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2001 Dodge Stratus Coupe

9K views 35 replies 9 participants last post by  Tprate2 
#1 · (Edited)
I owned this car for about 10 years, then traded it in on my current daily driver back in 2015. It popped up on Facebook Marketplace and after some back and forth on whether or not I needed another project, i decided to go look at it.
It was in great shape when i traded it in, and the 4.5 years / 60k miles it was in someone elses hands it was near destroyed. Luckily it ran or I would have walked.





Body work will come, but so far the following has been done.

-Transmission rebuild. The input shaft bearing failed, and they continued to drive on it. The TOB sleeve ended up taking the job of the bearing, and the input shaft seal was gone, allowing gear oil to get into the clutch disc. It was driven on for so long the friction material rivets broke free.




Pulled the motor, eliminated any leaks. This involved pulled the lower case, and replacing gaskets and seals. The oil pan was also resealed.




Front suspension had bad ball joints, loose bushings on the A-arms, a blown strut and i believe the original wheel bearings.
The calipers were rebuilt, and the Sportline springs i had installed previously were reused. New A-arms, KYB Excel G (GR-2's), strut mounts, wheel bearings, rotors/pads and tie rod ends installed. The calipers we rebuild, and powder coated.


Calipers were powdercoated Illusion Red
 
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#2 ·
Motor Stripped down

Motor after powdercoated bits, new seals and ready to install


Rear suspension got a good pressure wash and scrub, VHT chassis black, new rotors / pads, KYB Excel G struts, new rear brake lines, and rebuilt calipers.

Interior was the first thing to get done, due to the excessive smoke and pound of dirt. It was completely stripped, and new headliner fabric was installed



All plastics were pulled and scrubbed, and a steam cleaner was used quite a bit.

The chrome wheels had seen better days, so they were blasted, smoothed and powder coated semi gloss black.


After having a great experience with General tires on my Suburban, I decided to go with the General GMAX AS-05 tires.



Motor will go in tomorrow, and im hoping to start it up. Im ready to drive this thing. I made decent progress for only having it 1.5 months and working on it some evenings and part of the weekends. It was picked up mid July.
 
#6 ·
Thanks. I've done everything myself except flywheel resurface and tire installation.
looking awesome! I just did my brakes, calipers, lines and rotors and painted the fender walls too.
Thanks! It makes a huge difference to clean those areas up.
Are you having the transmission rebuilt by a shop?
I did it myself. The transmission had a similar failure and I rebuilt it in 2012. I didnt let it get to the point it was this time. Browsing the internet, its common on the F5M42 transmission. Every 100k miles or so it seems to fail. The Lancer guys have a lot of trouble with them.
These gearboxes are pretty simple.
Transmission case torn down and ready for a bead blast

Mid assembly, all new bearings installed.

Seal up and painted
 
#8 ·
I am toying with the idea of buying a used transmission and sending it for rebuild for my GTS. I just picked up my rebuilt engine this week but, I was having some shifting hard shifting issues before the engine blew. I changed the trans lube the day the engine blew and in its defense it was pretty dirty. Your project is look good. Its good to see people restoring these cars to the extent you are.
 
#10 ·
Auto or manual? Ive never opened up an auto, but the manual gearboxes are pretty easy. The FSM is a huge help too.

If i hadnt owned this car for so long prior, I wouldnt have even thought to pick it up to restore it. I definitely have more time and money than 'worth' it to most people, but ive enjoyed the wrench time. I rebuilt a 1992 Yamaha Warrior earlier this year and i think i have equal time and money in both 😅
 
#9 ·
I took the day off of work to install the motor and it went pretty smooth. I bought a new rear mount and it was fun to line up and get mounted in. I was hung up on that the longest I think. Transmission is smooth and the engine started right up.

I did make a small goof which gave me a near heart attack. After the motor was warm and the cooling system was 'burped', antifreeze quickly flooded under the car. I jacked it up and there was coolant running near the lower case and oil filter housing. Turns out I goofed and didnt seat the O-ring between the water pump outlet and the water pump correctly. 😲. Its clearly visible. I thought for sure the case had a leak. Timing belt was clean as could be though. Phew.Ill get that fixed up first thing tomorrow and hopefully put a few miles on it to get the computer to cycle and get it inspected before my 10 day tags run out.
Motor and trans ready to go in this morning

Engine in place

Of course I wire wheeled and painted the axles before installing

Still have some cleanup to do under the hood, but its worlds better from when i picked it up. Love this color especially in the sun. More will be added.


Still love this thing even with the body in the shape it is in currently. Note the coolant leak remnants after hosing the pad off.
 
#11 ·
Manual. I would rather not try to open it personally. I know exactly what you mean about money into these cars. I don't have that much in mine but, I am married to it now. My wife really liked her 2001 GT Spyder she bought new, so she is partly the reason for me restoring this one. I always like them but, didn't buy one when I was younger.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Ran into a few small things getting the car 100% dialed in.
-Valve cover gasket was torn and was leaking oil down the backside of the motor, onto the exhaust flex pipe. Not sure how it was torn, but that was an easy fix.
-P0421 code came on. Spark plug anti foulers fixed that.
-EGR code P0401 came on. EGR valve was gunked up so it was cleaned, then I found the nipple on the solenoid was broken off. New one took care of that code.
-Alternator quit on me after I cleaned the EGR valve and was waiting on the new solenoid to arrive. That was ordered as well. Went home for lunch the day it was scheduled to arrive, and UPS showed up right when i pulled in my driveway. I put it on right then and all is well.
-Put about 30 miles on the car after the solenoid arrived and went to the inspection station and passed safety and emissions. After two months of work the car is plated and legal.

I now have an annoying creaking noise up front I cant figure out. Im going to try to take it to a local shop this weekend to see about putting it on a rack and getting under it with weight on the wheels to inspect. Only thing I havent changed were subframe bushings and sway bar bushings. Rear motor mount is new, the front and left mounts are prothane poly mounts, and the right motor mount is stock and like new. Really creaks when starting to accelerate or tapping the brakes. Turning while moving or sitting still doesnt make noise.
 
#13 ·
I am very jealous. I have been working on my car 1.75 years and still not on the road. Congrats on getting your car back on the road. When you did your front shocks, did you also do control arms? After my engine is installed, my suspension will be the next system to restore. I feel confident I can do this in my garage with exception to the alignment but, I have never dont anything like this before.
 
#14 ·
The rear bushing on the lower A-arm was done for on both sides, and cost wise it was more logical to replace the entire thing. The ball joints likely hadnt been changed either, so that took care of everything. New struts and upper mount/bearing on both sides, along with spring isolators. (Rubber pads so the metal spring doesnt directly touch the metal strut mounts) Since the car was already lowered I didnt need a spring compressor which saved a ton of time.

😅
I wish I got better pictures, but the only thing reused on the front was the knuckles and springs.I stripped everything out, scrubbed and pressure washed, and used VHT chassis black. I was even able to locate new fender liners for cheap on ebay as mine were both half gone.

The car mechanically is at a good base now, I wanted to be able to at least drive it. Definitely need a turbo after getting in my daily after driving this
 
#16 ·
Wow, that seems high. Its a good amount of labor, but essentially 4 bolts if you're just after the A-arm. I already had the axles, strut assemblies and knuckles off to either replace or clean up so everything was already out of the way.
I bought the A-arms off Detroit axle and they match OE perfectly. They were about $75 shipped if i recall correctly.
 
#24 ·
Working on the car this weekend and i noticed the reverse lights weren't coming on. I replaced the switch on the transmission when i rebuilt it because the little ball on the end didnt have any spring back, so i checked out the fuse and that was the culprit. After changing the fuse i noticed the SRS light went out on the way to work. I dont know if its coincidence or not, but ill take it. I suppose I could pull the fuse and see if it comes back but I'll leave it alone for now. SRS light and all lights do come on when the car is started then go out, so I know the system is at least going through its checks. Im very happy to have zero warning lights while driving after the rebuild.

Washed the car this weekend too. The paint and body definitely needs redone but looks half decent in this light and this angle. Also put some 20mm hub centric wheel spacers on the rear. Made a huge difference in looks.

 
#25 ·
I visited one of the two local LKQ junkyards and got just about everything i was after. They had three Eclipses and one Stratus coupe. Out of the three I was able to get one decent double din radio bezel, and various trim pieces. Off the Stratus I was able to get a fender in perfect condition.
Radio bezel and brackets only cost $10, and the fender was $40.

I left the headlights in OEM form for a couple weeks, but I couldn't learn to love the chrome bezels. Opened them up and painted the trim black.


 
#27 · (Edited)
Had a cooling issue and eventually had white smoke come out of the exhaust when warm. Compression test showed 195 psi on all cylinders when cold. I assumed i had exhaust getting into the coolant, but didnt have the tester for that. I decided to not pull the motor, and just pull the head where the engine sat and do a headgasket anyways, since I dont have any service record of it being done and i believe it to be the culprit. Once the head was off and the intake manifold separated, i think the problem was the intake gasket. Where the one coolant passage passes between the head, through the intake and to either the heater core or throttle body, there was some damage and coolant droplets. New head gasket, new intake gasket, new coolant hoses from the radiator, a steep hill to burp the cooling system and heater core, and its been trouble free.

Went to another LKQ and picked up a like new main carpet for $8, along with door panels off an 03-05. I had always wanted to the double din conversion and was able to find a good bezel with brackets for $10. Need to trim the mounts on the HVAC controls to bring it flush to the bezel; the one on the coupe is pushed back just a little due to the design.Its nice having the back up camera feature finally in this thing. I re-powder coated the red under the hood with a texture red, its more fitting than the illusion red in my opinion. Still want to do a few more pieces like the strut bar. Body work to come, but the car drives great now. Not bad for 223k miles.



 
#29 ·
Theyre OEM 03-05 Stratus Coupe wheels. They originally had the Dodge ram head logo but only one was still there, and it was cracked. Replacement center caps were impossible to find so I went with the Mitsubishi center caps. The wheel actually has the Mitsubishi Diamonds embossed in the back side of the spoke.

Even better, with just a 30mm spacer they clear big brake calipers.
 
#31 ·
Its been just over a year since I got the Stratus back. 5.5 years ago I moved from TN to NC, and evidently had a complete set of seats in a warehouse at my former workplace. They were cleaning out the building and a former coworker asked if the seats were mine, and for $100 they were shipped on a truck to me. Much better condition than the current ones, and pretty decent shape for being 20 years old. A deep scrub and conditioning with Lexol and they were swapped out.




Comparison of when I bought the car VS now

"New" interior - Carpet, headliner, all seats, steering wheel, shift knob, 03+ door panels and Eclipse double din installed. Dash is cracked but I can live with it. Not the worst out there.

Now its time for a little boost in power. Not looking to break records, but need a little bit more out of the gas pedal. Still gathering parts, but I have a G4JS head with the lettering milled down on the valve cover (The bold lettering looks cheesy to me), EVO cams, springs and retainers, fuel rail and EVO intake manifold for now. Hoping to have the head built over the winter, and have it prepped for forced induction. Im not sure if ill install it and tune for NA and gather turbo stuff after or just wait and do it all at once.
The head and all parts were pulled from a Sonata at LKQ. After using my 20% coupon it was like $60. Cant beat that.

 
#32 · (Edited)
Front bumper has been repaired, and more parts have been sourced for the head build.



At my last junkyard trip I picked up new support brackets that attach the bumper. Due to the front fender on this side getting hit, it had tweaked the support and the bumper fit incorrectly. Much better now.
All EVO 8 internals for the head build have been bought, and the valve cover was powder coated. I removed the baffles so no sand would be hidden after prepping for coating, and gave it a 360* clean. Baffles were bolted back in place with loctited screws.



Hyundai G4JSvalve cover with the lettering milled, and powder coated wrinkle red. I made a spark plug cover and coated it wrinkle black.



Complete turbo from an Evolution 8. Had minimum shaft play but it will be rebuilt as well.
 
#33 ·
Ive been enjoying driving the car for a while, still havent put the DOHC head together and on the block. Hoping to get the head built this winter and installed. A few things here and there have been done, nothing crazy. Still need to do bodywork.
Found a complete set of front and rear Brembo calipers, so I pulled my remanufactured front calipers off and sold them. Calipers were rebuilt and powdercoated "Red Wheel". Very vibrant color.




Been to a few Cars and Coffees this year, and have seen a few 3g Eclipses and zero other Stratus coupes 😅
 
#34 ·
Finally found a set of Evo wheels so I dont have to run wheel spacers anymore. Perfect fitment, and a great look for the car. I powder coated them high gloss black; I love how they came out. Went with the stock Evo size tire 235/45. Removed all the old peeling window tint and glue, just need to set up an appointment to have it redone.
Checked out the Cars and Coffee this past weekend as well.



 
#35 ·
Decided it was finally time to get the DOHC head on. Going to make sure everything is correct before adding the turbo. I did tap the head for the turbo oil feed for that clean OEM look for when its time. Still have a few things to finish up before its first start.






Test fit the factory EVO 8 turbo manifold and turbo here. Works great if i didnt need a starter or slave cylinder! Will likely need to go custom manifold to clear everything.


G4JS head built with EVO 8 camshafts, springs, lash adjusters, rockers. EVO 8 intake manifold, fuel lines and throttle cable. Found an Outlander throttle body to retain the cruise control function. Will likely go to a local shop for a custom high pressure power steering line, i dont like routing over the valve cover and dont like how it is now.
 
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