Hi everyone, I have a 2002 Stratus with the 2.7 engine (130k miles). For about a year now, the oil light has been flickering on at idle, but seems only to happen once or twice in a month. lately, it has been more frequent. I know this is most likely just the sending unit, but it has gotten me concerned about the sludge monster as that light may be his evil red eyes letting me know he's infested my car. I use Mobil Clean 5000, and always change the oil between 4 and 5 thousand miles. Is this an effective way to scare the monster away, or am I at risk of a suprise attack? I have been thinking about pulling the front bank valve cover to check for sludge (this isn't a big deal right, just remove the bolts and pull, nothing tricky?)

So, in short, is my oil/interval combo reasonably safe from sludge?

And, pulling the valve cover to check for sludge is straight forward and simple (without a service manual) for anyone who can replace a timing chain on a quad 4, yes (cams are held in by bearing caps, etc.. unlike my quad 4, right)?

One last thing, from what i have been reading, it sounds like the 2.7 is a non-interference engine. Is this right? I havent seen anything specifically saying this, but i have read repairs of a chain failure only costing $1k which sounds non-interference to me. I wonder because the oil light has me worried about the sludge monster which could attack one of its many prey, the chain tensioner.. I'm always worried about worst case scenerios

Thanks

 

i too have an '02 2.7, bought new. if you look in the fac own book, you are to change the oil at 3K for hard (meaning city) driving. if all you have is hi-way, i think it says 5-7K's. the big issue with short trips (less than 45 min), is that the oil don't get hot enough to boil off all the water and other "junk" that gets trapped in the oilfrom norm city operation. i change mine every 3K's and have had no issue, have about 57K's, 3 years on german autobahn.

if your looking for sludge just pull off the oil fill cap and look at the bottom of the cap. if you want a better view get an insp mirror (small enough to fit in the oil cap hole) and check out the inside of the valve cover. there are quite a few eng (oil sys) flush kits on the market now, you could try one.

another option is to connect a guage to the eng and see what the press is, the sending unit could be off a bit and give a bad sig.

 

Ok, i'll switch to 3k changes then, I have had the car 3 years, and for the first 2.5, I had been driving an hour too and from work. But then I started a new job, and it's only a 15 minute trip (interstate though). And thanks for the tip on checking for sludge, i'll do that. Regarding the flush, i was considering that until I read some horror stories of the timing belt slipping due to lower viscosity of the flush fluid allowing the tensioner to relax. plus, the high mileage has me a bit worried about releasing a bunch of sludge at once to get clogged elsewhere. I'll do the inspection mirror method check tomorrow. thanks!

 

SUBJECT: Engine Oil Pressure Light Flicker DATE: Oct. 15, 1999 OVERVIEW: This bulletin involves adding a terminal/wire/vent to the oil pressure switch connector. NOTE: THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 2.7L ENGINE. SYMPTOM/CONDITION: With a hot engine the oil pressure light may be on or flicker on at idle. DIAGNOSIS: Verify engine oil pressure as described on page 9-21 of the 1999 Concorde/Intrepid/LHS/300M service manual (Publication No. 81-270-9140). If engine oil pressure is within specification perform the Repair Procedure. PARTS REQUIRED: Qty Part No. Description 1 05017800AA Wire Terminal/Vent REPAIR PROCEDURE: [ol][*]Raise vehicle on a suitable hoist.[*]Remove engine oil pressure switch connector from switch.[*]Remove sealing dart from the empty cavity at the rear of the connector.[*]Pull terminal locking ring outward from front (switch) side of connector to gain access to terminal locking tabs.[*]Install wire terminal/vent, p/n 05017800AA, in place of the removed sealing dart. Slide locking ring back into place.[*]Attach the connector back on the oil pressure switch.[*]Spot tape the wire/vent to follow the harness towards the top of the engine compartment[/ol]

 

Thanks for that bit of informaiton. One question though, since this TSB was issued in 1999, wouldn't the wire terminal/vent be installed from the factory on a 2002 model? Maybe not? Thanks again