'86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Synchros shot? Weird noises while shifting? Not sure what needs to be replaced?
Chris H.

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by Chris H. »

I ruled out the fuel system (for the most part) as to why it is a little sluggish, with no hope of getting tire chirps (much less patches of rubber). And as twine-mover had stated, there is a delay - goes away at WOT after hitting about 15-20 mph (I just drove it again today). The car needs a little tuning up though, and a new set of plugs probably wouldn't hurt, neither would a bit of fuel injector cleaner.

My Dad looked at the cooling system (as much as he could see anyway), and we didn't find leaks anywhere, but the car needs a new thermostat. It's stuck open. The heater in the cabin barely blows hot air. I will do what twine-mover said about creating makeshift speed bumps.

Exhaust system on these cars (for '86 anyway) is steel ('87 and up used stainless steel). We aren't for sure positive that there aren't any leaks in the system, BUT, nothing looks damaged.

Windshield wiper system needs something to clean out the pump, the sprayer tubes and the nozzles themselves. Not hard to find a new pump, not sure about nozzles or tubes. The pump might need to be replaced, but it is hard to tell since there is so much…gunk…inside it.

Haven't yet investigated the problem with the windows…the driver's side gets stuck fully lowered and requires a little pulling before it goes back up. The passenger side goes down without problems, but is awfully slow going back up (slower than the driver side). The driver's side lock switch is slow (the passenger side is quick, like it should be). The power mirrors don't work, they either need a new switch or a new motor. They can be adjusted by hand though.

As for the seats, I don't know if both the driver and passenger or just the driver seat is powered. But it works. No problems there.

Got the battery replaced. Car has no issues electrically other than the power mirror system. (So far anyway)

Gauge cluster…I swear it is not the original…and for the most part, the volt gauge is dead. The temp gauge works…sort of..and the oil gauge works fine. There is no tach, and the speedometer and gas gauge seem to work fine (if I make a right turn, the gas goes down towards E, if I make a left turn the opposite happens.)



And while it may seem a pain in the ass, I have yet to see a car (regardless of whether or not it is American, Japanese or European) around here that is in as good of shape or running condition as this Chrysler K-car.


And for the tranny, does anybody have any idea what car would be a good manual tranny donor? I thought maybe a Dodge Neon, but it had a different engine.

I'm still investigating the history of the K-car, among other things in relation to the platform.
User avatar
six
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 4674
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:45 pm
Cars: 2015 Chevrolet SS 6MT
Location: California, U.S.

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by six »

LeBarons came with manuals back then. The best donor would be a manual LeBaron (or the rebadges, Dodge Aries or Plymouth Reliant) with a Getrag A525 with all the necessary supporting hardware.
Image
2015 Heron White Chevrolet SS Sedan 6MT
User avatar
theholycow
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 16021
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 1:36 pm
Cars: '80 Buick LeSabre 4.1 5MT
Location: Glocester, RI
Contact:

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by theholycow »

Seriously, that car sounds like a liability, not an asset.

If you think the exhaust system is not leaking then that exhaust smell must be coming from somewhere more expensive.

Windshield washer shouldn't be a problem. The tubes should be standard cheap windshield washer/vacuum hose, they are on GMs. Make sure you can find the right pump cheaply or consider a new system. I couldn't find the pump for my car within my budget; I was afraid of junkyard ones not working for long, but new ones and rebuild kits are expensive. I ended up getting the tank and pump from the S10 which is a better system anyway. Then a few weeks ago I saw a tank and pump on the side of the road that are also a good fit, so now I have a spare (though I haven't tested the pump and I won't need a spare tank and anyway this style pump should be cheap to replace).

Power windows are easy enough to fix. Power mirrors can be ignored.

The cluster thing is worrying, but not the part about the gas gauge moving when you take turns. That's standard gas gauge sender behavior in older cars and in cars with messed up senders. It doesn't matter.

If you think you can have a lasting love for this car and not just a temporary infatuation then it could possibly work...but it sounds like a terrible idea to everybody here.
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig
watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
94Corolla5Speed
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 6927
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:51 pm
Cars: 1994 Corolla, 1990 Miata
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by 94Corolla5Speed »

I agree with the tall man, the quirky man, and the uddered one. Run, just RUN away from it.
watkins
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 15880
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:42 am
Cars: '08 Saab 9-5 Aero wagon
Location: Salem, MA

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by watkins »

94Corolla5Speed wrote: the quirky man
Which one?
94Corolla5Speed
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 6927
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:51 pm
Cars: 1994 Corolla, 1990 Miata
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by 94Corolla5Speed »

watkins wrote:
94Corolla5Speed wrote: the quirky man
Which one?
The quirky man with the quirky car. With a quirky amount of torque steer.
Chris H.

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by Chris H. »

theholycow wrote:Seriously, that car sounds like a liability, not an asset.

If you think the exhaust system is not leaking then that exhaust smell must be coming from somewhere more expensive.
Turbo? Manifold? Catalytic Converter? Muffler? Of those things, the CC and the turbo are most expensive. If it comes down to that, IDK what I'll do at that point…depends on whether or not I buy the car.
theholycow wrote:
Windshield washer shouldn't be a problem. The tubes should be standard cheap windshield washer/vacuum hose, they are on GMs. Make sure you can find the right pump cheaply or consider a new system. I couldn't find the pump for my car within my budget; I was afraid of junkyard ones not working for long, but new ones and rebuild kits are expensive. I ended up getting the tank and pump from the S10 which is a better system anyway. Then a few weeks ago I saw a tank and pump on the side of the road that are also a good fit, so now I have a spare (though I haven't tested the pump and I won't need a spare tank and anyway this style pump should be cheap to replace).

Power windows are easy enough to fix. Power mirrors can be ignored.

The cluster thing is worrying, but not the part about the gas gauge moving when you take turns. That's standard gas gauge sender behavior in older cars and in cars with messed up senders. It doesn't matter.

If you think you can have a lasting love for this car and not just a temporary infatuation then it could possibly work...but it sounds like a terrible idea to everybody here.
The other parts of the car I'm not entirely worried about (well, sort of - at least concerning that one gauge (not the gas) and the windshield cleaning system)…


Would seafoaming the car show where the possible leaks are?
watkins
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 15880
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:42 am
Cars: '08 Saab 9-5 Aero wagon
Location: Salem, MA

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by watkins »

94Corolla5Speed wrote:
watkins wrote:
94Corolla5Speed wrote: the quirky man
Which one?
The quirky man with the quirky car. With a quirky amount of torque steer.
Itsa me! Saabario!
Rope-Pusher
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 11607
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:44 pm
Cars: '08 Jeep Liberty
Location: Greater Detroit Area

Re: '86 LeBaron "Liz"…Questions

Post by Rope-Pusher »

watkins wrote:
theholycow wrote:
watkins wrote:European cars.
Image Out of the frying pan and into the fire?
Saab, and to a lesser part Volvo, perfected the use of turbos in automotive applications before Americans had ever heard of them
GM seems to have beaten everyone to the punch by using turbos on several models back in the early 1960's.
I also wooden say You're-a-peein's perfected them. Turbo technology is still work in progress. Them You're-a-peein's weren't the first to use water-cooled center housings and a lot of other changes/improvements that have come along thru the years.
'08 Jeep Liberty 6-Speed MT - "Last of the Mohicans"
Post Reply