I'm thisclose to picking up a 98 Intrepid with the infamous 2.7 V-6. The car is very clean and has just over 77k on it, but obviously I have concerns about the 2.7

Is there a quick and easy way to check the "health" of this engine? I've also read that most people recommend running synthetic oil in them vs ordinary oil. Does anyone have any good preventative maintenance tips for this engine?

They are giving me $3500 for my 95 Odyssey w/ 143k miles on it so I can pick up the Intrepid for about $1200 and, given how clean it is, I'm tempted to take the jump. Any tips would be much appreciated!

 

i say go for it. i have the 2.7l, last problem year, and haven't had a problem. i take extra precautions when changing oil though. i use teh Mobil 1 synthetic extended performance oil which is supposed to last up to 15000 miles because of teh extra cleaning elements and stuff in it. i use that oil, but still change ti every 3000 miles. i also put motor flush/cleaner crap from murrays through it before i change teh oil it helps clean off any extra crap i may have in there. I'm at about 45k miles, and problem free. hope this helped at least a little for you.

 

I purchased a '99 Chrysler Intrepid (Canadian made)with 86K miles on 10/06 (online repo) and the next morning I was searching for some information on this car and I hit the jackpot of horror stories about the 2.7 liter engine. Needless to say, I'm scared $hitle$$ but I have made an appointment to have the car checked out as soon as I pick it up. I'm considering having the oil switched to synthetic before I head back home (3 hours). We have a '94 Intrepid with the 3.3 and we've been thrilled with it (Ebay purchase 3 years ago). I really thought I had done my homework since I've been looking for a car for about 4 weeks, but this 2.7 engine problem is totally new to me. The information I've come across online has been very helpful. It is really a relief to read about Intrepid owners who have had no problems whatsoever with their 2.7 engines. I'm just praying I am not too late to save my engine.

 

i think the majority of them aren't problems, it just seems to get attention because the 2.7L has more problems then other engines do. like a greater percent have problems, but that could be still a very minimal amount of the engines made.

 

its a dodge, how could it have any problems??

 

I'm not Paul Harvey...but here's 'the rest of the story...' Picked my car up on Mon. morning, took it straight to a garage. I got the oil changed and had it checked over. It needs a few things, but for the most part he thought the engine looked good. I drove home 3 hours without any problems, but I was very nervous after everything I read about the 2.7 engine. Everybody thought I was crazy that I was so worried, but on Tues night...24 hours after getting my car home, I have 'rod noises.' So, this may just be the beginning again. The car is parked until we decide the next step.

I read somewhere you can't post back-to-back...so here's a continuation:
Hubby took the top and bottom off the engine and found terrible sludge (no kidding??) and a bad rod bearing. I found a website www.intrepidconversions.com and we went with a 3.5L conversion package. The new engine has 30K less miles, the conversion went fairly smooth (for a bunch of average home-mechanics), and the car has POWWWWER! 5 hours the 2.7 was out, 9 hrs later we had the 3.5 running in our car. We still have to get the power steering grounded in the wiring harness (??), and I'm taking it to an A/C specialist to get the hoses hooked back to the compressor. Hubby cannot believe how fast this car is now, and we're looking to pick up another 1999 or 2000 Intrepid with a blown 2.7 to do another conversion for our daughter. They are cheap and it wasn't too bad, and in the end you have a good car for not too much money. Now we know that you can get one with a blown 2.7 for less than $1000 (I paid $3300 and am still smoking mad about it).
I'd like to get our 2.7 rebuilt and stick it in a blown 2.7 Stratus? Hubby doesn't want any part of a 2.7, but I'd be willing to baby a rebuilt. Our 2.7 has recently had the timing chain replaced (we're guessing), there were pieces of the old tensioner in the oil pan. And besides some scoring on the crank, and the bad bearing, I think it would be a decent rebuild.

 

Just put Synthetic in there right away. Get all the sensors changed
make sure there's no leaks and you should be good.

 

That advice is great.....It's only about 5 years late.....