O/T 2001 Chrysler

I know this is off topic by a long shot. But has any one out there had dealings with a Dodge/Chrysler 2.7L engine? I have a chance to buy a 2001 Chrysler Sebring with a bad 2.7L engine. I can get the car for $300. the owner just wants out from under it and wants some money to make another car payment on a different car. It's a two door convertible and in good shape inside and out. I love these cars but you dont' see many on the road now as much as you did a year ago. Must be that reason!!

Not to stop the sale, but be careful of the Chrysler 2.7 engine. These are known to be sludgers if the oil has been neglected.

I would leave it B,,, I just rebuilt the front end on one drove by a little old lady,,, it had 68K on the clock,,, mother nature takes its toll,,, works around the clock :wink: The engines are crap.... along with to many biodegradable parts...

With that B'n said,,, I have a customer (collage girl) that has one,,, its drove hard and put up wet,,, the trans has been about to go out for 4 years,,, the battery jumped up and welded its self to the hood 4/5 years ago,,, major short,, I liked to never got the hood opened,,, was about ready to cut it off,,, this car will not die....

watch out
boat anchor

Be very careful. The 2.7 engine has some real issues. Also, be aware that there are different 2.7 engines out there that are totally incompatible. The only way to for sure identify which one you have is to have the powertrain control module numbers and check with a Chrysler dealer. This applies if you want to swap a used engine. I do my best to stay clear of the 2.7.

You won't find anyone in the automotive business with a favorable view of the 2.7 Chrysler engine. They were basically one of the worst engines Chrysler ever produced.

Your problem would be finding a decent replacement engine without spending far more than the car's worth. I just did a nationwide search for a used one out of curiosity, and 100K used ones are priced at $1,800 to $2,000. And that doesn't include installation.

Not to dim your hopes, but I'd take a walk. Actually, I wouldn't mind owning a Sebring convertible, but NOT one with the 2.7 engine.

The 2.7 engine by Chrysler is a POS. While it has decent power it has two major problems. First it runs extremely hot by design. Second the extremely cheap water pump is run by the timing chain. The water weeps water into the oil - causing sludge - made even worse by the high heat situation. The sludge builds up and you lose oil pressure to the hydraulic tensioners on the timing chain - chain get loose and slips a few teeth and the inference engine destroys itself when the valves hit the pistons. Or the cheap water pump simply destroys itself engine looses time the the valves hit the piston destroying the engine.

Two things a person can do to make a 2.7 run for a normal amount of time - use synthetic oil and change it every 3k or less (resists sludge) and replace the water pump, timing chain tensioners, timing chain and sprockets every 60K-80K miles.

You can't find a salvage 2.7 engine - they are snatched up as soon as a salvage yard gets a car in - there are waiting lists for it. Not that you really want a used engine because it could be as bad as the one you have. If you get a used engine replace the water pump, tensioners, timing chain and sprockets. Rebuilt engines for this car run in the $3000-$4000 range.

While some say the problems were limited to the LH cars it is actually all cars using the 2.7 engine and the "improvements" made in 2002 (larger oil pan high volume oil pump) helped the same basic issues are still designed into the engine and they fail at an alarming rate.

Unless the car is free - don't take it. As soon as you get the engine running you'll need a transmission.

http://www.searchpartsengines.com/gas/chrysleranddodge2_7engines.html

http://www.dontbuydodgechryslervehicles.com/dodge_chrysler_engine_problems.htm

We had an Intrepid with the 2.7 but we got rid of it with 50000 miles on the clock because of the bad reports we had heard about the engine. Some of the reports we read stated the early ones had a small oil pan with less oil capacity so the oil would sludge and plug the drain holes in the heads. The heads would fill up with oil and the the engine would starve and lock up. Most people had this happen when the car was in the 70000 mile range.

The engine gets it's power at high RPM's and the shift points were set accordingly, so if you want power you have to get it to the screaming stage. The gas mileage wasn't too great but it could have been because we had a small engine in a big car. The power was about the same as the 3.3 we had in our previous Intrepid but the 2.7 had to be more hyper-active to get there. Jim

I've heard even with regular changes with synthetic oils they can still sludge.

Didn't own one but had heard about them so I had looked it up a couple years ago. A couple sites back then were a company that made/did a conversion kit to install the bigger engine in them and another with hundreds of owners complaints. The common thread in the complaints was Chrysler not warrantying the engine, some people even used synthetic, regular oil changes, even by the dealer, but when they went for warranty it was their fault for not changing oil.

Been a mechanic all my life and yes, stay far away from that 2.7 !! Seen many with bad bottom ends and they cost a fortune to replace, if you can find one! On the other hand I have one customer who changes oil religiously at 3k and drives many miles who has 250k on hers with no prob. Draw your own conclusions but I wouldn't touch one with someone else's wrench!!:>)

my daughters 2001 2.7 water pump went out and it cost her #1,500.00 to replace. Apparently its buried down inside the engine and hard to get at.

(quoted from post at 19:12:52 12/10/10) Been a mechanic all my life and yes, stay far away from that 2.7 !! Seen many with bad bottom ends and they cost a fortune to replace, if you can find one! On the other hand I have one customer who changes oil religiously at 3k and drives many miles who has 250k on hers with no prob. Draw your own conclusions but I wouldn't touch one with someone else's wrench!!:&gt

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I always wonder why Chrysler did not stay the 3.0 Mitsubishi used in their other vehicles,,, that mitts is bullet prof and EZ as ell to work on... Even the issues they had with them were gravy $$$...

a 3.0 in a mitts is not as EZ... just don't figger does it....

we will not take a car with a 2.7 in trade.

That's what the dealer told me it would cost for a water pump. The pump is run off the timing chain and they recommend changing that also when the pump is swapped out.

Thanks for all your replies and input on this!! Happy Holidays to all!!