1998 Dodge Intrepid smokes...

I have a 98 Dodge Intrepid and it smokes when I pull out.

I was told it may be the valve seals. Is this true? Could it be the rings? It doesnt seem to smoke when I go up hills just when I pull out...

Is there an easy fix?

What are some problems I can expect with this car? I have 107,000 miles and am wondering when can I expect the timing belt to fail???

What are some things I may have to fix?

Anyone have a site with technical service bulletins that I can read?

What is the best repair manual to buy?

If you have blue smoke coming out of the tailpipe, you are burning oil, usually caused by oil leaking from the exhaust valve guides. The best service manual for the do-it-yourselfer is Haynes Repair Manual for Dodge Intrepid, Chrysler Concorde, LHS, and 300M for 2nd gen LH cars 1998-2004. The series number for that service manual is 25026.

thanks,

Am I to assume the rings are ok then??

IF I change the seals will the burning stop?

I just bought the car and dont know if synthetic is in there but I will clean the internals with motor flush and then add some synthetic oil and filter.

Is this the best I can do???

Intreprids are bad about oil leaks as well, is the smoke coming out the exhaust or coming from under the vehicle. One problem you can expect if they have not already been repaired is for the inner tie rod bushings and rack mount bushings to fail.

To test if your oil rings are ok, do a compression test. The minimum compression for the 2.7 liter engine is 100 psi.

will do.

NO drips under the car at all. NO drips or any fluids leaking in the engine compartment either.

Smoke is light any mostly at stop light acceleration. Not allot either. I bought motor flush and will tackle that tomorrow. I also bought a quality oil filter and synthetic oil, which I will tackle tomorrow as well...

Bought a Haynes too...

Compression test will attempt...

with the engine smoking (tailpipe) will the engine fail soon???

What could I do to prevent the engine from failing?

I noticed there is a fix out there but am wondering what exactly is the fix?

I noticed on a website the oil pump pickup screen gets clogged. Is there a different screen available?

What are the things you guys do to make sure yours last???

Thanks again!!!

don't panic, do the compression test FREAKnasty said it was 100 min, all cylinders should be close, they do not have to match exactly, let us know, if you don't know if the timing belt has been changed, change it, smoke when taking off is usually valve guide seals, when rings start to go it pretty much smokes all the time, to make it last, do the maintenance, do the maintenance!!!

I also cant find a timing chain in my area??? www.autozone dont have it www.advance auto dont have it


Where do I get one from???

ok I called advance auto and they can get me the kit for $512.00 :(

Im just very worried because the insurance totalled out my breeze which had everything done so I could drive it for awhile (head gasket, timing, belts, wpump) and I bought the Intrepid which is in like new shape thinking the valve seals would be an easy thing... and I could have a fanatastic car no problem for little to no money at all...(spent what the insurance gave me on the car so yeah now I am a stuck)

Doing the valve guide seals yourself can be tricky, if you want to attempt it, you must be very careful because it involve you removing the valves just to replace the seal. If you aren't careful, you could drop a valve in the cylinder, and now you MUST take the cylinder head off to retrieve the valve. Also, if you bought a service manual from Autozone or Advance Auto Parts, turn to the section 2A on 2.7 liter engine servicing. It can give you all the steps you need on servicing your 2.7 liter even replacing the timing chain. With your engine, next time you change your oil, go with synthetic oil, preferably Mobil 1. That brand has the best anti-wear, anti-sludge additives period.

ok

I have air so I will pump up the cylinder with air before removing the locks and springs.

I bought havoline but since you posted I will take it back and buy mobil 1.

best way to add air to the cylinders is compressed air like from. You need a alot of air to hold those valves in place

yeah air compressor....have access to a restoration shop...

what I really need to know is if this engine is gonna blow? If you think it is I can start looking for another engine or working on a 3.2 swap...

ok, time to show my ignorance, if the 2.7 is running a timing chain, than I would not worry about changing it at 100K, a chain will far outlast a belt, the engine is not going to blow, do the maintenance, the smoke at idle just means you will have to check the oil more often

since you have a 98, here's what you can do, depending on how much you are willing to spend: since you have to take off the camshafts just to replace the valve guide seals, go on and replace your timing chain and tensioner as well as water pump, it's right there inside the timing cover. Next, if your fianances allow, you can take off your oil pan and either clean up or replace your pick-up screen making sure it's not gummed up. Other than that, with those items replaced, you are guaranteed to have 100+ miles of reliable service as long as you regularly use synthetic oil.

thanks that helps allot...

what did you mean by 100+ miles? You mean 1,000 10,000 miles???

Is there a fix for the oil pickup tube??

Heres an auction I found...he lists a solution to the flaw...does anyone know the exact flaw and how to fix it??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7931968196&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

I hope maybe one day I can return the favor of helping you guys out...

sorry, I meant 100,000+ miles, my mistake

I'm not 100% sure about the flaw that he is referring to, I e-mailed those people to see if there's something that I'm missing. Oh yes, one other thing that you can do since you'll have everything apart, you can replace your cam & crank seals, to prevent any oil leakage. If you do all those things, I believe it is safe to say that you will have a reliable engine.

today I flushed the engine with motor flush. My clean oil came out BLACK. Good sign but also a bad sign. I added havoline synthetic for now. Gonna use the cheap oil for 500 miles and then do another flush and add mobil 1.

Engine overall is quiet and no leaks.

Odd thing is I didnt notice and smoke this time I drove around the block...any ideas???

A very important word of caution, you CANNOT mix regular motor oil and synthetic, they don't mix. It's literally like adding water & oil together. So be very careful about that b/c you could sludge things up very quickly. About the smoke not happening, some motor oils recondition old seals in engines. Chances are you used a brand of oil that reconditioned them and now they work just fine; weird I know, but cars have a mind of their own; they baffle me all the time and I work on them for a living!

lol ...they sell oil that is part synthetic, part regular.

Hello,

I found this post when googling the same issue with my 1998 Dodge Intrepid. It's a Great Running Car with just over 100k on it, gas mileage is Awesome!

I know that this thread is from 2004. So I am just curious if I can get a reasonable guess on how much it would cost me to have a mechanic replace the valve guide seals as mentioned.

Thank You

Brian

You said you needed a service manual, go here:

http://manuals.dodgeintrepidchat.net/manuals/chrysler-dodge/manuals/Service Manuals/