Whenever I am roaming the junk yard I notice there are always several of them hanging around. And nobody seems to be harvesting anything off them. I don't even know why I'm asking except I'm bored.
Are there any parts on a PT Cruiser that can become useful or add performance on another car/build/project/contraption?
The turbo models have the same engine as was in the SRT4. If you can find a "turbo-lite" model, those were mechanically identical but ran lower boost and a tamer tune. I think those were the ones with a turbo but without the "GT" designation, but it's been a while since I put that into my brain.
The rare NA/manual trans models have a transmission to engine brace that the 2.4 swap Neon guys like to use.
The rear suspension uses a watts link that could be used on some other projects perhaps?
As stated, engine and transmissions for Neons, X1/9 swaps, re-powering older Dodges, and what-not.
They're kind of crappy and hard to work on, and getting more unloved by the day. I've had a pretty hard time moving on parts from one I used as a donor. Disposable car.
They do have 5X199 wheels, so those may help other cars. Big spindles/brakes for neon swaps or custom stuff.
Look for the 2.4L Turbo or GT badging.
Stefan (Forum Supporter) said:The rear suspension uses a watts link that could be used on some other projects perhaps?
This reminded me of a PT an ex(thankfully) gf had. It had a banging noise at the rear which turned out to be the watts. From what I found it is a notable problem. No idea if it was a design thing or poor quality. She dumped the "but its cute" pos and I dumped her.
The brakes are a good upgrade for the old K-based Turbo MoPars of the '80s and early '90s. The struts are good for lowering the same vehicles. Some assembly required. I expect Vigo to stumble across this thread eventually with more detailed info.
I have a $700 PT/GT that will be torn down for upgrades to one of my K-wags (1988 Town and Country) The leather interior is already slated for my AMC Eagle Wagon.
As stated above, the turbo 2.4 is pretty much an SRT-4, aside from manifolding and tune.
Yea, only things worth it are the turbo 2.4's and the occasional 5 spd. Beyond that, not even good for scrap. I walked past at least 10 PT's and 12 Neon's, all 2.0 SOHC's :( , yesterday at the pick and pull.
Relevant question here, I know Vigo would know this, but what is the bellhousing pattern? I seem to recall that the old 2.2/2.5 was similar to the 2.4. I remember there was ONE dakota in the one yard here that had the 2.5/5spd.....
They're so mind bogglingly painful to work on that I wouldn't bother to try to pull anything from one. They make one greatly appreciate working on a longitudinal VWAG product, that allows you to slide the front end of the car forward. Can't slide the inner fender out of the way on a PT Cruiser.
In reply to Cooter :
Oh yeah, good point. The intake manifold is utter garbage for anything except the tall and narrow PT engine bay. And the throttle body is unique to that setup as well. You can drill out a 2.0 DOHC manifold to fit or any SRT4 manifold will fit along with its throttle body.
I know they get a lot of hate for some reason, but my experience is that they are reasonably well-built and very utilitarian. The engine bay is a bit cramped for sure, but they aren't *that* bad to work on. It's not something that is going to be easy to carve cones in or anything, but for a run-around-town car they're quite sufficient.
Okay, so when I've swapped the motor in my friend's PT, I'll report back on the "it's not that bad" story, but I've done a number of things (axle, alternator, oil pressure sender, valve cover gasket, exhaust, shift cable, rod bearings) on them and none of those jobs are any better or worse than anything else I've hacked at.
In reply to wae :
The fuel mileage is absolutely hateful for the amount of room/utility they offer. Otherwise, I could amost live with the looks since they are so cheap.
Our old painter's coke used to get delivered in one.
In reply to Cooter :
The Excursion gets about 9 around town and the RV is 7. So, I guess I have a different tolerance for bad fuel economy!
But now I'm going to get a reputation as "that PT Cruiser" guy I guess. I guess I'm just saying that they aren't great or anything, but they're not exactly Satan's Own Car, either.
In reply to wae :
I don't mind driving them, and they ARE really useful (the NAPA used to use a fleet of them for delivery vehicles when their supply of Rangers dried up), but I found that the easiest way to remove the horseshoe engine mount thingus that wraps around the front of the engine, is to first remove the cylinder head.
In reply to wae :
Save yourself the headache. Drop it out the bottom.
Usually they contain middle-aged hairdressers.
Sparkydog said:Are there any parts on a PT Cruiser that can become useful or add performance on another car/build/project/contraption?
At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I have determined from the replies so far that the answer is yes.
A rare version that you'll likely never find offers a brace that could be fabricated easily, the brakes can be used to upgrade the flimsiest unibody ever produced, and a weak watts link might fit something else.
In reply to Ranger50 :
The bellhousing matches, aside from one bolt. Most just leave it out.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Sparkydog said:Are there any parts on a PT Cruiser that can become useful or add performance on another car/build/project/contraption?
At the risk of sounding like a jerk, I have determined from the replies so far that the answer is yes.
A rare version that you'll likely never find offers a brace that could be fabricated easily, the brakes can be used to upgrade the flimsiest unibody ever produced, and a weak watts link might fit something else.
No risk there. You nailed it. 100%
I'm sure you can get a couple hundred steel cans out of one. I like vegetables, so that's useful.
One of the regulars on here used to autox his turbo. Anyone remember who it was?
The brakes are a good upgrade for the old K-based Turbo MoPars of the '80s and early '90s. The struts are good for lowering the same vehicles. Some assembly required. I expect Vigo to stumble across this thread eventually with more detailed info.
Oh hey!
Yeah, the 2.4 fits the old transmissions if you leave one bolt out. The auto from the 2.4s also swaps directly into the older cars so if you do a 2.4/auto swap it's almost a drop-in.
The front spindles/brakes are the same as SRT4 iirc and will swap to other neons as well as k-cars with the caveat that i think the outer CV splines are different from the 1g neons? I cant remember exactly on that detail.
The struts can be used on a k-car with a spacer inside the strut yoke, and either redrill the strut tower for the neon/pt strut mount, or grind/machine the strut shaft down a little further to fit the k-car style strut mount. You can also use the springs as stiffer springs for a 1g neon by cutting them until they're 1g neon height. Same thing for intrepid/LH car springs there, actually.
I don't exactly want a PT cruiser but if i got a blown up one for free i'd try to make a gasser style RWD drag car out of it. I have always wanted to do a gasser-looking drag car, but not on a regular in-period car.
I actually think the PT was a brilliant design that was mildly (but not majorly!) let down by what Chrysler had available as drivetrains. I.e. it should have gotten better mpg and been a bit more refined. All the subsequent Fit/xA/xB/xD/Cube/Souls etc that came after are mostly better by getting vastly better mpg and being more reliable, but the PT Cruiser had the basic idea right other than being a mechanical letdown in everything but turbo speed. Even so, the main reason im not a PT cruiser fanatic is that they never made one that was 1-2 ft longer. If it was more like a mini-minivan (microvan?) with a little more room in front of and behind the rear seat and a longer profile id honestly be kind of in love with it. A little more like a Chrysler Mazda5, or even HHR.
PT cruiser owner invariably love their PTs until the sills rust off or the thrust bearings on the crank fail.
They are really a great little car for seniors.
In reply to Vigo (Forum Supporter) :
That's pretty much the problem I have with them. They get the highway MpGs of my old Roadmaster wagon or 6.2 Suburban, but have about the same cargo space as my Saturn Wagon. With long distance highway trips hauling stuff to people and from auctions, it's a horrible combo for me.
Pretty sure my grandfather has an ultra low mile pt cruiser convertible with a manual transmission. Like less than 20k miles. It's mint and I have no idea why he has it. He don't drive it and it isn't even registered.
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