Category: Upgrades

While continuing to troubleshoot my car’s electrical issues, I decided to replace the starter. The car refused to start a few times earlier this year, probably due to a weak battery, and/or weak poor connections. This would give me an opportunity to clean and tighten the starter wiring, along with upgrade to a lower amperage starter. The new starter also weighs several pounds less than the stock Paris-Rhone starter. I purchased a compatible, rebuilt starter with a lifetime warranty. I would have preferred new over rebuilt, but these starters aren’t being manufactured anymore. Unfortunately, the core charge of $40 would be non-refundable, since the new starter is not the same unit as the stock Paris-Rhone starter. I also wanted to keep the stock starter for any future problems or projects.

I was able to complete at my club’s local tech session, on a car lift! I unfortunately didn’t get many pictures, since time was running short for my car’s work.

The oil filter limits access and removal of the starter. Time for an oil change, which is good because I haven’t changed the oil since 2016?!?! Anyway, the starter is relatively easy to remove. It bolts to the bellhousing with three 13mm bolts. After disconnecting the wiring, I unbolted it from the bellhousing. With some assistance, and some pinched fingers on my helper, the starter was out. Here it is with the new starter:

Pics courtesy of Tom S

The stock wiring setup has three positive cables terminating on two positive posts. The starter solenoid had two wires bundled together onto a terminal, and another wire connected with a bullet connector:

I stacked all the positive cables onto one positive post. All the solenoid wires can be connected and terminated at the small post. I was able to crimp them all together with a ring terminal:

The car started on the first try. The new starter makes a fun “WHEEE” noise.
This is my last oil filter from a 6-pack I purchased with SpecialTAuto.com in 2008. SpecialTAuto’s owner passed away in 2019. Rest in Peace, Mr. Hervey.

Current Mileage: 35,699
That’s it for the 2021 driving season. I probably won’t have the car out of the garage until 2022.

Costs:

My alternator has been leaking a black gooey substance, and staining my garage floor for years:

Recently, my car has had an un-diagnosed electrical gremlin, causing the car to need periodic jump starts. I also needed to replace the alternator belt, so I decided it was time to replace the alternator.

The popular alternator to retrofit into the Delorean is the GM Delco-Remy CS130, and the popular car to cross reference is a 1991-1994 Saturn. I was considering buying one of these alternators from a parts store, with a lifetime warranty. Buying an off-the-shelf CS130 usually means having to swap a serpentine pulley for the V-belt pulleys. A 1/2 inch spacer is needed behind mounting ear. Some bolts need to be changed to mount and tension it correctly. A wiring harness is also needed to plug into the alternator. A new “Saturn” CS130 was near $165, while rebuilt alternators are cheaper.

I was also interested in the “Iceberg” upgrade for the CS130, which adds more cooling fins for the casing. Check out the details here: https://alternatorparts.com/iceberg.html
I wanted to stay away from high amperage output alternators, since they sometimes fail to provide adequate amperage at idle speeds. I’ve read stories of owners having to raise idle speeds since their high-output alternators were failing to charge during city driving.

After totaling the cost of new parts-store alternator, pulley, harness, and bolts, I opted to instead buy a 120 amp alternator from DMC Midwest. Their alternator, a version of the CS130, includes a different casing which mounts easily to the Delorean’s alternator bracket without a spacer. It also includes bolts, wiring harness, the correct pully, and a new belt:

Several years ago, someone posted the parts needed for a stainless turnbuckle alternator tensioner. I added the parts to another order I was already purchasing.

The hardest part of removing the old alternator is access to bolts. Also, the AC belt needs to come off when changing the alternator & water pump belt.

I spent a few hours cleaning belt shavings off the engine:

I needed a longer M8 bolt to mount the new tensioner to the timing cover. After purchasing a stainless bolt and mounting everything, I found the tensioner is too long! I cleaned up the stock bracket, and reinstalled it:

Installed, working:

Costs:

Automatic Transmission filters have not been available for many years. The only options were:

• Find an NOS filter
• Cut apart a used filter, replace the filter material, and weld or use aluminum tape to seal it back up
• Don’t use a filter

…until now! One brave individual took up the cause, and found a company to reproduce them! After buying one, two years ago, I finally got around to replacing it. Draining the ATF:

I tried getting the pan off without disturbing the coolant system, but there was no wiggle room. Oh well, the car could use a coolant flush anyway.

Looks like someone used the cut, replace, and weld method on my existing filter:

There was a decent amount of material on the magnet:

Cleaning the pan:

I liked the quality of the new filters so much, I bought two extra:

New filter installed:

I’m interested in getting rid of any ATF leaks, so I bought the silicone transmission pan gasket offered at DPI:

The bolts I had for the transmission pan started to spin while torqueing them. The new gasket is thicker than the previous one. After some panic, purchasing and installing longer bolts solved the problem.

Time to refill the trans:

Bleeding the coolant, and looking for leaks! Ready to be back on the road after 5 months of winter!

It still leaks ATF. It will always leak ATF:

Costs:

The stock evaporator drain is very prone to clogging with debris. The location makes it also very difficult to clear the clog. It starts in the passenger side of the car, between the evaporator box, and the underbody. It’s a small gap, around 1 inch:
 

There’s a reducing 90 degree elbow, connected to a short hose that drains into the passenger side front wheel well, right onto the frame:

I previously vacuumed out my cabin air intake, and put a screen over it to keep debris out: https://16908.info/?p=1562

However, my AC drain clogged. I didn’t find this out until a good amount of water built up in my passenger side carpet.

The recommended way to clear the clog is to run some weed-wacker cutting line into the hose, and poke around to free the obstruction. Some people have had luck using a vacuum connected to the drain hose.

I found the hose was loose, and easily pulled off. I’m not sure it was even connected, and getting it reconnected was going to be very difficult with the AC dryer in the way:

The stock elbow can be cut with a thin saw blade, or gently heated and pried off. The saw method could possibly damage the box or nearby wiring. I opted to use the heat gun, and screwdriver to pry it off. Once I got it off, more water drained onto the cabin floor, and some out onto the ground:

Here’s the reducing elbow, all clogged up:

I’ve seen mods where spark plug boots, or coil cover boots are used to make an easily detachable piece to drain water. I decided against any kind elbow, or connection in favor of one single piece of tubing.

I had a length of Chemical-Resistant Clear Tygon tubing left over from building a brake fluid pressure bleeder:

I then boiled some water with a kettle, and held it over the steam for a few seconds. Then I shoved a scissors into the tubing, and opened the scissors to stretch the tubing. After a few tries, I was able to finally get the tubing around a 13mm socket:

I also used the steam to work the tubing into curve. The stock elbow is a hard 90 degrees, so this gentle curve should reduce clogging. Here’s the old drain, and the new one:

The tubing has a 1/16″ wall thickness, and is very rigid. The inner diameter is 5/16″ and appears larger than the stock elbow:

Now I worked the tubing into the hole in the underbody, and got it out into the wheel well:

After some twisting, I got it into position, and onto the evaporator drain:

Blowing air through the tube was easy, which confirmed there were no kinks. Now I angled it down, below, and away from the frame. A zip tie secured it:

Whenever I vacuum my interior, I’ll also attach it to the drain hose to suck out any debris which may have found its way into the hose. Hopefully this will keep the drain clog free, and my carpet dry.

To summarize, here’s the benefits of this mod:

• Clear tubing allows a clog to be seen
• longer tubing allows water to drain away from the frame, reducing frame rust
• Eliminates 90 degree elbow, reducing clogs
• Larger internal diameter tubing reduces possibility of clogs
• One piece can’t become disconnected in the wheel well
• Easier to vacuum or snake out debris
• No need to cut or modify the underbody

Tools:

• Heat Gun
• Long flat blade screw driver
• Scissors
• 13mm socket
• Tea Kettle

Costs:

I previously had adjusted my latches, performed the “wedgectomy,” and lubricated them generously with white lithium grease:

https://16908.info/?p=2422

Once again, the latches jammed. Removing the top door panel, and removing the latch rods with your bare hands while trapped in the car isn’t fun. I then found this post on DMCTalk:

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?12682-door-latch-adjustment-problem&p=182992&viewfull=1#post182992

…which basically means my lithium grease and any other previously used lubricants could have gummed up the latches. So once again, I decided to remove all the latches. I cleaned and degreased them with brake cleaner, my air compressor with a blow gun, and dozens of paper towels. Before re-installing them, I chose to change the “lock linkages” in each door to “lock linkage.” I eliminated the lock linkage on the front of each door. Having two latches means they must be in sync for both opening and unlocking. One lock obviously means there is nothing to sync, which is much easier to setup and maintain. Some people have successfully disconnected their front locks, so the door only locks on the rear latches. The only danger is you might drive over a bump, and the lock might engage. Once engaged, and with no way to unlock the front latch, this will really make getting out of the car a challenge. So I came up with this modification:

This is the latch, and the arm, that moves back and forth between lock and unlock. Simply drill a small hole in the latch, and wrap some wire around the arm and the latch to secure it. The wire won’t interfere with the latch.

The reverse side of the latch. You can see the wire doesn’t interfere

Presto! The latch should never lock, but can easily be converted back to a locking latch.

You can now remove the lock rod that goes to the forward latch. I had to cut and retained half of my lock rod since it is needed for my aftermarket door lock actuators:
 

This time around, I lubricated the latches with WD-40. Once reinstalled, I then performed the Door Lock and Latch Adjustment process. After that, comes testing everything! Test the exterior door handles, interior door handles, exterior locks, interior locks, and in my case, remote locks and remote door launchers. Be sure to test it with the door’s plastic membrane in place to see if it interferes with anything.

In my case, everything is working correctly. Time to reinstall the door panels again. Hopefully they’ll stay installed for many years to come.