Clicking Noise
 

I have a 2001 Sebring Convt. 2.7 Engine, and 90509 miles.

Recently the cam sensor went bad and had to be replaced. That was about 2 months ago.

Today I made a two hour trip and noticed that there was a steady clicking noise while driving down the interstate. Once I arrived at my destination I heard the clicking noise while sitting idle. When i rev'd the engine the cadence of the click increased with the increase in RPMs.

It reminds me of the noise that my old 97 Saturn SLwould make when it was low on oil (it started buring oil quite a bit). I have checked the oil level and it is good. I am not sure what the issue is but am afraid that it is related to the cam timing sensor that was replaced a few months back.

I am a little worried that something may have occurred during the work done because since then I have noticed a loud rattle. I popped the hood a few days back and found that the high and low presure pipes for the AC coolant were not bolted down completely and box that is supposed to be botled down with the fuse block was not bolted at all. I fixed these and that corrected the rattle noise.

there is one other strange issue that I have, When I rev past 4000 RPMs I hear a frapping noise.. It sounds like the noise that is made when you blow over a strip of paper. Anyway, I doubt that this is related. But thought I would mention it just in case.

RE: Clicking Noise
 

oh happy day!!!!

On my way home from my trip may car died. I had it towed to the dealership and they found that the engine threw a rodon the second cam. So I have to replace the whole engine!!! :P Merry Christmas!!!

The funny thing is, I was about to trade it for an 06 Sebring Convt a week before this occured. Guess I should have done that.

Oh well, now it is time to price replacing the engine...

Does anyone have any good estimates of what this type of replacement will cost?

RE: Clicking Noise
 

got my reman for 2900 dollars but i installed my self. where you live?

RE: Clicking Noise
 

I live in Johnson City, TN.

wow, 2900, that seems steep, did that come with a warranty?

After a bit of researchI think I have determined the root cause of the issue... at least it seems logical based on what I have read. After the car died, I had a good feeling I knew that is was engine failure. Clicking is not a good description of what I heard, rather a knocking noise would more accurately describe it. Anyways, I popped the hood and checked the oil... it was fine. Still sitting at max... I then noticed that the coolant that I had topped off on the 26th was down half way between max and min. Odd I thought, but unrelated as my little knowledge of engines had me beleive.

After looking up info on theses engines I found the following:
[blockquote]
From 1998-2004 Dodge / Chrysler 2.7L Engines are prone to Oil Sludge often caused by internal coolant leakage that has to do with the design of the Water Pump that allows coolant to enter the Engine over time and cause oil sludge, experts at a well known remanufacturing company say. The second common cause of engine sludge is from poor oil circulation caused by oil passages that are too narrow causing the oil to wear down more rapidly unlike normal engines. Another contributing oil sludge factor is possibly due to an inadequately designed PCV system that can also accelerate engine oil breakdown, which Chrysler later made improvements to for the 2005 model year along with other changes knowledgeable sources state. Although Chrysler is aware and there is nothing consumers could have done to cause this, Chrysler still regularly blames consumers for 2.7L Engine Oil Sludge. [/blockquote]
Here are my sources:
http://www.dodgechryslerengineproblems.com/
http://www.daimlerchryslervehicleproblems.com/
I have a few more but they are just forum posts about people's experiances with this engine. Not gospel but enough reviews to lean me towards going with a new car rather than replacing the enigne.

RE: Clicking Noise
 

its a 3 year unlimited mileage warrenty. were you using synteched motor oil or regular? they put in all the updated parts for the engine and i'm very happy with it. if you change your oil more often and keep a close eye on the coolant level so the moment the water pump fails you know and change it you will not have a problem with this motor. if your losing coolant over time and don't have it checked out and fixed then who's problem is it really? I don't blame chrysler i blame the owners cuz all the story's i read begin with my motot blow up because of sludge then you read lower that i've been having a problem with losing cab heat before my engine went. hmmmm i wonrder why lack of mant!!!!!!!!!!!!!