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.

Can it be done
 

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
 

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.

Black plastic water housing flange - 2.7 litres 2006 Sebring
 

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).

new housing in - now it won't start after test drive
 

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.

Thanks for the reply dcotter
 

towed it up to a shop and they said the aftermarket sensors don't work and I need a new one (and wiring) to the tune of $160.

Dealer wants $55.90 for the sensor and waiting on a price for the wiring. Can I get the wiring in a junkyard that will work?

They said the bad sensor tricked the engine into thinking in was 40 below and it flooded the engine trying to get it enough gas.

Ideas?

I know I had to lift the manifold slightly (I didnt have the correct tools to get in there with out lifting it). Are you sure you did not get a lot of antifreeze down inside the engine when you pulled off the outlet housing. I do know I had that problem since I had my manifold lifted. I had removed the outlet housing (forgetting to drain some of the antifreeze out first) and antifreeze had went everywhere. Thankfully I was parked on a slope so almost everything just ran the correct way and hit the pads I had under the car. Only got a few drops inside the engine. If the car would have been level I would have gotten a lot more in. There might be a chance you go to much antifreeze down in engine and now it wont fire. I only had a few drops down inside mine and when I went to run it a few times after wards it ran very rough until I blew everything out the tailpipe.

Which sensor(s)? There are lots of them under the hood. As for junkyard wiring, the answer to your question is maybe. If the wiring on the junked vehicle is in good shape and you can remove it without damaging it, then it might work. No way anybody here can tell you for sure it will or will not.

2003 Sebring 2.7 Heater takes long time to heat
 

Thank you! This forum and thread really saved me time and money resolving this problem. Here's my story:

Wife was complaining that the heater wasn't working so I drove it when it was in the teens here in Colorado and sure enough it took forever to start blowing warm air. I immediately think it's the thermostat and Googled to this forum. Wasn't very happy to see the complicated and involved procedure to get to the thermostat so I decided to take it to have it repaired (used a local Brakes Plus business that I had honest dealings with before). I had already bot a thermostat locally for around $17 so imagine my shock when the Brakes Plus tech showed me signs of leakage around the water outlet housing. He said it wasn't an easy repair as he had to remove the intake manifold to get to one of those four specially placed bolts. Total repair, including parts (water outlet - $165, thermostat - $27, radiator flush and fill, labor, blah, blah, blah) would be $465! Remembering some of the other posts on this thread I thanked them very much, but said I'd have to think about it. He topped off my fluid and charged me $25 for the analysis, which I was fine with. Low and behold driving home the heater was kicking ass right away. Low radiator fluid was the heaters only problem. Duh! I re-read the forum posts when I got home and still realized that water outlet needed to be replaced. Found a new one on-line (Amazon) for $42 with free shipping, ordered it on Monday with an expected delivery on Saturday. Went to Home Depot, Sears and Auto Zone looking for the special 8mm flex head wrench or a swivel socket with no luck anywhere. Then went to Lowe's where one poster got one for $8. There it was, but now $20 with tax. I bot it, knowing it was probably a one time use. Thought about being gentle with it and returning it after using but you know, started thinking about that Karma thing so I'll keep it. Saturday noon came and still no part but decided to take the old one out. Thanks again to these posts, I knew how to proceed. I disconnected the electrical connector and then removed the terminal going into the intake manifold with a phillips screw underneath it (to gain more access to the special bolt). Didn't bother draining any fluid from the radiator. After placing a large tray under the car to catch any dripping fluid, I took the smallest hose off the outlet which leaked a little fluid. Then I took the next hose off leaking a small amount of additional fluid. The bigger hose going to the radiator was giving me some grief so I left that attached and proceed taking off the outlet. Took a lot of short turns with the special 8mm wrench but the special bolt was finally unthreaded - still couldn't remove it though as my fingers couldn't fit in the space to grab it. I just left it and removed the other three bolts (the other one in the back required a 1/4" drive extension to clear the side of the intake housing but came out with a normal 8mm socket). I then removed the water outlet with the one special bolt still in. More fluid dripped into my tray underneath the car, but not much. With the outlet now free the big hose was then easily removed. Just as I did this guess who drove up? Yup, the United States Postal Service, with my water outlet. Back to the Karma thing right? Ha, ha. Put the new one in in the reverse order. Don't plan on messing with the bleeder as recommended here. Topped off the with new fluid by adding to the reservoir and started it up. No leaks! Heater Works Great! Spent a total of $62 (including the cost of the tool) and about 40 minutes work. Happy Wife - Happy Life! And yes - kept the fluid in the tray (not much - maybe a quart?) for recycling later. And plan on keeping a closer watch on fluid levels in the future.

2002 sebring gurgling noise from engine
 

My husband and I installed a new water outlet housing and after it was done and everything put back together I started the car and there is a gurgling noise coming from the car. When the car is cold and at idle you hear a gurgling sound but when the car warms up the noise is gone. This has been going on for about 6 months. Any ideas?

Nice! Sounds just about what did and it's been working so long now I forgot about it!! lol
I did open the valve at first...gave it a gentle tug and it opened with no sweat but I will never touch it again. Should have left it alone! I also bought the housing with the new sensor. I figured the old one was 10 years old and some posts say that if that sensor goes it can cause a lot of grief plus changing it down the road may lead to wrecking the new housing and I don't want to replace that again!

Gurgling Sound
 

Guessing you still have air in your system. I had the same issue with my Pontiac Sun fire and just kept topping off the coolant reservoir when cold and the gurgling finally went away.

I had repaired my water outlet by coating the inside with JB weld a few years ago, and it finally started leaking again, so I broke down and bought a new one. I checked at my local "PartSource" store (division of Canadian Tire) and they quoted about $73. I said I'm sure I've heard some place sells it for about $40 and I'd look around. The guy told me they'll beat a local competitor by 10% less than the competors price. I called Car Quest and they quoted about $71. Went back to PartSource and got it for $65. They had to order it, but I got it next day. It's really not hard to replace. You just need to remove the intake manifold screws and a couple electrical connectors on it, and just lift it enough to get at the back bolt. Just be sure you don't drop the bolt down the camber. Just to note, the JB weld had deteriorated a bit, and the surface became powdery so maybe it's not such a good idea to fix it that way. It's been about 4 years since I did it, so it does work short term.

Can someone provide clear instructions on lifting the intake? What all do I need to do? I don't seem to have enough space with the 8mm flex wrench. Are there 7 or 8 bolts to loosen on the manifold? Please help your brother in arms.

Here is what I did for my '04, 2.7 LXi:
1.Take off the sensor from the intake
2. Loose all the bolts on the intake
3. Set in place the ratchet on the last bolt
4. Lift the intake for about 1/2 inch in order to get enough room to loosen the problematic bolt; can hold it with one hand
5. I used 1/4" ratchet with 90 degree swivel & extension with the other hand and got the last bolt out
6. Remove the old part
7. Clean with rubbing alcohol, let dry, set new red silicone
8. Put the new part and get the bolts in place. Tight them all, holding the intake at 1/2 inch up for the last one
9. Put back the intake bolts, tight them in cross-match order
10. Install-back the intake sensor

For more details see page 9, where there are more instructions.
Hope this helps.

Follow up - Dorman Water Housing Outlet
 

After 1 (one) year my Dorman water outlet started to leak. $87 CAD went down the drain (actually in the PartSource pocket).

This time I replaced it with Chrysler's MOPAR outlet for $181 CAD.
I also bought that 8 mm swivel ratchet key from LOWE'S store ($12 CAD) and I didn't need to lift up the upper intake mainfold at all. Thanks for posting this approach guys.

One more thing, I was surprised that Dorman sensor showed lower readings of the water temperature, compared to my original sensor. Guess what, the new Chrysler MOPAR is showing the same as original, which is about 1/8 more than Dorman, with a normal running range between 3/8 and 1/2, as it used to be.

Now, I still do have another smaller coolant leak, which might be the water pump... no overheating though.

Let's hope you have better luck with the Mopar part, but remember, it was a Mopar part that failed in the first place.

Water pump leaks are very problematical in the 2.7 L engine. Because of the internal location of the water pump, it can leak into the crankcase causing contamination of the engine oil and serious problems. Get it checked out immediately and watch your engine oil carefully. If it turns chocolate milk brown you have a problem.

2004 sebring water outlet
 

I need help!!!!! I have a 2004 sebring touring love my car......but after replacing the water outlet by taking off the upper intake the car was fine. Coolant leaked fixed......but now the car drove fine and after about a 25-30 mile test drive i came home and parked went to sleep and then woke up to get breakfast and now my car wont start and when it does i push the gas pedal and the car dies!!!! Wtf is going on any help is helpful and much appreciated. Doctor can you help?

Codes?

I replaced my leaking Coolant Outlet Manifold (COM) last night (this is the official name Chrysler calls the contraption). Thanks to this forum, it went without a hitch and took about an hour including firing up the engine and heating it up, checking for leaks. I know several folks have more or less outlined what I have below, but I figured I would put in it a nice methodical order for those changing this ridiculously designed POS themselves.

Since the leaking COM was 12 years old, I bit the bullet and purchased a new manifold with emission temperature sensor attached from my friendly local Chrysler dealer figuring, with my luck, the sensor will go bad soon enough. The COM was $110 plus tax. Whether you buy it from the dealer or aftermarket, the procedure for replacement is the same with the exception of removing the sensor from the old and installing it on the new. This may pose a problem if the old one doesn’t want to leave its former home. I don’t address that issue here.

I did not remove or loosen the intake manifold to access the problematic Left Front Bolt (LFB). To be clear, Left in this case is the driver’s side of the car, the bolt will be to your right when working on it and facing toward the rear of the car. Also, I refer to the four machine screws that secure the COM to the engine as bolts… easier to type “bolts” instead of “machine screws.” The longer bolts secure the right (passenger) side of the COM, short ones secure the left (driver’s) side.

You can try to drain some coolant out of the system, but because fooling with the radiator drain plug or lower coolant hose has the potential for creating another nasty project as things can easily break and go wrong, I opted to pull the hoses going to the COM and mop up whatever comes out with rags. As I did this, I found that all the coolant in the COM had already drained from the leak and negligible coolant came out from the hoses, so draining was unnecessary. I am glad I didn’t fool around with draining the radiator.

After installing the new COM, I actually did try to bleed air out of the system with the bleeder screw… it didn’t work. Disgusted, I tightened the bleeder screw carefully… it will never be tampered with again. (As a side note: I tried to turn the bleeder screw in the leaking COM and found the brass seat it screws into began to spin in the plastic COM with the screw. My opinion: NEVER turn that bleeder screw unless you’re throwing away the COM anyway).

I know this seems like a lot of steps, but each one doesn’t take much time. I broke it down to make it as easy to understand up-front as possible for someone to decide if they want to do this themselves. I am mechanically inclined, but rank this as pretty easy to do. Take your time and it isn’t that big a deal considering how much money you might save when compared to having someone else do the work.

Here is the summary of how to do it:

1. If you don’t have it already, go to Lowe'sand purchase the8mm flex head/swivel socket ratchet wrench (by Cobalt), $20 with tax. It was worth every penny.Without this, I don’t see any way to get to the LFB out without removing or loosening the intake manifold.

2. Disconnect the electrical connector to the COM. Disconnect the electrical connector going into the Intake Manifold to gain more access to the LFB. Pull wiring harness of said connectors out of the way.

3. Start with the uppermost/smallest hose and remove smallest hose off the COM by pinching the clamp with pliers and gently pulling the hose. Have an absorbent rag/towel ready to capture any residual coolant in the hose. Do the same with the next larger hose down (Note: These hoses go to the heater core). Leave the lowest/largest hose (goes to radiator) connected to the COM until after you have removed it from the engine.

4. Proceed to removing the COM my starting with loosening each of the four bolts securing the COM to the engine. Start with the LFB using the 8 mm swivel ratchet socket wrench. In my case, it did not require a lot of torque to turn the LFB with this wrench at all. Proceed to loosen the other three bolts. The Left Rear Bolt may be reached with 8mm socket on an extension, although it will be at a slight angle because of tight clearance due to the Intake Manifold. It is not so severe an angle that a swivel is required (it wouldn’t fit in the tight space anyway).

5. With all four bolts loosened, remove the three bolts leaving the LFB last. As mentioned elsewhere, it will take a lot of short turns of the 8mm swivel ratchet socket wrench to get the LFB out. Be patient and it will go fine. Pull up on the COM as you ratchet back on the wrench to create enough friction so the bolt doesn’t simply go back and forth… it is that loose if there if there is no dirt in the threads of the bolt/engine.

6. With the LFB fully unscrewed and still in the COM, remove the COM and LFB by pulling up and sideways toward the passenger side of the car and away from the Intake Manifold.

7. Remove the LFB. Remove the remaining largest hose off the COM by pinching the clamp with pliers and gently pulling the hose.

8. Clean the surface of the engine where the new COM and its gaskets will seat. I did not need anything more than a clean towel to remove lightly solidified residual coolant. Don’t allow anything to fall into the coolant passages on the engine.

9. Installation of new COM is reverse order of above. Begin by installing the large hose and clamp. Place LFB in COM, and place on engine by sliding under the Intake Manifold.

10. Threading the LFB is a bit of a challenge (Do Not Cross-thread!) but with the help of a piece of wire (coat hanger will work), I was able to manipulate the bolt as I turned the wrench and had no issue getting it threaded. Ratchet the LFB several turns to be sure the bolt is started, and then continue until it is slightly seated. As with removal, pull up on the COM as you ratchet back on the wrench to create enough friction so the bolt doesn’t simply go back and forth.

11. Install the other three bolts, making sure not to cross thread. The Left Rear Bolt is a bit tricky because of the tight clearance due to the Intake Manifold, but is easily done. Tighten the three bolts to snug only.

12. Return to the LFB and ratchet it down and tighten as much as you can. I felt at the time that I couldn’t get enough torque on the wrench, but when I checked for leaks later, there wasn’t an issue.

13. Tighten the remaining bolts, starting with the Right Rear Bolt, then the Left Rear Bolt, finishing with the Right Front Bolt (i.e., in a “cross” pattern so you don’t warp the COM. Also, don’t over-torque these bolts… you would hate to strip the threads machined into the top of the engine… another nasty repair project).

14. Install the two remaining hoses and clamps (heater core hoses).

15. Reconnect the electrical connectors to the COM and the Intake Manifold.

16. Don’t mess with the bleeder screw in the COM. Just fill the reservoir with the proper coolant mixture, slightly overfilling as air will bleed from the system after running the engine. Re-install the pressure cap to the coolant reservoir.

17. Run the engine with heater on and up to operating temperature. Check for leaks. I had none.

18. Let the engine cool. Top off the coolant reservoir as required.

excessive radiator fluid leaking
 

I have a 2005 2.7 Convertible Sebring with an excessive radiator fluid leak. We fill the bottle and it just completely drips out from underneath somewhere. We checked the bottle and no leaks. We checked the operation of the water pump and pumps to heat up the car until the fluid runs out and it can overheat just sitting idleing cause it soon runs out of fluid. We can't find the leak and we think it might be a crack where the rubber hose connects but we can't see it. Please help, we just bought this car, got it home and it overheated sitting in our driveway. The thermostat didn't even register the overheating and it was just replaced....

I gather that the coolant is running out on the ground. That's good, it least it's not leaking into the crankcase. Nobody here can tell you where the leak is. If you suspect that it's leaking from a radiator hose, then you should try to verify that, and if the hose is bad, replace it. If you don't have the mechanical ability to replace a hose or find a leak, then your best bet is to seek professional help.

hi, when you say drain coolant from "Bottom right side", who's side are you looking at it from? As sitting in car or standing in front of it?
thanks

The "right side" of a car is always the right side as if you were sitting in the driver's seat looking forward. It's the car's right side, not necessarily your right side. The car has its own front, back, left and right sides, just like you do, and they don't change.

I'm not a Chrysler Tech, and not even a mechanic... I just don't like to pay outragous $$$'s like that, ( OK, I'm cheap.. no, I meant "Thrifty"), and
enjoy the challenge.. did my 1st oil change at 2 years old on a 2 ton stake truck.. ( OK, I guided my grandfather to do it, who barely knew how to swing a hammer, while my dad was home sick and the truck had a long trip the next day.. Then in my teens, took the 4 banger out of my Vega and put in an 283 V8, and took the A/C out of wrecked 75 Sky hawk, and installed it in my car.
Call: ​512-746-7277 The best and most trusted mobile auto repair Austin and the surrounding areas. Need work today? Call Now ​512-746-7277. General Maintenance to Major Repairs! I get you on the road in no time flat!