Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
This is long but there is a conclusion.
About four years ago, my son bought a 99 model intrepid with the 2. 7 engine. He probably bought the car because of my owning an earlier intrepid with a 3. 3 which has been a great car from every consideration. His car had 18 to 20k miles when he bought it. The car was very nice and there were no problems till about 80k miles when it began to use some oil. It appeared to be related to hardened valve seals. He elected to have that repaired at a shop in Tennessee where he lived at the time. This required the heads to be off and this is a pretty invloved task on the 2. 7 as it has dual over head cams. Being a v6, that means there are four cams.
As it turned out, the mechanic left out a bolt on the cam chain follower and within a few thousand miles, there was noise coming from the front of the engine. Being somewhat short of money at that time, my son ask for my advise and over the shoulder help to do the job himself. So back into the engine we (mostly he) go. It was then we discovered the missing bolt. So it seemed that we could repair what we saw and get back going. The followers were replaced and everything buttoned back up with carefull attention to putting all the bolts in. A couple of months later there was a loss of water in the coolant system and never any indication of a leak. Shortly thereafter, the timing chain jumps and bends the valves. Extensive search on the internet reveals that MANY people are having the same sort of problem with their 2. 7. I recommended that he change out the engine to one of the more reliable engines in the chrysler stable.
No, he was determined to make the thing work. So back into the engine. This time, I was really looking for signs of anything that could be causative with an otherwise super good powerplant. A couple of thing stand out with this engine. The water pump is entirely inside the engine. When it does develope a leak,the leak goes to the oil pan. Seriously not good. It turns out that the leak was caused from the timing chain slaping the water pump housing.
The bottom line to all this is that the dual cams cause a hammering on the timing chain much more so than would be the case if the engine were an inline six cylinder, or a v8 for that matter. Consequently there is early failure on the timing chain.
His car is now running very nicely and every thing points to good service.
If you need a cheap ride, find a 2. 7 Intrepid that is making noise BUT STILL RUNNING. You can replace the timing chain, lower sprocket, guides , and inspect the water pump for damage ( or just change it to be sure) and expect to run the car for another 70k mile cycle before needing to do this again. You will be down to the oil pump so replace it as well. The car should be no more than 1500 and the repair will be about that much as well. That is cheap for a 99 or 2000 auto.
James
About four years ago, my son bought a 99 model intrepid with the 2. 7 engine. He probably bought the car because of my owning an earlier intrepid with a 3. 3 which has been a great car from every consideration. His car had 18 to 20k miles when he bought it. The car was very nice and there were no problems till about 80k miles when it began to use some oil. It appeared to be related to hardened valve seals. He elected to have that repaired at a shop in Tennessee where he lived at the time. This required the heads to be off and this is a pretty invloved task on the 2. 7 as it has dual over head cams. Being a v6, that means there are four cams.
As it turned out, the mechanic left out a bolt on the cam chain follower and within a few thousand miles, there was noise coming from the front of the engine. Being somewhat short of money at that time, my son ask for my advise and over the shoulder help to do the job himself. So back into the engine we (mostly he) go. It was then we discovered the missing bolt. So it seemed that we could repair what we saw and get back going. The followers were replaced and everything buttoned back up with carefull attention to putting all the bolts in. A couple of months later there was a loss of water in the coolant system and never any indication of a leak. Shortly thereafter, the timing chain jumps and bends the valves. Extensive search on the internet reveals that MANY people are having the same sort of problem with their 2. 7. I recommended that he change out the engine to one of the more reliable engines in the chrysler stable.
No, he was determined to make the thing work. So back into the engine. This time, I was really looking for signs of anything that could be causative with an otherwise super good powerplant. A couple of thing stand out with this engine. The water pump is entirely inside the engine. When it does develope a leak,the leak goes to the oil pan. Seriously not good. It turns out that the leak was caused from the timing chain slaping the water pump housing.
The bottom line to all this is that the dual cams cause a hammering on the timing chain much more so than would be the case if the engine were an inline six cylinder, or a v8 for that matter. Consequently there is early failure on the timing chain.
His car is now running very nicely and every thing points to good service.
If you need a cheap ride, find a 2. 7 Intrepid that is making noise BUT STILL RUNNING. You can replace the timing chain, lower sprocket, guides , and inspect the water pump for damage ( or just change it to be sure) and expect to run the car for another 70k mile cycle before needing to do this again. You will be down to the oil pump so replace it as well. The car should be no more than 1500 and the repair will be about that much as well. That is cheap for a 99 or 2000 auto.
James
