2.7L Waterpump torque & chain tensioner
 

What is the proper torque for the water pump bolts for the 2.7L engine? The Haynes manual calls for 17ft Lbs. This seems to be a bit excessive to me for the size of the bolt. I just want to err on the side of caution before I crank down on the bolts.

Also,

I am replacing the chain tensioner with a new one. Do I need to do anything special to it for the reset, and does it need to be primed before installation?

Thanks in advance.
Jim

It's 105 Inch Lbs


The way to do the tensioner

Take slack out of chain clockwise. Install the tensioner, collapse it all the way then let it release out on it's own. The oil pressure will force it the rest of the way out and lock it. DO NOT rev the engine when you first start it.

I would advise you to replace the main chain and guides too while you're in there.

105 in-lbs, per the Chrysler shop manual. That's about 9 ft-lbs.

You need to reset and purge an old tensioner you are re-installing. A brand new one should be good to go. Expect some noise from the engine for a few seconds on start-up until it fills with oil and starts to actually tension the chain.

still unclear on the tensioner
 

Thanks for the help. I am changing the timing components along with the water pump.

I am still a bit unclear on the tensioner. I understand resetting of the tensioner, but unclear about priming it with oil.

I have seen on some sites where they say prime it with oil first to avoid having an air bubble trapped inside the tensioner. I have not found an explanation on how to do this.

Is this required and if it is, how do I do it?

Thank you

Jim

Na just make sure it's extended. The oil pump will do the rest. It sort of acts like a valve lifter. It usually takes about 10 seconds for it to fill it up. DON"T REV IT UP for a little while just let it run.

It's been a few years since the last reply to this post but I wanted to ask for a bit of clarification on the priming of the tensioner as well. I have a 2001 Sebring 2.7L and I'm getting ready to replace the timing chains, guides, tensioners, water pump and oil pump. I will be installing a new timing chian tensioner and the paper that came with it said that it must be primed prior to installation. I understand that the tensioner has to be released after installation, but as with most other shade tree mechanics I'm worried about jumping timing when I first start it up. I'm nervous about simply starting the engine and letting the oil pump do the work, in previous replies we are warned not to rev the engine up for the first few seconds, but what about when the engine first starts and the RPM's rev fairly high before settling back down?

I read in another forum that the engine can be primed by removing the sparkplugs and cranking the engine over several times to let the oil pump circulate oil throughout the system. Does this make sense?

Thank you for your time!

Dave

the tensioners are spring loaded then oil will finish the job once installed and ready to go U pop the tensioner to spring out to keep chain some what tight until oil pressure is avail.

Thanks for your reply Chrysler Tech!

I have been chasing around a "tick" for quite a while now. I had all kinds of pops, clunks and ticks. I've changed out all four torn motor mounts, front shocks and all the bushings/isolators, the top and bottom control arms and all 24 lash adjusters. All the clunks and pops are gone but I still have the engine ticking. I thought I had a bad lash adjuster but the ticking is still there. I'm really hoping the timing chain, oil pump and water pump replacement will solve the rest of the ticking. I know the oil pump is wearing out because I've had the oil pressure tested so I'm thinking that it's not pushing the tensioner out with enough force at idle since the ticking goes away under higher RPM's.

Thanks again!

Dave

Is it common for these tensioners to wear out/ fail?
My 2.7 has developed the noise for the first few seconds after start up and I noticed it seems to get a faint noise that sounds like timing chain if i sit and idle for a few minutes. Once I bring the rpm's up a touch or while driving its quiet. I did notice it has a slightly noticeable miss at idle while its making the noise.
Should I be looking into an oil pump or just timing set?
A little added info on the car is that it has 250k km's (not miles) and is over due for an oil change more due to being parked for awhile than due to milage.
Is it possible that an oil change and maybe some Lucas additive is all it needs?
I just bought the car and it sounded great for the first week, then the initial start up noise began. Now a couple weeks in the noise/miss at idle is starting. :(

It would certainly make sense to spend $20 on an oil change first rather than several hundred on replacing the timing chain on a vehicle with a quarter million kilometers on it. They have changed the design of the timing chain so that if you want to replace it, you'll be changing the oil and water pump too along with the tensioner etc.
Think long and hard about whether you want to pour that kind of money into the car. As for the miss, spark plugs should be the starting point.
Fundamental rule of car repair: When in doubt, replace the cheapest thing first.

Should I stick with 5w30 since I believe that is what's in it now?
Would 10w30 be too heavy for start up?
We have been hovering around 0*C lately give or take a few degrees either way. Thought 10w30 could help with the noise developing at idle if it sits idling, but may be worse for start up.
The slight miss is only there when the tensioner/chain starts to make noise at idle. When the noise is gone so is the miss. Seems like a timing miss more than a plug I would think.

Don't know how the timing could be off much. It's a chain and very unlikely to jump a tooth. Might be off a tiny bit if the chain is a little slack but the mistiming would affect more than one cylinder.
The point was that plugs are reatively cheap. Even if they were changed at 100,000 miles (and we don't know that, do we?), they are now old.
As for the oil, stick with what the manufacturer recommends. As a test, you could add some STP or something before changing it to see if it makes a difference. It wouldn't cost much and might tell you something. Anyway, I wouldn't leave it in there long.

Well I did an oil and filter change today. I went to the dealer and got a mopar filter to hopefully avoid any cheap filter drainback or collapse issues and refilled with Valvoline 5w30.
I guess tomorrows cold start should tell me something. There was no signs of coolant in the oil but it was relatively dirty and came out like water. Maybe was just old broken down oil?
As for plugs I did pull one and it didnt appear to be that old, and still had proper gap but they are next on the list if the oil change helped with the tensioner noise.

On a side note, who ever uses vise grips or pliers on an oilpan drain plug should be slapped with said vise grips or pliers.

Ok so to update, this morning went out and fired it up..... No cold start rattle. So far so good.
Took a 45 minute hiway trip and at idle when warm it sounds like the timing chain noise is gone but I now have some lifter noise. :(
Im assuming the previous owner put thicker oil or a bunch of additives in it to quiet down the lifters which may have been the cold start noise cause but Im also wondering if its possible that the old filter maybe had an issue with the anti drain back.
Should 10w30 be too thick for cold starts with temps around 0*C give or take a couple either way?
Would it be thick enough to make a difference in the lifter noise over the 5w30 I put in it?
Only change I did was oil and filter and seemed to have fixed one noise and caused another. Do I need to pick the lesser of two evils, if so which is the safest one to live with?

I have a 02 Sebring 2.7L and when I originally posted to this thread I needed to replace the water pump. One thing I did was use Mobile one oil after I read about the oil sludge problem (Not sure if this is fact or fiction). WhenI tore the engine down to replace the water pump (Around 140,000 miles), all the internal parts under the valve covers and the bottom of the oil pan looked as clean as a new engine. I have used synthetic since I got the car at about 45000 miles, and have had no major issues at all with this engine, except for normal wear and tear. I have almost 170,000 miles on it, and it runs great and is very reliable. I don't know if the synthetic oil is the reason or not, but I change oil on a regular basis. The only thing I really don't like about the 2.7 is the cooling system. I have had more trouble with it than I would expect.

Overall very happy with the car, I have had it about ten years. I believe that with routine maintenance it will serve me well. I see many bad posting on this engine, but I cannot agree with them.

Maybe someone else can comment about synthetic vs. regular oil.

Jim

I run 0W-30 in mine (for about a year now - that's as long as have owned the car).

When I first bought the car, the oil light never came on - then I discovered that some dolt had removed the bulb. After I put a bulb in, I had the oil light flickering sometimes on hot idle. Son took the car on a couple hundred mile road trip - light has never flickered since then. The light extinguishes immediately upon start up.

Engine runs idles nice & quiet and has no start up noise.

I have a 02 chrysler sebring 2.7l with water pump leak. Replaced the pump and new timing chain still getting a leak from weep hole I need help.

Synthetic Oil
 

I am a firm believer in Synthetic oil, mostly Mobil One but some Amsoil too. I have used nothing but since 1980. I have it my 06 Chevy Duramax, my 1970 Chevy C20, my 1976 Bronco, my 04 Sebring 2.7L convertible, my 04 Harley Ultra Classic and my 2012 Arctic Cat ATV. I haven't had to work on any of these engines since I started using Synthetic oil. None of the engines leak, no noises, no oil burning, nothing bad. My 70 C20 has 378,000 miles on it.

setting the tensioner
 

I know this posting is old but this subject comes up a lot si here goes:

According to the best of my research you are correct. I'm doing one right now and it is my intention to set the chain timing, insert it, release it, put fresh oil in the engine and pre-fill the filter before spinning it on, then cranking it over a bunch with the plugs out and the front cover removed until I am happy with the firmness of the chain, then leave it overnight and see if it still feels the same the next morning. If it's leaked down significantly I'll go buy a new tensioner but I doubt I will have to as this one came apart and I got the chance to clean and inspect it thoroughly.