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#1
02-16-2015, 12:16 PM
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New here.
Hello everyone, I'm new here. A little new to dodge, as this car is the first dodge I've ever owned, alwyas had fords and chevy's before.
Anyway, my wife and I own a 2006 dodge stratus sxt sedan, with the 2.4 4 cylinder engine. It's now got 142,000 miles on it. The body is still in great shape, needs tires, the usual stuff.
We first got the car with 89,000 miles on it, the engine in the chevy cavalier we'd had blew up and we needed to get another vehicle. We got the stratus honestly because it was what would fit our price range.
A little history on the car with us. We got it from a chevy dealer of all places. We found out that it had been through 3 owners, which should have been a red flag. We did get it with a dealership warranty though. Glad we did. The first few months, my wife was driving a loaner car more than she had the stratus due to transmission issues. The dealer reset the computer, sensors, etc. Still not happy about that, because I don't know that I feel they ever actually totally fixed everything.
But fast forward to now. The car went out of that warranty at 130,000 miles. We now have 142,000 miles on it. It has developed and had for a little while this ticking noise in the upper end of the engine. It comes from the passenger side it seems. The car runs fine, and my wife does not drive but maybe 5-10 miles one way to work, so we didn't worry as much about it.
However, we are actually going car shopping tonight. My car was a 2000 ford taurus. I drive about 400 miles a week almost all highway miles for my commute to work. The Taurus is running well enough, but has a few issues that need taking care of, like possibly a new heater core, has a dent that I get irritated over, possibly needs suspension work down the line. It's had a new alternator, new head gasket, new water pump, etc etc. Seems like every 6 months the taurus needs something. Plus it has 196,000 miles on it.
We were going to trade the stratus in, but still owe too much on it, and so made the decision to either trade in or sell the taurus. So essentially, I'm inheriting the stratus as my daily driver. Nice little car, runs ok, but the ticking does worry me a little, however with what we owe, we can't just get rid of it.
I've noticed the ticking seems to persist at lower rpms. Like if I'm idling or coasting. No loss of power or anything noticed. Is there an additive I should be using or anything of that nature? High mileage engine oil? I've read stories as I've researched the last couple of days about ticking lifters, etc, so not sure what to think. Is this a common thing in these motors? I know some guys recommend Lucas oil stabilizer in older cars, some things I've read say run risilone for an oil change, others say use marvel mystery oil. You hear all kinds of things.
A: Do I worry about the ticking?
B: is it common?
C: What does one do about it?
All things considered, with everything that we had issues with before, maybe I just didn't give myself a chance to like this car, and I'm finding it's not too bad, may just need some TLC.
I will note, that with the things before, I wonder if a previous owner did not beat this car. I have noted seeing where someone ran an amp and sub in the trunk as the wiring is still there. And there was some speaker wire in the passenger floor board just hanging. So I wonder if a kid got this car before us and beat it, and traded it in when he thought there was trouble.
Anyway, my wife and I own a 2006 dodge stratus sxt sedan, with the 2.4 4 cylinder engine. It's now got 142,000 miles on it. The body is still in great shape, needs tires, the usual stuff.
We first got the car with 89,000 miles on it, the engine in the chevy cavalier we'd had blew up and we needed to get another vehicle. We got the stratus honestly because it was what would fit our price range.
A little history on the car with us. We got it from a chevy dealer of all places. We found out that it had been through 3 owners, which should have been a red flag. We did get it with a dealership warranty though. Glad we did. The first few months, my wife was driving a loaner car more than she had the stratus due to transmission issues. The dealer reset the computer, sensors, etc. Still not happy about that, because I don't know that I feel they ever actually totally fixed everything.
But fast forward to now. The car went out of that warranty at 130,000 miles. We now have 142,000 miles on it. It has developed and had for a little while this ticking noise in the upper end of the engine. It comes from the passenger side it seems. The car runs fine, and my wife does not drive but maybe 5-10 miles one way to work, so we didn't worry as much about it.
However, we are actually going car shopping tonight. My car was a 2000 ford taurus. I drive about 400 miles a week almost all highway miles for my commute to work. The Taurus is running well enough, but has a few issues that need taking care of, like possibly a new heater core, has a dent that I get irritated over, possibly needs suspension work down the line. It's had a new alternator, new head gasket, new water pump, etc etc. Seems like every 6 months the taurus needs something. Plus it has 196,000 miles on it.
We were going to trade the stratus in, but still owe too much on it, and so made the decision to either trade in or sell the taurus. So essentially, I'm inheriting the stratus as my daily driver. Nice little car, runs ok, but the ticking does worry me a little, however with what we owe, we can't just get rid of it.
I've noticed the ticking seems to persist at lower rpms. Like if I'm idling or coasting. No loss of power or anything noticed. Is there an additive I should be using or anything of that nature? High mileage engine oil? I've read stories as I've researched the last couple of days about ticking lifters, etc, so not sure what to think. Is this a common thing in these motors? I know some guys recommend Lucas oil stabilizer in older cars, some things I've read say run risilone for an oil change, others say use marvel mystery oil. You hear all kinds of things.
A: Do I worry about the ticking?
B: is it common?
C: What does one do about it?
All things considered, with everything that we had issues with before, maybe I just didn't give myself a chance to like this car, and I'm finding it's not too bad, may just need some TLC.
I will note, that with the things before, I wonder if a previous owner did not beat this car. I have noted seeing where someone ran an amp and sub in the trunk as the wiring is still there. And there was some speaker wire in the passenger floor board just hanging. So I wonder if a kid got this car before us and beat it, and traded it in when he thought there was trouble.
#2
02-21-2015, 07:31 PM
All Star
Over the years, ive noticed the 2.7 v6 has a problem with sludge build up, but mostly due to negligence. The coupe 2.4 (SOHC) ticks because of lash adjusters not getting properly oiled.
I spent the time once to remove every lash adjuster (16 of them) drain them, fill them with Marvel Mystery Oil, and reinstall only to have them tick a month later. After an oil change the noise goes away only to come back shortly after.
We have different engine, but its worth the time to do a quick search on 2gss.org (if that site is still up) and search there. They were the go-to site for sedans.
I spent the time once to remove every lash adjuster (16 of them) drain them, fill them with Marvel Mystery Oil, and reinstall only to have them tick a month later. After an oil change the noise goes away only to come back shortly after.
We have different engine, but its worth the time to do a quick search on 2gss.org (if that site is still up) and search there. They were the go-to site for sedans.
#3
02-21-2015, 08:59 PM
Join Date: Feb 2015
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OK. So is the ticking anything to be worried about long term? Because otherwise it runs great. I know I need to get the transmission cooler lines looked at.
I'm thinking of swapping it over to high mileage oil with it's mileage as it seems to use a quart in say 3000 miles give or take. Worth it?
I'm thinking of swapping it over to high mileage oil with it's mileage as it seems to use a quart in say 3000 miles give or take. Worth it?