[nstenz]

nstenz - Turbo 2.4L Stratus Build Up Project Log

Quote

Note: If you got to this page from my personal web site (www.lowtech.net), you're now on Stratusphere.net, where my project log is hosted. Please click the link above that says View original topic if you'd like to get to the full version instead of the print version.

http://www.lowtech.net/gallery/albums/stratus_engine/DSCN13840651.thumb.jpg ... http://www.lowtech.net/gallery/albums/stratus_engine/DSCN37872464.thumb.jpg ... http://www.lowtech.net/gallery/albums/stratus_engine/DSCN37732450.thumb.jpg ... http://www.lowtech.net/gallery/albums/stratus_engine/DSCN48932942.thumb.jpg ... http://www.lowtech.net/gallery/albums/97stratus/DSCN68114830.thumb.jpg

Photo Gallery


Current Specifications:

Body
1997 Dodge Stratus, base model
Paint: Viper White

Suspension
'97 suspension components
Eibach Pro-Kit lowering springs
Koni red adjustable shocks
Adjustable front upper ball joints
Dreamspeed rear sway bar
Soon: '97 Sebring convertible V6 front sway bar


Brakes
15" front brakes (11" rotors)
EBC Red Stuff pads
Soon: Sebring convertible 4-wheel discs

Engine
'99 Chrysler 2.4L DOHC block (0.020" overbore) and cylinder head
Stock '99 valvetrain
'99 aluminum intake manifold, port-matched (soon to be replaced with stock '97)
Wiseco forged aluminum pistons, 8.6:1 compression ratio
Mopar Turbo II cast iron rods with oil squirters, machined to fit 2.4L crank and pistons
Balanced '99 2.4L crankshaft assembly
'03 Neon SRT-4 oil pan, oil pickup tube, oil pump, water pump, and timing belt tensioner
'99 2.4L intake with rear resonator box removed (doesn't clear manual transmission) (soon to be replaced with 1G neon DOHC intake)
Deyeme Racing "Flex" filled urethane engine mounts
'99 2.4L Powertrain Control Module

Transmission
'95 SOHC Neon NVT-350 5-speed manual, 3.55 final drive with 0.72 5th gear
'95 Neon non-modular flywheel
Clutchmasters Stage 4 clutch
Booger shifter cable bushings

Misc.
Tinted windows (done by the previous owner)
Blue LED lock/window switches
CD/USB MP3 stereo + Cerwin-Vega & Kenwood 2-ways

I've rebuilt my '99 2.4L block with some new goodies and bolted a manual transmission to it. The new stuff went into a '97 shell I purchased to put them in. The engine internals should support 300+ HP easily.

The car is currently running naturally aspirated with stock components. I'll be using a MegaSquirt to handle the fuel and spark, and keeping the stock PCM for all of the accessories it deals with (I need it for my gauge cluster to work, for one). Once I have that installed, I'll be putting the turbocharger in.


(FYI- For anybody thinking about doing this, I've already spent around $5000 just to get to this point, and I did almost all of the work myself.)


Best 1/4 mi. time so far: 16.5 @ 84 MPH (non-turbo)

[nstenz]

06/14/2002: Before the accident

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/1999/car1_zoomed.jpg

1999 Dodge Stratus

About 78,000 mi. on the clock.

Dreamspeed rear sway bar
Dreamspeed strut tower bar
Dreamspeed short ram intake
17x7 Team Dynamics motorsport wheels
Kumho 225/45 ZR17 tires
Eibach springs
A bunch of stereo stuff

All around, a fun car to drive.

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/1999/nick_driving_amy.jpg

[nstenz]

06/15/2002: Accident

I got hit by what appeared to be a '93 or so F-150 on a nice Saturday morning while on the way to a car show.
I pinched a fingertip and sprained my wrist, and whiplash permanently screwed up my neck.
Julia was also in the car with me. She had whiplash as well and a severely bruised foot from it hitting the dash (because her foot was resting on her seat when we were hit).
We were mostly OK, but the car didn't take it so well.

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/wrecked/angle_shot.jpg

[nstenz]

06/??/2002: Bought '97 Sebring convertible

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/sebring/nutt.jpg

I didn't have another car to drive, so I was borrowing my girlfriend's green '79 Bonneville with cream-colored top. It was ugly and handled like crap. She bought from her grandpa for $250. It was a car and I needed a car, so I drove it. I didn't really appreciate being in that situation too much.

I looked around the area for another Stratus to buy, but I couldn't find anything decent at the time. There were several Sebrings for sale though. I decided to check a few of them out. The '97 was in my price range, so I made an offer on it. I brought it home the next week.

[TunedStrat]

I'd be glad to host a site for you. Just toss me a PM if you're interested.

I like the project log idea too. :upset:

[nstenz]

Fall '02: Bought '96 Stratus

Drove to Michigan to pick up a wrecked car the engine was already taken out of. The frame's in slightly better shape than mine, so it may be usable. I think I paid around $300 for it- I don't remember.
(Update: The frame wasn't much better, but I sold/used enough other parts off the car to at least break even.)

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/wrecked/96_front-small.jpg

[ntrain416]

Hey you switching the gas tank and the engine. :yes:

[nstenz]

01/28/2003: Bought a suspension book

Chassis Engineering (by Herb Adams)
I wanted to learn about suspensions to see what I could do to improve the handling of my Stratus. A friend of mine on the Kettering University Formula SAE team said their suspension guy recommended it as a good beginner's book. Since I'm not building a car from scratch, most of the knowledge in it isn't useful to me for this project. However, the explanations of suspension geometry and the physics involved with getting a car around the track may help me improve my suspension setup a bit.

[nstenz]

01/25/2003: Bought '97 Stratus

A Stratusphere member in the Chicago was selling his car for parts. He popped a coolant hose off while he was driving, and he was told the head is probably warped. Good car needs engine- sounds good to me. $750 later, I have a usable '97 Stratus.

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/car3.jpg

[nstenz]

04/2003: Gutted the '97

Pulled the engine out of the '97 and gutted the interior. Took the doors off, fenders, suspension, exhaust- It's pretty much stripped bare.

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/wrecked/97_no_interior-small.jpg

[nstenz]

08/16/2003: Disassembled '99 head

Pulled the head off the '99 engine to make sure there's nothing wrong with it. Julia helped. I broke the crank damper pulley in the process. (Julia didn't help with that part.)

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/julia_disassemble.jpg

[nstenz]

09/21/2003: Pulled '97 exhaust

Removed the remaining exhaust piping from the '97 so I can sell the Borla muffler that came with it.
http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/big_borla.jpg

[nstenz]

02/07/2004: '99 engine disassembly

Pulled most of the accessories off the outside of the engine. Took the bottom end apart. Pulled out the balance shafts, crankshaft, pistons, and rods.

http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/block_disassembled.jpg

[nstenz]

03/13/2004: Paint = Viper White

I spent some time looking at paint colors today and decided that Viper White would look better on a Stratus than the Stone White does.
http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/white_viper.jpg

I brought home a quart of it for $41.62 so I could paint my engine bay.
http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/paint.jpg

[nstenz]

03/22/2004: Prepped engine bay

I unbolted everything that was left from the engine bay of the '97, cleaned it up, and masked everything off for painting.
http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/enginebay_masked.jpg

I also learned that my pistons and rods were finally shipping and decided it would be a good time to get the FSM for my car so I could tear down and rebuild the engine properly. It was $106.31 from DC Publications.

[nstenz]

03/25/2004: Forged pistons and turbo rods arrived

After over a month of waiting, my pistons and rods finally showed up. They look beautiful.
I'm using Wiseco forged aluminum pistons with a 0.020 overbore and cast rods from a Dodge 2.2L Turbo II (8-valve intercooled). The compression ratio is about 8.6:1, and the rods came with ARP bolts and CL77 bearings. I got them from Bob Stockum for about $769 after shipping and handling.
http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/pistons-rods.jpg

Dad also painted the engine bay for me this week, and I did some touch-up spraying. I put a run in the paint by the strut tower. I didn't do too badly for my first time using a spray gun to actually paint a car.

[nstenz]

04/17/2004: Repaired wheel well

The left rear wheel well had a nice scrape in it from the previous owner running into something. Dad showed me how to sand everything down and pull the dent, then smooth it out with body filler. Julia's brother helped, too (he's going to school for auto body repair).
http://www.lowtech.net/nstenz/build/fixing_wheel_well.jpg

[nstenz]

05/10/2004: Block bored 0.020, honed, rings gapped

I dropped the block off to get cleaned up and bored 0.020 over for the new pistons. I also found out what I needed to do for them to be able to balance the rotating assembly in the engine. (They pretty much need everything from the bottom half of the engine that moves.) I don't have a manual transmission yet, so I don't have a flywheel to give them for balancing. I'll have to wait.

I assembled the rods and pistons and gapped the rings too.

[nstenz]

06/29/2004: Bought crank pulley; too bad it's broken

I broke some chunks off my crank pulley when taking my engine apart, as people tend to do when they don't understand how the pulley is connected to the crank. I purchased a used crank pulley from another Stratusphere member who has a UDP, after telling him it had to be in good condition. It wasn't. There are several chunks broken off of the pulley. It's not balanced anymore, so I can't use it. I'm out $25.90, plus I still need a new pulley.

[nstenz]

07/06/2004: New crank pulley

$81.59 after tax for the new pulley. I'm still pissed off about this.