84 sedan project (beginners luck)

[Murdoc1905]

Hello all, figured I might as well start a thread since I'll be at this for a while and will definitely need help down the road. Going to be very picture oriented because pictures help, especially with me identifying things inside of the engine bay, so without further adue..
She's got 197k miles on her, all from the original owner, has a sticker for the next oil change at 199k miles so needless to say she was probably well kept. Traded to a dealer because the owner got too old to enter and exit the car easily (I'll need new hinge pins on the driver side thanks to that) dealer held it for 5-6 years then sold it to me for $750! What a steal! She starts right up the first time every time, sounds beautiful, no major rust that I can find, has a pretty bad dent on the driver side rear panel, currently working to "massage" that out with my hammers. Had a pretty bad hit on the passenger front side, not too visible but the quarter panel is pushed back a few inches, the headlight housing is broken. From my initial testing all electronics function except an aftermarket stereo system and denon amp really professionally installed actually. During my engine and partial underbody clean revealed some parts that need replacing, but nothing too major yet.


Before and after motor clean


Of all the Fluids, only the brake and power steering look like they even need to be replaced!

Issues I've found so far:

Splitting away bar linkage rod.
https://ibb.co/j7G3vJ
Cracked driver side Steering Tie Rod End Boot.
https://ibb.co/n9bghy
Nearly worn thru spark plug wire.
https://ibb.co/eopOvJ
Beginning of cracked hosed on vacuum pump? Not exactly sure what this is.
https://ibb.co/ey0VaJ
Beginnings of cracked hose on unknown thing. Lol
https://ibb.co/feuCpd
I already fixed this air flow valve? The pop rivets broke so I Drilled them out and replaced with new ones.
https://ibb.co/cyUCpd
Dry and cracked engine oil fill cap gasket.
https://ibb.co/hYRQ9d

[amcfool1]

hey, welcome and good luck, I also have an 84 sedan, and just finished a MAJOR restification last year. Looks like a good car. First, and very carefully, replace any and all vacuum lines. That "vac. pump" is actually the charcoal canister, good to keep. There is a replaceable filter in its bottom. Sway bar end links are available anywhere. "beginnings of cracked hose..." that is the vac. supply to your power brake booster, very important! That airflow valve is an emissions flap, that closes when car is off, opens when engine starts. If you plan to keep the car, I strongly suggest you get a TSM (technical service manual), available on ebay. If you can't find an 84, a used 82 will help almost as much. good luck! gz

[amarshall]

Welcome!  It's good to see another new project getting started.  Looks like you have already lightened the car by about 10 lbs with all the cleaning you have done!  That's not fun work but it sure helps you get familiar with every little nook and cranny, well done.

I've had great luck getting advice from everybody here on the forum, so post up your questions and pictures any time.  Can you share your goals or plans for the car?  Daily driver or show queen?  Hah!

[AMC1]

You even got AC with it. That was an $750. + tax option in '83. You may have to switch it over to 134a if not already done so.

[Murdoc1905]

Yeah I'm really lucky that the air was included for sure! Wish I had a dedicated battery so I could test the electronics and systems more throughly but I'll have to settle for pulling my car battery and losing my radio settings every time lol. The goal for this is to make it a daily driver for sure. Not going to try to keep it bone stock, I'll upgrade any part that I replace, and maybe down the road add things to increase performance and what not. One question I have is I was thinking of turning the outside "low beam" headlights to dual high/low functioning and have the interior lights be daytime running lights anyone know of someone who has tried this?

[vangremlin]

I have not heard of anybody doing the change to the headlights you're looking at.  Sounds like a fun project. 

[Murdoc1905]

If I were to be honest I really kinda want to make headlights like the dodge Demon with the air intake coming from the headlights. In my mind a rectangle headlight with led around the exterior (probably soft light, not a hard visible strip of leads with a square hole in the middle sounds awesome. It would be something I would have to custom make, but I have an autocad program and 3d printing parts is remarkably cheap and easy to find someone to make. We will see. But at the very least I do want daytime running lights.

[amcfool1]

hi, daytime running lights are mandatory in Canada. danielsternlighting.com sells a kit to do this. But first, get the car running well, and check the brakes! good luck, gz

[Murdoc1905]

Absolutely, safety is always the #1 priority, the only thing stopping me from doing my brakes right now is a lack of line Wrenches and a very stubborn rusted bleeder valve bolt.

[trucker79005]

Nice looking Eagle! Glad to have you here. I learned a great deal of the forums this last year and hope I can help.

Brake bleeders were the first thing I attacked on my black 83. Took me most of a day. Used Freeze off alternated with kroil. Used a 6 point socket to break them loose then switched to an open end wrench..
Good luck.

[mo.eagles]

 The bar linkage is the sway bar link. You can find those on Rockauto  for $4-$8. Tie rod ends as well. Great prices and in stock.
The "vacuum pump"  is the charcoal cannister. You will want replace those hoses with fuel rated hoses.
The "unknown thing" looks like the brake booster. You DEFINETLY want to replace that hose and make sure the rubber grommet on that elbow at the booster is good also.  Good looking car . Great buy!!!

[amcfool1]

hi, on those pesky brake fluid bleeders, first, new ones are cheap, and , to get them loose, if all else fails, get yourself a VERY small pipe wrench, as in 6" length, and that will do the trick.

[Murdoc1905]

So the bleeder valves had already been stripped before I got to them, so I spent 2 days spraying with wd40 then hit it with some pb blaster, snapped the front driver side one, just at the top so there might be a chance still, got the passenger side out with little issue. Tomorrow I'm hoping to jack up the back of the car and start on the drum brakes. Thanks to all for all the information on the other questions I had, can someone link me to the right hose for the brake Booster, my eagle-Foo is not strong yet. I had a recent issue where fluid started leaking from the fill/flush connector on the heater core when I turned the heat off. I tightened the cap down, but have not yet tried it to see if it's still leaking. Brian told me a valve might be frozen open or closed? That make sense to anyone?

[amarshall]

Not sure I understand about the "flush/fill connector on the heater core"... but the frozen valve is almost certainly the heater control valve.  There is another thread going on right now with a little info:

http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=39628

Short version, there is a valve in the heater coolant lines that controls whether fluid goes through the firewall and the heater core under the dash.  The valve is on the passenger side of the engine bay near the firewall.  The valve is normally open, so fluid goes into the heater core.  When vacuum is sent from the HVAC controls, the valve should close and bypass the heater core.  The valve corrodes internally, and get stuck in the open position.

If you find that yours needs to be replaced, consider a valve from a Jeep Cherokee.  Looks slightly different, but function is the same and much cheaper.

[DAVE]

new calipers are fairly inexpensive at Rockauto if you can't get the broken bleeder out