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Thread: VIN 10201 Thread

  1. #1
    Senior Member mr_maxime's Avatar
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    My VIN:    10201

    VIN 10201 Thread

    Im starting a thread for my new delorean. This is my first classic. Ive never worked on cars much, but I am a mechanical engineer and work at a crash facility. The most work ive put into a car was changing the oil pan gasket on my 2000 honda accord. I had mentioned having issues with the headlights and doorlights. Doorlights were unplugged along with many other lights to keep from draining battery. The headlights were user error, I thought the light switch was OFF-LOW-HIGH, and I just happened to have my high beams on... I ended up fixing the AC duct for the passenger, reinstalling a piece of trim that wasnt on and putting the rubber pads on the pedals. I couldnt fix the cigar lighter, but did find that the radio does seem to be getting power. Someone mentioned the matching tires in another thread, i noticed the front are 215 60 14 instead of the stock 195 60 14. My friend's dad pointed out that the alternator belt needed to be changed and was being burned. I assumed I was burning my clutch not knowing how to drive manual. I took several pictures of "problem" areas I noticed and other ones in case someone can point out problems that I dont know about yet.

    Rusted front suspension




    Rear Suspension


    Bumper bolts rusted and broken (I couldnt make out this picture at first, until I realized that fibrous texture was grass reflected off the black paint)


    A-Pillar trim warped. This, the headliner drooping and a shift boot not fitting are probably the only bad parts of the interior.


    Not sure what this is called, but its seperating


    Shot of the front tires, you can see how theyre starting to crack


    Alternator belt. This used to get about 2 inches of deflection, more on that later


    Dont know what that is but it doesnt seem right


    Some paper like thing under the engine


    That is near the paper thing, cant really tell in the picture but coolant was dripping from it.


    I think this is the fuel system, should be fairly new. Ive seen some with covers though


    Other random engine bay pictures, some of the more knowledge people can maybe spot some things. I know the light is disconnected now.





    I drove the car around earlier and noticed the cooling fan failure light was flickering. Temp stayed at 100F which was odd. My friend noticed a little leak from the overflow on his driveway while I was going through the car. After connecting everything the battery had drained quite a bit, so while ordering food I left the car on to let the battery recharge. Coolant started gushing out of the overflow.


    The drive home wasnt too far so I drove back. While looking for my garage door opener in the back I noticed the engine bay was smoking. I turned the car off and noticed it was coming from that bottle and more coolant was spraying. Again not working on cars much before I didnt realized this would be a mistake. My neighbors came out to help push the car into the garage and I noticed that the alternator belt was gone.


    Thankfully, that blue accord in the background is mine so I can still get around. But Im thinking of buying the DMC major service kit for M/T with aftermarket plugs, the silicone hose kit from specialtauto.com and high flow fan from DPI as a starting point.
    Last edited by mr_maxime; 04-03-2015 at 04:11 PM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member mr_maxime's Avatar
    Join Date:  Mar 2015

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    My VIN:    10201

    These are also the worse parts of the car I have found so far. i forgot to mention engine temp got to 220+ while spraying coolant. So things to fix somewhat in order of priority:
    Alternator belt & Spraying coolant;
    "Dead" Speedometer
    New tires
    Rusty suspension
    VOD cleaning (this will have to wait for my move to a more permanent location)
    Dead radio and cigar lighter

    Once the car is paid of, these are improvements and mods im thinking of doing:
    New door torsion springs
    Led conversion, purple in doors and footwells, red at the top. This might happen sooner since it is rather cheap and will help with battery life
    Gloss black wheels
    Upgraded suspension
    and eventually, a LS1 swap. Probably one the the last I plan on doing. Saving for when Im better at working on the car and driving a manual.
    Last edited by mr_maxime; 04-03-2015 at 04:14 PM.

  3. #3
    Senior Member ccurzio's Avatar
    Join Date:  Nov 2011

    Location:  Atlanta-ish

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    The "paper thing" under the engine is your exhaust heat shield.

    DO NOT FUCK WITH IT UNLESS YOU HAVE BREATHING PROTECTION. IT IS MADE OF ASBESTOS.

    Quote Originally Posted by mr_maxime View Post
    I think this is the fuel system, should be fairly new. Ive seen some with covers though
    Fuel system? Ehhhhh, noooo. No. That's your ignition coil.
    Last edited by ccurzio; 04-03-2015 at 04:39 PM.
    - Chris


    what

  4. #4
    DMC Midwest - 815.459.6439 DMCMW Dave's Avatar
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    Club(s):   (DMWC) (DCUK)

    Your electric cooling fans probably never came on. You'll need to fix that. Did you ever hear them?
    Dave S
    DMC Midwest - retired but helping
    Greenville SC

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by mr_maxime View Post
    Im starting a thread for my new delorean. This is my first classic. Ive never worked on cars much, but I am a mechanical engineer and work at a crash facility. The most work ive put into a car was changing the oil pan gasket on my 2000 honda accord. I had mentioned having issues with the headlights and doorlights. Doorlights were unplugged along with many other lights to keep from draining battery. The headlights were user error, I thought the light switch was OFF-LOW-HIGH, and I just happened to have my high beams on... I ended up fixing the AC duct for the passenger, reinstalling a piece of trim that wasnt on and putting the rubber pads on the pedals. I couldnt fix the cigar lighter, but did find that the radio does seem to be getting power. Someone mentioned the matching tires in another thread, i noticed the front are 215 60 14 instead of the stock 195 60 14. My friend's dad pointed out that the alternator belt needed to be changed and was being burned. I assumed I was burning my clutch not knowing how to drive manual. I took several pictures of "problem" areas I noticed and other ones in case someone can point out problems that I dont know about yet.

    Rusted front suspension

    It looks like you are missing the front end recall reinforcing brackets. Kit is here:

    http://store.delorean.com/p-10229-fr...ecall-kit.aspx

    I don't see the brackets, not sure about the castle nuts and cotter pins, etc. Can't tell from the photos.

    Rear Suspension
    Given the surface rust on your suspension (front and rear), I would count on needing to get your brakes rebuilt (calipers) and fluid flushed. Perhaps the rotors will need turning too.

    Not sure about the steering rack, a closer inspection would be recommended. Look for tears in the boots. I'd imagine your tie rod ends and the ball joints maybe in poor shape considering the areas next to them.

    Not sure what that greyish goo is that looks to have dripped down in a couple spots on the front frame?

    Not sure what this is called, but its seperating
    The part you mentioned as separating is the door seal:

    http://store.delorean.com/p-10340-ou...eal-front.aspx

    Likely just the glue needs attention. Not a big deal or fix.

    In that same photo, the side finishing metal pieces along the windshield generally meet the top piece flush. Yours is sticking out some, as the top horizontal piece looks too short (which I'd assume is the side piece not flush and not the top piece being too short).

    http://store.delorean.com/p-9322-a-p...nisher-lh.aspx

    It is screwed into place in a couple spots. Yours might just have had a screw fall out. Don't worry, screws fall out all the time. The world is an imperfect place.

    Shot of the front tires, you can see how theyre starting to crack
    Yea, cracking is no nice. See if you can find the date code on the sidewall and report back. Not that it matters too much as these should likely be replaced after seeing that cracking.

    Alternator belt. This used to get about 2 inches of deflection, more on that later
    Yea, important. Charging the battery of course, but if the belt goes, your coolant doesn't flow and you get what you got with the overheat. Rule of thumb is, if you see the battery light come on, pull over immediately. Don't keep going even if you live just a couple more miles away.

    Dont know what that is but it doesnt seem right
    That's the portion of the lower engine cover stay/bracket that is supposed to be attached to the underside of the lower cover. It's not a very amazing design, but yea, it won't work like that.

    See if this image helps you understand how it is supposed to work:

    http://store.delorean.com/c-312-8-4-...ver-lower.aspx

    It's part number 10 on that diagram.

    Some paper like thing under the engine
    Take Chris' advice, leave that badboy alone unless you take precautions for asbestos inhalation. That looks to be the one under the catalytic convertor. You have much more of yours left than my car had. Not sure what the going advice is on those in general? Bueller? Bueller?

    That is near the paper thing, cant really tell in the picture but coolant was dripping from it.
    That's the otterstat. That's a silly name for the "turn the cooling fans on switch." Hard to say if yours is working, since if it was, the fans would come on when the coolant gets hot, but since your coolant wasn't flowing, it was going to get hot anyway.

    You can replace the seal for that and it likely stops the leak. Your otterstat "tee" is pointed in the proper direction though (down) so that is good. Take note of those leads there as we'll likely be jumpering those in the near future to prove your fans are working.

    http://store.delorean.com/p-6348-coo...otterstat.aspx

    I think this is the fuel system, should be fairly new. Ive seen some with covers though
    That's no moon, it's a space station. Just kidding, that's not the fuel system, it's your bulkhead connections (electrical) and the cylinder thingy is your ignition coil.

    You have about the cleanest one I've ever seen so bonus marks for that.

    Other random engine bay pictures, some of the more knowledge people can maybe spot some things. I know the light is disconnected now.
    Ok, yea, you can see the engine bay light switch has the connection on the left disconnected. The plunger is supposed to hit into a small little tab and depress the plunger. It might be missing, not sure, maybe that's why it got disconnected?

    http://store.delorean.com/p-9651-lgt-sw-actuator.aspx

    Check your fuses against the colours/sizes that should be in there (the diagram is in the manual and on here in the resources section). There aren't any blue 15 Amp ones on purpose.

    Quote Originally Posted by mr_maxime View Post
    These are also the worse parts of the car I have found so far. i forgot to mention engine temp got to 220+ while spraying coolant. So things to fix somewhat in order of priority:
    Alternator belt & Spraying coolant;
    "Dead" Speedometer
    New tires
    Rusty suspension
    VOD cleaning (this will have to wait for my move to a more permanent location)
    Dead radio and cigar lighter
    Priority order:
    Alt belt and coolant
    New tires
    Rusty suspension (brake work, ball joints, tie rod ends, front end recall, etc. as mentioned above)
    VOD cleaning can really wait unless you know there is a hole in the engine block waiting there for you. Not wait indefinitely maybe, but it doesn't need to be done right this second. I would get the car running reasonably well and safely and then go after the VOD. You need to take so much apart that if it isn't running well before you start, you'll never figure out what is not right to get it going once you do the reassembly.
    The radio, cigar lighter and speedo are all items that can wait until the crucial ones are done. Speedo seems crucial, but it really isn't on this car.

    Once the car is paid of, these are improvements and mods im thinking of doing:
    New door torsion springs
    Led conversion, purple in doors and footwells, red at the top. This might happen sooner since it is rather cheap and will help with battery life
    Gloss black wheels
    Upgraded suspension
    and eventually, a LS1 swap. Probably one the the last I plan on doing. Saving for when Im better at working on the car and driving a manual.
    Get the car safe and reliable before doing cosmetic stuff or big swaps or changes.

    Or use this to decide: would you rather drive the car when it's less than cosmetically perfect or admire its cosmetic perfection while its stuck in the driveway? Wait on the cosmetic stuff.


    Sept. 81, auto, black interior

  6. #6
    Senior Member mr_maxime's Avatar
    Join Date:  Mar 2015

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    My VIN:    10201

    Thanks for the detailed response. Again Im not used to working on cars, so I thought that ignition coil was the fuel system since it was the cleanest thing. I know the fuel system was worked on and figured the cleanest thing in the engine bay must be the fuel system. I bought a new belt from OReilly's and ordered the Major service kit and workshop manual from DMC. After what happened today, I probably wont be driving it much until I have Dave look at it. Im only an hour away from DMCMW and Id rather know what could fail before it fails than after. I completely agree with the cosmetic stuff, I plan on this being where I post everything on this car and didnt want it to just be about the maintenance lol. None of that would have made pushing my smoking delorean into the garage look any better. I already give so much crap to my coworker for all of his classics breaking down on him, I dont want to be in the same position haha.

  7. #7
    Senior Member ccurzio's Avatar
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    Please don't try and pour gasoline into your coil.
    - Chris


    what

  8. #8
    Senior Member Bitsyncmaster's Avatar
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    Location:  Leonardtown, MD

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    My VIN:    03572

    If your fan fail light flickered, you may have the original fan fail unit (looks like a blue relay) that should be replaced. Those units failed and then your cooling fans would not work. The recall fix was to replace it with some jumpers.
    Dave M vin 03572
    http://dm-eng.weebly.com/

  9. #9
    Senior Member mr_maxime's Avatar
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    My VIN:    10201

    Of course not! This is where the gas goes!



    But in all seriousness. I generally do not mess with mechanical components without instructions or knowing what they are. This is why I'm currently inclined to fix some of the cosmetics with the car. I know it won't affect the car's reliability. Ive also changed out the stock sound system in my accord and some other cars. While they arent a priority, these types of things allow me to work on the car without someone more experienced. I always wanted to work on cars but my family's cars never needed work and I couldnt afford a classic car until now. I didnt want to get sucked into something I couldnt afford. Not really much to learn when all your cars have needed are gas and oil changes. Im assuming you were just making a joke, but I came here to learn how to do this stuff so I'm obviously not going to know what everything is.

  10. #10
    Senior Member mr_maxime's Avatar
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    My VIN:    10201

    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan View Post
    That's the portion of the lower engine cover stay/bracket that is supposed to be attached to the underside of the lower cover. It's not a very amazing design, but yea, it won't work like that.

    See if this image helps you understand how it is supposed to work:

    http://store.delorean.com/c-312-8-4-...ver-lower.aspx

    It's part number 10 on that diagram.
    Not easy to tell from the diagram but I found a picture of how it should look. It seems that it broke a while ago which left some notches, I have been using these to prop the cover open.

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