> --Oil starvation is a problem with this engine, This I agree with, but Jasper doesn't do anything to fix it because they use the exact same pickup tube that Chrysler uses. These engines have a lot of "upstairs" oil. There's a lot of valvetrain components in the heads that need oil to operate. Chrysler could alleviate the 2.7l issues by installing an oil restrictor to the cylinder heads, plugging the oil accumulator in the heads, and re-design the pan so it has an actual sump for the pickup tube to suck oil from. Easily done.
Or, just maintain the oiling system. Dirty oil is better than not enough oil and it helps to be changed every now and then. As far as the water pumps go, they make noise long before they get so bad that they sieze up or cause a significant problem. When it starts making noise, get it fixed instead of waiting or ignoring the noise. Like all automotive water pumps, it leaks, and it does incorporate a weep hole to allow leaking coolant to exit the pump and exit the engine without coolant getting into the oil. Coolant only gets into the oil when it experiences catastrophic failure, in which coolant will leak past the seal faster than it can exit through the weep hole, so into the oil it goes. Also, when this happens, that pump has to be making a very horrendous noise. A water pump failure is just as likely in a 3.2/3.5 engine and it has equal chance of destroying one of those engines if it siezes up. Chrysler's 2.2 and 2.5 4 cylinders have a lot of head gasket issues where plenty of coolant migrates to the oil, and they don't have a reputation for bearing failure. Ford's 3.8L V-6 has an issue with coolant in the oil as well, and they don't seem to wipe out bearings at an abnoral rate. The redesigned tensioner thing doesn't make any sense. It is on the slack side of the chain, so any force that it exerts there will have minimal impact on the water pump itself. What Jasper could do is design a tensioner arm that, when installed, makes absolutely darn sure it is physically impossible for the timing chain to jump wether or not the tensioner is working at all. That wouldn't be a bad idea. Even if it was a concern, 100 PSI of oil pressure on a tensioner with a generous 1 square inch of surface area on the plunger would make 100 pounds of force pushing on the timing chain to keep it tight. That is a very high estimate. The mechanical timing belt tensioner of the 1st gen 3.5L engines exert a LOT more force than that on the timing belts, and it doesn't seem to hurt those water pumps at all. The next 2.7 engine I rebuild, I will hopefully take a bunch of pictures of the internals and oil system components and publish it on the web. Maybe a video of the oil level in the pan going WAY down as the engine approaches 6000 RPM. Being two quarts low IS a big deal with this engine. Web: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid> Subscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Unsubscribe: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Moderator: <mailto://[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dodge_intrepid/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
