Resurrection of my 1985 Dodge Omni GLHT

[Dodgeglht]

Just found this section and figure it's best to put my post here regarding the project that is my 1985 Dodge Omni GLH-T. I bought this car in 2007 to replace my very rusty 1985 Omni GLH-T. I paid $1000 for the car in non-running condition, and did what I could to get her running, including installing the engine from the rusty GLH-T. Well the car ran & drove ok so I drove her to Carlisle. The turbo failed in 2007, as she started smoking bigtime. That's the last time the car saw the road, aside a period I took the car to storage. It sat in storage ever since. I got pushed to get her running after a call from storage, saying they are going to tow the car in 30 days due to flat tires and rust. I had a set of 4 tires in the garage, and had them mounted on the snowflake wheels I had from back in my autocrossing days. 3 out of 4 are painted gloss black but more important they hold air and the car can roll.

I charged the battery but it's shot. Moment I tried to start it just clicked. Had to jump the car. It runs but only on 3 cylinders. Ran fine when I took the car to storage, and at the time I had previously installed a new fuel pump to get the car running.

The car also had a LR wheel that was seized but that's free. It's filthy inside & out, and quite frankly looks like total crap. I've got to get the car running though, and wanna get her running right. I plan to get her to my Dad's house some how, and then start the diagnostics. I will be doing a compression test, fuel system diagnosis, brake bleeding, see if the rotors can be turned or if they just need replaced due to rust, same with the drums, new brake fluid, oil, coolant, and replace the belts. I have a Ford Pinto that I am restoring, and one of my Pinto buddys had a brand new in box timing belt for an Omni, so that will be going on as well.

I have my doubts at this point the car will drive home but we will see..
Here are some pics of the car, as well as with the new tires.

[going4speed]

good starting point for project. Recommend replacing all the brake hoses as well...likely the cause of the locked up front wheel. Plus it's just cheap insurance for good brakes.

[Dodgeglht]

good starting point for project. Recommend replacing all the brake hoses as well...likely the cause of the locked up front wheel. Plus it's just cheap insurance for good brakes.

Yup, the brake hoses are on the list as well. At least I know the car can roll on those tires. All four wheels are free now. It was actually the left rear wheel that was stuck. I think the shoes were stuck to the drum, as when I tried to rotate it at first it wouldn't move. I also plan to pull the rear wheel bearings, install new grease seals on the back, and re-grease them so I know they are lubed up. It's gonna be a lot of work but a lot of fun. Even though the car was down a cylinder it had decent oil pressure according to the dash gauge, and was charging ok. We'll see. It will take time, and money but will be worth it. My dad refuses to let me get rid of the car, and is more excited to get her going than I am. He likes the fact the car had guts when she ran right, and the sound of that turbo spooling up. I already got the replacement turbo in the garage . Bought it in 2007, and ordered a gasket set yesterday so I can take care of any gaskets that decide to leak

[johnl]

There are two expensive risks - clogged injectors and fire. Since you are working with priorities, and delaying on the new fuel pump and having to work with that dirty gas tank be certain in the meantime to install, right away, a new fuel filter and replace the injection hoses.

It's easy and cheap. The filter is right in front of the gas tank on the passenger side. Pull the old one along with the hoses; also pull the injection hoses under the hood. Be gentle with the fuel injection rail - the joints crack and will leak if one pulls too hard, just slice and peel the hose ends before pulling them off.

[johnl]

Since you are working with priorities, and delaying on the new fuel pump and having to work with that dirty gas tank be certain in the meantime to install, right away, a new fuel filter.

It's easy, right in front of the gas tank on the passenger side. Pull the old one along with the hoses and then go to your auto parts store with all of it, get a matching filter and matching high pressure fuel injection hoses. The inlet/outlet sizes are different.

[Dodgeglht]

There are two expensive risks - clogged injectors and fire. Since you are working with priorities, and delaying on the new fuel pump and having to work with that dirty gas tank be certain in the meantime to install, right away, a new fuel filter and replace the injection hoses.

It's easy and cheap. The filter is right in front of the gas tank on the passenger side. Pull the old one along with the hoses; also pull the injection hoses under the hood. Be gentle with the fuel injection rail - the joints crack and will leak if one pulls too hard, just slice and peel the hose ends before pulling them off.

Yup, I plan to actually pull all of that apart & replace the hoses and all the filters. I'm not trying to delay replacing the fuel pump, just have to get the car to the house from the storage unit. I did a visual inspection of the hoses to make sure there were no visible cracks before I even tried to start the car, and nothing. While it has been a while since I've worked on a car that sat around I unfortunately have had experience with fire due to a car that sat. My 1980 Ford Pinto lost its wiring harness due to a ruptured accelerator pump, which leaked gas all over the distributor. Oddly enough the fire started after I replaced the old one & a spark caused the fire. Still not sure how but the plug wire popped off the distributor cap which was below the carb. Back on subject though, I am in the process of obtaining a fuel pressure tester, and if need be will be replacing the pump if found to be bad, which my guess is the thing is bad. Hopefully I won't need to replace the injectors but something is causing it to be down a cylinder. Just not sure what at the moment since it's at storage.

[Dodgeglht]

I should also add I will be putting a new fuel sock. I have to drop the tank anyway since the car had a leaky filler grommet so I'm gonna put a new pump sock on, as well as clean the tank out as good as possible. I have another tank but gotta check it out to make sure it's ok to use. The one in the car came from my parts car, and the one that was in the car has been out. Will do what I can to clean it up.

[going4speed]

Id send the injectors to mr injector for cleaning, new fuel tank, pump and all hoses with filter. That is a solid foundation.

[Dodgeglht]

Id send the injectors to mr injector for cleaning, new fuel tank, pump and all hoses with filter. That is a solid foundation.

I just took a look at mr injector's website and I must say that is very interesting. That will be something I will end up doing eventually since the cost of new injectors is much higher than getting the existing ones serviced. HOPEFULLY they are serviceable but never know until I pull them out.

[Dodgeglht]

So I got to thinking... I have both a spark tester and a timing light. With that said I am going to go to the car today and check all four cylinders for spark. While I can't check fuel pressure until I get a fuel pressure tester I can check the spark. I know it can be one of three things. Spark, fuel, or mechanical. By checking the spark I will have one thing eliminated. Who knows, I might find a bad plug wire or something. We'll see what happens.

[Dodgeglht]

Well things just got interesting. I went to the car to check the spark, and replaced the bad negative battery terminal, and jump started it. I expected the car to be down a cylinder so when it wasn't I was shocked. The car was actually running pretty decent so I disconnected the jumper cables and drove it around the storage unit a little. The car has a very solid pedal, and the more it ran the less it smoked. Now it will need some cleanup work, and new battery to start on its own but I'm ready to get going on the work. My Dad and I are going after the car tonight to take it back to his house, where the work will happen.

[going4speed]

eight year old gas and it runs on four cylinders? holy cow!

[Dodgeglht]

eight year old gas and it runs on four cylinders? holy cow!

Wasn't much of that left in it. the car was basically on empty, and the 3 gallons of fresh are now running the car. Just got done driving it around the corner from my Dad's house. Didn't smoke too much when cold but once it got up to temp it started to smoke just like I remembered in 2007. Going to start the repairs to her now that she's home. Felt good to drive her, even if just a short drive.

[Dodgeglht]

So I started to work on the car and removed the fuel rail, injector harness, and vacuum lines. Unbolted the turbo from the exhaust manifold, as well as removed the throttle body and air box from the car. Ran in to a problem with the intake and exhaust manifolds. Looks like I will have to remove the head to get the manifolds off the engine. When I took the parts off the engine I inspected the hoses. While they look good I decided to be smart and cut them off the car so I don't get tempted to reuse them. In addition I found the injector harness has a bad injector pigtail, and there was also a cracked wire towards the injector harness plug. Think that may have been the source of my misfire, and dead cylinder.

[Dodgeglht]

Engine compartment before work started:



After removing parts:



Damaged Injector harness:

[Dodgeglht]

The parts list is growing but I know it'll be worth it in the end. According to the book the head needs to be off to get the manifolds off. I was trying to avoid that but looks like I won't be able to. Oh well, if I have to pull the head then so be it.

[2.216VTurbo]

I'm glad this wasn't one of those someday-I'm-gonna-get-my-car-running-again threads and you're not one of those guys with the best of intentions for his cars rotting in the yard Great progress so far. Yes, if it smokes like you remember, even tho pulling the head wasn't on your short list it should have been on your list anyway. Some guys have managed to pull manifolds with the head on with a few custom-ish wrenches etc, I've always just pulled the head to service manifolds/turbo(on an 8V anyway) Post pics of the head gasket when you get it opened up. BTW the other attachments aren't working for me.

[Dodgeglht]

I'm glad this wasn't one of those someday-I'm-gonna-get-my-car-running-again threads and you're not one of those guys with the best of intentions for his cars rotting in the yard Great progress so far. Yes, if it smokes like you remember, even tho pulling the head wasn't on your short list it should have been on your list anyway. Some guys have managed to pull manifolds with the head on with a few custom-ish wrenches etc, I've always just pulled the head to service manifolds/turbo(on an 8V anyway) Post pics of the head gasket when you get it opened up. BTW the other attachments aren't working for me.

Yeah, I am thinking the same thing. Even though I had replaced the head gasket when I installed the engine in 2007 the car did sit for 8 years, so the valve stem seals will probably need replacing anyway. The smoking I had seen was definitely turbo related, as it was nearly gone after the car ran for a while but once up to temp was smoking heavily. The more I think I don't remember pulling the manifolds from the engine with the head in the car so I must not have. Oh well, it will only take a few minutes to index the timing marks, and unbolt the head anyways. As for the injector harness I HOPE I have a spare in my tote of spare parts in the garage. More pics of the teardown will definitely be happening. I sortof wonder if the engine has a blown head gasket anyway since the radiator is low. That's odd about the other attachments, I thought they were all showing. I'll have to take a closer look.

[Dodgeglht]

Just got a gasket set off ebay that includes the head bolts for less than $30 shipped. Verified on Fel-Pro's website that it would fit my car before I bought it. Saved money compared to getting the parts at the parts store. Gonna do it right.

[mopar-tech]

Just got a gasket set off ebay that includes the head bolts for less than $30 shipped. Verified on Fel-Pro's website that it would fit my car before I bought it. Saved money compared to getting the parts at the parts store. Gonna do it right.

Keep an eye on Rock Auto- There have been clearing out "overstock" time to time. I just picked up a bunch of FP headgaskets for $5 each and they were selling gasket sets minus bolts for $14