Back in the family again, kinda
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:59 pmA few weeks ago I bought myself a 93 Dodge Spirit for 300 bucks. It's just the basic 2.5 automatic with just 166000 kilometers, but this one has the Gold appearance package. The rims are terribly flaking and peeling though. I find the car feels huge compared to the 94 Civic I was driving before. The Spirit has a few little problems. It has some kind of electrical problem. Something is slowly draining the battery, but when I start the car, the alternator belt squeals as if it's loose (it doesn't feel loose), the battery gets quite warm and the case of the alternator gets almost hot enough to burn my fingers if I touch it. The charging voltage doesn't seem to compensate too well when I turn on the headlights and heater fan. I know the car has bad ground wires so maybe that's causing the charging problem?
The second problem is a loud exhaust leak. It sounds like it's coming from right off the manifold or very near it. My old 86 Lebaron had an exhaust leak in the same spot and it was too hard to get at so I left it alone. I'll try to get a closer look at the leak on the Spirit some time, but if it'll involve removing the intake manifold to get at the exhaust manifold then I just will not bother.
Now, the third problem the Spirit has is unusual and hard to identify. At completely random times, and at varying levels of intensity, whenever I accelerate I feel a side-to-side kind of shaking coming from the front end, which totally goes away the second I let off the gas pedal. I only notice it when I am accelerating at any speed, turning left or right doesn't seem to change the shaking any. The shaking feels like a bent or improperly tightened wheel, but as soon as I let off the gas the shaking stops completely. I was thinking maybe an inner CV joint is bad but I don't know for sure... Anyone have a better idea?
Oh, BTW. The junkyard just up the road from me had an 85 2 door Caravelle with the 2.6 Mitsu and automatic in their yard last week. It had Alberta plates, the red paint was faded but the body looked pretty solid. Unfortunately I think they crushed it this past weekend.
The second problem is a loud exhaust leak. It sounds like it's coming from right off the manifold or very near it. My old 86 Lebaron had an exhaust leak in the same spot and it was too hard to get at so I left it alone. I'll try to get a closer look at the leak on the Spirit some time, but if it'll involve removing the intake manifold to get at the exhaust manifold then I just will not bother.
Now, the third problem the Spirit has is unusual and hard to identify. At completely random times, and at varying levels of intensity, whenever I accelerate I feel a side-to-side kind of shaking coming from the front end, which totally goes away the second I let off the gas pedal. I only notice it when I am accelerating at any speed, turning left or right doesn't seem to change the shaking any. The shaking feels like a bent or improperly tightened wheel, but as soon as I let off the gas the shaking stops completely. I was thinking maybe an inner CV joint is bad but I don't know for sure... Anyone have a better idea?
Oh, BTW. The junkyard just up the road from me had an 85 2 door Caravelle with the 2.6 Mitsu and automatic in their yard last week. It had Alberta plates, the red paint was faded but the body looked pretty solid. Unfortunately I think they crushed it this past weekend.
