so I picked up a 99 intrepid with 81k on it and a 2.7 in it. the motor has a top end noise from the passenger side head front of motor. I have no clue what it is yet since I haven't pulled the valve cover yet.
Anyone have experience with these motors to give me a clue as to what I should look for when i do start into it?
oh, and cheap fixes are preferred since I want to fix and sell it. no hack jobs though, I don't sell cars I can't trust.
There are no cheap fixes from what I last knew
the oil galleries may be clogged . These engines are notorious for spinning bearings due to lack of oil flow. I used to work in a chrysler dealership and we did a lot of work on them. Keep your oil changes very up to date to hedge your bets
racinginc215 wrote:
The best fix I've ever seen is buy a car with a 3.5 from the get.
already bought this one, just gotta fix it and sell.
f86sabjfthe oil galleries may be clogged . These engines are notorious for spinning bearings due to lack of oil flow. I used to work in a chrysler dealership and we did a lot of work on them. Keep your oil changes very up to date to hedge your bets
any suggestions to unclog the galleries or just run a motor flush through it?
Strizzo
SuperDork
6/22/10 7:50 p.m.
find a lake, and a brick. point car at lake, put brick on gas pedal. put car in gear. problem solved
They be trash. Google the instructions on how to install the other larger engine in it.
Here is a good start:
http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151694
2.7's are famous for sludging (I saw some doozies while at the Jeep place) and the water pump is driven by the timing chain. Yeah, remarkably stupid design. Don't waste your time, insure it and leave the keys in it.
In reply to Strizzo:
I live in chicago, no lakes around here
jrw1621
SuperDork
6/22/10 8:26 p.m.
^^^
I think there is one very large and very deep lake in Chicago.
This lake is so big that some people even call it great.
If you are in Chicago proper, drive east or northeast and it will find you.
racinginc215 wrote:
The best fix I've ever seen is buy a car with a 3.5 from the get.
Or get a 3.2 or 3.5 and ECU from a wrecked 2nd gen LH car and swap it in. The swap used to be detailed over on the Intrepid forum but it's been a long time since I was over there.
Good used 2.7 motors are expensive. And I've never heard of any good fix for them.
If you aren't in too deep with the car now you might be able to sell off the transmission in it to a 3.2/3.5 guy. The 2.7 cars have a steeper ratio for the chain drive in the transaxle.
racinginc215 wrote:
this could work
except that his description says it needs anoil filter and dipstick, both bad signs for a good motor.
Rob_Mopar wrote:
racinginc215 wrote:
The best fix I've ever seen is buy a car with a 3.5 from the get.
Or get a 3.2 or 3.5 and ECU from a wrecked 2nd gen LH car and swap it in. The swap used to be detailed over on the Intrepid forum but it's been a long time since I was over there.
Good used 2.7 motors are expensive. And I've never heard of any good fix for them.
If you aren't in too deep with the car now you might be able to sell off the transmission in it to a 3.2/3.5 guy. The 2.7 cars have a steeper ratio for the chain drive in the transaxle.
I could probably drive the car in to carmax right now and walk out with a profit ;)
I'd consider the swap to a 3.2/5 but it's a 14hr book time to just do a stock swap forget about the odds and ends that swapping to a 3.2/5 swap would entail.
I'll probably sell it to a title flipper in the end. They have bought 3 of my last cars that I've sold
jrw1621 wrote:
^^^
I think there is one very large and very deep lake in Chicago.
This lake is so big that some people even call it great.
If you are in Chicago proper, drive east or northeast and it will find you.
yeah, chicago proper. that ain't no lake, it's a sea at a minimum.
jrw1621
SuperDork
6/22/10 9:00 p.m.
Oh yeah, you are right, it is a sea. How could I forget. It would be silly to call it a lake considering that the word "lake" is not even used in it's official name.
In reply to jrw1621:
just because the original namers screwed up, doesn't make it right.
internetautomart wrote:
I could probably drive the car in to carmax right now and walk out with a profit ;) ...
I'll probably sell it to a title flipper in the end. They have bought 3 of my last cars that I've sold
I think you found your answer.
Vigo
HalfDork
6/22/10 9:27 p.m.
Id flip the thing as soon as possible without getting into it IF you can profit that way.
If not, pull the valve cover and see whats up.
Also, if someone were to buy an ENTIRE 2.7 transmission just for those gears, id call them ignorant.. the gears in question are underneath the rear cover which can come off IN THE CAR and can easily be pulled and installed on any other 606 trans without swapping the WHOLE transmission (which is somewhat annoying on those, let me tell you). I put those gears in my old intrepid. Ended up selling em later after parting the car for something like $75.
Rest in peace
Vigo wrote:
Id flip the thing as soon as possible without getting into it IF you can profit that way.
If not, pull the valve cover and see whats up.
Also, if someone were to buy an ENTIRE 2.7 transmission just for those gears, id call them ignorant.. the gears in question are underneath the rear cover which can come off IN THE CAR and can easily be pulled and installed on any other 606 trans without swapping the WHOLE transmission (which is somewhat annoying on those, let me tell you). I put those gears in my old intrepid. Ended up selling em later after parting the car for something like $75.
Rest in peace
Yea I have a set of those gears I got for my '00 R/T 8 years ago but never got around to putting them in. I was just offering a way for him to get his moeny back out of the car.
Vigo
HalfDork
6/22/10 10:25 p.m.
They're fairly easy to install, no real transmission-specific knowledge is needed.. if you need help on that, message me or email me.. Vigo327@gmail.com
i once saw an Intrepid with a 396 Chevy, 700r4 transmission, and Camaro rear suspension swapped in.. the guy said it was relatively easy to do.
skruffy
SuperDork
6/23/10 12:39 a.m.
If you bought it cheap enough to make a profit selling it without turning a wrench, do it NOW. Even when they run good, intrepids aren't worth anything.
Vigo wrote:
They're fairly easy to install, no real transmission-specific knowledge is needed.. if you need help on that, message me or email me..
It wasn't difficulty holding me back. More lazy/other cars to work on. That and it gets pretty good MPG now, didn't see the need to bump up the highway RPMs. Thanks for the offer though.
well pulled both valve covers and everything looks good there.
Next step, motor pull not my idea of fun, but meh. Air tools and warehouse space FTW
being the lazy person I am, the motor is still in the car.
we did pull the front cover off and found the source of the clatter, the chain was having SIGNIFICANT slack that traveled around the pulleys as the motor ran.
that was caused by a bad tensioner.
replaced the tensioner, and now after setting the timing marks the slack became only on the drives side and only about a fingers width worth. The slack does not move like it did previously.
Is that slack normal? or do I need to do something to get rid of it?
Reading the FSM it states that there will be clack on start up for 5-10 secs. Is that because oil pressure has to build in the tensioner to take out ALL the slack or?