Oil Recommendation for '04 Stratus 4 banger

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A co-worker has a 2004 Dodge Stratus, 2.4L, 4 cylinder. He has had it only 4 months, but drives 90 miles round trip for work, so approximately 2000+ miles per month. He wants to be economical on costs and keep the car a long time.

His neighbor works on cars and told him that the engine in those cars is not very good so he should change the oil every 2500 to 3000 miles. I think the neighbor has given him bad advice. Maybe in general, but in Jim's case, with the miles he drives and mostly highway, I think he is a prime candidate for synthetic (or a blend) and longer OCIs. However, economy must be considered.

I think the car takes 10w30, but he lives out from the city a bit where it can go maybe -10F occasionally in winter. Summer temps usually in the 80s 90s.

He is unlikely to do UOAs, but is willing to change his own oil (has been going to the dealer) and if he changes it, then less frequent changes is good.

Besides oil recommendations, how about filters. I say Purolator Premium Plus.
 
I'd recommend that he buys Mobil 1 10W-30 on sale at $3.99/quart (or less) and changes his oil every 7.5k-9k miles. Most of his driving is on the highway anyway, so that should be very safe for M1. Purolator is fine, but Supertech might be more cost effective with simular quality.
 
His neighbor is wrong..... the 2.4L 4Cyl is a great engine! They have been using that in the Stratus since its introduction. My friend has a 98 Stratus with 98K miles and it is fantastic. It still has power. No problems with the engine at all. The 2.4L now puts out 150hp (I believe) and they even offer it with a turbo.

Vehicles with this engine option:
Dodge Caravan/Chysler Voyager
Sebring Conv/Sedan
Stratus Sedan
PT Cruiser (Turbo optional)
Jeep Liberty
2003+ Jeep Wrangler
SRT4 (Turbo Std.)

Yes, use 10W30. If it gets below 0F, use 5w30, as the manual states.
 
Is it a Coupe or Sedan? The coupes have the Mitsu 4g64 motor(SOHC 16V). My girlfriend has one and its a great car. Im doin her change tomorrow. If it is the Mitsu you DO want to keep up on the oil changes so it dont SMOKE.

Eric
 
This is a case of "easy use" and a great application for synthetic motor oil. I think Mobil 1 5w30 would be great for the Detroit area, change every 10,000 miles and use a Purolator Pure One filter (top rated filter).

I have been doing this for years and years in the Chicago area (though much less highway driving than your friend) without any problem.

The cost is way less than a Jiffy Lube change every 3000 miles and 10,000 mile intervals are easy to remember.
 
This is a case of "easy use" (constant speed in the engine's "comfort zone" and always fully warmed prior to shutdown) and is a prime candidate for ANY conventional oil using Group II base lube stocks over 5,000 mile OCIs. Your co-worker would find Havoline 10W-30 a fine match to his engine and driving for minimal expense. This regimen would also put your friend well under DaimlerChrysler's powertrain warranty radar time-wise in the extremely unlikely event the engine unexpectedly goes kablooie.
 
All great responses.

Jackpot01: I doubt he has the hotshot engine as he was trying to be economical (turning in an 03 Ram 4wd lease that was eating him alive--nice truck though
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).

Ray H: I really like the Group II dino at 5000 miles. Warranty is definitely an important factor. Not sure what the manual recommends for OCI. Jim is out until next tues so I can't ask him anything.
 
Hello:

My girlfriend has a 01 Sebring with the slightly more potent 2.7L Mitsu engine. I must admit this thing likes to rev and moves the midsize car very nicely, so far so good with it. I have been running Castrol GTX 10w-30 in summer and 5w-30 in the winter, along with wix filters. I have been following 5000km drain intervals and plan to continue to do so unless this commming winter I may try the beloved German Castrol or Esso
XD-3 0w-30 and extend the drains out to 7500 Km. I hope this was of some help to your friend.
 
Since the 2.7 is known for its early death because of poor lubrication and sludge problems on dino oil I would run Mobil 1 or any other synthetic with 5k mile OCI.

You can go to dodgeinterepid.net to read about these problems.

Good luck with you ride.
 
I would use Mobil 1 in the recommended viscosity (probably 5w-30) and change every 5-6k, i.e. quarterly. I'm not familiar with Mopar filters, so I'd suggest a PureOne or NAPA Gold, or if money is a concern, a SuperTech.
 
I agree about the M1 recommendation, a 6K - 9K OCI a UOA will be your friend in this case. What about conditioning those potentially weak seals over the life of the engine? Auto-RX at 3oz per OCI may just be the ticket to keep things in as "new" condition as possible.
 
Still don't have the mnfr's OCI (he forgot to look up last night) but Jim is more inclined to run a good dino, 10w30 and in winter 5w30. I am thinking that the Motorcraft oil has been getting some prettty good ratings on this site lately, but what about those two grades? He wants fo max out the OCI to warranty allowed limits, so Motorcraft, Havoline, Chevron, what other dinos would be good. If he were go go synth, he would want to do it on the cheap: I think SuperTech is the main option there, right?

The Purolator catalog says the car takes a L10241. Is there a Motorcraft version of this? What number? I think he is better off with the MC filter for the bypass valve in the threaded end.

Thanks again.
 
Well thanks everyone for the advice. Unfortunately Jim let the dealer change it when it was in for some other reason.
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Jim kinda figured after looking underneath that it was too much a pain to fool with doing his own changes. It does look pretty bad under there, about 6 inches space and no sight of the filter. I am glad all my family's vehicles are trucks so I can do oil changes without ramps.
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Still, even though he can't change it himself, dealers and lube centers will put in whatever oil and filter you want. He can still buy his own oil and filter and bring it with him.

I've done that several times, no problem.

He is such an ideal candidate to run a good synthetic, I think he ought to consider it, but even if not, you don't have to settle for the dealer's bulk stuff. At least he can check with them and find out what they use.

Mopar filters could be anything. They use multiple vendors.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Mr. Ram:
Hello:

My girlfriend has a 01 Sebring with the slightly more potent 2.7L Mitsu engine.


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Unless your girlfriend drives a Sebring Coupe, then the engine is Chrysler made. The Sebring Coupe is a Mitsu. Eclipse with different facias and it's a 3.0L. It's a very good engine.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/new6.html

The 2.7L is a good engine if you maintain it. I've driven the 2.7L and the 2.4L engines. Good engines.

Back on topic. The 2.4L is a very good engine. The usual 3K oil and filter change will give long life. My friend's 2.4L Stratus hit 100K since he brought it to Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas and it's still kickin!
 
Just wanted to add my 2¢ worth. I just traded-in a 2001 PT Cruiser with 170,000 miles on it. It had the same 2.4L engine as the Stratus. I'm in sales, so this car was used primarily on the highway. I used M1 10W-30 and changed it out every 10,000 miles. It used no oil whatsoever and ran like new when I traded it.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Scott_in_WI:
Just wanted to add my 2¢ worth. I just traded-in a 2001 PT Cruiser with 170,000 miles on it. It had the same 2.4L engine as the Stratus. I'm in sales, so this car was used primarily on the highway. I used M1 10W-30 and changed it out every 10,000 miles. It used no oil whatsoever and ran like new when I traded it.

There you go. Sounds like this engine likes M1. Since Jim isn't going to change it himself, the economics might work out.

More expensive, but less labor and trips to the shop, unless warranty is an issue.
 
quote:

Originally posted by haley10:
Still, even though he can't change it himself, dealers and lube centers will put in whatever oil and filter you want. He can still buy his own oil and filter and bring it with him.

When they charge $5 for the filter and $2.50/quart for the oil, they end up knocking about $15 off the price of the oil change when you bring your own.

I once took my own oil and filter to the Ford dealer for an oil change and they charged $8.
 
Ok, now he is out of warranty so I am selling him the Havoline Synthetic I got for a buck a quart. He will now be doing his own oil changes. I am wondering what length OCI he should run with this oil. It is SL/CF rated. He drives about 16,000 miles a year and his commute to work is about 40 miles one way. I am thinking this oil could go 6000 miles, maybe 8000 if we watch its condition (blotter spot test).
 
His neighbor's advice wouldn't ruin the car. It may be overkill, but it would do no harm.

Tell him he could go further on a decent dino, but he may not want to
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Tallpaul, you probably have half a dozen oils in your stash that would do fine.
 
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