I bought this 2000 Dodge Stratus 2.5L for my daughter and grand daughter. I was told the PCM(power control module) was bad and that was it. However I found holes in the oil pan. The starter, crossover pipe, strut bracket, lower transmission cover were missing along with missing bolts everywhere.

The mono block bearing cap was broken along with 2 rods that were in pieces in the pan. I have lots of pics and still have the old motor if you need parts? HA HA

I bought a used motor with 38,000 miles on it. I checked the spark plugs and they looked like new, the timing belt looked new, the oil was clean and I started to replace the valve cover gaskets and they looked like new too.

I went to the junk yard and bought all the missing parts / bolts and ordered all new motor mounts from ROCKAUTO.com for only 137.00 shipping included WOW less than half price, as all of the mounts were bad. I cleaned everything, replaced transmission filter and gasket, flushed engine and replaced filter. I removed and cleaned throttle body, removed all the sensors on the plenum and cleaned. I also replace both transmission output seals and torque convertor seal.

I am ready to install the engine but wonder what else I should check, clean or replace as it is easier to do with the engine out than in.

Any and all suggestions would be grately appreciated. And also I am aware of using the correct 7176 tranny fluid, but wonder which PS fluid to use MS-9602 or MS-59631 or equivilant?


Thanls Anthony

 

man, sorry to hear so much was screwed up. so much for "just the pcm is bad!" LOL.

I've had an issue with the TCM on top of the autostick transmission. Pretty much just the gasket between the tcm and the tranny seems to leak over time. If it's not showing any fluid down there, probably nothing to worry about though. I'll be at 170,000 in the next couple weeks, only crippling issues i've had so far are the valve cover gaskets and TCM gasket. Both really easy to fix though. Good luck with that old beast. It'll serve your daughter and granddaughter well for years to come!

 

I started the new engine on Sunday. There is a loud tick going on but I think that will clear up after I flush engine and get the motor up to temp. It sound like a hydraulic lifter tap. I also noticed lots of rust in coolant system. I am going to flush coolant system as well.

I cant think of any thing else to do. I guess we will see as I get er going.

I do have a problem with the door locks when I unlock drivers door with the key. All the locks unlock then lock so I have to hold the key to unlock then open the door. As long as the key isn't used the locks work fine.

 

Yep. Mine ticks for a few minutes too. I chalk it up to it's age. Either way, the lifters aren't that bad to work on. I couldn't tell ya if the door lock thing is "normal" since I can't use the key from the driver side, and it's been jammed since I bought the car. My experience is that if the key fob works, no one uses the key anyway :-D

 

I flushed the engine and the tick went away. ratsttam you may want to do an engine flush as my engine starts nice and quiet everytime after the flush. The only problems I have now are the emergency and blinkers are not working. I removed the blinker relay and it works for about 1 second and then quits working. I am going to the junk yard and will pick up a relay as the dear wants 40.00 for it and I have serveral other parts I need. After flushing the engine and replacing the trans,fluid 8 quarts the transmission works great and the engine is smoothe. No more ticking/tapping. Engine works great AC is cold no other problems. My daughter is going to love this car. I had a Chrysler Cirrus and loved it. I need to tint windows and replace tires and it should be good to go. I did have a problem with the auto locks locking when I unlocked the drivers door but I sprayed the Keyhole with PB and now it works great! No More problems.
Thanks for the posts.....

 

I've considered doing the total flush, but just never got around to it. Aside from the overall age of the car, there wasn't an oil change between 140,000mi and 160,000mi. The 160k change was done with additives (sea foam). As long as I keep the oil topped off (there is somewhat of a leak, not burning any though), than the initial ticking isn't that much of a concern for me.
Great solution to the door issue. I'll spray my lock out tomorrow and see if it's actually jammed up, or if it's just gunk.
My blinkers do somewhat of an opposite than yours. If I leave the 4 ways on too long, they "stick" in the ON position. Junkyard relay or me too when I get a chance. I'm pretty sure the relay is under the sheath that covers the steering wheel column. Let me know if I'm wrong about its location.

 

Yes the relay is under he steering wheel cover. Its not just a relay, I took mine apart and found an IC, board and several components. I picked one up at the jusnk yard and the blinkers and hazards are working again... One button on the electric mirror switch wasnt working so I took apart and cleaned with contact cleaner, removed the metal contact buttons and reassembled with dielectric grease and thats fixed too. The only thing left is the OEM stereo wiring. Does anyone know what the 4 wires go to on the rear deck lid for the speakers? Are 2 of the wires power wires for a powered speaker? Previous owner replaced with regular 6x9's. I guess its back to the junk yard or aftermarket stereo.

 

Good to know about the "relay". Thanks!
The 6x9's in the es are actually 2-way. the 6x9 woofer and a separate tweeter. The car actually has an 8 speaker system. Most aftermarket speakers that are 2 or 3 way have built in crossovers or filters. The system we've got has those crossovers somewhere else in the car (where???). I have a pioneer stereo installed, the factory side of the harness only has the normal 8 wires (2x per speaker), which branches off to the 16 wires beyond that. I would take a volt meter and see which wires are the positive and twist them back into a single strand at the aftermarket 6x9.

 

Re-checked the wiring. Seems that the larger 4 speakers are hooked up to an amplifier (haven't located it yet) and the 4 tweeters are powered by the head unit. Either way, the split is made somewhere out of sight. Just make sure you hook up the solid blue wire and the blue with white stripe on the wire harness or you won't have anything but highs. It still stands that if you're just messing with the speakers in the back that you'll have to twist them together to get the whole frequency range back.

 

Well I have given up on the Factory Stereo as I have an aftermarket stereo just sitting around. The speakers all look new so when my daughter decides to bring the car back I will spend a few hours installing the stereo and install window tint. Thanks for the posts.
My daughter loves her new Stratus. I had to replace the low and high side valves for the A/C, recharge and now it blows ICE cold. Only 19 OZ required. My Daughter thinks I am superman, as I took this POS car and replaced the engine, shampooed carpets, detailed everything, engine compartment included, fixed all the electrical problems fixed the A/C and the body.