2.7 Engine problem

[RCSMG]

I have recently been told that my 2.7 engine is not long for this world. Does or have anyone gotten any positive results from Dodge regarding the design flaws in this engine.

[Arew]

I have been told of many people who have had troubles with the timing chain goin out @ 51,000 or so miles. I had the same trouble. What I would like to do get a class action started since this seems to be a prob. w/ so many people. If you are interested in this, please e-mail me at [email protected]

[RCSMG]

Originally Posted by Arew

I have been told of many people who have had troubles with the timing chain goin out @ 51,000 or so miles. I had the same trouble. What I would like to do get a class action started since this seems to be a prob. w/ so many people. If you are interested in this, please e-mail me at [email protected]

I am interested in participating in a class action suit against Chrysler just let me know when you are ready or what you need from me. My email address is [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

[longhorn11]

they say it is due to sludge. maybe not too late. flush the engine and try to clean it out good. then fill with 100% synthetic. the problem is sludge build up in the engine, synthetic does not build up sludge and cleans whatever is left out of the engine. it might not be too late. check inside the oil cap for sludge buildup. if you got it, take the oil pan off and clean it all out, it's the only way to get rid of high buildup. very common with this engine

[calgary_redneck]

The 2.7 is such a poor design is makes me cringe to think dodge would put in on the market

[Jporter12]

I have to argue about the 2.7 being a flawed design. In fact, it is a very well built engine. I have heard the many horror stories about them, and I own one. I haven't had the first problem with the engine, and I routinely drive mine HARD (the engine computer, now that's a different story!) I do keep up with the oil changes, and other maintenance almost religeously. I've also had a few apart, and I've not seen this sludge problem that everyone talks about. The last one I had apart, the driver had let it run too low on oil (found out after doing all the work), now it has low oil pressure. We though it would be ok with just a new timing chain, tensioner, gears, and guides, but the main bearings must be shot.

I'm going to be pulling the oil pan off mine, soon to repair a leak, and I'm going to have a new set of main bearings on hand, "just in case" they look bad. I'm not thinking they will, but as hard as I drive it!!!

I don't want to sound out of line here, or anything, but if anyone wants to have anything to do with a lawsuit over this, I'd have excellent maintenance records ready! Being in the automotive repair field, I see a whole bunch of neglect turn into really big problems. I am not saying that anybody discussing this has not kept up on their maintenance, I'm just saying it will be a difficult battle without proof that you have!

[Golachi]

Can the main bearings be replaced with the engine in the car? I mean, Is it possible without having to take the engine out of the car and without the need to take apart the cylinder heads, and all related stuff in the upper part of the engine?

[wafrederick]

No,the only way to change the main bearings is to take the engine out.Take off the oil pan and and windage tray off first so the metal shavings,etc do not get in the engine

[Jporter12]

Originally Posted by Golachi

Can the main bearings be replaced with the engine in the car? I mean, Is it possible without having to take the engine out of the car and without the need to take apart the cylinder heads, and all related stuff in the upper part of the engine?

Yes it is possible. Not likely that the repair will last though, unless the failure was a bearing defect, and the pieces didn't get through the engine, and the crank wasn't damaged. Take the oil pan off and the windage tray, then remove the main caps. Remember, there are bolts going into the caps from the side, on the outside of the block. You should then be able to get the bearings to come out as you turn the crank. You may need to help them a bit by very carefully tapping upward on one side. It's NOT an easy job, and it would probably be a good idea to pull it, since if the main bearings are bad, chances are the crank is damaged, and it needs to be pulled for that. Also, it's possible that the upper part of the engine is sludged up causing a lack of oil return hwich may be what caused the main bearing damage.

I did finally fix my car. I've had a "Ticking" sound since March, and I thought it was valvetrain related, possibly a guide, since I started noticing some oil burning around the same time. I pulled the heads, had the machine shop go through them, grind the valves, mill, clean, valve seals, everything. All checked out, other than the valves were in need of grinding (a bit out of round) and the valve seals were shot. I found six of the lifters were stuck so I replaced them upon reassembly, along with the timing chain tensioner (ALWAY replace the tensioner if you have the chain loose!) After putting it all together, I still had the noise, along with a couple more lifter ticks, and the thing would drop oil pressure to where the chain would make noise at idle, when warm. I was scared! I went ahead and replaced the other 18 lifters, and I was back to square one, except no oil burning (the leak was also fixed, it was the oil filter leaking). I drove the car a couple more days, and finally did what I should have done first, I unplugged one coil at a time to see if the noise would go away. Well, I ofund one that did make it go away, and ordered a rod bearing and oil pan gasket. Dropped the pan that night, popped off that rod cap and found a bearing that had lost part of it's top layer. The "flaking" was on the top half, a bit more than halfway across. The bottom bearing was scored pretty decent, and was starting to hammer out a bit (I've driven this thing about 7,000 miles since I started hearing the noise!) Looked at the crank and mic'ed it, all checked out, so I cleaned the small amount of bearing that was starting to stick to the crank and slapped it back together, and drove it home! Running great and quiet as a mouse!

The noise sounded exactly like a lifter. It also didn't do it under load, just right before the trans would shift, and on deceleration. I'm amazed at how nice the crank looks, and I've not been afraid to run it hard since! It's been months since I could accelerate at anything more than a grandma pace (in this car....)