T2K-CAR

[ArdWrknTrk]

Now I have run into a small dilemma. The original piece separating the front seats is a large armrest bolted to a plastic section that runs down the center of the car on top of the longitudinal reinforcement. I want to see about using the center console from the 1989 car, which ends up being the same width and height, but has a storage rack for audio cassettes. The problem is this:

It has the place for the rear window defroster, two power window switches and the power seat switch (it mounts so that the text is upside down, but when you look at it it reads normally. I either have to make something different for there or rearrange my switches. I can put the top switch in place of the window switches and move the rear defrost and seat switches. There was an ash tray forward of the shifter, but that won't work as the K shifter is too far forward. This also will negate the control panel I built.

Using the console switch panel.

Advantage, removing the control panel will allow for a 4 disc CD changer.

Disadvantage. hazard flasher, panel dimmer and power point will need a new location.

Leaving the control panel

Advantage, no need to extend wires and switch mountings

Disadvantage, have to come up with something to close the front of the console in.

In either instance there is a rear seat ashtray provision I will turn into a light for the rear floor as there are ash trays in each rear quarter area.

Were it me, I would probably fill that panel and cover the whole thing in matching burl wrap.

But I'm unsure of how the front of the console fits, or how close to other burl trim it sits.

[Gary Lewis]

Using the console switch panel.

Advantage, removing the control panel will allow for a 4 disc CD changer.

Disadvantage. hazard flasher, panel dimmer and power point will need a new location.

Leaving the control panel

Advantage, no need to extend wires and switch mountings

Disadvantage, have to come up with something to close the front of the console in.

I like the idea of the 4-disc CD changer. But does it work with the speakers you have?

And could you put an aftermarket, modern player in place of the one you'd planned to use and stream music from a phone or a thumb drive? That would let you use the setup you've created and have far more music than 4 CDs, plus have Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

[85lebaront2]

Using the console switch panel.

Advantage, removing the control panel will allow for a 4 disc CD changer.

Disadvantage. hazard flasher, panel dimmer and power point will need a new location.

Leaving the control panel

Advantage, no need to extend wires and switch mountings

Disadvantage, have to come up with something to close the front of the console in.

I like the idea of the 4-disc CD changer. But does it work with the speakers you have?

And could you put an aftermarket, modern player in place of the one you'd planned to use and stream music from a phone or a thumb drive? That would let you use the setup you've created and have far more music than 4 CDs, plus have Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

Gary, the 4 disc CD changer works with the radios I have, it was a factory option on Sebring, Stratus and the FWD 300s, also vans.

[85lebaront2]

Gary, the 4 disc CD changer works with the radios I have, it was a factory option on Sebring, Stratus and the FWD 300s, also vans.

Well, discovered a problem on the engine. After (a) being originally assembled 17 years ago and then sitting covered up but outside for 6 years and (b) as a result some rust on the seal area of the crank snout, I found I had a nice "rust proofed" right side of the lower firewall and floor pan. Everything came apart reasonably well until the crank sprocket for the timing belt at which point I was stuck. Chrysler decided in 1988 to change from 4 to 5 the number or 8mm bolts holding the crank pulley to the sprocket and at the same time make the sprocket a press fit on the crank. I had made a tool for doing this when I was still working, but was unable to find it when we were emptying the garage (I may have loaned it to a machine shop that went through a change of hands as they had several 1988 up Chrysler 2.2/2.5L cranks to grind).

The Chrysler tool is available used from $190 - over $300! Since the sprocket has 5 bolts that screw into it, no normal puller will work, the "cheat" is to use a 3/4-16 puller bolt through the nice thick crank pulley and a nut then 5 8mmX1.25 bolts into the sprocket and something that will pass through the center to push against. The factory tool has a piece of hard bar stock the puller screw acts against. Now comes the other problem, the 1988 engine short block is a one year only oddity in that area, the crank snout is smaller OD than either the 1987 using the 4 bolt sprocket or the 1989 "common block" engines, and to compound it, the OD of the pilot for the crank pulley is larger, about 1" OD instead of closer to 3/4" OD so the nut behind the pulley requires a sturdy washer. I finally got it off so I can replace the seal after carefully polishing the seal area on the crank. There are 3 identical seals on the "front" of the engine, crank, intermediate shaft and cam.

While I have all that off, I am also replacing the timing belt and correcting a small mistake I made when I built it, the intermediate shaft drives the oil pump and distributor, I did not get the oil pump drive gear properly timed to the shaft, so had to rotate the intermediate shaft sprocket to allow enough rotation of the distributor to set the timing as the location of the shutter in relation to the pickups is critical (turbo engines have a "window" in one shutter to tell the computer which is #1 cyl). Timing belt replacement requires disassembly of the right motor mount, but since the powertrains were installed from below, that mount is in two parts which does simplify timing belt replacement.

[85lebaront2]

Well, discovered a problem on the engine. After (a) being originally assembled 17 years ago and then sitting covered up but outside for 6 years and (b) as a result some rust on the seal area of the crank snout, I found I had a nice "rust proofed" right side of the lower firewall and floor pan. Everything came apart reasonably well until the crank sprocket for the timing belt at which point I was stuck. Chrysler decided in 1988 to change from 4 to 5 the number or 8mm bolts holding the crank pulley to the sprocket and at the same time make the sprocket a press fit on the crank. I had made a tool for doing this when I was still working, but was unable to find it when we were emptying the garage (I may have loaned it to a machine shop that went through a change of hands as they had several 1988 up Chrysler 2.2/2.5L cranks to grind).

The Chrysler tool is available used from $190 - over $300! Since the sprocket has 5 bolts that screw into it, no normal puller will work, the "cheat" is to use a 3/4-16 puller bolt through the nice thick crank pulley and a nut then 5 8mmX1.25 bolts into the sprocket and something that will pass through the center to push against. The factory tool has a piece of hard bar stock the puller screw acts against. Now comes the other problem, the 1988 engine short block is a one year only oddity in that area, the crank snout is smaller OD than either the 1987 using the 4 bolt sprocket or the 1989 "common block" engines, and to compound it, the OD of the pilot for the crank pulley is larger, about 1" OD instead of closer to 3/4" OD so the nut behind the pulley requires a sturdy washer. I finally got it off so I can replace the seal after carefully polishing the seal area on the crank. There are 3 identical seals on the "front" of the engine, crank, intermediate shaft and cam.

While I have all that off, I am also replacing the timing belt and correcting a small mistake I made when I built it, the intermediate shaft drives the oil pump and distributor, I did not get the oil pump drive gear properly timed to the shaft, so had to rotate the intermediate shaft sprocket to allow enough rotation of the distributor to set the timing as the location of the shutter in relation to the pickups is critical (turbo engines have a "window" in one shutter to tell the computer which is #1 cyl). Timing belt replacement requires disassembly of the right motor mount, but since the powertrains were installed from below, that mount is in two parts which does simplify timing belt replacement.

Forgot to add this the other day. This is the engine bottom end with the pan off:

Note the ARP studs on the main caps. Crank is a forged steel one and the rods are actually 1989 2.5L turbo ones, apparently released in 1988 for the turbo II 2.2L engines.

[Gary Lewis]

Forgot to add this the other day. This is the engine bottom end with the pan off:

Note the ARP studs on the main caps. Crank is a forged steel one and the rods are actually 1989 2.5L turbo ones, apparently released in 1988 for the turbo II 2.2L engines.

Bill - Somehow I missed this in my travels. But it looks like you are making good progress and can correct the minimal damage.

Those ARP studs and the forged crank should make for a stout bottom end.

[85lebaront2]

Bill - Somehow I missed this in my travels. But it looks like you are making good progress and can correct the minimal damage.

Those ARP studs and the forged crank should make for a stout bottom end.

If you look closely at the 1st step on the crank. that is where the seal rides. It had surface rust on that area and most of the oil was coming out there. I polished it with 220 and 400 emery paper before reinstalling the seal housing.

That engine package was developed in conjunction with Chrysler's engineers by a Texas Chicken Farmer who was repaying the favor Lee Iaccoca did for him about 23 years earlier. There were even special packages on some of the cars along with a batch assembled in Wittier CA (Randy, GLHS60) owns one.

[Gary Lewis]

If you look closely at the 1st step on the crank. that is where the seal rides. It had surface rust on that area and most of the oil was coming out there. I polished it with 220 and 400 emery paper before reinstalling the seal housing.

That engine package was developed in conjunction with Chrysler's engineers by a Texas Chicken Farmer who was repaying the favor Lee Iaccoca did for him about 23 years earlier. There were even special packages on some of the cars along with a batch assembled in Wittier CA (Randy, GLHS60) owns one.

Gee, might that chicken farmer have been part of Ford vs Ferrari? (By the way, how deep do you have to plant a chicken to get it to grow?)

[85lebaront2]

Gee, might that chicken farmer have been part of Ford vs Ferrari? (By the way, how deep do you have to plant a chicken to get it to grow?)

Wise guy huh, I can ask some of my friends about the chickens.

Stout bottom end is definitely correct, I ran 14 psi boost on it for roughly 200 hp from 135 ci, some of the people with these T2 engines run 20 psi or more which will push 300 hp out of them. The T3 engines were DOHC and ran even more power at high rpm, but were very hard on timing belts due to only having about 90° wrap on each of the cam sprockets and a smaller intermediate sprocket that spun the oil pump faster. Since they had a DIS system, a failed oil pump drive gear wasn't instantly obvious as it is on the T1, T2 and T4 engines all of which use a distributor.

An FYI, the T4 Chrysler engines are also referred to as VNT, for Variable Nozzle Turbocharger. Sound familiar?

 

[Gary Lewis]

Wise guy huh, I can ask some of my friends about the chickens.

Stout bottom end is definitely correct, I ran 14 psi boost on it for roughly 200 hp from 135 ci, some of the people with these T2 engines run 20 psi or more which will push 300 hp out of them. The T3 engines were DOHC and ran even more power at high rpm, but were very hard on timing belts due to only having about 90° wrap on each of the cam sprockets and a smaller intermediate sprocket that spun the oil pump faster. Since they had a DIS system, a failed oil pump drive gear wasn't instantly obvious as it is on the T1, T2 and T4 engines all of which use a distributor.

An FYI, the T4 Chrysler engines are also referred to as VNT, for Variable Nozzle Turbocharger. Sound familiar?

Yep, VNT sounds familiar. Ford had fits with them coking up on the PowerStrokes if you let them idle too long. My buddy had that problem until he loaned the truck to his SiL who wagged a trailer at high speed for a few thousand miles. When it came back the boost had gone up to over 20 psi, and he was a happy camper.

As for the engines, it is amazing what the little ones will do with some boost. As you know, I'll pit my 3.5L EB against my 7.5L any day.