So, I found this 2004 2.7L Sebring to replace my 2004 108k Stratus. The price was great, the old man who passed recently took good care of it as the car rides and looks awesome and the best part is it has 50k mile on odometer. Me happy!!!
Now, I was looking for a 4 cyl. as I am aware of issues with 2.7 blowing. I also heard that using synthetic oil solves the problem, so I will switch immediately. Not sure what oil was used so far, but I found receipts for oil change in the glove compartment box and the prices indicate that it was regular oil (does not say what type), so I assume it was.
Other than switching to synthetic oil, can I do anything else to "cleanse" the engine of any possible sludge deposit that might give me a headache? Would Motor Medic dissolve the sludge safely or would it rather possibly cause problems? Anything else would help?
This is my 4th Stratus/Sebring but the first 2.7, so I am a bit afraid.
Can someone with experience in this issue suggest something useful?
Thanx in advance.

 

As long as the oil was changed regularly, it should be fine. The majority of the issues (aside from undersized oil passages), was not changing the oil often enough. Switching to synthetic will help clean up deposits. I'd change it more frequently in the beginning. Motor medic is a bandaid, I would not recommend it.

 

Change the oil regularly, regardless of what oil you're using. Use a quality filter, like a Mopar filter. Get on it enough to clean it out on occasion.
Those 3 things allowed mine to go well over 200k without an issue.

 

Thanks for your input. I will do a few changes every 1000 miles with synthetic oil. Which brand do you recommend?
Also, I know the water pump goes bad in these engines causing probably even more damage than the sludge. I hear different recommendations as to how often it should be changed. Some say 70-80K miles, some say 50-60k miles. What do you guys recommend?
Should I change the timing belt at the same time at 50k miles? Actually, I am not sure if this engine is driven by a belt or a chain. From what I know chain is not recommended to be changed, right?

 

I did some testing of oils back when we had ours. Many "good" oils (Amsoil, Redline, Royal Purple, Mobil 1) I tried while testing ended up black/burnt by 2-3k. I swapped to Valvoline Synpower and was able to run 3k intervals without issue.

My car never had a water pump changed, I was meticulous about maintenance, so I didn't worry about swapping something that wasn't broken. I always kept an eye for coolant in the oil or vise versa.

If you are going to have the pump done, get the chain/chain guides/tensioner replaced at the same time.

Another thing to keep maintained is the transmission. I run 30k service schedule on Chrysler transmissions, doing fluid/filter every 30k.