QuestionThanks for the quick response. I will try the WD-40. As for the shop manual pages, I probably don't need them. The funny thing is, every time the cam breaks, there is no bearing damage, etc. I just put the new cam in and it starts right up, running until it breaks again down the road. Oh, well. Thanks for all of your help!
Chris
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Thanks Roland. I will be looking for it in the mail. The vehicle for the most part is very easy to work on, but I can't believe the difficulty that I am having with the back seat removal. Does your shop manual have any tips? The 1988 Coupe that I own has the back seat bottom bolted in by 2 bolts. The convertible has two rods going under the seat into the floor through white plastic pieces. I have checked the yahoo LeBaron club and they recommend to just pry up on the seat. I have put a lot of force behind it to no avail. Any further suggestions?
Also, since you are a LeBaron geru, I thought I'd throw this one by you. My 1988 coupe has a 2.5L NA engine. I have broken the overhead cam 5 times over the last 2 years. The longest time between cam breaks has been one 14 month span. Fortunately the replacement cam that I bought has a lifetime warrenty and I have the replacement down to a science (2 hours). The cam breaks either between the exhaust and intake lobs on the number 2 or 3 cylinder. Have you ever heard of this phenonmenon? The engine is a reman with 56,000 miles on it. I installed it myself and the vehicle has been in my family since 1988. Total milage is 203,000. Any feedback is appreciated as always.
Chris
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Roland,
Thanks for the quick and very informative response. If you could mail me the pages from the manual that you spoke of in your response (especially how to remove the rear trim panels to gain rear quarter window motor access) it would be greatly appreciated. My address is as follow:
Chris Laroo
49058 Fifth Avenue Ct.
Canton, MI 48188
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Question -
Roland,
I am a big fan of the Chrysler LeBaron coupe and own 2. I do all of the work on the vehicles myself. I recently rescued a 1988 2.2 L convertible from Indiana (it made the 340 mile trip back to Michigan, so it is in pretty good shape). There is a local junk yard that has 5 late 80's convertibles, so I have been able to locate most of the parts that I need to restore the vehicle. There are three repair jobs have recently stumped me.
One is the right rear power window does not work at all and the left rear window will go down half way and needs help going up (also it will only go about 4/5 of the way up). Can you tell me how (or send me a diagram) on how to disassemble the rear interior trim panels on the convertible so that I can gain access to the power window motors to assess the situation? I have a Chilton's manaul on Chryslers, but it does not address this.
Also, could you tell me how to remove the bottom half of the rear seat. I need to replace the seat belt latches. I was able to get new latches that match the brown interior at the junk yard, but the rear seat bottom was removed already, so I have no idea how to remove the seat. The Chilton's states that the mounting bolts need to be removed and I can see the bolts in between the bottom of the seat and the floor carpeting, but I cannot locate the bolt heads.
Third, the gas guage is erratic and does not work properly. Is the fuel guage sending unit separate from the fuel pump, or do I need to replace the whole fuel pump assembly. The Chiltons was again vague on this.
Forth, could you recommend a LeBaron Coupe repair manual that is better than the Chilton's.
Thanks,
Chris
Answer -
Hi Chris,
I share your enthusiasm for the LeBaron Coupe, we have an '89. I hope you like the convertible, but as you are learning the power windows and leaks and top motor, etc. take attention. On the rear windows, I would be pleased to xerox and snail mail you a copy of that section from the Chrysler shop manual, which in answer to your last question is what I believe is the best info source. Unfortunately, the early ones for the J-body, like your '88, aren't in stock new, but if you follow eBay, just bookmark a search for Chrysler Manual, and you will see about 50 such items a day go by, and wait until your find the three manual set for front wheel drive cars (FWD) for the model year 1988 (or even '89 would be close enough). These when new sold for $45-60 a set, but you can get them used on eBay for under $15 including shipping. The three manuals are:wiring diagrams, fuel/electrical/emissions, and engine/chassis/body. So send me a postal mailing address and I'll mail it to you, no charge.
On the seat bottom, I believe that it is held in place not with a bolt but rather a very strong spring clip. If you take a pry bar and lever between the floor and lower edge of the bottom at about the midpoint on either side of the mid-line these should release. At least that is the impression I got from reading postings at a Yahoo group which I co-moderate called "The Chrysler LeBaron Club". that by the way is a good bulletin board place with about 900 members, the majority of which own the covertible body.
There is a perennial discussion of the rear quarter windows (as they are formally known) so if you joined that you could any question answered about a souce for new motor, or mechanical linkage, and used possibilities and rebuilding possibilities. You could do a search for the topic at the site for the Club. But let me send you the pages on that window so you have a good jump on the issue when you bring your query to the Club members.
On the fuel gauge, it could be the sending unit (a separate unit, top of fuel tank toward the rear of the car) which is a variable resistor, or the wiring, of the panel gauge unit itself.
In the instrument cluster:There is a 12V supply (B+) post of the panel gauge, and a ground pin at the gauge, and the return signal voltage from the sending unit pin. You could observe the signal voltage with a voltmeter to see if it s tracking the needle movement, or verify that the ground through the printed circuit board is o.k., and of course the 12v supply would, if flakey, disrupt other gauges too so that is less likely the cause. The signal comes to the instrument cluster on a dark blue wire on pin F of the gray plug (this assumes you have the conventional (non-electronic) cluster.
At the tank, the pump unit and the sending unit are separate and located adjacent to oneanother in the top of the tank. You would want to nearly run out of gas, then with a jack lower the tank to get at the sending unit. You remove the sending unit from its lock-in fitting using a hammer and drift to rotate the unit counter clockwise. You might want to get a new gasket at the dealer for replacement. The return fuel line goes thru the same opening so you want to make sure that it is positioned so as not to interfere with float.
But first try to diagnose whether it is the gauge the float, or just a loose electrical connection at the float or a flakey circuit board that is causing the irratic behavior. A voltmeter attached at the several locations of the circuit would give you a hint about what is the real cause. I can send you the wiring diagram for the fuel gauge system along with the diagrams for the rear windows.
Roland
Answer -
Hi Chris,
The copies are in the mail to you.
Roland
Hi Chris,
You are welcome. I have an addressed envelope ready and I'll get the copies made and in the mail to you shortly. We are about to get a storm but that shouldn't slow me down much.
Roland
Answer -
Hi Chris,
Because I have the coupe too I haven't had the pleasure of trying to remove such a seat. But I suspect that it is some sort of a sliding of the rods against a metal socket and that because of the greater amount of humidity in that sort of body you have rust at the interface. You might try squirting some WD-40 with a 'straw' fitting on the spray nozzle upward at the area above the rods and then letting it sit for a bit and then use a pry bar between the floor and the lower edge of the seat.
On the camshaft, I haven't had to do that job yet (only just did a head gasket recently, now have 93K miles on our 2.5 N/A) but as I reviewed the Chrysler shop manual there is a lot of detail about size of cam shaft journals, color-coding, lubbing etc. that seems relevant to your problem. If you don't have the factory manual, let me send you pages that apply to the camshaft. Let me know if you need the pages.
Roland
AnswerHi Chris,
Just to be sure, although the job is done, here are the Install tips:
head must be flat to 0.1mm
check that oversize cam is only used with oversize head, and the reverse
1. check bearing cap oil holes for blockage
2.align camshaft bearing caps in proper sequence, no. 1 at timing belt end...arrows pointing toward belt
3. apply anaerobic form in place gasket to nos. 1 and 5 bearing cap
4.caps must be installed before seals are installed
5.using a dial indicator verify that end play is 0.13-0.33 mm using a dial indicator.
Roland
