[Hooter]

A friend at working is looking to sell his original owner 98 Intrepid with the infamous 2.7 motor. Did a google search and found the sludge problem these motors all had. This one has 140,000 miles on it and runs great. Always had Mobil 1 through it since new and changed every 5,000 miles. He only wants $500 for it knowing there is a pending engine problem at some point down the road. I"m thinking the Mobil 1 might have done a better job keeping the engine clean vs. conventional oil and maybe the motor might last a while longer. Thoughts?

In the event I pick this car up, the trans has never been serviced. With this many miles, am I asking for trouble servicing it?

[RS72LEMANS]

AVOID! Problematic cars period! if anything buy and try to resell... I'm usually not really against certain cars but thats one that made the do not buy list. the 3.5 and 3.2 both are junk but the 2.7 is worse had one lock up on me without warning. Oil pressure was fine one second then the engine just died and was siezed tight. pulled the dipstick and was right at the full line. those also have a differential that would need servicing too and not to mention the tierod issues...

[sleepy]

just change the oil every 3-4,000 and do a flush every other change and you will not have a problem.

[Hooter]

I'm looking at this for a friend that doesn't have a lot of money to spend on a car and doesn't do a lot of driving. I kinda figure that worst case if it dies the scrap yard will pay $200 or so for it.

[salem1912]

Hows it running now? Tapping/knocking noise. If not it should be ok just keep changing the oil. Don't bother with servicing the transmission, it's a $500 car right. The 2.7L is a POS but some do run good, cars that have hi mileage(salesman cars) do run better.Sludge seems to build up on cars that don't reach operating temp on a regular bases. If the engine does go south junk it. They don't "rebuild" very well.

[Hooter]

Runs and drives perfectly fine right now. For $500, figure it's worth the risk.

[Rob B]

Originally Posted by Hooter

Runs and drives perfectly fine right now. For $500, figure it's worth the risk.

Hell, that's an average one month car payment for a new car on the low side, and the average down payment for a buy here, pay here lot before you start paying $50 a week. Go for it.

[Cammer-6]

Son is doing a motor job on his 2.5 95 Cirrus
One owner(grandparents bought new) frequent oil changes
90K on it now,lifters rattling,just did a timing belt and WP.
This motor/trans is a POS.If it wasnt for the attachment of it
being his GPs since new and also his first car,it would be scrap.

[Hooter]

Might be Dodging a bullet on this a little. The guy I work with thinks it's a 3.2 instead of the 2.7. Will go buy it once he finds a replacement for it(his daughter is driving it now).

[salem1912]

3.2L are better by far than a 2.7L timing belt instead of chains.

[drailed]

A guy I know here who is a very knowledgeable mechanic has his opinion on why those 2.7s die young. He claims its where the cat is located on the front of the motor as opposed to under the car and the heat off of them that contributes to the sludge problem. Anyway I wouldn't buy buy one unless it was in a cheap enough car that I could bring to the scrap yard and make a buck or 2 although if you can knock him down a little it may be worth it if you get 6 months out of it.

[stevep]

Take the $500.00 gamble, especially if it had Mobil 1in it from new.

Scrap prices are high in the Boston area right now. I just got $400.00 for a 92 Taurus and $350.00 for a 93 Camry.

[Old Blue 66]

I'd take that gamble. If the car doesnt need anything, figure your driving cheap based on scrap prices. With 140K, Id have someone put the car on a lift, take a look at the tie rods and ball joints (always an issue with those cars) and look for anything else for safety's sake.

Watch for white sweet smelling exhaust down the road because it WILL hapen. 2.7's all blow a head gasket at one point.

[Lightfoot]

I agree with buying it for temporary, throw away use. I would never want any post seventies Chrysler product, but the special circumstances of this particular car earn it some credibility.
Providing this one truely had Mobile1 since new, I wouldn't be surprised if you got it to 200K, unless a head gasket failed. But it should make it a good year.
Even in the event the head gasket goes, you could make it a DuraLube test mule.

The only drawback I see to this offer is:
I don't know how sincere your friend is, but I would hope the $500 is not an indication he knows something is about to happen.
But if you personaly witnessed how clean the engine is, etc. I would be fairly confident about it.

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by Lightfoot

I agree with buying it for temporary, throw away use. I would never want any post seventies Chrysler product, but the special circumstances of this particular car earn it some credibility.
Providing this one truely had Mobile1 since new, I wouldn't be surprised if you got it to 200K, unless a head gasket failed. But it should make it a good year.
Even in the event the head gasket goes, you could make it a DuraLube test mule.

The only drawback I see to this offer is:
I don't know how sincere your friend is, but I would hope the $500 is not an indication he knows something is about to happen. But if you personaly witnessed how clean the engine is, etc. I would be fairly confident about it.

Exactly why you should go over that car with a fine tooth comb before you buy.

[Hooter]

He's wanting to sell it because the compressor and evap are bad and he's been quoted big money to have it repaired. Also needs front brakes(no big deal). His daughter is also wanting a nicer car. I did a search and looks like the dash needs to come out for the evap change. I'm not worried about a/c. I"m sure about the Mobil 1 as he and I used to compare notes about running it in our cars. If it's the 3.2, gonna put in a new timing belt to be safe. If the 2.7, run the wheels off of it as is.

[myckee]

I drive a 98 Intrepid as my daily driver and it has a 2.7. The real trouble area on these cars isn't the sludge build up, but the timing chains. What usually happens is the tensioners wear out and or the chains stretch. This causes the timing chain to slip, leading to valve timing being out of whack and then the engine seizes after piston contact with valves.

If the timing chains etc have been changed, I doubt you'll have any issues with the engine. My car puffs a bit of blue on acceleration from a stop, but otherwise is fine. It still passes the e-test after ~250,000 Km. Incidentally, my timing chains have never been done. I have a parts car to snag an engine from if I need it (bought it as I needed an alternator), but I'm hoping it will last until I can find another parts car with good tires and a 3.2. I figure for the price of a new set of tires, I should be able to get both.

[Hooter]

Thought I'd post an update. Finally got the car and it indeed has the 3.2 in it. Got all of the service receipts and it's had Mobil 1 oil changes every 5,000 miles. Got it for $500 and put in a new timing belt, timing belt tensioners, water pump, accessory belts, front pads, trans service, and oil change. Got around $900 in it and time to run the wheels off of it. Run and drives great. Compared to my 99 Saturn, has a lot of room. We'll see how long it lasts. Just wish the air worked(too lazy now to change the evaporator).

[drailed]

Sounds like you made out well so far!!

[salem1912]

Good deal, have you charged the a/c ? evap leak a lot on them but how fast is it leaking. May last a few months or weeks.