quicksilvr's 2001 R/T

D-Railed_Neon · Post by **D-Railed_Neon** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:55 am

Heya man, great to see that car made it here. Been wanting to buy it myself for a while, so take good care of her!!

lol.

The car looks super clean and I am a little jelly. Have some fun with it as those R/t s can scoot! Feel free to hit me up if you ever need parts or a hand. I work at the autozone in bellevue so stop by sometime, and welcome to 2GN

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:43 pm

HEY! New owner! Get your butt in here and post about this car! I'll even change the title of the thread AGAIN!

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 11:50 pm

Keep us updated.

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:43 am

Hello! Great car you have there, glad to see you on the forum!

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 1:45 am

I have to assume you saw the project log right below this one, from when the car was mine, and then MyNeonSaysHi's. Glad you started a new one.

If you want to rob any pictures for timeline sake, feel free.

TurboVanDan · Post by **TurboVanDan** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:54 am

I agree with quicksilvr... It would be great to know where the car is and how it is doing...!!

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:54 pm

Or if you want to merge the two, we can do that too.

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:02 pm

Lets merge this into the other thread if you don't mind.

Oddly enough, the horn now works after the negative battery was disconnected when I replaced the p/s pump pressure switch.

freelancer1988 · Post by **freelancer1988** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:37 am

The clock spring behind the steering wheel may be damaged/wore out causing the horn to work intermittently with the steering wheel controls. I have the same issue with my 2002...

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:07 pm

Some goodies arrived this week. Now I'm just waiting for spring temperatures to improve a bit.

Prothane Bushing Kit

P/S Pressure Hose, Idler Pulley and Oil Pressure Switch

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:59 pm

We were able to install the rear end portions of the Prothane kit last weekend including end links, sway bar bushing, knuckle and tension strut bushings. Even being careful, we had some bad luck when three sway bar bolts sheared off the head. It added a little bit of time to drill out the bolts and tap new holes.

I'll need to replace the struts and springs to feel the complete impact as they clunk around something fierce.

The left rear rotor had several deep gouge marks so it's probably time for some Mopar replacements.

The week before, we replaced the power steering pressure hose and tensioner pulley. The p/s hose was leaking at a connection. The pulley had some raised grooves and thought it was digging into the smooth side of the belt causing some squealing noises at times.

2005.Neon.SXT · Post by **2005.Neon.SXT** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:32 am

Is that the power steering lines that leak? What's the part number for that? Mine leaks like a sonuvah gun, but I'm never sure where it's coming from cause it's literally all over. Oil level stays fine over 3k miles, gearbox fluid is good, and powersteering fluid stays pretty full...

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Wed Apr 10, 2013 11:41 am

I picked up a GATES Part # 365441 from rock auto to replace the p/s pressure hose. It was leaking where the flexible and hard line meet as it goes toward the back side of the engine. I think it was just under $26. Once we got the old line out, the new line went in with no problems.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:01 am

Let me know if you want to make the trip out here again to get those struts. They are just collecting dust.

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 11:11 pm

It's been a bit hectic lately and I'm very delayed in posting updates.

I think we finally have the horn performance resolved. We tore into the assembly testing the conductivity of the clockspring and steering wheel switch. Both tested out fine as we traced the issue to inconsistent grounding in the steering column.

During the spring, I went over the car with a clay bar and buffed most areas with a compound and finishing polish using a DA polisher before applying the wax coat by hand. There are a few small chips on the hood I'd like to touch up and thinking about trying Dr Colorchip's repair system. If it sounds like a good product, we'll try it on the wife's car first and consider it on the job training.

Right now, I'm repairing two rusted areas on the passenger rear quarter and hope to have pics up soon.

I'm still indecisive over strut replacement options. That's very generous of you MyNeonSaysHi.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Tue Jun 25, 2013 1:17 am

Well they were supposed to come with it. I just forgot them and so did you.. Along with paper work yah now.

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Wed Jun 26, 2013 5:05 pm

Sounds like you are really getting all things squared away on this car, that's awesome.

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:36 pm

The past two Saturdays, we replaced the following suspension items on the front driver and passenger side:

Control arm ball joints
Control arm bushings with prothane bushings
Stabilizer bar links with prothane links
New strut top mounts, jounce bumpers and boots on low mileage struts
Greased the ball joint and tie rod fittings using a grease gun

Probably should replace the front rotors and front stabilizer bar cushions. It's crazy the prothane kit included two or three front stabilizer bar cushions, but none are sized to the R/T bar.

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sat Jul 27, 2013 12:31 am

Looks like its coming together nicely. So you didn't replace the struts? You just used the upper mounts from the complete ones I sent to you?

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 10:52 am

If this car never gets wrecked, I'd like to own it again someday....lol

Artes340 · Post by **Artes340** » Fri Aug 16, 2013 6:13 pm

Swapped low mileage struts with new top mounts on the front. Installed new struts and top mounts on the rear. The low mileage struts did not have a sway bar tab for the rear application.

Noticed two of the four fasteners holding the rear wing were rusting; one very badly. Better to tackle the issue now than later where it could rust through and break the bolts. Most likely, the rubber grommet had slipped or fasteners were pulled down too tight allowing water to the area. I removed the wing to address the rusting and glad it was cleaned up now. Purchased new free-spinning washer nuts that met specs from a local supply house who specializes in fasteners. For extra protection against water, I applied a thin circle of dum-dum around the bolts before fastening the wing to the trunk lid.

Finally decided to tear into the rear passenger door and figure out why the window would not roll down to it's standard location. A cable above the window crack sprung free from this retainer causing the window to press down on the cable and stop short. After setting back into it's home, the window works as it should.

What the retainer looks like inside the door.

The retainer location on the door.

I'm still slowly working on the rear fender rust. Body work is not my favorite thing.

The only suspension bushings left from the kit are for the lateral arms in the rear suspension. The fasteners will not budge with an impact and concerned about snapping the bolt if it's rusted to the housing. Thinking about cutting the bolt off and installing new bolts, nuts and washers with the bushing parts.

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:30 pm

So, in an odd turn of events.......

...this is my car again.

Picking it up in Omaha

Uh oh, someone's about to fly by

Car is still pretty nice. It has more exterior war wounds, but is still pretty sharp. I will probably have someone do some PDR now that it's collected a fair share of dings and dents. The right rear dog leg and fender rust is growing, and I think the only fix is to cut it out and have new metal welded in.

It drives pretty nice too, but has some areas of improvement. For one, it's about 200hp down from where it needs to be.....oh wait.....

But seriously. It doesn't seem like the MTV on the intake is working anymore, the steering is loose (tie rods I think), and the cam sensor is leaking oil pretty good. All normal for the age and miles, and all fixable. Going to be a fun car to have around again.

PS. Getting out of the yellow car into this one is almost funny. I felt like I was driving an old corolla after driving the turbo car. Clutch is light, there's no power, and the suspension feels bleh. lol

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:33 pm

[The front bumper looks all beat up in that picture I posted, but it's just reflection from the gas station lights....the bumper is actually really nice and shiny]

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:10 am

As I stated in the other thread, amazing journey with this car.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:41 am

LOL at the height difference!

Glad you got it back!

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 1:08 am

It has more exterior war wounds, but is still pretty sharp. I will probably have someone do some PDR now that it's collected a fair share of dings and dents. The right rear dog leg and fender rust is growing, and I think the only fix is to cut it out and have new metal welded in.

But seriously. It doesn't seem like the MTV on the intake is working anymore, the steering is loose (tie rods I think), and the cam sensor is leaking oil pretty good. All normal for the age and miles, and all fixable. Going to be a fun car to have around again.

PS. Getting out of the yellow car into this one is almost funny. I felt like I was driving an old corolla after driving the turbo car. Clutch is light, there's no power, and the suspension feels bleh. lol

Congrats on getting it back. I tried detailing it pretty good when I had it, but it didn't like the wax at all. I didn't add any dings from when I owned it. Looks like it needs a little TLC maintenance wise. Excited to see the progress of it again.

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:19 pm

The left outer tie rod end is loosey Goosey, I picked up a new one today. I'm thinking about selling the tires on eBay while they are still thick, and getting some Dunlop Direzza DZ102's, in 205/50. Then I can lower it on Raceland's.

It drives great other than the tie rod and the intake actuator not seeming to work. I may have to dig into that this weekend.

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 10:45 pm

Gotta do something about that ugly red battery. Anyone ever painted a battery top before??

Also: has anyone had experience fixing the tachometer to not be "jerky"? The speedo is perfect, but the tach moves with a jerk, like its getting sticky and the needle can't move freely anymore...

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 7:35 am

What type of battery? If it is a lead/acid liquid, and not a Gel or AGM, I don't see paint holding up even if you get it clean enough. It might turn out looking worse that it was.

Not sure about the Tach. Could be the motor, or maybe the board? Not sure if the PCM would send a choppy signal. You could try swapping clusters to see if it changes. At least you would know if it was in the cluster, or elsewhere.

Is this the Yellow, or the black car? If it is the Yellow, it probably doesn't like the newer rate of movement.

Edit: I now recall the tach being jerky in my Sundance(s). It was always the tach driver board on the back of the cluster. I could swap one from another cluster, and it would be fine for a few years. Unfortunately, there is no seperate board for a neon cluster.

quicksilvr · Post by **quicksilvr** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:59 am

It's a regular AutoZone battery....I got the picture to post. I may try spraying the top with black plastidip....that way if it doesn't like it, I can peel it off.

I do have an extra white face cluster, but I don't want to swap the whole thing. The tach needle just doesn't swing smoothly....it's accurate once you hold the rpm anywhere for a second, but on it's way there it hangs and jerks.