| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_grumpy |
Ok here's the thing, one of my neighbours has a 2.0 Chrysler/Dodge Stratus mouldering in his garage, it got parked up when it developed a power steering problem a few years back & was progressively covered & boxed in with other stuff (as you do). Well last year he decided he wanted to get it sorted & asked me if I'd have a look at it for him, I of course said "Sure no problem." He told me he'd get back to me when he'd got the garage in some sort of order. I've heard nothing for 9 months then last weekend he called round & I'm going to look at it this afternoon. This is where things take a turn for the worse, He's told me that his daughter's ex-boyfriend had a look at it last summer & because the power steering wasn't working he cut the pump belt off & declared that as it made no difference the rack must be shot & the engine would have to come out. Interesting diagnostic technique I thought, but hey it is what it is, so now the lump is out apparently, & I've no way of testing. I'm tempted to tell him to just replace the rack & the pump for peace of mind. Been having a look on fleabay & can get parts to rebuild or get remanufactured parts. I've seen stuff from Cardone Industries pretty well priced, anyone know if they're any good? All my better judgements say walk away & yes I know, no good deed goes unpunished, but he's asked for my help & I just can't turn my back & leave him in the crap, he's a working stiff & needs a hand. Any thoughts & ideas gang? | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
He's told me that his daughter's ex-boyfriend had a look at it last summer & because the power steering wasn't working he cut the pump belt off & declared that as it made no difference the rack must be shot & the engine would have to come out. He's a clever ex-boyfriend as cutting the belt off would render the rack having no pump assistance, so how would this confirm the rack being shot? Worse still, cutting the belt off wouldn't confirm anything! Rocket in England | ||
| Hughlysses |
Given the apparent troubleshooting genius of said boyfriend, it's probably worth doing VERY fundamental checking. Make sure hoses are in place, fluid is in the system, etc. If nothing else is blatantly wrong, install a new belt and try it. Power steering systems usually fail pretty gradually. It seems like if it is truly bad there will be a huge leak or something. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Been & looked, it's a basket case not been run on the road for 8 years. Whole front end is dismantled, rear engine mount is ripped out of the rubber, hoses are shagged, steering pump pulley has lumps out of the side (apparently while taking the engine out) bolts of all sizes everywhere, nothing labelled. I told him that unless he's got a strong sentimental attachment for the car, not to bother. He seemed happy enough with the advice, I think he basically wanted someone to confirm what he was already thinking. He's seen some others going cheap in switzerland & the bodywork & interior of his are mint, so he's considering building one out of two. I wished him luck. | ||
| Aesquire |
Good advice. Also good the Boyfriend is ex. ( I could speculate on his other deficiencies.... but won't. She knows. ) Dodges aren't bad cars, relatively easy to work on. If he finds a rusty donor car he can use the disassembly to learn where the parts go. Keep the old parts in a pile for spares. Then toss them in the donor shell and haul it off for the scrap money. We use a lot of salt locally, and it's common for budget gear heads to buy southern cars with nice bodies and beat engines and swap parts with local cars with good engines and rotted bodies. | ||
| Uncle |
Please tell him to keep that ex boyfriend away from any of his things. How does he get to "removing the engine" to replace the rack? | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Yeah Uncle I know, I'd have dropped the subframe too. The guy with the car is a nice enough fella, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get moved before he gets round to doing anything about the car, as I really don't want to get roped in. | ||
| F22raptor |
Punt! | ||
| Etennuly |
Punt hell! Take the ball and go home. The game is called.  Politely explain it is more than you can or care to handle, otherwise you would have helped. Helping is well and good, but being roped to an anchor in deep water won't be good for either of you. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Knowing the guy & his recent history, I very much doubt that anything will happen anytime soon. He's got too many other things in his garage inc a ZRX1200S & a very tidy XT500 Yam, plus various other crappy cars. | ||
| Azxb9r |
one of my neighbours has a 2.0 Chrysler/Dodge Stratus I'm sorry... A-1 Cardone is absolute garbage, you are better off with used parts than one of their remans. I dont like replacing parts for no reason, especially something like a steering rack as quality remans can be hard to find. If it were me I would put the car back together, get it running, and test the PS system. Rack replacement does not require engine removal, so you would not be doubling up labor. | ||
| Crackhead |
It is a Dodge Stratus, they are just like Chevy Cobalt/ Cavalier and Hyundai Accent. Use it up, junk yard it and replace with another one. Wait.... the 2.0L, that means it is from the mid 90s. For the price of buying the currently known broken parts, he can get a WHOLE runningish car. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Yup, that's what his plan is, get a decent late model of the first series Stratus, with the V6 rather than the 4 banger, & strip all useable parts of his current shed to keep the new one going. |
