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Overheating Issue with 2004 Dodge Intrepid SE 2.7L Engine

28K views 44 replies 12 participants last post by  peva 
#1 ·
:smileyvault-newhere

I'm having an overheating issue with my intrepid, but I'm going to give a little maintainance background before I go into that.

The intrepid was my mom's old car, it started to blow freeze plugs and loose antifreeze in march 2011, replaced the freeze plug and refilled the coolant. A few days later another freeze plug in the back of the engine blew, she got frustrated with the car and brought another one, she worked about 40-50miles from the house so she needed reliable transportation.

She gave me the car and I got it fixed in june 2011, come to find out a bad water pump was causing the freeze plugs to blow. So my mechanic in June 2011 replaced all the freeze plugs and water pump. Car ran fine.

August 2011 I notice that I'm loosing coolant from the very front of my car, took a flashlight and looked in the area of the radiator and it was cracked on one side. So in August 2011 my mechanic replaced my radiator. Car ran well again.

In Sept. 2011 on my way home one day the car overheats out of nowhere. I pull over and call my mechanic and he said let it cool off and get it home I was like 5 mins from my house. Before I called him when I lifted the hood all coolant was in the overflow tank and boiling over, so I was smelling the sweet smell of coolant. I proceeded to let it cool off and try to get it home, it took no more than 3-7mins for it to overheat again while I was trying to get it home. This all happened on a Friday.

That following Monday my mechanic tries to troubleshoot why the car is overheating. He was bleeding the coolant system and a lot of air was coming out, he also test drove it and it kept overheating,and at this point he thinks it could be a bad thermostat The next day tuesday he comes back to replace the thermostat. test drives it and it still overheats. After test driving it 4 times he comes to the conclusion that the head gasket it blown. Although I didn't have white smoke and milky chocolate oil, combustion gases were restricting my coolant from flowing properly.


Fast forward to October 10, 2011, my mechanic has my car towed to his garage to fix head gasket issue, tune-up, and a bad timing chain tensioner. He was going to return the car to me yesterday but on his way the car overheated.


What's going on. I'm pretty frustrated. I feel as though the car shouldn't have any reason to continue to overheat.


Things Replaced:

June 2011
-water pump and freeze plugs
August 2011
-new radiator and battery
Sept 2011
-new thermostat
Oct 2011
- head gasket repair
-tune up(spark plugs, pcv valve, air filter, oil, coolant)
-New timing chain tensioner


Things Not Replaced:

-radiator cap(never been replaced according to my knowledge)
-radiator hoses( one if not both hoses have been replaced before when my mother was driving the car)

I will keep this post up to date cause my mechanic still has my car.
 
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#3 ·
Before I even had the car serviced for the head gasket repair, I thought about going to autozone to get a new radiator cap, but I figured I would allow the mechanic to do his thing so i never got the cap. Now I wondering should I suggest that to him. I have definitely heard about the radiator cap causing the overheating issue.
 
#9 ·
I'm sorry bud but time may have pasted where it's time to replace your mechanic.....being a person that has overhauled as many 2.7's as I have.....your mechanic has gone wrong somewhere in the process of overhauling your motor and messed something up important or over looked an important part or process.....maybe he forgot to plain the heads when doing the head gaskets in that case it's like having another blown headgasket.

for grins I hoping he's ruled out all the easy stuff 1st but in the process of where your at I don't think your mechanic knows what he's doing and has cost you a lot of money......I hate hearing about these kinda stories.
 
#7 ·
...come to find out a bad water pump was causing the freeze plugs to blow...
That statement kind of puzzled me. But that's neither here nor there.

It's about to the point that you need to consider that maybe a bad part that was replaced was replaced with a bad new part - that definitely can happen. Thermostat is a good candidate for that (should have been tested before installing) - maybe water pump too. Or a passage is clogged. Time to start the basic troubleshooting process all over again.
 
#10 ·
I think he misdiagnosed my head gasket issue, he didn't perform a leak down test to validate that their were combustion gases mixed in with the coolant(well at least not in my presence). After replacing the thermo, water pump, and radiator you would think head gasket/head gasket leak cause it continued to overheat. I didn't have oil mixed in with water or oil, no white smoke out the tailpipe, so I wasn't sure if the head gasket was bad! but I've heard that you will not always get those symptoms in a blown head gasket.
 
#11 ·
In regards with the mechanic he's worked on the car ever since it was bought in 2004, he's even corrected problems the dealership did in regards to the alternator and fusible link. So, at this point I only trust him with the car and have head nightmares with sears and firestone just trying to install a battery. I think he's made mistakes in this particular situation though, but he has no problem correcting his own problem without extra money.
 
#12 ·
In regards to the water pump, it was replaced first, then two months later the radiator cracked and had to be replaced, could that cracked radiator cause the water pump to prematurely fail?

water pump replacement history on my car

factory was replaced about two years ago(the factory was leaking through the weep hole so obviously had to be replaced, brought an after-market water pump to replace it)

that after-market water pump was the one replaced this year in June, but it didn't leak like the original factory it just blew freeze plugs and after replacing all the freeze plugs my mechanic found that the water pump needed replacing.

I think it's odd that the water pump didn't leak like they normally do when they go bad. Could I have a faulty water pump????
 
#16 ·
I think it's odd that the water pump didn't leak like they normally do when they go bad. Could I have a faulty water pump????
It is possible

I can't really test for that cause my mechanic still has the car and is troubleshooting what is causing the overheating issues.
are you still having coolant loss.....inspect the reservoir tank you could have a crack in it.

In regards with the mechanic he's worked on the car ever since it was bought in 2004, he's even corrected problems the dealership did in regards to the alternator and fusible link. So, at this point I only trust him with the car and have head nightmares with sears and firestone just trying to install a battery. I think he's made mistakes in this particular situation though, but he has no problem correcting his own problem without extra money.
as long as you trust your mechanic that's what matters but one thing to keep in mind the 2.7 motor is one of the most complicated ones to work on
 
#19 ·
Just to let everyone know,before the car started overheating and a blown head gasket was diagnosed.

I heard a weird rattling noise coming from the engine, my mechanic said it was either a bad timing chain tensioner or guide. now when he recently fixed the head gasket he fixed whatever that was causing the noise.
he didnt tell me whether it was the tensioner or guide, but either way he had to fool with the timing chain, which also drives the water pump.
 
#25 ·
So what was actually wrong with the water pump? You indicate it wasn't leaking coolant so that rules out the seal. The water pump is direct drive via a gear/chain...so I'm assuming somehow the water pump impeller was slipping on it's shaft. How did he determine this? After dis assembly did he confirm that situation?
 
#26 ·
I have no reason why the water pump failed so prematurely and honestly I don't care cause it's not being put back in my car!!! He did say the blades were barely spinning and the water pump itself wasn't even working as well as it should, which is unexplained for a 3 month old water pump. He came to this conclusion when he took the water pump off, I called advance auto parts and they said several ppl have had issues with that particular water pump and that I can get all my money back when I return it.

The fact of the matter is both these after market pumps failed with no apparent signs(no leaks or even the water pump sounding loud)...that's an issue and blame can be put on the manufacture for a poorly made water pump. I'm going with the dealership issued water pump period. I'm not taking another risk of going back to advance auto to get this same water pump, installing and then a few months down the road my engine get's blown, I've learned my lesson. These after market water pumps didn't last long and didn't last as long as the factory water pump that came with the car.
 
#27 ·
"When he towed my car from my house to his garage, when he broke the car down before he even took the heads to the machine shop, he did a block test I believe either way it was some kind of test...and when he did so water was coming out of piston 2 and 4, which solidified that the head gaskets were blown. "

Sooo how long was the car driven before car was towed. Did you check oil on dipstick regularly?? I'd be concerned now about the antifreeze mixing with oil and bottom end bearings. Hope it works out for you with the new pump and chain but I would really be a nervous nelly thinking about what happens next month or two.

At least change the oil and filter like NOW and maybe do another one in a couple days.
 
#29 ·
Sooo how long was the car driven before car was towed. Did you check oil on dipstick regularly?? I'd be concerned now about the antifreeze mixing with oil and bottom end bearings. Hope it works out for you with the new pump and chain but I would really be a nervous nelly thinking about what happens next month or two.

At least change the oil and filter like NOW and maybe do another one in a couple days.
Car overheated on Sept 9
Diagnosed with blown head gasket on Sept 13.
Car sat in my driveway from Sept 9-Oct 10
Oct 10 car was told away for repair.


Even when my car was diagnosed with a blown head gasket oil and antifreeze was clean. No evidence of antifreeze mixing with my oil and vice versa. And yes I did change and check my oil regularly.

Before he put new head gaskets on he drained all the coolant and oil from the engine it's impossible to perform a head gasket repair and not put new oil and antifreeze in the car. Before he knew the water pump was the culprit, he repaired the head gasket and added fresh oil and antifreeze, of course the car continued to overheat, and then he found out yesterday the water pump blew the head gaskets , he has a new water pump from the dealer that he will be installing tomorrow along with fresh antifreeze and oil.

I'm not worried about the oil issue at all.
 
#28 ·
So the impellar was loose on the shaft.

BTW - the pressure cap on the reservoir limits coolant system pressure. Perhaps sudden bursts of pressure occured due to flash boiling or from cylinder pressure pulses from the blown head gasket. But general pressure buildup due to gradual overheating from a bad water pump or whatever would not blow out freeze plugs. I'm not saying the freeze plugs didn't pop out - just that it wasn't due to pressure buildup directly from a bad water pump.

Advance's site is down right now, but I'm wondering if it was a Cardone pump. People have reported bad results with them. There's a lot of junk in aftrermarket now - OEM too in some parts.
 
#30 ·
When the freeze plugs blew the head gaskets were fine!!! The freeze plugs blew in March and the head gaskets blew in Sept, two different occurrences. They didn't occur at the same time.

When he replaced all the freeze plugs and did a pressure test the water pump leaked then. But the water pump never leaked which is a true sign of your water pump going bad even before the freeze plugs blew. When both after market water pumps went bad I had to find out at the expense of blown freeze plugs and a blown head gasket,not the typical leak sign which normally occurs. Either way there's no reason a water pump should fail in less than four months, it had to been poorly made!

I'm not sure what manufacture it was that made this water pump, but at advance auto parts the manager said bring it back and I will get a full refund.
 
#33 ·
i had crossover tube rot out counot keep water in engin socalled warrenty wood not cover repair after allthat come to find out after removing uper intake 2 time they found crack in block between right bank put in stopp leak worked all started last year when ibought car no heat dealer replaced thermastat still loosing water found leak in plastic bleader housing replaced thought was fixed got to cold to mess with cold lots of snow in spring they found leak puting 3.5 in tomorrow
 
#35 ·
Another newby here. Does this sound familiar? (I posted this earlier on another site)

02 Intrepid 2.7L Cooling Problems

I'm aware of the 2.7 problems, and I'm a fairly good mechanic - but I'm stumped.

Engine was overheating, but heater wasn't warming up. I replaced the thermostat (twice in 200 miles). Then I replaced a perfectly good water pump, and installed the timing chain kit. Engine runs great.

There is no coolant in the crankcase, and no oil in coolant. Cylinder compression is good, and holds. I bled off the air in the coolant system while refilling.

After about 7 minutes at idle, the temp gauge doesn't move (sender is fine). No Heat, water pump intake is warm, the heater tube at thermostat housing (which bypasses the thermostat) doesn't seem to have any flow, it doesn't warm up at the junction near the back of the drivers side head and firewall.

It still seems like there's air in the system, I added 2.5 Gallons of A-Freeze, but the W-pump doesn't seem to be circulating the coolant.

Any ideas?
 
#37 ·
Hey make sure you double check all cooling components....

I'm not sure if you read my whole thread or not but when my car started overheating and my mechanic put a new thermostat on the car was acting like yours as if it was a hell of a lot air in the system. he tried to bleed the system FOUR TIMES before it he diagnosed it as a blown head gasket, but i didn't have coolant and oil mixing either no tell tell signs of a blown head gasket, but when he begin to do work on it he did a test(pressure test) and water shot through pistons 2 and 4 solidifying his claim that my head gasket was blown.

So he puts new head gaskets on the car and the car still overheats....after some more double checking, he found out the water pump was gone and I had just put it on in June and it failed within the three month warranty. The water pump was the culprit that started the cascade of all the events....

It failed....causing a tensioner and two guides to go with it ( the water pump was hardly spinning, so the timing chain was having to work hard )...then eventually blew my head gaskets cause one day it stopped spinning(no coolant flow) and boom the car is overheating...and when i took that one off it looked like this





This water pump was from Advance Auto Parts, bad quality because it's the second one that's folded on me in a row. the first one lasted two years and the other lasted just under three months. I replaced this water pump with a water pump from the dealership and my intrepid runs like a champ. My mechanic was just as stumped as you when he fixed the head gaskets and the car continued to overheat but he never thought the water pump was bad because he had just replaced it three months before the heads blew.

I would suggest you double check all your cooling systems components to be sure especially the water pump, have a pressure or leak down test done to rule out a blown head gasket.
 
#36 ·
How did you bleed the air? I believe the bleed process is done while running, not while filling.

Also - you could install a flushing T in the heater tube lines.... then you can crack that cap to bleed that much more air out - I've used that a lot in other applications, as well as LH platforms.
 
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