My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

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My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby 89ARIES » Tue Apr 29, 2014 2:51 am

My free 1986 Chrysler LeBaron Town and Country Wagon.
Chrysler 2.5 engine original. 82,000 original miles. Non-turbo.
Exterior Color: Brown with roofrack. Sunburned paint, and fading,
pitted wood. Only two small dents on bottom of passenger front door, and a few dings. Not really any major body damage.
Synopsis: Was the first California K-Car in the club when I founded the club back in February 2007. The Spring Fling 2007 sticker is still on the windshield. It was in mint condition, and maintained well until September 2009. September 2009 was the last oil change, at 75,000 miles. It is now at 82,000 miles. It became neglected. Oil was always topped off, in fact overfilled. It is black right now. The owner also had the cooling system filled with straight water, and the radiator cap is corroded.
Risk: I drove the car successfully from Palm Springs Sunday without any incident or overheating. Did not stall once, but ran a little rough at times, and almost stalled when I turned on the heater. Ran decent, but acceleration power increased as I drove the car to Los Angeles. It ran on half a tank of bad gas and half a tank of fresh gas, with fuel cleaner in it. I did not dare go any faster than 60 mph. Got a whopping 30 mpg.
The good: So far, the car is not overheating. It starts up right away, but sometimes you have to pump the accelerator while you turn the key to make it start. Runs loud and clear, with some minor tapping noise, but my other K-car always had that as well. Analog gauges. Odometer and speedometer work.
The ugly: Gauges not working, some weird goop in the rat chewed back seat, and broken drivers seat frame. Sand and dust is everywhere under the hood and some in the electronics.
What it needs: Ta da. The car really doesn't look bad to my eye at all, in fact I am not even thinking of repainting it, but I might in a year. Here is what it needs. Folks, I could really use some sound advice right now:
1. Hood safety latched adjusted. Hood does not close properly without some finesse.
2. Needs an oil change immediately.
3. Need a coolant system flush and new radiator cap
4. Shocks and struts are mushy. Not to concerned about that right now.
5. Front license plate and frame is missing.
6. Broken drivers seat. The frame rail is snapped in two.
7. Center rear brake light not working
8. Turn signal switch not working properly and feels loose
in the housing. Signals work intermittently
9. Rear mirror fell off. I can reattach it.
10 The analog cluster gauge, including critical temperature
gauge and fuel gauge, is not working. Everytime a fuse is replaced,
it blows.
11. All power windows and locks work, somewhat. Some seem sticky,
and the windows are loose on track and threaten to break. Drivers window the worst.
12. Need a service manual.
13. Brakes work, but mediocre. Need a brake system check.
14. Check high pressure fuel injection fuel lines. Replace.
Check tank fuel lines.
15. Replace timing belt.
16. Find some screws to reattach some plastic trim on the inside, and put the panel below steering wheel back on.
17. Was told there was a transmission leak, but didn't really see much loss.
18. Leather interior is shot, but not too horrible. Dash has first crack, but no worse than my other car.
I hope that it is. Hopefully, the head-gasket doesn't go, as they typically go at around 60,000. This car has 82,000.
I still like this car, and it has potential. My goal is get this car reliable enough to drive long distance and get some seat covers. If I keep it, I will repaint the car and get new wood put on in 2015.
I am very blessed. Glad it was free.
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89ARIES
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby Pete in NH » Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:25 pm

Hi Guy,

Congratulations! The price was certainly right!

I love those wagons, they are the most practical of all the K cars. You will be amazed at how much you can load into one.

Some simple things I would do-

1- Get two spray cans of "Gunk Engine Bright" engine cleaner and wash down the engine compartment. Follow the directions on the can. That way with the engine clean you will be able to spot any leaks right away.

2- Do a simple tune up, new spark plugs, spark plug cables , distributor car and rotor. Also, a new air cleaner element.

3- Yes, flush the radiator and get that water out of there! Replace with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water. Take a good look at the upper and lower radiator hoses, they are easy to change if need be.

4- When you do the timing belt replace the water pump as well if it hasn't already been done. For the $20 pump cost it saves having to take everything off the front of the engine again. Replace the timing belt tensioner as well.

5- When you change the oil and filer change it every 1500 miles for a few changes to help clean out all the dirt from being neglected.

6- If you want to tackle the non working gauges , I'll try to help.


Good luck with your new wagon !
Pete in NH
 
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby K-CAR_WAGON » Wed Apr 30, 2014 6:20 pm

..
Last edited by K-CAR_WAGON on Fri Dec 26, 2014 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby 89ARIES » Thu May 01, 2014 6:40 am

Thankyou very much everyone. I am most excited about having my first wagon ever, and something to haul people and things on roadtrips in. 8-)
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby aussiewoody » Thu May 01, 2014 10:02 am

Yes Guy, you are very lucky to get that car for free - that may however, be some Karma coming your way for all the help that you give other K car owners.
Great that you have so many suggestions to help you get started on it - it should be a very exciting and rewarding project.
Keep us posted here and on the fb page.
good luck
Gary
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby 86dodge600esconvert » Sun May 04, 2014 1:26 am

Congrats on the wagon, this was probably the platform that the mini van started on, way ahead of the competition and greatly accelerated Chrysler's comeback in the late 1980s. The first minivans 84=86 had 2.2 and 2.6 and even a 2.2 turbo that blew a lot from being overloaded. Some of the 2.2s had 5 speed standards. Sorry The wagon is way cooler than any minivan.
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby 89ARIES » Tue May 13, 2014 12:00 am

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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby 89ARIES » Wed Jun 11, 2014 3:40 am

I need some help with my 1986 TC Wagon. Here is the long list I started working on. None of this has to be done right away, but a lot of stuff needs to be done sooner rather than later, besides the obvious blown head gasket this wagon seems to have as well. Where can I get a headgasket tester?
1. Do I need to replace all the window regulators to make the windows work again?
2. Do I need to strip open all the door panels to make the locks work again?
3. Where can I get working struts for the hatch?
4. There is a fuse box dangling below the steering wheel on a loose wire, and my check engine light does not work at all, but the gauges do now.
I know the car sounds like a PITA. Basically, just like with the Dodge, and the wagon is not overheating and coolant not mixing, I am having to pour 1/4th bottle of coolant into the radiator every day. Not cool. Also, my catalytic converter is clogged....blah ....etc etc. The owner really abused this car, but hey, its free, and has been reliable.
I am hoping to find someone that might be willing to teach me how to do a headgasket job, with their assistance of course, where I could just do a poor man's repair and get that gasket and head bolts swapped out. I basically want to learn to do this myself, and hopefully not mess up the timing and exhaust in the process. So, I got two blown headgasket Ks, but they could each be fixed with a new gasket.
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby Pete in NH » Wed Jun 11, 2014 2:10 pm

Hi Guy,

Some signs of a bad head gasket are loosing coolant with no apparent external leaks, bubbles in the coolant overflow reservoir or radiator and a smell of burnt anti freeze in the exhaust. A compression tester used on each cylinder will often show two adjacent cylinders with lower compression. You might be able to borrow a compression tester from a local auto parts place that has a tool loan program.

Do the head gasket job first. If the engine is burning anti freeze that will not do the cylinder walls any good. Also, it likely has poisoned your catalytic converter causing it to fail and clog up the exhaust system. You will need to change the O2 sensor as well when changing the converter. Lucky you in California have to find a CARB approved converter for twice the cost of a Federal converter.

You should be able to get replacement hatch struts from any auto parts place or try Rockauto.com. Rock Auto seems to have decent prices on things and a lot of parts for our old K's.

You should be able to do the power windows one at a time.
Pete in NH
 
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Re: My 1986 Chrysler LeBaron TC Wagon.

Postby 89ARIES » Thu Jun 19, 2014 12:35 am

The car overheated, very quickly, before I could even get off the road. Like in a matter of one minute. Still runs, but now no longer cools. Car is being overhauled now. Certainly not free. Oh well.
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