[ghard1]

I bought a used 1999 Intrepid 2.7L with 40000 miles on it about two months ago. I had the car looked over by a mechanic before I purchased and everything seemed to be fine with it. About a week ago I heard a funny clunking sound that went away soon after the car warmed up. I called the dealer about this and he blamed it on bad fuel. Two days later the car left me stranded. After having it towed to the shop, the mechanic informed me that the timing belt (chain) had broken and that I needed a new engine. I contacted Chrysler Canada and they informed me that my vehicle was out of warranty and that there was nothing that they could do about it. The dealer gave me a quote of $5500 Canadian (about $3500 US) and that it is going to be about 2 months before they can get and engine! Is that insane or what? There was obviously a defect with the timing belt yet Chrysler will not stand behind their product. Has anyone else had a problem like this? I am now stuck with a $5500 bill plus a rental for two months since I am without a vehicle! And the big three continue to wonder why they are losing market share the the Japanese. This is the first domestic vehicle I have bought since I sold my 1987 Trans Am in 1990 (also riddled with problems) and I will NEVER buy another Chrysler product again!!!!
Best of luck with your vehicles!

 

[MoparPerformance]

What the hell.....!

My 3.2L engine blew up and the dealer quoted about $3500.00 USD. It was like $2500.00 for the new engine and $1000.00 for the labor.

They really don't sell you a new engine just a new block.

I never heard of what you described. It sounds more like that was a coincidental thing and that's what they figured they could tell you.

I have heard that the valves or something related braking inside the engine causing it to break it has been a common problem with the 2.7L.

Sounds like your gettin' some BS'n. These are usually great cars but I have learned always to purchase an extended warranty with these vehicles.

I would point out the fact that you called and that they told you it was bad gas. You called because you were being assertive and caring for your vehicle. Especially at that low mileage, well, my 3.2L blew up at 33,000 miles so I can't say. At least the new engine should be on Chrysler or the dealer.

Did I hear that right....? Two months....? The freakin Chrysler plant is right there in Canada! I only took 2 weeks for my new (rebuilt) engine assembly to arrive and about a week for the installation.


Good Luck!

[ February 04, 2002: Message edited by: MoparPerformance ]

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I'm sorry to hear about all your problems with this car.

Me and my family have owned a lot of Chrysler vehicles and have never had any serious problems with any of them.

My guess is you got a lemon. Unfortunately, all auto companies put out lemons; domestic and imports (yes, even japanese). It's just the luck of the draw sometimes.

I'm on my second Intrepid (I had an early 98 ES and now a 99 ES), and I have yet to have any problems with them. I even put 65k on the 98!

 

[Dodge4life]

I guess timing belts have been a problem. When I took my car to my mechanic after I bought it, the first thing he said was replace the belt, because they have been known to go, and the bill would be very steep, so I took his advice. Seeing the price that a new engine cost I'm glad I did.

Anyways sorry to hear about your problem.

 

[Wutang15m]

Sorry to hear about youre car. But is common sense bro, when youre timming belt breaks on any car you have the chance of screwing the engine. and its something you should of took the shop, not ask over the phone.

And blaming one car on all chrysler is biased.

 

[MoparPerformance]

Not tryin' to hate on Chrysler but it is so close to factory warranty, he did call the dealer. Plus there are multiple known issues with this engine, sounds like it could have been something else and they are just trying to place blame on a maintenance related item so they're clear. Chrysler should at least work with him.

If it was a Chrysler dealer you'd think that they would have inspected the car and replaced something like the timing belt if necessary.

2.7L engines blowing up has been pretty common unforutnately, something I hear with something comming apart in the engine and breaking it. This just pertains to the Chrysler 2.7L.

If they tell you it's just some bad gas and nothing to worry about some people may listen. With my knowledge of cars I know I wouldn't listen but other people are different.

I do think that the dealer is somewhat negligent here as well.....

Yeah, remember that this is not all Chryslers. Some have had excellent luck with these vehicles. I hope you get taken care of.

That's just my take on it. Later...

And yeah, luckily my problematic 1999 3.2L ES never left me stranded even when the engine blew up I was able to drive it really easy to the dealership at about 30MPH.

I was able to drive it when the tranny and sensors had failed as well.

It even cranked over again when the service advisor started it up.

It was funny, sir there's nothing wrong with the engine, sounds fine..... He then revvs it and the engine knock scares the shhhht out of him....!


Later guys.....

[ February 04, 2002: Message edited by: MoparPerformance ]

 

[viprman]

I guess the 2.7L V6 is an interference engine, huh. Does anyone know if the 3.5L is one???

It's funny, I have owned nothing but Chrysler cars and I was never stranded. The most I put into one car was $1200 total in repairs. I guess some are lucky and others aren't.

 

[ghard1]

I apreciate all your replies and I am sorry if I seemed biased by blaming Chrysler for my lemmon. I do not blame them for that, however, I am incredibly dissapointed at their customer service. I have never owned a Chrysler before so the only experience I have with this company is what I have mentioned above. Now, if you were in my shoes, would you purchase another Chrysler? Sorry for sounding so negative. I am just a little upset about this whole situation.

Regards

 

[ghard1]

I actually laughed when I was told that it may be bad fuel. I mean if I was in Mexico, or some other country where it is common for service stations to add water and other impurities to the fuel I would understand. This only happened about 200 miles before the engine failure and it only happened once. If it was a recurring problem I definitely would have taken it into the dealership immediately. But as we all know, if you can't replicate the problem with the mechanic, its almost impossible to diagnose. As far as replacing timing belts, I have always done so on my previous vehicles at around 60K miles or so. With an engine with such low mileage, I didn't think that it would be necessary to do so this early.

Thanks

 

[silver97trep]

ghard1,

Yes, you had a bad experience and I don't blame you for being pis##d off. I would not think a timing belt would go at 40k. My 97 has 73K on it, and the owners manual says mine is good until 108K for the 3.5.

Getting advice over the phone is like playing russian roulette.

The bottom line is it's your money so get what you want. (I loved my Nissan PU but it was too small so I bought a Ford F-150)

I do think if you get your engine rebuilt your trep will take care of you for a long time. You got a bad deal here...call D-M and see if they will give you a deal somehow...keep buggin them and you may get lucky...

 

[SPOOK R/T]

Here is the Chrysler number 1-800-992-1997 to call with problems. My gas pedal stuck twice today this is number the dealer gave me to call. And go to another dealer if you had bad luck with last dealer. Some dealers are great some suck giant green donkey dicks. In Minn stay away from Denny Hecker dealers they take 3 hours to change a battery if they can even find it.

 

[MoparPerformance]

Hey Spook, guess you're talkin about one of them dealers that don't know how to lube the grommets and simply pop out the Airfilter box to gain access to the battery on a second gen....

Instead they think you have to remove the wheel or just can't find it....

That pisses me off!! Good luck with your issue! It's a good thing to report it to Chrysler being the type of issue it is.


Take care everyone.....

 

[Lafrad]

hey silver... change your timing belt soon, just because. mine died here at 98K. don't let it goto 108. Also, the First gen 3.5 are NOT interference engines... I also believe the second gen 3.2 and 3.5 are NOT an interference engine, becuse they appear to use very similar heads/timing belts/water pumps. the 2.7 probably is, and they used a timing chain, because chains are MUCH more reliable than TIming belts.

I had my Timing chain strip in my old '87 oldsmobile at 180K miles. it needed alot of work but if you are handy with a wrench, you can fix it all without rebuilding the whole engine. WHat generally happens is that the valves are bent and the valve guides are ruined. Most likely what you will need is:
New timing chain/gears.
New Valves all around.
(possibly)new heads (if the valve guides are messed up)
New Cams.!!!!! a must, because of the force that they took to bend the valves, the cam lobes can get distorted. when that happens, they wear extremely quickly, because the hardend metal is chipped away.
New Head gasgets/valvecover gasgets........

good luck

 

[viprman]

All you need is... a new engine.

I hope that you are right about the 3.5L being a non-interference engine. I am at 107,350 and I haven't had the timing belt replaced yet. I am the second owner and I don't think the previous owner did it either. Ya know, I never had a timing belt break, EVER! And I had a car that ran to 165,000!!! You'll love this ghard1, it was a Dodge Spirit ES with the 3.0L V6. That's right. A Chrylser (but with a Mitsu motor )!!

 

[Lafrad]

a mitzubitchy motor? ick.
well, you wanna be careful tho. My problem wasn't the timing belt breaking right away. it was the water pump bearings going. this cause the engine to overheat and blow a head gasget.
in the process of getting the poorly running car to the garage, the timing belt broke because the water pump siezed.

non - interference, because they didn't charge me for new heads.

And the expensive part of the engine is not what is damaged. you do not need a new crank/pistons/block/oil pump/all that low end stuff. the pistons are mighty strong, and the hardend steel crank has no problems dishing out a beating to those poor valves in the aluminum head

 

[ghard1]

Sorry to sound ignorant, but can someone explain what is meant by a non-interference engine?
Thanks

 

[Black94ES]

Get your engine rebuilt, much cheaper, don't get a chrysler one. As someone mentioned before, Chrysler doesn't sell any newer engines such as the 2.7L, 3.2L, and the 3.5L H.O. engine in one piece. The dealer must put all the parts together.

I got a quote of 3k - 4k to rebuild my 3.5L for my 94 intrepid. That's installed, I believe your quote was just for the parts. I'm not sure.

 

[btc909]

Have a bud that has 2 3.2 engines. "Pop your hood" "Yeph that's what I have two of em" HEHE sweet! But my Trep won't die!

Forrest Gump Green
98ES 3.2

 

[Bart]

ghard1, an interference engine means that the valves extend lower than the highest point that the pistons travel. If the timing is off, the pistons actually hit the valves. That's why the 2.7 has a chain rather than a belt... because a chain should NOT break at 40k miles. The chain is also protected in a metal casing, so there shouldn't have been any outside influences causing it to break.

 

[moparman]

Ghard, the 2.7 has chain, not a belt and Chrysler should pay the full bill. Call corporate and raise hell !!!. I'd also ask for the owner of the dealership you purchased it from (hopefully it's a mopar dealer) and let them know this is not acceptable. You know, you could do a small claims court case and may have a good chance if you present your case properly. It shouldn't be too hard to prove that a timing chain - not belt - shouldn't break at 40k. Neither should the engine. While my LH cars have been exceptional in their lack of repairs, I would push Mopar and the dealer to the max on this one. I'd fight them every bit of the way. No way you should pay.
Good luck.