Long time no post, or visit to this site, as my 1982 LeBaron Mark Cross Convertible has be wrench free since taking delivery in May of ‘82, excepting strut mounts and other suspension components. Oh, and a complete replacement of brake system last year after a front pad replacement sometime in the late eighties.
I gather there are few 2.6 lovers here, but I have had no trouble with mine excepting a carburetor drivability problem recall around 1985 that Chrysler performed for nothing; the carb has not been touched since.
Now that I have 71,500 miles on this rig, timing & balance shaft chains are getting noisy, so I ordered up a chain kit from Rock Auto, and are currently in the process of installing it.
I must say removing the chain cover is beyond a PIA as I was not able to slide engine over enough to extract a few of the long cover bolts without resorting to redneck garage methods not listed in any manual... The resulting flood of coolant cascading over chain, oil pump, and resulting mess once cover broke free from block began to test my patience. Then the process of flushing all coolant from bearings, and engine oil slopped onto floor etc. makes me think for every three steps forward, I have to take two back to see any progress on this project. My conclusion is; timing and balance shaft chain R&R is less than user friendly with a 2.6 than a 2.2, and the second time around it will go much smoother sometime around 2042 when I’m 90 years old.
Enough bitching, I’ll just suck it up, get on with the job and report back in a few days with a progress report.
I suspect that the 2.6 was a last minute thought for an off the shelf power upgrade which was shoe horned into a front wheel drive car clearly designed for a less bulky engine.
One thing that has me concerned are the two long bolts that fasten carburetor to the carburetor/valve-cover brace and manifold were heavily corroded at the threaded end. What is the deal with this, are they exposed to coolant in the intake manifold? Do I need to fully remove carburetor, install heli-coils and new bolts?