Just keep checking those fluids and topping off as needed, as well as monitoring the coolant temperature gauge
Forget about the possible blown head gasket for now
yes, but some of them involve the use of special tools . . . not worth it for you at this point
as far as water getting in the car . . . here’s my recommendation
After the carpet dries . . . whenever that is . . . get into the car and close the doors
Have somebody hose down the car for a good long while, moving around slowly, don’t stay in one spot too long. With any luck, you inside the car should be able to tell which area is gradually getting damp
Might be a door seal, a body seam, the lower edge of the windshield, some grommet on the firewall, or any number of things
Head gaskets can fail in different ways. One way to do an easy test is to do this WITH THE ENGINE COLD ONLY! Only do this with the engine cold or you will get burned.
Remove radiator cap. Look inside and make sure you can see coolant. Many newer cars only have a reservoir cap which is also pressurized. Remove that if that is all you have.
Start engine.
Come around and look inside cap. Some fluid motion is normal. BUBBLES ARE NOT. EXHAUST STENCH IS NOT!
They make test kits with a chemical to do a test for exhaust in the coolant. Usually you do not need these.
Failure to see bubbles is not a sure sign the head gasket is sound. If you do see bubbles, it is toast. This is not a car you are probably going to want to put a lot of money in. Consider it done unless you or a relative want to do a DIY repair.
Another option is that liquid glass stuff you pour in the coolant. I have known people who have used this stuff with surprisingly good results. This is only something you do when you want to prolong the life of the car. If you ever plan to fix it right, you don’t want to use this crap. It is great to just get a few extra months before you sell the car to a scrap yard or for parts. This stuff goos up the cooling system and you can never get it out.
There seems to be an unusual focus on leaking head gaskets for a car that has water leaking into the interior.
To diagnose this type of water leak we remove both interior A pillar trim panels and both kick panels, have a second person trickle water over the windshield and doors while sitting in the car watching for leaks.
Ikr this car is old as heck I’m surprised it even still runs at all. I do plan on ditching it. It got me through a year and half which is okay for $1500car I guess. That’s why I’m not sure if I even really want to Fix all this stuff. Why pay hundreds or even thousands if I don’t really plan on keeping for much longer?
I’ll try that method tomorrow morning maybe and see what happens. And I think this car only has a coolant reservoir cap cause that is the only place that I see it says to add coolant in.
Yeah it might not be a blown head gasket, maybe I’m just paranoid. I’ll try the guy method that says to unscrew coolant reservoir and let
The engine run a bit and see if I see bubbles and if I don’t then I’ll just forget about it for now cause there aren’t any signs right for that. I was just saying cause the guy at a shop said he thought it was but he wasn’t 100% himself either.
And yeah I tried the hose thing before with my dad And he saw some A little water sweep through before The back right door but that was before we cleaned the drain hose but after that we didn’t see any water getting in anymore on the black doors. But when we hose the the driver side, there was a puddle underneath somehow by the acceralor and brake. And but I’ll try it Again and see because we have not done anything in about a week. Thanks for the answers.
Just drive the car, do regular maintenance, but don’t put a lot of money into it. You won’t get anything for it since used as the 2.7L models have very little value. Save your money towards a new car and run it until it blows.
A Google search of “Chrysler 2.7 Engine Problems” brings up 683,000 results including several class action suits. Read about some of the issues and you will see why this engine isn’t liked.
Did you pay to have the engine tested for a leaking head gasket? From your other thread it seemed that the mechanic simply didn’t want to get involved with an old disposable car and blew you off with a high estimate. Forget about the head gasket, don’t fool with the cooling system unless it is low.
No I didn’t. This was just when I had the coolant leak at the time. And asked for diagnosis why. He said water pump and radiator needs replacing. Then he went on to say that he also thought it might be a head gasket problem but he couldn’t tell until he replaced the radiator and pump. But he basically told me to ditch the car because that’s a lot of work. Which he lied cause it didn’t need a water pump, and im not really one to work on cars, but a radiator can’t be too much work if my dad cousin did it for $100 in one day by himself.
Also, guys I’d tried doing the remove cap from coolant reservoir to see if bubbles and I didn’t see anything. I removed it and started the engine for 3 minutes.my question is was this long to see if bubbles would raise or was it supposed to be longer? I ask because I didn’t see motion going on at all, maybe 3 mins wasn’t long enough? but I didn’t want to leave that coolant reservoir cap off for too long it’s kinda scary lol.
I vaguely remember the 2.7 having oil sludging problems as a reference from a post above indicated. However, oil sludging does not cause head gasket failure.
From what I understand, the car is not overheating. If you are able to do your own oil changes, buy a house brand synthetic oil that meets the viscosity specifications for your car. I can purchase the house brand full synthetic oil for $2.79 a quart that meets the specifications for my 2017 Toyota Sienna. Although I don’t do my own oil changes, I carry a quart in the van in case I have to add oil between changes.
You have a car with a few aging problems. These problems aren’t fatal.
If this were my car, I would use the synthetic oil and change the oil every 5000 miles, see if you can find the rain leaks and drive on.
Sounds like a terminal case of “I don’t like the car anymore”, in which case any problem is sufficient justification.
It’s a 15 year old $1,500 car but none of the problems sound particularly serious or expensive and let’s face it, if you sell it I doubt if you could get much for it. May be $500 to $1,000 on a really good day but meanwhile it’s only cost you about $100/month.
So if you’ve got the money for a new car, go ahead and unload it, it owes you nothing but if money is important, I’d patch it up and keep running it until you run into a serious problem (maybe a $500 repair?) and toss that $400/month you’re saving into a savings for a new car. Do that and keep the Stratus running for a year and you’ve got a $4,800 down payment for a new car in savings.
There are a lot of people who would consider $500 for brakes and tires to be “the last straw”
I know you’re aware of this . . . to use your phrase
I’m not one of those who would consider $500 for brakes and tires to be “the last straw” . . . but I personally know several people who don’t feel the same way
