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#507301 - 05/04/08 11:34 AM
1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue
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1931Pontiac
Member
Registered: 01/24/06
Posts: 10
Loc: Virginia
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Could someone please tell me where I can get new wiper arms (from the wiper transmission to the blades) for this car? I was trying to avoid the dealer if possible.
Also anyone sharp on the 318 feedback/computer engine. Even though it runs terrific, it has an idle problem and the gas mileage is not very good.
Thanks
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#507400 - 05/04/08 09:34 PM
Re: 1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue
[Re: 1931Pontiac]
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Rusty_OToole
Member
Registered: 09/12/06
Posts: 1044
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Wiper arms would be a junkyard or dealer part. This is not the sort of thing the aftermarket supplies.
The typical problem with wiper arms is worn plastic bushings at the ends. These can be bought from the dealer for around $2 buck apiece. For under $10 bucks your wipers work like new.
Do you mean the Electronic Lean Burn? This was an ingenious system to meet tighter emissions laws while improving gas mileage and not hurting performance,a trick that not many car makers managed.
Chrysler engineers found they could burn a very lean mixture of 18:1 provided they advanced the timing to 52 degrees.
To accomplish this they used a carb with an adjustable jet. It could be opened or closed by a solenoid arrangement.
The distributor had 2 pickups, one for normal and one for advanced spark.
The whole business was controlled by a primitive computer. It left the mixture rich for warmup and traffic driving then leaned it out for hiway driving. Advancing and retarding the spark as necessary.
Most of them have been junked because few mechanics bothered to understand them.
The usual fix was to replace the carb, ignition module and distributor with standard items.
You need to have the car checked out by a good mechanic. The idle problem could be a worn carb, worn engine, or a simple adjustment.
The gas mileage problem indicates the lean burn system is not working and has gone to the default setting which is standard jetting.
Either that or you need a tuneup. Or again it could be an engine wear problem.
Those engines are extremely reliable and long lived. However it is now 20 years old which is 140 in dog years. So who knows. It could be something simple like a perished rubber vacuum line.
The only way to know for sure is to have a good mechanic check it out and tune it up.
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#507643 - 05/05/08 08:39 PM
Re: 1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue
[Re: Rusty_OToole]
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1931Pontiac
Member
Registered: 01/24/06
Posts: 10
Loc: Virginia
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Thanks for the quick response.
The car has 57000 miles on it. It belonged to my parents and was pretty well taken car of. I've checked it over, compression, wires, plugs and so forth. I am inclined to put on a carb and distributor from another model and do away with the lean burn. Are you aware of a carb, distributor, module combination that has compatable linkage and would not be something just thrown together? As I say, the car is in great shape. It drives and runs good except as I have stated previously.
As you stated, no mechanic around here knows much about this engine combination.
Thanks again.
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#507769 - 05/06/08 11:05 AM
Re: 1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue
[Re: 1931Pontiac]
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Rusty_OToole
Member
Registered: 09/12/06
Posts: 1044
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Personally I would study up on the lean burn and try to fix it.
However if you insist. Go to the Chrysler dealer or parts store and buy a new distributor, ignition module and carburetor. Tell them you are changing a 1987 318 to a standard non lean burn arrangement.
The Chrysler dealer part man should have sold this combo about 100 times before.
If that is too expensive you can hit the junkyards. There is a good chance, if you find a car like yours, or a Cordoba etc. it had the same conversion done not too many miles ago.
Last year I junked a 1984 Diplomat that had the conversion done. The carb, distributor etc. looked like new. When I bought the car it had been traded in at the dealer due to front end and steering problems not long after the same dealer changed it over.
I'll bet the same story has been repeated many times.
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#508032 - 05/07/08 02:09 PM
Re: 1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue
[Re: 1931Pontiac]
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Reatta Man
Member
Registered: 09/25/00
Posts: 1515
Loc: San Antonio, TX USA
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A car that old is very, very likely to have a cracked vacuum line and/or a stuck EGR valve.
Checking for cracked vacuum lines is easy. Get a can of WD-40 (or the cheap Wal-Mart equivalent) and, with the engine idling and a tach attached, spray around the carb, vacuum lines, intake manifold where it meets the block and other places where there could be a vacuum leak. If the RPMs go up momentarily, you just found your leak point.
As for the EGR valve, remove it, put a vacuum pump on it to see if it is holding a vacuum, and if it is, clean it. Check the port going into the engine to see if it is clogged with carbon. Clean if necessary. Replace the gasket, if there is one, and reattach the EGR valve.
If that doesn't cure your rough idle, spray some Berryman's B12 carb cleaner down the carb while keeping the engine running. It will try to stall, so keep the throttle open enough to keep it running. Then after a minute or two of spraying moderately, spray heavy into the carb and allow the engine to stall. Turn off the ignition, let the engine sit for a few minutes, and then restart it. You will have to hold the throttle wide open as if it were flooded.
Once it restarts, let it run and see if the idle settles down.
Good luck!
Joe
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