'83 Chrysler 5th Ave bucking

My 5th ave has 80 thousand miles on it, I love this car. A few days ago
it started bucking badly once it warmed up. I brought it to be looked
at and was told I needed to replace the carburetor. I don't know if I
trust this guy to know what is wrong and am afraid he's just taking a
guess. I really don't want to invest a lot of money in this car but ,
as I said, I do love it. Any suggestions other than a second opinion..I
intend to do that anyhow as this is a death sentence case.

 

This post makes very little sense. You've got a low-miles car that you
"love", and you'd happily keep driving it if it weren't bucking, so you
want it properly diagnosed and repaired, and you don't want to pay good
money for that diagnosis and repair. As long as I have all that correct,
then the logical conclusion is that if the repair cost for this car that
you "love" exceeds some arbitrary figure, you'll simply scrap it and buy a
replacement car.

There are LOTS of potential causes for bucking in an '83 5th Avenue,
whether it's the FWD 5th Avenue or the RWD 5th Avenue. You're right to
suspect that whomever you took it to is just guessing at it being the
carburetor. Proper diagnosis is absolutely critical on the complex and
primitive '80s engine management systems such as the one in your car.

DS

 

Fyi 83-89(M body) 5th avenues are rwd.So dont post shit if you dont know
anything about the topic.Also mr stern you fool fwd 5th aves were made
in the 90's not the 80's dah.

 

Thanks , I guess I will try to find someone I can trust to look at my
car, that's not as easy as it sounds. The problem is I don't know much
about cars and neither does my husband. When I bring my cars in for
service I always think they see an easy mark and We wind up spending a
lot of money on repairs that I am never certain we needed. We put a lot
of mileage on our cars and both of our other cars are new , my 5th Ave
is an extra so I wouldn't have to replace it but it's the one I like
the most.I guess an older car like that is not for people like me.

 

As the other person said, you are going to have to decide whether you
want to spend money to repair the car or to buy another one. Usually
it makes financial sense to repair the old one since your purchase
price is essentially a sunk cost....you will never recover it. Buying
another car will only add to the money you have spent on cars. Or said
another way it almost always makes monetary sense to repair rather than
replace a car.

Do a bit of research by looking up all local 5th Avenue (Chrysler???)
dealers at the business complaints department in your city or county.
Find the largest dealer with the fewest complaints and take your car
to them for a proper diagnosis and repair.

 

Sue,
Over the years I have had good luck with AAA approved repair shops.
You do not have to be a member of AAA to go to their website and look for
shops in
your area.
www.aaa.com

will get you to the site, then enter your zip code. You may have to do a
bit of looking, but the repair shop function can be accessed from here.

 

Thank You very much, we actually are members of AAA but I didn't know
about this service. Will check it out.

 

Yes indeed. And in some parts of North America, FWD 5th Avenues were sold
in the 1980s, as well. RWD Caravelles, too!

DS

 

VERY poor advice. New-car dealers don't want to see your 10-year-old car,
let alone your 22-year-old one.

 

"VERY poor advice. New-car dealers don't want to see your 10-year-old
car,
let alone your 22-year-old one."

JS> Really...what out-of-date car do you drive...a Yugo or Trabant???
Or are you possibly an independent mechanic shilling for business?
I've heard that spiel before from shady indies...

Most dealers I'm aware of are glad for the business and will do what
they can to repair the car. They are in the business of making money
by repairing cars and it is hard to do that by turning business away.

And no I don't work for a dealer...but I have learned over the years
from experience that they generally do a good job.

 

I've got several out-of-date cars, actually. They range in age from 16
to 43 model years old. But no Yugos or Trabants, I'm afraid.

Nope. If I were one of those, I'd've mentioned a specific shop name,
don'tchya think? Given that the original poster didn't mention a location,
it'd be kind of hard for any shill job to be effective, don'tchya think?

Given that you advised the original poster to find "a Fifth Avenue
(Chrysler???) dealer", it's likely you've little experience with Chrysler
dealer, er, "service" departments. There are some excellent, talented,
highly competent techs you can run into now and then, when their service
managers let them do a good and complete job. For the most part, though,
turnover is high enough that it's rare to find a tech who's even passingly
familiar with olde-tyme (carbureted) engine management. They just don't
see a lot of '83 Fifth Avenues at Chrysler dealers any more, and most of
them try very hard to keep it that way. They won't out-and-out refuse the
business, but they'll often quote the job very high, the object being
either to shoo the customer away, or to make the customer pay for their
time in chasing down parts that no longer exist in the Chrysler system,
digging dusty old books out of the basement, and time spent while techs
who can diagnose EFI faults in their sleep learn on the fly how to
diagnose and repair the older systems.

My experience as a longtime owner of older Chrysler products is that even
on those occasions when the dealer service department won't highball the
quote, and will make a genuine effort to complete the repair, the results
are often less than satisfactory.

Your experience with other-make dealers may differ, but since we're
discussing a 22-year-old Chrysler product here, mine's more relevant.

DS

 

Just a thought, but a plugged air filter on the gas tank vent can cause
it to surge or buck when warmed up. The filter is about $2.00 and is on
the bottom of the charcoal canister.

One fast test for this is to open the gas cap when it is acting up. If
it starts running right, then the canister is the likely trouble.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

 

Lite bulb strikes again with another reply, hey lite bulb, there were no
front wheel drive 5th ave then, and if you cant post to a reply without
being such a dumbass why dont you just keep your fingers off the key board

 

"There are some excellent, talented, highly competent techs you can run
into now and then, when their service managers let them do a good and
complete job. For the most part, though, turnover is high enough that
it's rare to find a tech who's even passingly
familiar with olde-tyme (carbureted) engine management....They won't
out-and-out refuse the business, but they'll often quote the job very
high, the object being
either to shoo the customer away, or to make the customer pay for their

time in chasing down parts that no longer exist in the Chrysler system,

digging dusty old books out of the basement, and time spent while techs

who can diagnose EFI faults in their sleep learn on the fly how to
diagnose and repair the older systems."

JS> Wow...that's an apalling description of Chrysler dealerships and
the quality of work their repair shops do. If true, I have to think
that car buyers would be abandoning Chrysler. And yet the news I read
tells me that Chrysler is doing far better than it's U.S. competition.
Interesting how the real world can sometimes differ from strongly held
opinions.

 

Spend some time over on rec.autos.makers.chrysler, or spend some
retroactive time there via dejanews.

 

Have you actually TRIED taking a 22 year old car to a dealer? I think
not....

 

Its the same if you take a 1980 Town Car to a Ford dealer, or an 85
Caprice to a Chevy dealer, or a 84 Civic to a Honda dealer. Its just not
profitable for DEALER service departments to work on cars that old,
brand has nothing to do with it.

 

Actually yes. And I've seen them working on cars from the 1970's.
There is no guaranty they will have the parts, but it is a better place
to start than some independent shop who will use the least expensive
alternative including boneyard parts.

 

Thanks, I 'm going to try that.

 

I have no idea why on earth anyone would think a dealer would be any
better, in general, than an independent. You get good and bad with both
if you don't do your homework, but dealers are geared to getting the
late-model customers in and out quick, not to diagnosing something that
they can't even call up in their computers anymore.

You obviously don't actually own an old car. I own 5, ranging from 1949
to 1993. I don't even go to the dealer with my wife's 1993 car anymore,
because the last time I did they told me "we can't get that part
anymore, you'll have to buy the whole assembly for $600," in regard to a
part that cost me $50 elsewhere.