The "special procedure" involves use of a special funnel that is split in a way to allow air to escape as antifreeze is poured in. Not really necessary for the ordinary user but helpful to save time in the assembly plant.

You are absolutely correct to avoid fooling around with the bleeder screw.

 

even with the new part the bleeder valve seemed to stick to much and as i didnt have money to buy a second one I just left the bleeder alone... I am checking the antifreeze level before i start it everytime i go out to make sure its got the right level... it has dropped a few times over the past day (i make multiple small trips) but seems to be leveling off. I replaced cap also, and I seem to have more pressure in the upper radiator hose. The temp gauge on the dash now only goes up 1/4 of the way....not sure if this is good or bad. The fans do not seem to kick on at all unless i run defrost or air. I had it on highway this morning and around town stop and go toady.... seems to be ok just worried about the low temp and no fan thing... but het it may not need the fans right now

 

Crazy to mention it in the owners manual like they do...it makes it sound like "hey owner...don't mess around putting anti freeze in the 2,7 engine there's a special procedure." lol

 

I don't know the year of your car but you could have a thermostat stuck in the open position. They told me mine is stuck open but I get plenty of heat. (Not a fun part to change!) My gauge stays on 1/4 now too but now that I have pressure it will go up if the car just sits and idles for awhile...when it gets up to near half the fans will kick on now. When my cap was broke and I had no pressure the gauge never went up enough to kick on the fans (went up a little above 1/4) and I was overheating. Strange the gauge never showed I was over heating! I only notice the steam from the expansion tank when I stopped at a light. For some reason, where ever the sensor is on that car it's not picking up that the car was over heating when the cap wasn't working. Now that I have pressure the gauge will show the temp going up near half and then down when the fans kick in. I'm checking under the hood everyday just to be sure I have pressure...not trusting it just yet. I wonder if I was on a long trip and lost pressure because of the cap and couldn't see the steam and the gauge didn't go up if I would get an engine seize up? Probably..for the $6 to $10 it may be worth changing the cap every year to be safe!
Also I went back to pep boys and asked why they said I had a bad head gasket and at that point they stopped and never checked any further..right on my receipt it says they didn't check radiator pressure. They said they us a dye and if it turns a certain color it means I have exhaust getting into the anti freeze and they go no further. I have no reason not to believe them because they don't make any money..they said take it to the dealer.
Well I don't see any evidence of bubbles in the expansion tank and the whole system seems normal right now. Maybe I have a tiny head gasket leak but the anti freeze level remains at the right level so I'm baffled on that one. Who knows...it may go tomorrow lol but I have put over 200 miles doing 65 mph on the car since changing the cap. It's got 84k on it now..not bad for a 2001 and a new 2 year inspection sticker. Cars to old to worry about doing a $1800 job on when it's working fine. If it goes it goes.

 

Is it possible to replace the water outlet assembly without removing the upper intake manifold?Theirs one screw on the water outlet, under the manifold that looks like trouble. This is for a 2003 sebring 4 door 2.7.Thank you

 

Yes...I changed mine as other have. If you follow the pages back you will see how. That screw is the problem. I have a 2001 2.7 and looks like yours is the same. First you need a long extension handle for your ratchet and a 90 degree 8mm swivel attachment that you can snap on an 8mm tip. (I used a 1/4 inch ratchet set.) Someone used an all in one 8mm tool but I found it to bulky and to short (6") and I couldn't get leverage on the screw head. It was starting to strip so I bought the longer handle and 90 degree swivel tip. (Lowes has this)
You must loosen all the screws on the manifold, I think about 6 screws, then then unclip the sensor on the left side of the manifold to give you a little more room. Then you have to get something like a long small bar and slip it under the left side of the manifold and pry it up....not much..just enough to get the ratchet it in and slip the 8mm tip onto the screw. You won't get much of a turn because of the limited space but you need just a small turn or two to break the seal. Then finish unscrewing by hand. Mine came out easy.When you change it tighten by hand as tight as you can then you only need to snug it down a little....maybe a half a turn or so. Tighten all the other screws including the manifold.
I would buy the water outlet with the sensor if you can afford it.If that sensor goes bad it can cause serious problems and to replace it latter you risk ruining the water outlet because the sensor housing is imbedded in the plastic and if it turns in the plastic you will have to replace the whole water outlet again. Yuk!
Also there are special instructions for adding anti freeze for that engine. You will notice a small bleeder on the top of the water outlet. It's also 8mm. You are to turn that when the engine is warmed up to bleed air out. Most don't recommend doing that because you risk the whole thing turning in the plastic and ruining the water outlet. Others have said just let the car cool down and check the fluid in the expansion tank and add anti freeze a few times until it stays at the correct level when cold. Probably a good idea. I used the bleeder the valve figuring it was new and not subject to expanding or contracting and took a chance. I had no problem with using the bleeder but this is two months latter and I won't touch it again. I recommend you change the radiator cap at this time too. My over heating problem didn't go away after the top blew off of the water outlet denting my hood! I was told I had a bad head gasket, took it some place else and it was the radiator cap! Ten bucks for the best one. The old one was only giving me 2 pounds of pressure and the anti freeze was boiling. Cheap only a part and it can save you some grief down the road.
I'm not a auto mechanic but did change parts on my car like belts, altinators, thermostats etc. It's good is you are mechanically inclined to change this part and have a second set of hands to hold the pry bar that you lift the manifold with is helpful. I did it myself and I'm 66yrs. old. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the tip, im going to try it without loosening any manifold bolts because i have a wrench thats angled and fits,it might take more time, for me messing with the manifold scares a little.

 

Hi, I also changed that black plastic housing that everyone knows cracks at the seem, and had same issues getting the forth bolt off, so it was too easy to remove the assembly on top(Big black circular thing with 5-6 bolts).
However, when I installed the new water housing, I put JB Weld adhesive around the seam to make sure it did not infuture crack in the same place as old one did. Note, as it is the same design, it most likely will in a few years - so be safe to do that.

The heater sensor in new unit also would not budge open, so I did not bother. The radiator does self bleed air over a few trips, so just toped it up regularly and now the heater gaudge stays at slightly above 1/4 always - which is a good thing.

Also in canada, the water housing flange (the one that 3 heater hoses go into and has heater sensor in it.) cost $168 art dealer. In USA on web it is $40. (Wholesaler in China that makes it sells it to them at $7 on Web, but need to buy bulk).

 

I bought the housing from Autozone, put it in rather easily after the intake manifold was raised just a bit. Took it for a drive and it ran fine..........now it won't start. It turns over but sounds like it is not firing.

Any ideas?

 

Get the codes. No point in guessing. I see you didn't believe the part in this thread that tells you how to do the job without disturbing the intake manifold.