1992 Lebaron 2.5 L turbo second chance!

[NascarT/A]

Hello I think this is my first post on this site. I owned a 92 Lebaron sport turbo convertible until 04, and regreted selling it ever since. A friend at work which has a 92 Lebaron GTC convertible recently told me he is selling his Lebaron. It needs some repairs. It runs but smokes and he says it has a cracked turbo. Can anyone shed some info on this issue. Does this indicate bad maintenance or abuse or something else. I want to play with it a bit and use it for a work commuter. Any help would be appreciated and thank you in advance.

[2.216VTurbo]

You have a soft spot for the car, if you have the resources to get it, then get it:nod: Cracked turbo eh? Odd diagnosis:confused2:. just plan on pulling the head and rebuilding/replacing whatever it needs. All the parts are available here or thru our vendors.

[cordes]

It all comes down to the price you're willing to pay vs the time and money spent getting it up to speed. Is it rusted out or rust free? It's getting to the point that there are a lot of how to posts and even videos that break down pretty much every aspect of owning these cars.

[NascarT/A]

It looks pretty good body wise, the usually missing trim pieces. Newer top.

[cordes]

I would check the compression and go from there. It should be at least 100PSI across all cylinders. Preferably at least 120PSI.

[NascarT/A]

Found out some more info. It not the turbo that is cracked. It is the band clamp between the housing and the turbine housing. I guess he says he had to replace it once before.

[tryingbe]

Missing clamp usually means broken turbo.

[cordes]

Missing clamp usually means broken turbo.

Very true. Mitsu turbos can still be had for next to nothing and even ~$200 will get you a nice Garrett though.

[NascarT/A]

Are the two turbos interchangable? What I would like to do with this car is make it a daily driver, add a dual exhaust system (split the exhaust after the rear wheels) like I did to my old one; and maybe if I could find the correct Intercooler i would add that. I want to keep this low budget reliable build. I might look for a factory oil filter mount oil cooler too. Does this sound reasonable? My wife is not keen on this car because it is old and a stick.

[cordes]

It will bolt right on, but you'll need different coolant and oil lines. Those are readily available. It would probably be a good idea to get some new lines regardless of which turbo you go with. Unless you really plan on upping the boost I see no reason to go any bigger than a mitsu so that could be a money saver.

I think you may have a hard time with a drop in IC/Rad combo. I think the only thing that would drop right in would be a Spirit R/T or an IROC R/T unit and both of those are pretty rare. I'm not 100% sure on that either.

[NascarT/A]

Thank you for all your inputs! Would the Intercooler setup from another Intercooler Lebaron or a Daytona work? Would going to a Garrett increase the lag over the Mitsubishi turbo?

[cordes]

Thank you for all your inputs! Would the Intercooler setup from another Intercooler Lebaron or a Daytona work?

I think by 92 the height of the intercooler/Rad stuff was different. I'm fairly certain that by that year most all of the cars interchanged. Someone would need to confirm that for you though. Even then, you would have to track down a pretty rare IC/rad.

[Lotashelbys]

The only "bolt in" rad-I/C combo is like what Cordes stated is the 91-93 Spirit-Iroc R/T setup. The 90 Daytona/LeBaron VNT setup will work also but you will have to use a spacer at the top mounts and figure out how to mount coolant bottle. I would put a "want to buy" out for the R/T setup as I have used them in 92 GTCs before and work great as a bolt in. make sure whoever you get one from says that the radiator DID NOT leak around the plastic end tanks as that is a common problem. You will also need a TII lower I/C hose and something for the top.