I'm not really car savvy, and I'm pretty sure these are noob questions. Ask me anything about computers, I could tell you. But cars, not so much.

Today, I bought a 96 Sebring for $300. The driver's side door is in bad shape, I need to go get a new one from the junkyard. The transmission slips, but I read a lot on the Sebring beforehand and a lot of people are saying that Sebrings have a common problem with just needing new ATF4 transmission fluid. Is his true?

Also, when I bought the car, it hadn't been started for 2 months or so.We had to jumpstart it. It drove to my house okay, but later that night after doing an oil change, it wouldn't start. The battery light was on. He jumped it and the battery light still stayed on which means it's not charging right? Could this be the alternator?

Also, when I start the car for about 3 minutes of idling it makes a real annoying squealing noise like maybe a belt is off? My friend mentioned something about the power wheel steering. But I don't know.

Can anyone clear up some of this confusion?

 

Squealing can be the result of a slipping belt. That may be caused by lack of proper tension or just by the belt being old and hard. It would be a good idea to replace and properly tension all the drive belts.

You should also plan on replacing the timing belt in the engine. If it breaks at high speed, your engine is toast.

It's likely that the battery is shot. If it's really low, it can't create enough electricity to energize the alternator field so the alternator can't charge. Have the battery and alternator tested.

Proper fluid in good shape is vital to an automatic transmission. I can't say offhand what is the specified fluid for that car, but don't use ATF4 if ATF3 is called for.

Since you saved a lot of money in the purchase price, it's now time to start spending it. Start with a service manual. Haynes or Chilton or better still, a Chrysler service manual. You can find them on the internet.

As things get fixed up and working properly, you will find that driving the car becomes more enjoyable.

 

Off hand, do you know what all belts I will need? And is that something I can do myself or have a mechanical buddy do? Or will I need to take it into the shop for that stuff?

 

Well, since you haven't said whether yours is a coupe or convertible or what engine you have, I have no idea what belts you need. You can look under the hood and see your belts. Look at the end of the engine on the passenger side of the car. There is probably a serpentine belt and another one. If your friend is reasonably skilled at auto mechanics, he can probably change the drive belts.
The timing belt is another story. You can't see it because it's inside the engine. Special knowledge is needed to get to it and a special tool is needed to tension it properly. That one is best left to a pro. The thing about changing that belt is that the part is cheap but the labor is extensive. If you decide to do that, there are some other things (like the water pump) that might as well be replaced at the same time because the additional labor to do that is minimal since he's in there already.
Spend some money on the repair manual whether or not you will be doing the work yourself. If you understand the work involved in any repair you can decide whether you can do it and you can discuss it intelligently with the mechanic if you hire it done. It'll be money well spent.
When buying parts for your Sebring, be sure to specify whether it's a coupe or convertible. They are totally different cars with essentially no parts in common.

 

It's a 2-door convertible. I've been out of Internet so I apologize for the delayed response. We just recently changed all the fluids and it is running much smoother. The belt is still a project that needs pursuing.

Another issue has occurred. Or I'm just now noticing, either way. It's smoking from the center. Around this area. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ingsmoking.jpg


It's white smoke, and it emits a small amount of white smoke out the exhaust. There's speculation that this could be the head gasket. Any opinion?

 

Is it smoke or steam coming out of the center of the engine? There's a coolant tube that runs under there that could have failed. Anti-freeze has a peculiar smell. You get in there by removing the intake manifolds. If you are going to tear it apart to that extent, you might as well take care of the timing belt.
The typical symptom of a head gasket problem is a white puff out the exhaust when the car starts up. You can make a more definitive diagnosis with a compression test. Look for antifreeze in the engine oil at change time.

 

Very curious question
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