[derbullet]

I just bought a 99 Intrepid, 2.7 with 131,000 miles on it. RUNS like a swiss watch, purrs like a kitten. I had heard of the sludge problem with these and was told not to buy it, but the price was right, so after I fixed the problems it had (window, ball joints and tires), I topped off the oil with a 1/2 quart of ATF (old trick I have always used as an old mechanic friend told about this 25 years ago). Then about 500 miles later, I changed the oil and filter, went cheap this time as that was all that money allowed, figuring I could go back to synthentic at the next oil change. Now, three weeks later, the oil light flickers and stays on once the car idles down to 500 rpm's after it is warmed up to operating temperature. After reading the forum, I am confused. Today I am going to change the oil again and put in Mobile one and a new Fram filter. And see if this changes things. Please someone post, as to what I should do, or stop me if I am making things worse. I bought car from impound and have no knowledge of previous maintenance. I am fairly new to the 1990's in vehicles, as my previous newest cars have been 93 Imperial, 91 Escort (Should have kept this one), 90 G30 and 98 Contour (now I know why I got this one cheap). Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[derbullet]

Okay, Mobil 1 and new filter, not the cure.

From reading past forums, sound like I should take to mechanic and have oil sensor and some sort of pigtail changed, and cross my fingers?

Oh yea, and it flickers and comes on at about 700 rpms now.

 

[TCPMeta]

In modern cars that are loaded with computer equipment and sensors you shouldn't use ATF in the crank case.

This is a small problem Dodge overlooked but has corrected it on laster models. It's just a simple wire to close a circuit. The part number is 5017800AA. You can order the part from moparpartsamerica.com. I have been told you should also replace the sending unit as well, part # 4608303AB

 

[ssilvern]

2001 intrepid 2.7 SE slude problem.

Just last saturday my wife called me and said there is a horrible sound coming from the engine that sounded like a diesel. Turns out, it is sludge. after many hours on the phone and internet i decided to try AUTO-RX for the sludge removal. i have not driven the car since that saturday and i am going to start the auto-rx treatment tonight 11-28-07. i have 105,000 miles on the car and have had not one problem with the car until now. dont get me wrong i am happy that i have had 100+ g's with no problems. but still i will keep you informed as to what happens over the next week or so.

 

[mavinwy]

Hopefully the sound like a diesel is not something busted.

Some folks say auto RX works really well, I'd be interested in knowing the outcome for you.

The wif'e intrepid has 110K on it now after thanksgiving, but has always had synthetic oil in it, so when I popped the covers just over 100K there was no sludge to speak of.... But my understanding is that this is unusual.

Jim

 

[ssilvern]

engine knock and auto-rx first try

so in my earlier post i said that my wife heard the knocking last saturday the 24th. it wasnt that bad at that time. my wife drove the car home and of course i started it and listened and it took until the car was at running temp to hear the knock. so i turned it off and turned to the internet. since that time i have only started the car before i changed my oil and again no knock until its warm. so i changed the oil and started the auto-rx treatment then drove the car for about a half hour to get the oil moving. i have no loss of power and as soon as the car hits 1500 rpm the knock goes away. the Auto-rx people said to give it a thousand miles then change the filter. that is what i am going to do (if the engine makes it that long, i have written this engine off as bad so i dont care what happens now). i will keep you updates as to whether this Auto-rx is the sludge savior. i will however run the engine until it goes south.


oh and Dan, i am steve the guy who emailed you last night and this morning. i think i am going to need to use that 2.7 to 3.2 swap (although i hope my wife lets me get the 3.5HO)

 

[TCPMeta]

Next time when you run into a problem like this do a oil change and add in a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil. I used it in my old 3.2L and it was clean enough to eat off of. When the motor finally died and when I tore it apart there was no sludge what so ever. Looked like a new engine except for a blown piston.

Theres a guide you can buy on ebay that has step by step instructions on doing a engine swap for the LH Class.