1989 chrysler 4 cylinder turbo engine

flowerpatch

Im in the middle of a mid life crises and wanting a reasonable priced convertible to drive around.
I'm looking at a 1989 Chrysler leBaron Premium conv. with 76000 miles, garaged, and maintainded on a regular basis.. I'm not a Chrysler man and don't know anything about this engine.
will it last a while?
dependability?
etc.
many thanks.
flowerpatch

Mr_Shiftright

I don't think this is a good choice, no. The overall record for this type of car and that year is not very encouraging.

jsylvester

I had a Chrysler 2.2 turbo in a 1987 Plymouth Sundance, sold it with 103,000 miles on it. The turbo never gave me any problems at all, and the engine never burned a drop of oil. My sister has an 88 Lebaron Convertable Turbo that she dearly loved until it ran over something that got caught in the engine bay and started a fire, totaling the car.

I believe the 89 is a 2.5 liter turbo, I had the 2.2 liter turbo - basically the same engine.

It all depends on how well the oil was changed. If the oil was well maintained, I would think it is a safer choice than the 3.0 Mitsubishi oil burners in those cars. If not, have to make a judgement call.

That being said about the engine, Chryslers of those years don't have the greatest reputation for build quality, those the engine and tranny should be okay - probably the old 3 speed auto.

Mr_Shiftright

I was thinking not just of the engine, but the overall build quality of the LeBaron. Have you ever seen one that age that didn't have bad paint and pieces falling off of it?