic will charge you more because of it, plus the towing. A trans on that is maybe a $2000 job, perhaps up to $2500, but too late now.

Also, why would you swear off automatic transmissions? Do you have ANY idea how much money it costs to rebuild a manual transmission? LOL you funny guy! Last manual transmission I rebuilt was maybe $4-5k, and MY prices are actually reasonable.

You really should have consulted somebody before letting your mechanic tear it down. However, all things considered, you're not doing too terribly. So you paid a little too much for the car, had some bad luck, and paid a little too much for a repair. Really, you're not too far behind. My advice, keep that car in good shape, because you're in it for the long haul now. And next problem you have with it, shop around.

If you've been burnt on a lot of bad automatic trans look for something that uses a Ford C6 auto. They are grenade proof and generally really solid. When I got my Lincoln at 57K on the clock the trans fluid was a pinch dark and there was an occasional speck of metal on some level checks...It leaks enough that instead of changing the fluid once a year I end up putting about that much in it some years. Now at 70K of hauling that suburban weight sedan with lots of hard accelerating and hills, it still does everything it should despite people telling me near the start that I should have it rebuilt...I probably will someday, but I can't help but like how long it is lasting. :D

Aren't prices a lot higher in Canada? Maybe it isn't as high as we think. :scratch2:

Good point, Dave!

Today a Canadian dollar is worth only 77 cents here in the U.S.

So MIPS' $3500CDN is only $2,700 in US dollars.

.

Yep, the C6 is almost industructible. In a car you should get 300K miles out of it with a oil change or 2. Ive ran them in trucks for many years and to show you my love of that tranny, I put one in my 1992 truck instead of its crappy 5 speed manual. That year did not come with them so I did some searching for parts to do it but worth it all. the only one I ever wore out was in a low geared 1/2 ton with over 300K. Cars have a lot less wind resistance so will last longer. The only downfall of the C6 is a little less mileage as they eat horsepower.

I didn't tow it to their shop instead of my house just for them to admire it, did I? It's almost like I wanted them to repair it because there are no other practical options. I'll do body, electrical, brakes and the engine but I don't dare disturb the dragons and unspoken black magic that lives inside the transmission of every car. I'll leave that to a professional.

Correct. Your USD price may seem lower but after conversion it's a different number.
I know someone who recently paid $3500USD for a Mercedes. That sounds like a great deal until you convert to $CDN, then it's $4545.05 before taxes.

Heh. And that right there is why I make a living.

Also, I didn't realize the disparity between our currencies, last time I looked, they weren't that far off. :/

An engine at least uses cheap specialty tools half the time, the other half you can make do with something as simple as a long breaker bar instead of a chain wrench. Transmissions are something where cleanliness and absolute tolerances are a bit more critical. I simply do not have the space or finances to afford most of the tools a transmission requires to service them, plus you try not to regularly drop and open your transmission for service when your life isn't drag racing. ;)

I know of some manual trans nuts who have gotten too good at replacing clutches.

Well the good news came in and with the transmission torn down the initial diagnoses is not as bad as it sounds. It wasn't a catastrophic failure. It's just old. :smoke:
The particles and burned fluid were just from several bands and clutches finally giving out and not due to prolonged damage on other components. The pump itself is just worn and is being replaced entirely. More major components like the torque converter and planetary are fine. The parts are already in the city so I again authorized for the full rebuild to proceed and hopefully it will be ready before Friday.

Good luck!

No doubt they're even better at tearing them up.
That's awesome, good on ya. You really dodged a bullet there.

It lives.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1...t/CGS_8141.jpg

Went out last night to put some fresh gas through the fuel system along with some line antifreeze before it is winterized and today the front seats were pulled out to clean everything and inspect why the power seats are so sluggish. The front seats are bolted from UNDERNEATH THE CAR which seems stupid but strange to AMC's record so far the bolts were not rusted tight. I found $4 in loose coins. Was not however able to figure out how to remove the back seat (I assume it too unbolts from under the car) so that stays in for now but both the front and back need to be shampoo'd. It's like there is soot or something embedded in the fabric. I'm just gonna pay someone else to deal with that and I can work on the grime that's caked into the texture of the trim plastics,

I tested both power seat assemblies and it seems there must be a lot of gummed up grease. I gave it a quick clean and oil but it's persistant so I'll probably have to regrease the gearhouses on both seats.
Also I have a lot of oil getting into the intake. The current filter is soaked and ruined. I verified the choke and heated air actuators and gates were working fine and verified the PCV was not stuck closed. Found nothing so I cleaned everything and reassembled it. Didn't find new oil in a test drive so not sure what happened there....