My brother, Ray, has a 99 Intrepid that he took real care of and tinted the windows, bought a nice new exhaust tip, a cd player, and a cb radio for it. He really cared about it. Anyway what eventually happened was that I guess we got screwed on oil changes and ended up not actually changing the oil for a year!!!! I guess then it messed up the engine really bad and around about october the engine died. It wont even turn now when we try to start it. My mom called Chrysler and they said we needed a whole new engine and they didnt have n e so they would have to get it from a factory or something so it would cost around $5 ,000! So right now the Trep is underneath our car port gathering dust. Is there any alternative way to fix it without dumping 5 grand into it?
Just curious. I'm not entirely sure if that is what exactly happened to the car but I'm almost positive it's very close to that.
Thanks
Matt
Tazz411
05-29-2002, 01:08 PM
Does it turn over? The engine that is? If you want you can send me an email and we can see if we can find out for sure if it is dead or not. Also you can get a complete engine from some repitable Junk Yards that have less that 30,000 miles on them. Saves a whole lot of money. I blew my 96' 3.5 Motor.........120+ MPH.......oops.
Donsil
06-14-2002, 03:34 PM
I have a 98 Intrepid with the 2.7L engine. I have kept up with the oil faithfully every 3000 miles. Mine died at 80,000 miles and I had to put in a replacement (rebuilt) motor for $4500.
It was kind of funny that when I called the dealer to bring it in for service. I told him that it was making a loud noise in the engine. His first comment to me was "I hope you have kept up with the oil changes" I had, but it was as if he already knew there was a problem. I have since heard about sludge buildup being problematic for these engines. No engine should fail at 80,000 miles if the engine has been properly lubed.
Anyone else have a similar story?
Andy
06-25-2002, 01:29 AM
hmm, interesting...
My mom has a 01 2.7L... around 45K miles... Maybe she should trade it in pretty soon :D No problem with it so far. Most of the miles are commuting miles.
I drove it a bit.... Pretty hard of course... for a big car and pretty small engine it hauls pretty good in my opinion anyways. I've had it up to about 115 many times... hehe, anyways they keep up on the oil every 3K miles... I've never heard about this problem though.
Foolish
06-25-2002, 03:36 AM
WOW! Why can't they rebuild the motor? How were you screwed on oil changes? Was the intrepid driven during the year or has it been sitting? Will it crank? Is there power?
Donsil
06-25-2002, 08:34 AM
I was told by several shops, when that engine goes there is no rebuilding it (?). Since then I have heard a report by a mechanic in Orlando on the radio where he brought in a sump from one of these engines and showed how the filter screen had marks that indicated the bottom was pressed flush with the oil pan leaving only flow through the sides. This constricts the oil flow enormously. He says his shop has seen many such failures recently as well as other reports nationally. This is a problem that Dodge will end up owning up to in time. Toyota has already done so reluctantly.
If this is truly a design flaw, it makes sense that my engine failed the way it did. Under any heavy acceleration (on-ramps, passing ...) the engine oil pump would starve it self out if it drew more than could get through the filter screen. Also any oil viscosity heaveier than a 5 or 10-30 would contribute to such a problem by restricting flow. Any sludge build up in the bottom of the pan would make it worse. (I have been told that you cannot verify the clearance without removing the oil pan, which cannot be done with the engine in the car as it normally is.) After acceleration stops, the oil would eventually settle back into place and not look as if it was low, since it wasn't low. I t just doesn't get where it is supposed to be.
Does that make any sense to anyone else. If so what can we do to get Dodge to fix this problem on other engines.
Tazz411
07-01-2002, 06:39 PM
Most likely a lost cause to get Dodge to fix it. They may some day say it is true but then they will say it is too late to do anything about it.
Oh and mine went at about 80,000!
briangyboy41
09-01-2004, 11:29 PM
I'm in the process of possibly buying a '99 Intrepid........I was wondering if your Bro' had a 2.7 litre motor in his Intrepid? I have a Bro-in-law that has been a mechanic for 20 some-odd yr.'s, and he said that the motor (2.7) has a tendency to lose oil pressure because of some very small oil passages that will get sludged up if you don't keep your oil changes regular, thus, restricting your oil flow and causing damage.
I also had a co-worker of mine ask a neighbor of his (which is also a mechanic), about the 2.7 litre. He say's, they have a history of blowing oil seal's around 60k mile's. And also say's that no mechanic in town would want to touch the car to fix it, because there so hard to get to, to fix.
Any info. would be highly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mnbiker
09-02-2004, 12:22 PM
Yes, the early 2.7s had some sludge problems and alot of folks seem to think all 2.7s are junk. My 98 has 137,000 miles and still going strong. Lots of folks haven't been so lucky. A much cheaper alternative is to replace the 2.7 with a 3.2 or 3.5. Many have done that with great success. They have more power and a better track record as far as reliability. Check out the link and read about others who have done it.
www.******************
1tony
09-29-2004, 01:54 AM
if you can send me an e-mail and a pickture of the motor i can probaly help you get it started again i have a 98 and a 99 intrepid
