I just recently bought another 92 Stealth since I wanted the turbo model to go with my current RT. I have had Stealth’s since the year they came out to the present. This new purchase will be my 4th. I also bought it due to Dodge only made 27 of this particular model and color for that year.
I have used his excellent video’s to perform a lot of different repairs on my RT, and IMO they are the best out there.
The situation on this, its a garage find. The car was last registered and driven in 2010 ;-), So its been sitting for over a decade in the garage shortly after it passed a Calif smog check back in 2010. It had only 50 miles put on it right after the smog check.
The car will only start up and run for a short time by directly inputting starting fluid in the Throttle Body air duct, which was no surprise, since when I drained the fuel tank, the fuel was more like acetone than fuel at that point. I already will be replacing the Fuel pump, sending unit, and the fuel filer. I already performed a full brake job on the vehicle, including brakes and rotors, and serviced the calipers.
Now comes the question, I already know to replace the timing belt and water pump, including the other two belts beacuse of thier age, and of course all the fluids and thermostat. What else should I be aware of from this car sitting for so long, and what other type of maintaince should I be concerned about? Should I pull the valve covers to add oil on the top of the engine to lubricate it before trying to run it?, and what possible damage could the turbos could of had from sitting for so long ?
I plan to invest in this car since it will be my main driver, but dont want to also throw a lot of money at it for no reason either.
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
Rick
I wouldn’t be starting it untill the belts are done if shes lying up since 2010.
Replace all fluids , plugs etc. No harm to service the ecu.
Change the bottom pulley/harmonic balancer when you’re doing the timing belt and the thermostat also
Over time I’d also replace coil pack, ptu, idle control valve , vac pipes , ht leads and so on.
Replace the plenum gaskets , don’t be tempted to reuse. Congrats on your purchase and best of luck with the rebuild.
Enda
I mostly agree with Enda on this one but personally, I wouldn’t waste money on coil pack, ptu, IAC , or bottom pulley unless they need doing. If any of these parts are faulty, you will see it or the car won’t run. No damage is likely if they fail.
I would definitely spray some WD40 into the ports to prevent damage from any surface rust that may have built up and to free any sticky rings.
Oil pressure is built up almost instantly so there isn’t much point in pre-oiling.
Not sure why you would want to replace the sender unit unless it is faulty. I am told that these are no longer available so you may have to find someone who has old stock and it will cost you more than the car.
Use a fuel system/injector cleaner for the first couple of hundred miles so you can clean out the crap that has dried in the system.
The engines are bullet proof if you do regular oil changes and don’t race from light to light. I have dug one of these cars out of 2ft of mud that has been buried in the field for 10 years and it even started with the old fuel that was still in the car on the first turn of the key.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
I misspoke when I said I was replacing the sending unit, and yes they are pricey, about 800 new- ouch!
I will actually be rebuilding the sending unit. The fuel pump and fuel level assembly do not function, so I bought another used cheap sending unit with a working fuel level assembly and a new high performance fuel pump.
I will be disassembling the entire unit then cleaning and rebuilding it. I am probably going to also have to pull the fuel tank to have it professional cleaned of varnish, and resealed inside with a protective coating. There is one place close that will do the job for 300. I noticed you have an excellent video on the fuel sending unit, but not in dropping the tank yet. '=(, though it seems pretty much like a straight forward job.
I am going to also have to replace the “drivers side” half shaft, on the “left side of the car” since the CV covers are leaking. I saw your video on just doing the CV covers, but the entire shafts are only like 80 bucks, with the covers already installed, and for me that just may seem a little easier, unless you disagree since the replacement shaft will not OEM
I really appreciate all your guys help in this matter, I knew when i bought the car it was going to be a project car at the time. So I didnt purchase it blind. I knew there would be some challenges
since the CV covers are leaking. I saw your video on just doing the CV covers, but the entire shafts are only like 80 bucks, with the covers already installed, and for me that just may seem a little easier, unless you disagree since the replacement shaft will not OEM