99 stratus problem

This happened to me yesterday. I was driving home with the AC on and there started a noise from under the hood. It sounded just like when an AC compressor is dying. Sort of like an on and off groaning sound. So, I turned the Ac off. The noise went away and the car seemed to be ok. Then I heard the noise again and the car shut off. I looked under the hood and there seems to be antifreeze coming out from the bottom of the passenger side fender area. The temperature did not get past the middle and the antifreeze that came out wasn't boiling over like a car that was overheated. Do you think that the waterpump went? Does the waterpump have anything to do with the timing belt on these cars? The reason I ask is that the car doesn't want to start anymore and it sounds like it's cranking over too easy. Original timing belt with 118,000 miles.

You didn't say which engine you have. On the 2.4l I think the timing belt also runs the water pump (it does on the 2.0 dohc and they are similar). You mentioned having 118K on the timing belt, that is bad news, usually they break at around 110-115k (my wifes Grandfather learned the hard way, he said I didn't know what I was talking about, and the used car salesman said it was a good car and wouldn't give him any trouble, had 102K on it when he bought it, belt broke at 114K. Same dealer charged him $2800 for repairs and denied his warranty he bought from them because they said the failure was from neglect [belt had to be changed at 105K]).

Yes, it's the 2.4 DOHC motor. I had a feeling that the timing belt and water pump were running off the timing belt. (who's idea was that?). I know that they recomend chaging the timing belt at 110,00 but I thought I would have a little more time to do it, since all of the mileage was highway at low rpm's. I guess not.
I heard that these timing belts were a real pain to do?

The reason (i've heard) that the water pump and cam share the same belt is because some people like to change the pulley set so the accesories turn slower to get more power to the wheels. This prevents the water pump from being included in these mods.
I don't know how hard it is to change the belt. I take mine to the shop because I don't have a garage or tools to do the work.

I took my 2000 2.4L to a shop where they charged me $425 to change it. They also reccomend changing every 80k to prevent it from breaking.

The 80K change is a good recommendation. On 4 cyl. engines I usually have the head gasket changed at around 80K with the belt. Every time I decided to be cheap, the head gasket started leaking at around 100K,it cost more to fix after it breaks (usually erodes or warpes the head).

The 80K change is a good recommendation. On 4 cyl. engines I usually have the head gasket changed at around 80K with the belt. Every time I decided to be cheap, the head gasket started leaking at around 100K,it cost more to fix after it breaks (usually erodes or warpes the head).

It's funny, on my old 91 Dodge shadow, I changed the timing belt once at 75,000 miles. I never did it again, and it lasted until the motor threw a piston out the side of the block on the highway. The car lasted til 189,000 miles. It was the original head gasket too.

Usually timing belts are replaced at 60,000 mile intervals. 105,000 is recommended on the 3.2/3.5 V6 engine found on the LH body cars and on the Pacifica, Magnum SXT, Chrysler 300 Touring & Limited, and the new Charger base model. Never go past 100,000 miles on the ORIGINAL timing belt. If your belt snapped, you could run the chance or bending a valve thus causing even more chaos. To do a timing belt is quite a procedure for a novice w/ little tools. The best advice I can give when performing a T-belt service is when putting the belt back on, make sure the tension is VERY tight on the belt. A timing belt requires 5xs more tension then a regular serpentine belt. A loose timing belt will cause timing to skip and it won't start then.