1987 chrysler conquest tsi general questions

[Moose]

Ok so to anyone who wants to give me a little insight to some of the issues I'm working with here will be greatly appreciated. Please bear with me as I'm actually new to the forum thing. I do alot of reading on forums and I've actually been reading this forum long before I even found my conquest but I've never really posted any of my problems. I think I may have posted something somewhere on here before the site switched I dont even remember.

 

So I picked up a 1987 chrysler conquest tsi a few years ago now. Got it fairly cheap BUT it had been sitting outside non running since 2003... luckily it was on a concrete pad on jackstands (they left it on jackstands from them working on it) so suprisingly it's pretty solid, only 83x miles on the clock. So I've spent the last few years going thru it, replacing what needed to be replaced, getting it running, learning with it etc. But I got a few issues maybe other people have ran into.

So when I'm driving it, at about 3.5 rpms I have a stumble, seems like it just cuts out. Seems like it's worse in 3rd and 4th gear. Almost like a miss. Now would a leaky exhaust manifold gasket do that? Maybe the boost is cutting out? Because my exhaust manifold is leaking I can see the soot back on th firewall. I didnt know if that could cause that. Of course it has new cap, but on, plugs gapped at .35, wires, tanks been coated, fuel pump, rebuilt injectors, etc

My rear defrost or rear wiper doesnt work. I havent tested power or anything or done further research, I dont know maybe someone on here will be like Oh yea! Its _______ I think the rear motor on the wiper arm might be locked up I'm not sure

So I'm sure if I do some digging theres a topic on this; my driver seatbelt doesnt retract lol its stuck on the off position up my the windshield. I've had several cars with these damn automatic seatbelts and have had them quit working but never looked into it but of course I want to make the quest right. The passenger seatbelt works fine but not the drivers. 

Any info on any of these topics would be appreciated.

[GoldStar]

Regarding the stumble, I hear a bad vacuum advance on the distributor can do something similar, albeit I can't confirm. Regardless, if you're seeing soot on the firewall from the exhaust, you should probably replace the manifold gasket anyway. Exhaust studs on these are known for snapping/stripping out, so look into getting a Timesert kit. Before you pull the manifold off, try tightening all of the studs to see which ones are stripped out, if any.

Regarding your rear wiper/defrost, that's most likely the switches in the hatch struts not closing due to hatch misalignment. If they're close enough, you can test this by switching the rear wiper on, then walking around back and bumping the hatch itself inward while it's closed to see if the wiper starts moving. 3rd brake light operation is also affected by this.

Regarding the seatbelts, check your stop switches at the front and back of the track with a multimeter. I had half my interior torn apart trying to fix the exact same issue until I took my rear stop switch out and saw that one of the connector pins had backed out slightly. Snapped it back in and it's worked ever since.

[kev]

Welcome to the forum!   To confirm what GoldStar is saying:

The stumble is a bad vacuum advance.  This is probably the most common SQ issue throughout the years.  The diaphragm rips inside.  The condition that you are describing is common when they just start to rip.  The diaphragm still is working enough to advance the timing at first but then the boost pressure pushes past and causes it to spring return back to home...creating the buck.  It will eventually tear completely and you will have no advance and see a very noticeable loss of power.   Honestly, I'm surprised it still works at all after sitting for that long.  Starquest101; always replace the vacuum advance as soon as you buy the car...add it to the common list of normal tune-up items (changing oil, plugs, wires, cap/rotor, etc.).   

For the rear wiper/defrost; yes it is due to the hatch struts.  The struts are so strong that the literally push the hatch out of position over the years.   I'm guessing that if you look at the hatch when it it closed, it will be sticking about a 1/4" too far back compared to the side spoiler pieces?   This causes the connections on the struts to no longer contact, or have bad contact.    You need to pull the headliner, loosen the mounting bolts, and push back the hatch and retighten.  Note that two people are needed for this and you need to  remove your hatch struts prior to readjusting (unthread them from the 'rear deck' side and let them lay in the trunk area when you are readjusting the hatch).    There is another 'quick fix' for this though.   Take a look at your hatch struts.  There will be a socket on the cylinder end with the female electrical connections.  On the rod end, there is a collar containing the male end of the connections.  You can loosen this collar and slide it up the rod about 1/4" and retighten...but your hatch still won't be aligned.     

I don't have too much knowledge on the seatbelts.  Surprisingly, mine have always worked, knock on wood, but sometimes they stick and the belt/track needs a good cleaning.   I will say that accessing the track to troubleshoot  isn't the easies thing to do.

 

[Moose]

See I knew there was a reason I hit you guys up, my spoiler and hatch is sticking pretty far out 

[860QuestTuner]

With the stumble try the TPS/ Idle reset and test the TPS. If there is a bad spot it can cause a similar issue and can be done with a cheap analog multimeter from harbor freight. The instructions are in the How tos.

The seat belts can also be the switches in the doors, when the boot wears off it can corrode on inside. Your really do have to disassemble a decent amount of interior to get to switches, they should be cleaned and track mildly regreased.

[Moose]

Well since I've got it running I've almost put 1000 miles on it so I'm trying to figure out all the bugs. Problem is, this is the first conquest I've ever owned, been around or driven. So I'm not 100 percent positive how its suppose to run or how much power its supposed to have. Hell I dont even know where redline on the thing is, dont think I've ever taken it past 5500 rpms, but it does kind of feel sluggish to me for a turbocharged car that's suppose to be pushing 188hp and 230ftlbs. If your just trying to drive in the city with it its really hard because if your just lightly throttling it it feels like it cuts in and out, soon as you give it more gas of course it goes away until the stumble between 3500rpm and 4500. Really hard to explain. Picture being in about 3rd gear, trying to go 35 in town and you can feel in the pedal the car kind of "rocking" as you drive. The motor doesnt miss or anything. 86questtuner said something about a throttle position sensor, didnt even know the thing had one. If so where is that at? As for the exhaust manifold bolts, yes I am aware they break and/or strip. I actually watched a video of a guy working on a conquest in his shop, doing the exhaust manifold, he said that it's best to go a size bigger? Idk it didnt make much sense to me but I havent tried loosening any of them yet but from the looks of it they are all there. I have the new exhaust manifold gasket and a new turbo mounting gasket, I wasnt sure if the turbo had to come off first so I got the gasket in case. 

Hopefully I dont sound like a dumba** or anything but I have always wanted one of these cars and I really want this thing to be showroom quality someday to keep ahold of and in 20 or 30 years from now it can be like a model t is to us today. 

I'm going to go ahead and order a vacuum advance for it, found one for 60 sum bucks so it's worth it to me cuz everything else on the distributor is replaced anyway. 

I live in Ohio and there is actually a guy that lives about 45 mins from me that has all kinds of crazy cars including like 3 different conquests and he said he has a bunch of conquest parts too, minus the front chin spoiler that I need. You guys would be mind blown if you seen his collection

[BlueCuda]

While on the subject should the limit switches have a spring action to them?  My 87 the front limit switch isn't spring loaded which I assume it should be.  When I extend it manually I get a beep from the system but no action on the seat belt, I have yet to tear the interior down enough to mess with the rear switch.

 

[admin_JAinsworth]

These are the best pics I have of the front limit switch. 

Jimmy

[admin_JAinsworth]

Only picture I have of the rear switch location.

Jimmy

[BlueCuda]

Mine is for sure not springing back, should be simple enough to fix.  Thanks for the pictures.  

[psu_Crash]

Welcome Moose! 

When you get to changing the vac advance it would be a good idea to go through all the vacuum lines. It's a PITA for sure, buy at least then you know. The underside of your hood should have a diagram for what goes where. Those lines often get connected incorrectly over the years. 

[admin_JAinsworth]

4 hours ago, psu_Crash said:

Welcome Moose! 

When you get to changing the vac advance it would be a good idea to go through all the vacuum lines. It's a PITA for sure, buy at least then you know. The underside of your hood should have a diagram for what goes where. Those lines often get connected incorrectly over the years. 

Link to vacuum lines diagram:  

 

[Moose]

Hey guys, just wanted to thank you all for the info. Found a couple worn vacuum lines got them changed, changed the vaccume advance and took it down the road and it hits every rpm with ease! Now I just gotta figure out why my cruise dont work, it worked for me one time and that's it. Going to do the rear hatch adjustment next and hope that my rear wiper and rear defrost works. Thanks to all I'm sure I'll have other issues I'll start threads on. Still trying to figure out how to use the site.