My Celebrity liked to die for no apparent reason other than it was tired. It would die if I ever took it over 110km/h and then touched the brakes. it would start, but as soon as you tried to put it into gear t would stall again. I took it to five different mechanics and they all said that they could not find the source of the problem, but that it seemed to be an epidemic with Celebrities. I would end up getting it towed only to have it run perfectly a few hours later.
It leaked carbon monoxide into the cab. Had to relace everything running from manifold to muffler.
Leaked transmission fluid like a maniac.
Shook when pushed to over 100.
O2 detector went fast.
Even after all the stress this car put me through, the dying in rush hour and everything, I still have a soft spot for it. It had a lot of personality.
This car has guts and it tries really hard, but it just is not reliable. everytime I drove it I was scared I wouldn't make it home.
Very comfortable.
It sounds like the torque converter solenoid is not disengaging when you hit the brake. I have a 87
2.8L 3 speed automatic that does the exact same thing. From what I have read this is a fairly common problem. On my 87 it is a connector with a purple and a tan/black wires that connect to the front right side of the engine. Get a hold of a Chiltons or similar and look up your particular engine and year for this connection or pass it along to your mechanic.
If you are going to get a manual then I would strongly suggest a genuine manual from GM since they put every little thing in the manual. I bought a chilton then a clymer manual and believe me, they're crap!! Haynes do make somewhat better manuals though.
Oh and I own an 85 Citation and yes I have seen all of those manuals.
I have an 82 citation. Aren't Chevies great? I can't wait until I have some money, I want to get a 60s chevelle or something in perfect condition, that would be sweet.
No one talks about 80s fords the same way, they sucked (badly) a friend of mine has an 86 chev Nova in new condition. Paid 1500CAN for it. It is awesome. I think the only chevy that sucked majorly is the vega. Now that was one of GM's poorest built cars...
I bought an 88 Celebrity Eurosport 4 dr. sedan when it was
a two year old new car trade-in with 33000 miles. It had the
2.5 4 cylinder engine and automatic, power locks and windows and AC, white with red interior. I kept it for 8 years and would have kept it longer. I traded it for a newer model not 1/3 as good. fastforward 4 years. I saw the celebrity in
the WalMart Parking lot some 50 miles away. Pulling the plug
on top of the tranny will stop the lock-up convertor dying
problems. A bad lock-up convertor/switch will cause a feeling that the car is going up and down when stopping.
I have a 88 celebrity that did the same thing. It went a whole summer dying every time I was in town. It would run perfect until it got hot and when I shut it off it would not idle on its own until it cooled down. Sometimes I could turn off the ignition and would work. The winter went without problems and this summer was the same. My mechanic could never figure what was doing it, but seemed to fix it self.
Your problem is the lock up solenoid for the torque converter. This is a common problem with the TH125 tranny (3 speed auto) but it is cheap to have fixed about $350 these trannys will last for ever as long as you change the fluid and filter every year.
Unplug that solenoid and call some transmission shops. Replacing the THM125C's TCC solenoid on cars I have owned and friends have owned has cost anywhere from $150 to $600. CALL AROUND. Some shops are more experienced with the TCC solenoid and are willing to cut you a deal if you bring it in when they have time to do it.
The lockup solenoid on these cars only costs about $25!! Save yourself some money and learn how to fix it yourself, there are tons of places on the web that tell you how to do it and have pictures. I did it and it only took me about 2 hours total work time, with fluid, filter, gasket and the part total spent was about $60. That's a lot better than $150 to $600. The only other major problem I have had in 210K miles is the timing gear replacement, which entails removing the engine, so that was about $700. Not too bad for 6 years of reliable service from this vehicle.
I purchased a 1985 Celebrity Eurosport for my step-son about a year ago. It only had about 87K miles on it, so I figured it was worth the $1500 I gave for it. He drove it for a few months before it started giving him problems. It wouldn't start and it sat in front of his girlfriend's house for several months. When he left for basic training (Army) a couple of weeks ago I had it towed to our house and then had it towed to a repair shop. The mechanic said it needed a new cooling sensor and that it needed an injection cleaning. $430 later I drove it home, assured it was fixed. The next morning I got in it to drive it to work and it would not start. I had it towed back to the repair shop and $550 later (ignition module, fuel pump, etc...) I drove it home again. At this point I figured I might as well fix everything I could see that was wrong, so I took it back and had them replace the blower motor, which had been making a terrible noise when I would turn on the heater or air vent, the washer pump, that sprays the windshield washer fluid onto the windshield, and 2 of the motor mounts because the car would lunge forward when it was put in gear. These repairs totaled to another $400 or so. I have also priced some shocks and struts at Sears for about $436, but I haven't had them done yet. The only other things I can think of to have done are a tune-up, transmission service (although the mechanic said it is a strong transmission), and a new paint job. After sinking all of this money into this car I am strongly considering keeping it for myself and driving it as my winter car. My Mustang is not suited for the winter, because it is rear wheel drive. If anyone can think of anything I've missed on the Celebrity, please let me know. I really like the feel of driving the car and it is kind of nostalgic to me since I was a Sophomore in High School when it would have been new in '85. I looked on the Internet and found a brochure of what the car would have looked like brand new and I have this silly notion of trying to make mine look new and run like new. I know I'll never get my money out of it if I sold it, so I will drive as long as I can or give it to my step-son. I just hope he doesn't trash it after I've dumped all of that coin into it.
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