2.7 Chrysler oil recommendation (sludge problems)

[Gene K]

Quoted wrong poster.

 

[Gene K]

My son bought a 2000 Chrysler Concord with a 2.7 engine. The car has 138,000 miles on it. The previous owner only had it for 6 months and never changed the oil. I changed the oil with synthetic and put some MMO in it. The oil was black, but no signs of moisture. I also changed coolant and the coolant looked old. From the looks of what I could see under the oil cap the engine looked new. Not even varnish. The car runs like a dream. I read about the 2.7 and I am worried. I thought about having the water pump and timing chain changed for planned maintenance, but it would cost more than he paid for the car. Could he just be lucky? Will we get warning signs before the timing chain breaks or the engine dies?

Mobil 1 10W-30 HM. It cleans well and is a higher HTHS oil that should shear less to provide extra protection to the timing chain.


Run it 3,000 mi and change it checking the filter for any signs of sludge. If it good switch to 6,000 mi OCI on the same oil and run it until it dies (Which may be 300,000 mi+).

The above assumes you don't see subzero on a regular basis in which case use 5w-30 in the winter.

 

[AutoMechanic]

For sludge I have found Castrol and Mobil 1 to work the best and Valvoline isn’t bad either my dads car started to get some sludge put the Castrol GTX in it and haven’t had an issue since then. As for the 2.7 yes as mentioned above get rid of it I am assuming since this is an old thread the OP probably doesn’t have it anymore.

 

[kschachn]

Considering the OP was a one-post drive by, I doubt he ever had the car in the first place. Most posters like that only come around to see what they can stir up, and now it's even coming back from the grave.

All of this over something that likely never even happened 12 years ago.

 

[odie]

How about this oil , SHELL Rotella T-6 Multi-Vehicle 5w-30 . https://www.shell-livedocs.com/data/published/en-CA/e9689ebc-ed56-4956-95ff-22c8d3585515.pdf . There are rebates until the 31st of October .

 

[AutoMechanic]

How about this oil , SHELL Rotella T-6 Multi-Vehicle 5w-30 . https://www.shell-livedocs.com/data/published/en-CA/e9689ebc-ed56-4956-95ff-22c8d3585515.pdf . There are rebates until the 31st of October .

Never knew that Shell made oil for cars I knew they did for pick ups and big rigs though.

 

[John Stewart]

Thanks for the information. I like resurrecting old cars as well as old posts. I like them paid for but hate it when they break. The Concord cost $1,200. It looks great runs great and has ice cold air. I just don't want him driving down the highway and have the timing chain snap. I keep an eye on the coolant, watch the temp, listen for rattles, check the oil weekly for signs of coffee oil and that's all I know to do. It seems like the water pump should start leaking through the weep holes before it leaks into the engine.

 

[nthach]

I’d run a HM oil and don’t go any longer than 3K(5K with synthetics).

The head gasket and water outlet are bigger worries with these.

 

[joemo]

I had 2000 intrepid 2.7 from 2000 to 2006. Drove it over 100k miles. Oil cap called for 10w30. I used PYB. No oil related problems. Changed 3 to 4k.

 

[Scuder]

Never knew that Shell made oil for cars I knew they did for pick ups and big rigs though.

Sure they did. I remember X-100, Fire and Ice, and most recently Formula Shell. Despite the success of Rotella, they were never especially successful at selling PCMOs in the USA. So, they acquired Pennzoil and Quaker State, whose merger was to make such a buyout attractive to a major.

 

[doublebase]

Well, you bought yourself a challenge. Good for you, some people like a challenge. Me? Yeah I have taken on a few, but the 2.7 isn’t one I’d want to get into it with.

I’d do short oil change intervals and maybe try some sea foam in the crankcase. You could remove the valve covers and take a look around (if I remember the valve covered aren’t too bad to get off, could be wrong). Maybe try cleaning the throttle body and intake. You could pour something into the cylinders and let them soak for a day or two (lots of different products out there). But you got yourself a challenge, hopefully it’ll work out for you...and if it doesn’t? Hey, it’s not like you spent $30,000 on the thing.