Just got delorean: what safety and reliability updates to do?

[Redsquall]

It appears to be a car they pulled out of storage and did from fuel system work. Relays appear old. Automatic. Gas flap. What should I consider first for safety and then to make it a reliable daily driver?
thanks guys

[kings1527]

Hi there. Congrats on your new ownership and welcome. You have a tremendous amount of experience here on this forum, from long-term owners to vendors being active in posting. If you ever have a problem, chances are it's happened before and you'll be able to find an answer here very quickly.

Here's a great thread to get you on your way with updates recommended to make your car more reliable:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?7844-Top-5-(or-10)-updates-fixes-every-owner-should-perform&highlight=owner+update

[Silverbullet]

Congrats! Where are you located? What is your VIN?

Craig

[Riley88]

solid state relay, brakes relay update kit imo to start and upgrade all lights to led.

[David T]

solid state relay, brakes relay update kit imo to start and upgrade all lights to led.

Replace all fluids and filters. Rebuild the fuel and brake systems. New struts. Make sure all recalls were done. Replace tires, battery, wiper blades. If you don't have 2 keys get another one made. As you work you will find other things especially once you get the car moving.

[Mary]

I am so happy for you! I am still looking for my hearts desire. It will be a big part of my family when I find it. Now for the electrical. Look at all of it under the engine hood covers. No wires touching anywhere. So harness connections deteareate and sag down on other engine parts. I just saw some devastating fire pictures on wrecked exotics.com. I posted today about some of what I saw. Check it out. Much happiness for you with your delorean. Mary

[Jonathan]

It appears to be a car they pulled out of storage and did from fuel system work. Relays appear old. Automatic. Gas flap. What should I consider first for safety and then to make it a reliable daily driver?
thanks guys

Congrats.

Safety:
Confirm the safety recalls were done on the car. This includes the front end recall (reinforcing brackets as well as castle nuts/cotter pins on front suspension), the throttle spool/deice recall, and the lambda/service counter recall (replacement and relocation).
The braking system should be near the very top of your list. Including fluid condition/level, condition of calipers/pistons, brake pad thickness, condition of flexible lines as well. Don't forget to confirm the parking brake is working properly.
Confirm horns are working.
Windshield wipers.
Seatbelt condition.
Headlights (high and low beams), hazard lights/turn signals via turn signal stalk and hazards button, marker lights, rear running lights, reversing lights, license plate lights.
Tire tread depth, wear, age, air pressure.

Go through fuse and relay area and assess condition. Compare to design (especially fuses). Upgrade relays or have spares available (swap only compatible relays, they are not all the same).
Confirm your cooling fans up at the radiator come on with otterstat (and A/C if that is working on your car, it probably isn't though).
Confirm the condition of the trunk and engine bay latch and cable mechanisms before too long. If it looks frayed, deal with it now and not later as not being able to get into one of those two areas on your new car isn't something you need to add to your to-do list.

Confirm operation of all switches, lights and features. Including windows, locks, radio, interior lights (including door lights), clock if the car has one, 12v outlet, HVAC fan speeds and modes. Fix what isn't working. NOTE: much of this you can safely do from the confines of your garage and without driving the car. Doing it beforehand requires patience, but going over your car methodically before you start driving it will give you a better chance of noticing other problem areas. Fix them before moving on. Again, be patient, it will be difficult to do so.

For your automatic transmission in particular, check the fluid level (ATF) via the dipstick in the engine bay. Too much ATF and it leaks, too little and it will slip. Recommended to change fluid and when doing so, at least initially, drop the pan and inspect/replace the filter up in there.
Inspect your shift computer governor. Determine, if you can, if any of the wiring harness going up to the engine has been damaged by heat. In any event, once you are driving the car, take note of how the car shifts as it may need the governor to be rebuilt. Many do.

Again, be patient. Go through the owners manual page by page and check every feature of the car as you read about them in the manual. This will help you gain familiarity with the car and confirm all the little things are ok. That, in and of itself, is the best way to get yourself a reliable car. Surprises don't equal reliable. Patience and being thorough equal reliable.

Good luck. Ask questions here in specific threads as you encounter things you're not sure of. The car's are not complicated, but they are old. And not knowing what the car's history has been just makes you need to be more patient and detail oriented.

[Mary]

Got one more thing to talk about. Wayne says look at the gas lines. He said those gas lines are under pressure and with age and vibration they can deteriate and that can also cause burn downs. Happy car! Mary

[opethmike]

Congrats.

Safety:
Confirm the safety recalls were done on the car. This includes the front end recall (reinforcing brackets as well as castle nuts/cotter pins on front suspension), the throttle spool/deice recall, and the lambda/service counter recall (replacement and relocation).
The braking system should be near the very top of your list. Including fluid condition/level, condition of calipers/pistons, brake pad thickness, condition of flexible lines as well. Don't forget to confirm the parking brake is working properly.
Confirm horns are working.
Windshield wipers.
Seatbelt condition.
Headlights (high and low beams), hazard lights/turn signals via turn signal stalk and hazards button, marker lights, rear running lights, reversing lights, license plate lights.
Tire tread depth, wear, age, air pressure.

Go through fuse and relay area and assess condition. Compare to design (especially fuses). Upgrade relays or have spares available (swap only compatible relays, they are not all the same).
Confirm your cooling fans up at the radiator come on with otterstat (and A/C if that is working on your car, it probably isn't though).
Confirm the condition of the trunk and engine bay latch and cable mechanisms before too long. If it looks frayed, deal with it now and not later as not being able to get into one of those two areas on your new car isn't something you need to add to your to-do list.

Confirm operation of all switches, lights and features. Including windows, locks, radio, interior lights (including door lights), clock if the car has one, 12v outlet, HVAC fan speeds and modes. Fix what isn't working. NOTE: much of this you can safely do from the confines of your garage and without driving the car. Doing it beforehand requires patience, but going over your car methodically before you start driving it will give you a better chance of noticing other problem areas. Fix them before moving on. Again, be patient, it will be difficult to do so.

For your automatic transmission in particular, check the fluid level (ATF) via the dipstick in the engine bay. Too much ATF and it leaks, too little and it will slip. Recommended to change fluid and when doing so, at least initially, drop the pan and inspect/replace the filter up in there.
Inspect your shift computer governor. Determine, if you can, if any of the wiring harness going up to the engine has been damaged by heat. In any event, once you are driving the car, take note of how the car shifts as it may need the governor to be rebuilt. Many do.

Again, be patient. Go through the owners manual page by page and check every feature of the car as you read about them in the manual. This will help you gain familiarity with the car and confirm all the little things are ok. That, in and of itself, is the best way to get yourself a reliable car. Surprises don't equal reliable. Patience and being thorough equal reliable.

Good luck. Ask questions here in specific threads as you encounter things you're not sure of. The car's are not complicated, but they are old. And not knowing what the car's history has been just makes you need to be more patient and detail oriented.

This post is so perfect that I would like to buy you a beer and a pork chop.

[bfloyd]

I'd make sure to look at the fuel system.

1.) Condition of the fuel pump and it's two flex hoses
2.) Fuel Accumulator - depending on how long it sat, probably needs replacing and it's hoses too. (Not too hard to do, but a pain to access)
3.) Fuel Filter - If unsure about it's age - replace it. Like the accumulator, not that hard to replace, just in a very weird location on the car
4.) SAFETY Concern: If your car still has the original fuel lines from the fuel distributor to the injectors - replace the all. Mine were VERY brittle and cracked very easily when I tried to flex them.

[Redsquall]

Indiana - 2460
Thank you !


Congrats! Where are you located? What is your VIN?

Craig

[Redsquall]

This is great stuff, I'm making my excel sheet on all this. Regarding "Confirm your cooling fans up at the radiator come on with otterstat" - how do I verify - let the car run and get warm? How long should it take. It's 30 degress here. Thanks


Congrats.

Safety:
Confirm the safety recalls were done on the car. This includes the front end recall (reinforcing brackets as well as castle nuts/cotter pins on front suspension), the throttle spool/deice recall, and the lambda/service counter recall (replacement and relocation).
The braking system should be near the very top of your list. Including fluid condition/level, condition of calipers/pistons, brake pad thickness, condition of flexible lines as well. Don't forget to confirm the parking brake is working properly.
Confirm horns are working.
Windshield wipers.
Seatbelt condition.
Headlights (high and low beams), hazard lights/turn signals via turn signal stalk and hazards button, marker lights, rear running lights, reversing lights, license plate lights.
Tire tread depth, wear, age, air pressure.

Go through fuse and relay area and assess condition. Compare to design (especially fuses). Upgrade relays or have spares available (swap only compatible relays, they are not all the same).
Confirm your cooling fans up at the radiator come on with otterstat (and A/C if that is working on your car, it probably isn't though).
Confirm the condition of the trunk and engine bay latch and cable mechanisms before too long. If it looks frayed, deal with it now and not later as not being able to get into one of those two areas on your new car isn't something you need to add to your to-do list.

Confirm operation of all switches, lights and features. Including windows, locks, radio, interior lights (including door lights), clock if the car has one, 12v outlet, HVAC fan speeds and modes. Fix what isn't working. NOTE: much of this you can safely do from the confines of your garage and without driving the car. Doing it beforehand requires patience, but going over your car methodically before you start driving it will give you a better chance of noticing other problem areas. Fix them before moving on. Again, be patient, it will be difficult to do so.

For your automatic transmission in particular, check the fluid level (ATF) via the dipstick in the engine bay. Too much ATF and it leaks, too little and it will slip. Recommended to change fluid and when doing so, at least initially, drop the pan and inspect/replace the filter up in there.
Inspect your shift computer governor. Determine, if you can, if any of the wiring harness going up to the engine has been damaged by heat. In any event, once you are driving the car, take note of how the car shifts as it may need the governor to be rebuilt. Many do.

Again, be patient. Go through the owners manual page by page and check every feature of the car as you read about them in the manual. This will help you gain familiarity with the car and confirm all the little things are ok. That, in and of itself, is the best way to get yourself a reliable car. Surprises don't equal reliable. Patience and being thorough equal reliable.

Good luck. Ask questions here in specific threads as you encounter things you're not sure of. The car's are not complicated, but they are old. And not knowing what the car's history has been just makes you need to be more patient and detail oriented.

[Redsquall]

Great stuff! Thank you very much!


I'd make sure to look at the fuel system.

1.) Condition of the fuel pump and it's two flex hoses
2.) Fuel Accumulator - depending on how long it sat, probably needs replacing and it's hoses too. (Not too hard to do, but a pain to access)
3.) Fuel Filter - If unsure about it's age - replace it. Like the accumulator, not that hard to replace, just in a very weird location on the car
4.) SAFETY Concern: If your car still has the original fuel lines from the fuel distributor to the injectors - replace the all. Mine were VERY brittle and cracked very easily when I tried to flex them.

[Bitsyncmaster]

This is great stuff, I'm making my excel sheet on all this. Regarding "Confirm your cooling fans up at the radiator come on with otterstat" - how do I verify - let the car run and get warm? How long should it take. It's 30 degress here. Thanks

At 30 deg. it would take quite a long time and may never put the fans on at idle. You will want to run the test on a warmer day to see via the temp gauge to know when the fans turn on. For now, you make a jumper to connect the two wires from the otterstat to test the fans will run. It's a good idea to keep a few jumpers in your glove box to bypass things that break on the road.

[Jonathan]

This is great stuff, I'm making my excel sheet on all this. Regarding "Confirm your cooling fans up at the radiator come on with otterstat" - how do I verify - let the car run and get warm? How long should it take. It's 30 degress here. Thanks


At 30 deg. it would take quite a long time and may never put the fans on at idle. You will want to run the test on a warmer day to see via the temp gauge to know when the fans turn on. For now, you make a jumper to connect the two wires from the otterstat to test the fans will run. It's a good idea to keep a few jumpers in your glove box to bypass things that break on the road.

No problem, glad to help.

Here's a couple photos of the otterstat and how to jumper it as Dave mentioned.

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?10336-Assorted-helpful-technical-photos&p=166051&viewfull=1#post166051

Ideally you let the car idle and have the fans come on on their own. If it is pretty cold outside, it could take a while, or not get hot enough at all. Even driving your car and having the airflow naturally passing under your car can cool the coolant enough without actually kicking the fans on. The coolant is always moving since the water pump runs with the alternator belt and doesn't need the fans to come on separately. If you don't verify they come on when they should, you'll likely find out the hard way by it overheating some afternoon while you're stuck in traffic.