It's a great car restoration show specializing on classic mopar restoration. And Mark Worman's also a brand spokesman for the new generation of challengers like yours. And funny as hell

 

Thanks, I will check out his stuff.

 

Now that used car prices have seemed to come back to reality, my wife and I are looking forward to a 2 door car.

We have driven boring “practical” 4 door cars for about 20 years. Now that we are almost empty nesters, I might finally get the Challenger I have wanted since they first came out.

As soon as our contract is settled in September, we are car shopping. The idea of a car payment while walking a picket line doesn’t appeal to me in the least!!

 

First the good, I got over 40 mpg Imperial last 4 hour trip. It was 41.7 at best average. I think everything is at the break in sweet spot, just under 127,000 km. The bad, I hooked up my boat to drive 2 hours away to go fishing. Problem is, I didn't get the hitch on the ball completely. It came off and looked like it only damaged the trailer spare, a half used up tire and scuffed the top of the bumper. It looked fairly deep. Great, it will need fixed. So I cleaned it off with brake cleaner and there was one tiny spot down to black, touched it up. I then polished it. It can only be seen in just the right light. Talk about lucky. We got on the water, the depth finder arm broke but I didn't let it get me down. We also caught 50+ fish, so worth the struggle.

 

Surprised you don't know about Mark. He is to Mopars what Joe is to Oldsmobile's. He is a walking talking encyclopedia of Mopars. Goofball. Funny. Super knowledgeable. You gotta check him out.

Glad to see you are enjoying your car. I cannot hate on these cars at all. Can be plenty of squirrels driving them sometimes but can't hate the cars.

 

They are great driving cars and actually look good, something severely lacking on new cars. Also these aren't the old Dodge's with half *** engineering and quality. I know, we owned and currently own an older Dodge. This one is even a big improvement over the 2010 we had.

 

I really like this Spectre cold air intake, a noticeable gain IMHO. I have achieved my best MPG, 41.7 Imperial since running this intake. I am guessing 1 mpg to 4 mpg, depending on driving habits, unless my display is lying. My Hellcat lower box got lost in the mail, not bothering to get another one. I will be putting in the headlight plugs and stock box in for the Winter. I have the silicone adapter from the Spectre tubing to the stock box. Since sanding the edge of the tube, the filter hasn't come off. I wanted to put in the biggest filter possible and this Amazon dry flow filter fit, perfect fit and matches the car.

 

Well I am now at 131,000+ km. I picked up the higher end brake pads, got a bunch of dollars on my CT card. I may pick up a spare Continental serpentine belt. My last Challenger needed pads at 150,000 km. I will access when I install the studded Winter tires. I also picked up this off Ebay. I may do minor cleanup on the casting lines before installing depending on how it looks. It is the Performance Upgrade intake, better flowing vs my stock intake.
5281803AA Intake Manifold Assembly Replacement for 2016-2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Dodge Durango Chrysler Pacifica 3.6L Koomaha

 

It arrived, looks good, not bad for just over $125 CAD. The only other parts I might consider are the 8 hole injectors, slightly better MPG, NGK Ruthenium spark plugs and Accel coils. I got the Autolite Iridium spark plugs really cheap a while back, I may change them alone if nothing else fails in the next few thousand miles. I'm sure the original plugs should be changed soon, 150,000 mile is the suggested, I may be an easy one later today.

 

Well I decided to do the spark plugs, got the Autolite Iridium spark plugs really cheap off Amazon a year or so ago. There was .010" worth of wear, definitely time. With the upper intake off, I could finally finish sucking out the mouse nest with the shop vac. Pretty sure it was from when this car sat on the dealer lot for a year. I tossed the 1/2 chewed pad under the upper intake. I used a shot of dielectric grease in each coil boot and a small amount of Permatex Cooper Antiseize on each plug thread. I used the piece hose to hand thread each spark plug. Everything torqued to factory specs including the spark plugs and gapped at .043". I just put in the head light plugs for the Winter and removed the mudflap I completely blocked off the coolant overflow from the air filter. Car runs great after the test drive. I also polished it with Tutle Wax and Meguirs Ceramic polish, both work on plastic.

 

A guy rolled up in chevy truck on Friday night at the stop light and asked if I wish I had a chevy. I said nope and he then said what a nice car it was. He asked if it had the Hemi, I said no. I told him AWD and I even tow my boat. He said AWD, wow and what a nice car it was again.

 

Looks great after your wax and ceramic job.

Thanks for the reminder on the periodic maintenance and the helpful notes on plug replacement. My plug replacement schedule is 100,000 miles--I'll be there next year. Manual transmission and rear axle fluid changes are at that mileage point as well.

Your maintenance reminds us that winter's coming. And I hope it hurries. The summer has been dry and unseasonably warm here. Today was cooler, 37 °C with dew point of 20 °C. It's currently raining, however.

Hard to believe. I love my 2010--but then I haven't driven newer ones to give me a point of reference. And after putting thousands of dollars into "improvements" it can be hard to give up a favorite car.

 

Yeah, I did the transmission service with an aluminum pan to replace the plastic one. I did both diffs and the transfer case, all about 30,000 km ago. I will check the brakes when I put on the Winter tires next month. Winter is something we never hurry here, it has been warm, no major frost yet. Probably because we get half the year of cold and snow here. My 2010 wasn't a bad car besides the 3.5 V6, this one has been exceptional is all.

 

I went with Rustoleum Florescent Green then Tremclad(Rustoleum) Clear. It is pretty close to Go Green. I sanded it and hit it with brake cleaner first. I removed over spay where it got past the tape with carb cleaner added decals and then Clear coated it. I have got the decorative Challenger door sills.

 

Here is the the cover installed the sill guards look great.

 

Here is the engine cover installed.

I also decided to buy the best tires on the market. Continental Extreme Contact DWS06+ in the P235/55R19 105XL W speed rating.



Of course we just got 6 inches of snow, roads were almost dry but will be 10 above freezing by the end of the week. Hopefully they are as good as everyone say they are. On sale, all 4 are over $1500 installed! There is a $70 mail in rebate, so just under $1500 Canadian.

 

I did an early oil change on my GT due to my upcoming work schedule. I ordered some 0W20 Vavoline 0W20 Restore and Protect from Ebay, not available in Canada yet for some reason. I received an oil covered box and a 1/2 a jug. You can tell it is a different oil, has a strong smell compared to their Advanced Protection 0W20, which Canadian Tire had a good price to complete the oil change with a Purolator Pure One cartridge filter. I decided to do a tire rotation at 8000 km, rear brakes still have plenty of pad at 145,700 Km. I did the front brakes a bit early, good considering I tow with the car. I moved back the heat shield to look at driveshaft center bearing, a common failure point, well it failed. I lubed the center bearing and soaked the exhaust bad clamps, bolts and mount bearing mount bolts. I wasn't paying $500 CAD for the ultimate upgrade housing and bushing. So I looked on Amazon and found a two piece housing with a two piece bushing for under $80 CAD with very good reviews. I just did my Daughter's Edge, it sucked removing the old bearing and separating the driveshaft. The reviews showed cutting the old housing and burning off the rubber to reuse the old bearing, which I plan on. Supposedly it can be done with exhaust on, we will see.

 

The bearing holder is well made and the one lower review was how hard it was for him to change. I'm not paying 5 times the price for basically the same part with a couple of extra pieces and no doubt still made in China. There is another more reviewed and higher rated for $10 more and is the same part. The Challenger is on 4 jack stands on the suspension arms in front and spots beside the arms on rear. Yeah, the exhaust had to come down. Cut the old holder in two places. The bearing was basically skinned, spins fine, lubed it up good and trimmed the one edge with an exacto knife. It is in, orange hybrid loctite on the allen head bolts and mount bolts torqued to 22 ft-lbs. Just need to finish putting the exhaust in place, easy peasy.

 

Well, the Challenger is starting to show some wear and tear. I see one stitch on the outside edge of the drivers seat has let go and the 8.4 touch screen is starting to deamination on top. One is an easy fix, the other not so much.

 

Sorry to hear that. It reminds us that 30 years from now, electronics will be the Achilles heel for restorers.

So far, no electronics problems with mine in 155,000 km. Crossed fingers!

 

Yes, for sure. It sounds like there is a cheap fix for the screen, only minor so far,soan live with it. I am also around 155,000 km. After a quick seat repair, four 235/60R18 studded Winter tires to replace the aged out set on the Koni aluminum rims. Adding sensors this time as well.

 

I inspected the center bearing and housing. Everything was tight with no wear but I have been hearing a click under load. So I hit the bearing with Deep Creep, then Corosion guard the Surface Shield, see if that helps.

 

So I ran about 1/2 an oil change of Vavoline Restore and Protect awhile back. Only available from the US and half split. They sent a free replacement, ran it in my Daughter's Edge. It really cleaned that motor out. Oil was always brown, even after an oil change. It was black at the next change. It was very sludge free through the oil fill and clear on the dipstick. I really want to run it, since a Pentastar is Vavoline's test engine. Well the local Walmart had about 10 jugs of 5W20 Restore and Protect. Bought one at about $10 a liter, an OK price for full synthetic. Went back a week later, bought the last two. Went back the next week, none on the shelf. Have two oil changes for the Challenger, one for my Daughter's oil burning Elantra. Hopefully 0W20 shows for Winter. I may eventually have to address the oil cooler, no oil but could smell coolant after towing the boat. Down a tiny bit, maybe minor wetness, oil full and right colour/smell. Topped up the coolant to the full cold level. It stayed their after an hour drive. Going on a 5 hour round trip today. I brought extra coolant just incase.

 

Did a Vavoline Restore and Protect 5W20 oil change, everything looked good, including the driveshaft center bearings, slightly tightened the allen bolts that hold it together and lubed the bearing with white spray grease. I found the coolant leak, not the oil cooler. Found coolant on the lower rad hose, looked up at the water pump pulley, saw a drop of coolant sitting there, not running, must be comiing out the weep hole. I ordered the most affordable 5 star water pump on Amazon. I also have the Dorman aluminum thermostat housing and water crossover, will change both at the same time.

 

I found out the thermostat bolt size is 6x1.00x25. Goes pretty much right to the end the threads inside with thin washer. I put a thin coat of Permatex Optimum Grey on the thermostat after making sure the aluminum thermostat housing was in the correct position on the aluminum crossover. Installed the O ring in crossover, was already in the thermostat housing and did a light coat of Optimum Grey. I applied a light coat of Optimum Grey on both sides of the water pump plate gasket and attached it to the water pump. I cleaned all gasket surfaces with a rag sprayed with carb cleaner. I applied Mother's aluminum polish and protectant to all the outside aluminum surfaces. I bought two jugs of the universal Prestone 15+ 55/45 premixed coolant to do a partial coolant replacement since it is now 8 years old. Just waiting on my digital torque wrench. I should be here tomorrow. Will start tomorrow after my Wife gets home from work. I want it ready to tow the boat 2 hours away this long weekend. Then my Daughter might be borrowing it next week for a very long trip, like 12 hours North.

 

When I changed my 2010 Challenger to Mopar 10-year coolant, there were specific warnings about the danger of mixing factory coolant with the 10-year coolant.

The instructions were to

• flush
• run
• drain
• physically empty the overflow tank

three times to avoid the incompatibility issues. And if you needed more than about 40% final concentration, you would need to buy the concentrate to balance the water remaining after the last flush.

Check with Prestone to determine if any of that applies when changing from Mopar coolant to their Platinum coolant. In any case, Platinum is also available as a concentrate versus their normal 56/44 mix.

 

Are you talking the purple or orange coolant? I have already mixed in some of their platinum coolant, no funny colours or gelling. Then I found the source the coolant smell and tiny leak, the water pump. I also added a little bit months back, water pump was probably starting to weep then. I will message them, it says all but who knows.

 

The factory put in orange and their advice concerned changing to purple/pink.

 

Our 2010 had the purple, this had the orange; Prestone is yellow like all universal. I have seen first hand, green mixed wirh Dexcool, literally turned it modeling clay.

 

The car has a squeak/squeal, thought it was the water pump or the coolant dripping on the belt, nope. I changed both parts and cleaned the belt with brake cleaner. I spun all the pulleys. No noise from the old water pump either. No coolant leaks took about 6 liters of the Prestone Platinum to refill. I even spun the front wheels, no sound. I hit the the carrier bearing with white lithium grease. It is with speed, going to try different grease on the carrier.

 

Well, no whites allowed, at least when it comes to grease on that carrier bearing. Jacked the car up, removed the heat shield. The bearing looked dry despite spraying a bunch in there. So I used fluid film deep creep then more fluid film and no more noise.

 

Well, I ordered the improved Dorman driveshaft. Probably driving on flooded streets on Friday didn't help, 2.5" in 15 minutes. Not cheap $733 CAD shipped from Summit. I might take a month, not an on the shelf part. I didn't feel like fight to install the new $38 carrier bearing on. I will be building it as a spare to have waiting on my shelf. Will rebuild with a full tutorial. The same Dorman driveshaft was $892 from Amazon Canada with a September 20 to 23rd ship date. No real out of town trips planned till October.

 

reminds of doing the oil cooler on my caravan which is still leaking when you punch the gas
Next time I will put in the all metal one
not sure if these have the same crappy oil cooler


don’t forget MOPAR fest is this weekend just 20 min from me

 

Glad you guys have a Moparfest close by, probably some nice cars. Yes, the same crappy cooler and housing. I have replacements for all in aluminum, even the cap. The PUG intake was cheap and a no brainer, has to be removed when I have to do the cooler, eventually. The later PUG intake that 2016-up Caravan and trucks got it but no cars. I need to pickup a set of Ruthieum spark plugs for the Pentastar when I have to do this job, hopefully a couple of years from now.

 

Got the new Dorman driveshaft from Summit. Right around the $750 Canadian. Dorman looks pretty good, other than some rust and chipped paint came with new bolts plus straps. Touched up the paint for the picture. I had to knock down the exhaust to reach the front bolts. I will put some antseize where the end meet the diff an transfer case along with orange locktite on the new bolts.

 

I got the driveshaft in place. Dorman included bolts and straps. Unfortunately all are the long straps, the back uses shorter straps, had to reuse them. I sure am glad I bought a digital 3/8" torque wrench with multiple options including ft-lbs, 43 ft-lbs for the front and 48 ft-lbs rear flange. I didn't tighten the carrier bearing till both flanges were torqued, tightened it to 25 ft-lbs, even though the spec in 21, kind light IMHO. Now the exhaust, heavy lying on my back.

 

Here is some pics of the drive shaft in place.


As a FYI every hanger needs to come down to get the exhaust off. I banged the the pipes onto the head pipes, used a floor jack to suspend the exhaust just ahead of the mufflers. Then I beat on the end of the mufflers with a 5 pound, then a 15 or 20 pound sledge, then on the back of the X pipe. If the hangers line up, it should be good.

 

It is all together and exhaust is all tight. I am fighting severe siadic nerve pain, on many pain killers. Otherwise I would have had it together yesterday. I must have got the exhaust sealed better. It is whisper quiet till you step on it, how I my exhaust. Even on V8's, my stuff is somewhat quiet inside till you step on it, then borderline too loud, perfect! No clunks or any bad sounds. Taking it for 40 min drive for a back clinic and then setup appointments from there.