Reaper1

OK, so, I am writing this so others may find it, learn from it, and maybe laugh at my pain. The mast for my antenna broke a while back. Because the radio didn't really seem to work, I didn't care, but I wanted to get it working finally and decided to try and fix it. In the back of my head I kinda remembered something about how the aftermarket units won't work in our cars, but they *look* almost exactly the same. I figured, eh, I can get it to work. Yeah...right. First issue is that the aftermarket unit is powered COMPLETELY different than ours. The aftermarket one is designed to work with a newer style head unit that just send out a power signal. Well, our system uses a switching relay to make the motor go different directions instead of a little brain board like the aftermarket antenna. I didn't try this, but it *might* be possible to interchange the motor and electronics, BUT there's other issues that will cause that to not work as well. My first move was to try and use the aftermarket mast in the original unit. TECHNICALLY this works, BUT, the OEM mast tube will NOT work with the aftermarket mast. OK...next move was to swap the mast tube. Well, TECHNICALLY this also works, BUT the tube is shorter (I didn't realize that until I went to fully install the thing). Also, the OEM retainer nut doesn't work on the aftermarket tube. I gave up after that. I'd had the blasted thing apart so many times and it was obvious I wasn't going to get the result I wanted. So, the lesson here is: if your antenna mast breaks, get an OEM type replacement and DO NOT waste money on an aftermarket unit as it will NOT work. I hope my $60 of learning experience helps others.

OK, time for another update. I replaced the odometer gears in the cluster, and got the rest of the interior cleaned and conditioned. ALMOST ready to put it back together! I still need to fix the left door power lock as I think the linkage retainer is busted. I am going to polish the cluster lens tonight. Neither of the dash speakers are working, so I am going to get some speakers coming for it as the rest seem pretty bad, too. I TRIED to fix the antenna, but failed horribly. I am going to have another thread about that for everyone to laugh and learn from. I just need to bite the bullet and order the correct mast. Anyways, it's coming along!

Yes, parts from a LeBaron of the same year of your TC should work (except '91...I don't think '91 TC's got the cast control arms). So, here's the thing, EARLY '89's *can* have the older '88-down style control arms with the rear bushing being the stub-strut type. The later '89's, 90's, and most likely '91's all would have the stamped dual pivot style. These use the same ball joints as the earlier style, but the bushings are unique to that year. Bushings for the cast control arms will NOT work in the stamped dual pivot style. The bushings can be had from polybushings.com. I *thought* I saw that MOOG had started making them as well. *WARNING*, Make SURE the metal sleeve is SHORTER than the width between the bushings by just a little! As for which brand of ball joints: MOOG or OEM. NOTHING else! Again, cast control arms use a different ball joint if I remember correctly (I know they use a different sized pinch bolt). Some OEM ball joints have a small tack weld on them that must be ground off before you can press them out.

Again, my bet is that 282 parts might work. Can't know for sure until one is apart. And even if I have to saw the case apart, I WILL get inside! Have Sawzall, will travel! LOL

So, ANY of the 8-bolt 4-cylinder flywheels will bolt onto the Maserati crank. You have to match the flywheel and clutch to the application. The 284 transmission is VERY similar to the 282, and the Oldsmobile FSM listed the special tools for the 284 (never made and never available from what I have read), BUT, the process is basically the same. I only know 1 person who has actually tried to take one apart, but I am going to be #2, because I am POSITIVE it can be done. The trick comes down to the shift mechanism. The 284 in my red TC (Doyle) has a bad 3-4 synchro mechanism because it just refuses to match gear speed, even double clutching (granny shifting like you should). Because the unit is already not worthy of reselling, can't screw it up any more than it already is! LOL

Got mine on eBay.

What are you needing to replace? The arm itself doesn't go bad unless you hit something. Both the bushings and the ball joints are available separately.

I haven't seen blade refills in a LONG time. Normally nowadays you have to replace the entire blade. I can tell you that the Bosch ICON series will NOT work. You have to get the ones that work with the pin retainers.

Interesting. Before I figured this out, that was the only way I could ever get to the actual odometer. My past endeavors were in order to refinish the needle itself on the typical Chrysler cluster as the orange fades over time. I've also switched colors on them, too. With GPS being on every smart phone, now it's not bad to reset it, but in the past it was kind of a pain.

There may already be a thread on this, but because I just got done doing this job I figured I'd add a little input. I've taken many of these speedometer units apart over the years, so I already knew what I was doing. However, I came upon a new revelation that might just help some of you! Every time I've taken one of these apart, I have taken the needle off. Well, as you can guess, that messes up the calibration and it takes some fiddling to get it right again. This time I couldn't manage to get the needle off and because I wasn't planning on refinishing the needle (it wasn't faded) I really didn't want to push my luck. What I found was that once you take the head loose from the face plate, there is just enough play to let you get it out of its aligning tab and rotate it so you can get the motor board screws loose. Typically they are blocked by a piece of plastic and if you don't want to mess with that, the only other way is to take the head completely off of the face by removing the needle. Once the motor board is loose, you can fiddle it out and there is enough space to pull the core and the old gear out. Make sure you clean all of the old bits of the old broken gear out. Once that is done, you can put it all back together...and you never mucked with the needle!

Just as a note, in the aerospace industry we test certain components to 16G (16x whatever the maximum rated load is). I would imagine seatbelts are WAY up there... We source those from vendors, so I don't know what they test them to.

I know this is something that can be done, but has anyone with a TC had it done, and if so, by which company? The belts get faded and I'm sure that they are also deteriorated due to UV and all, so the harness is not as strong/elastic (yes, they do stretch in the case of the worst) as it should be. Just wondering.

I am interested in the 1990 book. Is it still available?

Yes sir! I already planned to do that. You are very correct. It makes a HUGE difference in their operation. I already did it to my other one. I also take the opportunity to clean any rust and put a bit of paint on them as well. You can only really see the inside ones next to the center console, but it still makes a nice difference. It's those little details...

Oh, I forgot! I also got a pinstripe remover wheel to get the remainder of the side trim adhesive tape off of the car and the trim. Worked like a champ on both! Gotta clean it all up and reinstall it next. My poor little M12 Milwaukee drill took almost 3 batteries to get it done! I didn't feel like busting out the 1/2" DeWalt wrist breaker.

Did more cleaning today! Took me several HOURS to do 1 seat, even with it out of the car! It is done now, and is soaking up the Leatherique as I type. Going to to the other one tomorrow.

Welp, I took the wiper linkage out and found somebody had been in there before. They tried to fix it, but it wasn't great. It was, in fact, the center bushing that was messed up. I got it all done and now it works nice again. I finished the last little bit of leather on the driver's door. Now waiting on my Leatherique order to do the seats and dash. The dash is in good shape as it's had a cover on it. I'm also looking into re-dying the rear cargo area carpet as it is SUPER faded. I've been suggested RID, and I've seen some other dye products. If anyone has experience/suggestions, I'm ears.

So, mine was so dirty that even using Leatherique per the instructions didn't really do anything. I had to resort to the Purple Power and steam with a hard bristle brush attachment. At first I was afraid it was going to mess something up, but the more I used it, the more confident I got and the results came in shorter time. No other "over the counter" type of cleaner/conditioner even comes close to what this combo does. I will say that Purple Power is some STRONG stuff, and if it gets on anything that has dye or paint that is "iffy", it WILL take it off! To avoid this, you can dilute it and it will still work, but you still need to be careful. Of course right after everything is dry, I slather the Leatherique Rejuvinator on it. I will say this, I have tried quite a few leather conditioners and such and NONE work as well as this stuff! I used it on my Viper seats (I only own the seats, not the entire car! LOL) and even though they were in good condition and fairly well taken care of, this stuff made them soft and pliable unlike anything else I'd used. Beyond the magic it had already worked on the TC, that REALLY made me a believer. I just ordered the gallon kit today! Also, that steam cleaner is AMAZING! Mine is just the cheapy one from Harbor Freight, but it works well enough. I know more expensive ones might work a little better, but they are easily 3x the cost! As for the work on the TC I did today, I got the driver's door done and I started working on replacing the wiper bushings because I know one of them is toast for the passenger's side. Even though I used the correct removal tool, the poor X-mas tree fasteners were not long for this world and disintegrated on me. Guess I'll be replacing those.

It is HARD work! It also can't be done in 1 day. I take the seats out to make it easier to do the job, which is something I suggest to anyone going to these lengths. I have no idea how much a professional would charge for this, but it would certainly be well over $400, just based on current shop prices and all. I actually just ordered the GALLON set of Leatherique Rejuvinator and Pristene Clean because I was almost out! Being as there is SO much leather in a TC, and I have 2 of the things, I can bet I will run right through the stuff! LOL 1 thing I found out by accident: the curtesy light bezels on the doors aren't coated on the inside, but on the outside. The Purple Power took the "chrome" right off! Oops. No biggie, I have a plan!

Did some deep cleaning of the leather today. It took Purple Power and steam with a LOT of scrubbing, but I got it to come around. I got the rear and the passenger door done. Letting the Leatherique do its job overnight. I will do the driver door, center console, and center stack tomorrow.

Time for another update! As some may know, I recently relocated to the St. Louis area from the Seattle area. Doyle got driven the entire way, but he threw a fit in the middle of the trip by eating the timing belt tensioner. Luckily I had a spare on a different engine and we were able to replace it within about 45 minutes and keep going. I actually have been driving him around here and there, but I decided this weekend it was time to address some more of the smaller issues he's had. First up was removing the passenger's side door trim. The adhesive tape had started to fail and it caused the trim to grab the fender, which was no good. Since it started doing that I hadn't opened that door. I used fishing line and two plastic picks like a "saw" of sorts to cut through the old tape. It worked very well. If anyone else does this, be careful as the trim itself is only foam and the line can cut into it. I straightened out the little section that had gotten tweaked and now I just have to clean all of the old tape off and reinstall it. Next I addressed the passenger's side door latch. It had given me trouble in the past, and I thought I'd fixed it, but apparently not. It kept getting stuck not allowing me to open the door. So, I removed the latch from the door after I got the door open and cleaned it all up, lubed it and I *think* I got it working this time. Then I took the seats and carpet out. I was happy to find no accumulation of water under the carpet, only a little bit of moisture, but the insulation and such was GARBAGE! Totally soaked and not worth putting back in the car. I will be replacing that stuff with newer dual density insulation. Next I replaced both inner tie rods as the poor car would shake terribly at speed if the wheel was on-center and no load was on the tires. I found each of those things had a good 1/16-1/8" of play! Surprisingly the tires aren't feathered at all. If none of you have ever used an inner tie rod tool to do that job...WOW! It makes it SUPER easy! The hardest thing to do was putting the boots back on because I didn't have the right clamps, so I modified some hose clamps and that worked well. Lastly I pressure washed and vacuumed the carpet and the floor mats. I'll be doing more work tomorrow, too, but that's all for the last 2 days.

If you go that route, I am VERY interested in the quality. Been eyeballing them for a while.

Hemi is right, BUT, to directly answer your question: yes, 2 jack stands and a jack will be enough. There is obviously a chance of injury and/or fire. However, it IS a job that you can do in your driveway. You DO have to lower the tank, but you do NOT have to remove it from the car. A few tips: 1. get as much fuel out of the tank as possible 2. use a jack with a piece of wood to support the tank 3. use penetrating oil on the tank strap bolts 4. ****REPLACE the fuel hoses while you are there!!!!**** (5/16" and 1/4" are the sizes...use FUEL INJECTION HOSE ONLY) 5. be careful of the roll-over valve on top of the tank as it is easy to snap the nipple off 6. take the filler tube loose from the car (clean the tube near the tank) and push it into the tank just enough so the filler misses the inner fender 7. use *BRASS* or *WOOD* against the lock ring when you go to knock it loose 8. it takes some fenagling to get the pump out, so don't go yanking on it Beyond that, basic hand tools can get the job done. I know you said you were on a budget, but I HIGHLY suggest getting a pump from a known good vendor (I personally suggest www.turbosunleashed.com) as they make sure the pumps and supplied kit aren't Chinesium junk. It's more than you would probably pay on eBay or the like, but it does 2 things: you get a known good part, and it supports a vendor that supports the community. I'd also highly recommend to replace the fuel lines and filter near the right rear tire, and the hoses in the engine bay (ESPECIALLY those!!). Obviously follow regular safety stuff, like unhooking the battery, etc. Good luck! You can do it!

That doesn't make sense. There's nothing different about the DOHC distributor.

Was the HEP a MOPAR unit or aftermarket? The aftermarket ones are known to be kinda sketchy.