My Uncle had a 76 Volare' wagon new, and was in the military and actually took that car to Germany in the late 70's. He'd sent me this story some years ago., and it really shows the state of these cars back in the 70s. Long but fun interesting read. Enjoy! From my Uncle Lloyd: Hey Mike, I learned a lot about car repair with the 1976 Volare Station Wagon that we drove over there in Germany. That was in the middle of Chrysler's cheap shot at meeting emission requirements and their previously good running engines were suddenly low power and poor running. The worst, and down right dangerous characteristic, was when you pulled out into traffic from a stop sign. The car would surge away from the stop sign for about a half of a second, just enough to get you directly into oncoming traffic, then stall. After hesitating for 1 to 2 seconds, it would again rev up and be on it's way. Making the problem worse, the more you tried to accelerate, i.e.. the farther you initially pushed down on the accelerator, the worse and longer it would stall. I had a set of tune-up tools, left over from my Corvette racing in California, including timing light, dwell meter and vacuum gauge, and went to work on the Volare (bought it in Poplar Bluff, MO and shipped it to Germany with less than 1000 miles on it). Normally, you have vacuum distributor advance on a carburetor engine, which advances the timing as soon as the carb is off idle. The vacuum port hooked to the distributor has no vacuum at idle, but immediately has several inches of vacuum when the carb starts to open. This immediate advance in timing gives the engine an immediate power boost before the increase flow of air and gas through the carb can reach the cylinders. When I started watching the timing on the Volarie, I noticed that the timing actually retarded when you first opened the carb. I could not believe this at first so I hooked my vacuum gauge to the port on the carb where the distributor hose was attached and sure enough, there was actually vacuum at idle, which would immediately go to zero when the carb opened, but would then slowly recover over a 1-2 second period. So the factory configuration was to time the engine with vacuum present, which would then retard when you opened the throttle, which would not burn the fuel completely when the throttle first opened, but that reduced the initial surge of Nitrous Oxide gases on acceleration. And as a byproduct, the car would stall. Amazing and dangerous!! My solution was to try other, blocked off, ports on the carb and sure enough, I found one with no vacuum at idle, but immediately had a jump in vacuum when the carb butterflies were opened, and continued to increase in vacuum as the engine revved up. I'm sure this was the port used in the past before the pressures of emissions controls. So I rerouted my vacuum hose to the distributor and retimed the engine and all of a sudden I had a 318 that ran like a charm, with no hesitation. I made this same change for several other people who were afflicted with mid 70's Chrysler cars as this configuration was common on both their 6 and 8 cylinder engines. While I'm on a roll concerning the Volare, while in Germany, found that the car would not hold front end alignment in camber and caster. Turns out the upper A arms did not have the grooved surfaces that were common on front ends so no matter how tight you tightened the bolts on the camber/caster adjustment, after a few hundred miles, the front wheels would have negative camber and who knows where the caster would be. I could actually get factory warranty service on that car in Germany, but at the time there was no factory fix for this so the German mechanics, who laughed about the poorly built American cars, aligned the front end then tack welded it in place. It stayed this way until I returned to the states and the factory finally put out a recall. If you remember one of my other emails, this is the same car that would overheat when I got back to the US and started to pull my 20' boat, even after installation of an oil cooler and transmission cooler. About 2 years after we moved to GA, I was washing this car one evening and felt a lump behind the right front wheel down low on the fender. I thought it must be gum or something but got a flash light to look and found it was a big bubble under the paint. My Volare was rusting from the inside out!! This also turned out to be a recall item. The front fenders had pockets where dirt and moisture would collect but did not drain. So Chrysler put two new front fenders on the car. A few months later, I found similar bubbles under the paint behind the rear wheels. That's when I went down and ordered the deep blue Olds 98 Regency Sedan "mafia car". I think it was a 1982 but it looked like the one in your other email. Now THAT was a great car! That Volare was a real jewel. I believe there were 7 major recalls on that car while I owned it, and it was the last Chrysler product for my lifetime. Forgive the long message. LT

This guy needs a Podcast. His voice has even cadence and easy on the ears.

Thank goodness I never was familiar with these engines. The 3 I know best never gave me a problem. The slant 6, 273 V8 and the 318. All were great!

Haven't read all the comments, but one major problem with the 2.7 I've seen was casting flash inside the blocks. A lot of them had paper-thin tabs of aluminum casting inside the block that weren't addressed at the factory for some reason. When these eventually fall off, if a piece is small enough to make it through the oil pickup screen, it gets sucked in and sent directly to the main tensioner, which is oil-pressurized, and that bit of aluminum will slice through the sealing o-ring. Oil pressure drops, the tensioner collapses, the timing chain slips and, since it's an interference engine, valves slam into pistons and you're left with an expensive paperweight.

Adam, i grew up with a buddy who lived up the street and taught me everything I know about car maintenance and repair. You remind me so much of him. He had your calm demeanor as well. He went on to be a top electrical engineer with JPL. This guy literally knew everything about cars, was generous with his knowledge, and worked his way through college maintaining seemingly all the cars in the neighborhood. He was particularly inventive in making carburetor and timing modifications that got more out of our cars' performance, and made them run soooo smoothly. Thanks so much for your entertaining and informative posts. Being a 70 something boomer, your segments also help jog my memory and test my powers of recall....hopefully delaying dementia!! :) Please keep the posts coming, and God Bless! And BTW, my first car for college was a used red '62 Valiant Signet coupe with the 225 Slant Six and 3 on the tree...GREAT, punchy engine...and great little car....zero issues. Dorky looking but very well made. I believe that the 225 was one of their best.

A MOPAR-nut friend of mine has backed up everything you've said when he has discussed his late-model Chrysler experience with me. My personal experience with the MOPAR world was pretty much limited to 1969 - 1972 383s. I hated tuning them up -- the location of those darn exhaust headers! -- but neither Dad nor I could destroy them. When I was 14, I bought a '56 New Yorker with a 354 Hemi, no brakes, and a completely passenger-sideswiped body for $65. It was a huge, frightening beast that ran like a top. The not-too-bright fellow who bought it from me was most impressed by the fact that the engine accessories were powered by "dual belts." That had to mean great engine power! When I was a pre-teen, my Dad had a 354 Hemi transplanted into his 1959 Dodge D100 "delivery" pickup. Straight pipes ran from the headers to the rear: the sound it made was commensurate with the speed it would travel. Dad, who at the time owned a music store, used to claim that nobody could deliver a piano faster than he could. 😀 Thanks for another excellent porch chat. Stay warm!

You have done your homework, Adam! Those FI 318 Imperials were so rare to begin with; compounded by the fact that many were simply retrofitted with carbs after it became an endemic issue. As a lifelong MOPAR fan, this list is spot-on and speaks to your wealth of knowledge and attentional to detail(s). 👍

A water pump designed internally in the engine is just about the stupidest idea I can imagine. Steve Lehto had videos on his channel about some modern Ford engines with internal water pumps. That should be a crime.

My 2.2 turbo was retired at 400,000+ miles. Still worked super, good power, good economy, no oil consumption. Great engine tied to super solid 3 speed automatic. Never opened either one.

The 2.7 is always the engine I think of when I think of Chrysler's worst engine. They (as a company) really did not make a ton of bad engines, despite having cars that had plenty of other issues.

The B, RB engines that Chrysler manufactured from ‘58-‘78 are the most robust and reliable engines they made.

That 340 V8 was a screaming powerhouse!!!!! Damn! I had one in a 1971 Demon, and wow... without a doubt, was and still is, the most impressive small displacement V8 I've ever driven. Getting rid of that car was the stupidest thing I've ever done... and I've done a few doozies.

I knew a lot of guys back in the day that took off the lean burn and converted them to regular electronic ignition and carbs. Still passed emissions and performed so much better. I know people berates Chrysler for their quality, but they really made some good, reliable, solid performing engines.

Agree with the older engines, 225, 318, 340, 360, 383, 413, 426, 440 all being tough and reliable. One of the newer ones which seems to last a long time is the Chrysler 3.3 V6. I have a 1993 Dodge Caravan ES, and with 480,000 on it, the 3.3 still runs perfect and has 1/3 scale oil pressure fully warmed up in drive. It is on the third A604 transmission. The first one failed when the differential gear pin came loose and scored the aluminum transmission case until the fluid was lost. The replacement got destroyed months later when the van was stolen, and the police assumed the thieves put the transmission into reverse while the van was moving forward at high speed, and bailed in the middle of an intersection with the transmission in pieces. Insurance put a new A604 in the van and it has the kit to prevent the differential pin from coming loose. Engine and transmission has been great since then. The only recurring 'nightmare' is the Bendix 10 ABS brake system which is Caravan 'ES' specific, so it is rare, but due to a class action lawsuit, Chrysler offers an unlimited mileage / unlimited age warranty for the entire ABS system, including labor. This has been changed three times through this TSB, and it would have been a 5,000 $ job each time. The 11,200 $ (new) van has cost Chrysler 15,000 $ in ABS brake system TSB repairs.

My parents had a 90 Caravan that went through SEVEN of those transmissions under warranty. Conversely, they had a 2.2 Turbo I️ that went 250k miles with no issues.

Love the durability of the 2.2/2.5 engines. Non-interference to boot!

Another amazing instructional video. I always liked Chrysler products and owned quite a few. They were never as refined as GM, either mechanically or structurally but had a definite vibe like no other cars of that time (60's-70's) and were well thought-out. The "lean-burn" was a true nightmare. Chrysler had neither the resources or money to correctly pull off such a concept at that particular moment in time and IMHO should have stuck with the basic strong engineering that had served them well up to that point. I still, to this day regret selling a 1974 New Yorker Brougham with the 440 CID. Most comfortable riding car I ever owned, and that includes several Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Mercedes.

There's another huge problem with the 2.7L Chrysler that is related to oil, but it's the timing chain tensioner could slack the chain and cause the cams to jump time. Being an interference engine that usually spelled bent valves. This was an extremely common problem on those engines. Guys have made special blocks that could be installed on the tensioner to limit how far it could release, thus reducing the chance of this happening.

Loved my old M body Mopar. It just ran and ran and ran. 265 lb feet torque at 1,600 rpm is forever in my memory bank as a benchmark for low-end power (for a small block) and no newer car I've owned has met that either.

Great video as always, I love these talks. I would say you could have added that 4 cylinder that was in Stratus and Sebrings in the early 2000s. Everyone I knew with one of those motors blew up 🤦🏾‍♂️

Adam, great review of Chrysler engines. One troublesome engine Chrysler offered, though not technically a Chrysler engine, was the 3.0 Mitsubishi V-6. I had two vehicles at the same time with those, an ‘88 front drive New Yorker, and a 1990 Plymouth Acclaim. The Acclaim had the double whammy of the V-6 and Ultra-Drive, which interestingly didn’t give me a problem for the 90,000 miles I owned it. The V-6’s drank oil however, to the tune of about 1 1/2 quarts between the 3,000 mile oil change intervals. Also want to mention that Chrysler made two very different 318 engines. The first, introduced in 1956 and produced through 1966, was the A block or poly spherical. In 1967 Chrysler introduced the LA 318, same displacement but with a traditional wedge type combustion chamber. Both were rated at 230 horsepower, and proved to be very durable engines. Chrysler tended to use very mild cam profiles on these engines, so they are very smooth running engines. To wake them up, a longer duration cam, freer breathing carb, intake manifold, and exhaust should net at least 30-40 more horsepower, if one was so inclined.

Nicely done! I've had an 81 Imperial with fuel injection the whole time (not good), almost all the Lean Burns where a few I converted (and mom had a 2.2 Turbo that she put 300,000 miles on with zero failures and then the car suffered an unfortunate accident that racked the frame). Enjoyed your video!!

The most trouble prone car that I ever owned was a 1992 Chrysler Concorde. Found myself attracted to the styling and comfort of the car but soon discovered that the car was a mechanical lemon. The problems started with the transmission and rapidly progressed to a blown motor. Was still making payments when it was hauled off to the junkyard.

I had a 2.7 sebring. It was one of the best I’d had and had over 300,000 Kms on it when I traded it. I change oil incessantly and attribute that to why this engine lasted. I heard many horror stories about them I also had a 78 magnum with a 360 lean burn. I swapped that out immediately for a proper orange box electronic and that motor was awesome. Went through 3- 904 transmissions tho 😆 I agree about the 2.2 4 banger. I had one in a horizon that had 477,000 kms on it when it went to the wreckers. The body finally gave up trying. All id done to that was one rad and water pump, brakes, one muffler and tires. And again I spent a fair amount of time draining oil haha Great video

I had the dreaded Ultrdrive in my 94 G Voyager. It went into limp mode in the first thousand miles from new. After the rebuild it soldiered on to 145k when it was traded. The 3.8 ran flawlessly and was never touched.

Mom had a 91 Acclaim went through 3 transmissions that was covered under power train warranty it had 3.0 V6. I currently have an 86 600 w/2.5 4cyl & 88 Aries w/2.2 4cyl as both engines & transmissions are bullet proof! - they always start never let me down.

Really Really informative! I like the fact that you explain that all things are connected and that certain aspects affect how other components perform. Well done! Bravo!

My family and friends had excellent luck with Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth cars. I can't remember any serious problems with them, quality control issues and sloppy workmanship was always evident, but they all ended up being high mileage vehicles when traded. I had friends who drove mid-sixties Chrysler New Yorkers and they were great, but no so glamorous as the GM luxo cars. Friends returning from the war bought super Bees, Road Runners, Barracudas, Chargers, and Challengers and loved them. There were one or two Coronet 2drs driven by girls, and they were pretty nice, the cars that is. One friend had a wagon. Dodge vans and pickups from the that era were utilitarian, sold on contract to police, fire, and utility companies. They seemed to be reliable. Ugly, I can't think of one that was purchased out right by an individual. In the early 70's we had to replace carburetors and valve guides when leaded fuel was banished.

excellent report everything you said was true . My first Chrysler engine was a 331 Hemi in a 1955 New Yorker Deluxe - that was high school - had no idea how good we had it !!!

The early 2.2L trans 4 had head gasket issues, but later versions were dependable. The carbed versions had a tendency to stall. I still remember my grandmother’s ‘84 Reliant stalled every so often.

Adam, Thanks for sharing. I love the porch chats!!

Really enjoy your delivery of these, good information and very interesting!

I owned a 1986 Chrysler Laser 2.2 Turbo 5 speed & it was a quite reliable engine & fun to drive. The systems monitoring system that actually spoke to you got old really quick though "Please check your washer fluid" & the mute button was totally annihilated by end of my ownership.

I had two Dodge/Plymouth Neons with the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. It was a peppy little powerplant when coupled to the 5-speed manual. The problem I had with this engine was it loved to blow head gaskets. I've read this was a common problem for the 2.0. It's a shame because otherwise, it was a fun car to drive. When you do the best Chrysler engines, you have to include the venerable Slant 6. That engine would run forever with very little fuss.

Hey Adam, thanks for sharing another informative porch chat!!!

These engine chats are very enjoyable, I am old enough that I am familiar with all of the engines and platforms you discuss and get quite a chuckle when we are in violent agreement! I'm eager to move into the Ford phase of these discussions...

Not technically a Chrysler motor, but the 3.0 liter Mitsubishi motor that they put in so many cars - especially the minivans. As a kid, I remember seeing them in traffic and looking to see if it burned oil or not when they pulled away from the light. I had always heard that some of the small 4 cylinder motors made for the K cars were problematic but I don't know how true that really was.

I’ve owned 9 Chrysler MiniVans & 1 Dodge Ram truck. I had extremely good luck with every one of the Vans although on 2 of my 3.3L V6s the Head Gaskets went. On one it caused the head to crack. I’ve only purchased one of the 9 new. The others were all used. The used ones were all purchased with over 100,000 miles on them. Most of them I drove to well over 200,000 miles before I sold them. On one, a 1986, I had over 200,000 miles on it when I bought it and drove it to over 300,000miles. It had that ‘awful’ Mitsubishi 2.6 (?) in it. I never had a lick of trouble and it, nor none of my others, have ever burned oil. I change my oil religiously on all of my vehicles at 2500 to 3K miles. As well as doing all of the other upkeep. The one Van we bought new was #7, in 2002. It’s a T & C Limited which we still own and is still a daily driver. It now has 280,000 miles. With it we had a Class 4 hitch installed and got the Tow pkg. & the Tow/Haul trans. We pulled a 3200# 30’ Camping trailer which I spent an entire year looking for one that the towing capacity of the Van could handle. It’s been a great vehicle and I’m going to lament the day it goes away but rust is finally taking its toll. My Dodge Ram 1500 4X4 Quad Cab 5.7L Hemi is incredible!! We got that when it was nearly a year old w/19K on it. It now has 256K miles on it and is my daily driver. We also got that w/Tow Pkg. & Trans. This truck engine has again been nearly completely trouble free. I’ve replaced the water pump, fuel pump and alternator once each. I’ve replaced every suspension component in the front end, the Power steering pump and the Rack & Pinion. I bought an ‘05 Florida truck w/a blown 318 for a parts truck. I have already replaced the bed because Chrysler in their infinite wisdom put Styrofoam inside the Rear Fender Wells to act as silencers or something. They retained water and rusted all the rear fenders out for a few years just above the wheel openings. Unfortunately my Rocker Panels are also now rusting so I will be changing those out as well shortly. I grew up with GM cars. My Dad was a Buick employee. So until the late ‘80s I drove Chevys, Buicks & Cadillacs with an errant VW & International thrown in. Those were some great cars and some dogs. Had a ‘76 Chevette w/small engine & automatic trans!! Barf performance but great mileage. I still have my ‘63 Sedan deVille 4 Window w/390 cid V-8 and the last year of Cadillac’s (and GM’s) first automatic trans, the original Hydramatic. Trans shops all said it was the most complex trans they ever worked on. My Grandfather, a Chevrolet/Buick/Olds Dealership Service Manager for 43 years used to say that the smoother they shifted the closer they were to failing. I bought that car in 1980 w/139,000 miles on it and no history other than it had been a Florida car. I’ve used it for pleasure driving and put it in local car shows. It’s not perfect because it’s all original. I’ve done nothing but service the car and had a little small rust repaired. It now has 164,000 miles. I’d like to say in closing that any engine, no matter how poor will give you much fewer problems if regularly maintained. Now let me tell you about my ‘73 Fleetwood….. Bwahahaha! Jk!! Have a great day!

Interesting info. I live just a few miles from you in Clinton Twp. Love seeing your collection of land yachts and all the detailed info. My gradfather used to flip classice cars of that era when i was a teenager. I wanted his 69 Bonneville convertible w/ 428 so bad but he sold it before I could get the money. It was 2000$ running and driving with very little rust back then ( late 80s). He ususally had about 4 or 5 cars he was working with. 66 new yorker 383, 76 Eldorado 425, 77 continental, 55 ford 3/tree, 77 LTD, vw bus, etc. i drove all of them as a 15 year old on the farm. Boy the 2.7 design...If thats not a "designed to fail" for service revenue example I dont know what is. Its a shame that manufacturers do this when they certainly could design a decent drivetrain that lasts.

I started driving in 1978. To this day, whenever I hear the word "electronic" in any context, images of stumbling engines, inexplicable and expensive breakdowns, and general vehicular mayhem flash through my mind. First impressions truly are lasting ones

I had a ‘95 Grand Caravan ES 3.8/4 speed. The 3.8 finally gave out at about 270k miles. The 4 speed was never touched other than regular service. The 3.8 was all original except starter and water pump. The 2.2 was a solid engine but it was prone to blowing head gaskets. Fortunately, the were easy to replace and most anybody with the tools and a little know how could do it.

I was in school when they came out with the lean burn engine. They sent a Chrysler techie to show us how to use a scope on those. I think only a couple of guys understood wtf it was and did. It was a short time period of charging people 50 bucks to knock all the stuffing out of converters.

Great episode! I would've liked to hear more about the 2.7's problems though. There was timing chain tensioner issues and I believe oil pump issues. I will say that a full-size Chrysler with a 2.7 sure was fantastic on fuel though

My daughter owned a 2004 dodge stratus former government fleet car. When I first brought the car home immediately change the oil and found sludge. For the next 5000 miles I change the oil every 1000 miles without using any type of cleaner. I only used Pennzoil platinum full synthetic oil in a factory filter. After that roughly 40,000 miles later, (I purchased a car with 26K and it now has 75K) i’m doing an oil change and I can see the coolant pooling at the top of the oil. I immediately found there was a TSB that came with a new water pump, different style timing chain, sprockets, tensioner‘s, the entire front of the engine had a redesign all the moving parts. When the front of the engine was torn apart I could see into the oil pan and it was perfectly clean as in like new not even stained!! The one fatal flaw for that engine was fixed with a technical service bulletin no one knew anything about! After the car had over 100,000 miles on it I sold it to a friend of the family. To this Day with almost 200,000 miles on it the car is still going. I can guarantee you it’s not getting it’s all changed every 3000 miles like it was for the first hundred thousand miles. Lord any knows what type of oil and filter are going in it for the second hundred thousand miles.. The pointers the fatal flaw that the engine had Chrysler solved. If they were like Toyota they would’ve recalled all those engines perform that work for the customers in the car wouldn’t of had a bad reputation. In the Stratus the 2.7 V6 made the car almost as fast as a Honda accord V6 at half the price. Using the 2.7 L V6 in the charger the magnum in the 300 was just flat out of a mistake! It could not get out of its own way.

Lean Burn carburetion was horrible. Had a '76 Royal Monaco with the 400 motor/2 barrel Lean Burn carb. Had a '73 Fury III with a 360 2 barrel at the same time. The Fury left the Royal Monaco in the dust as far as power.

ELB in Australia was a brilliant device (specially in the local Hemi 6) thanks to the talent Chrysler Australia Engineers! But had the same poor mounting problems close to the exhaust manifold and thermal paste drying up after a few years like in the US cars!

I'm a Mopar man and a mechanic enjoyed your video very spot on knowledge thanks!!

I've owned 170, 225, 318, 360, & 440. All were pre '72 and f'n amazing engines well into the 21st century. Currently running a 64 Fury with 318. Of course with a great grandmother being a Chrysler descendant, that's what I grew up on lol.

This is really an interesting video. I mean they all are, I'm always getting answers to questions I didn't know I had. I knew about the 2.7l sludge issue, but never knew why it was an issue until today.

I’m surprised I haven’t seen a mention of the 2.0 in the first gen Neon. From my understanding the engineers specked a MLS head gasket, however the Daimler overlords killed that. As such the head gaskets failed on these engines A LOT.

Absolutely right Adam! I talked my parents into a new 81 Imperial omg i never heard the end of that beautiful car but that injection omg car constantly died at idle . I had a 78 440 with lean burn and was very disappointed, what a shame a company that made 383s ,413,and 440.one question what caused the lag in early 70s mopars.? I look forward to your videos u do a Great job.thank you!!

I feel you're quite fair in your observations. My '79 360 burned all the exhaust valves but taking it back to a '74 ignition system smartened it right up. The 7 1\4 rear end behind a slant 6 was fine. I never heard of any problems unless it was used for a wrong application.

Thanks for your prolific work, Adam. You're cranking them out at an amazing pace. I had a '79 Aspen with a slant 6. A wagon. It never ran smoothly and had lots of drivability issues. And, it showed a lot of wear at a shockingly low milage. Seats coming apart at the seams at 25K miles? It did handle and brake well by the standards of the day, but the engine was terrible and the interior quality was not good - as it was on other Chrysler products that come to mind - same issue with 1970 Barracuda interior seats and trim pieces. But the pre-smog 318 was a peppy engine. Maybe not as smooth as a 302 from the same period, but no slouch in the power department.

I remember selling Dodge RAM trucks in 1994. The 318 did run very lean. Alot vibration at idle when it was cold but the 360 was very good idle when at a cold start.

Excellent post, thanks. Ford/Mopar guy here.

Useful, Honest information from first hand experience. Priceless! We are guessing what your profession is Adam and it's down to two choices: Educator possibly Auto Shop or an Engineer. Funds Manager came 3rd! Cheers 🇨🇦

I recently discovered your channel and I've been enjoying your videos. The problem with the 2.7 V6 is interesting. While researching used cars I've heard the same internal water pump issue with some Ford V6s (specifically the 3.5). Curious if this is a common problem.

You didn't mention "old Smokey" the 3.0L V6.... I know, I know, it's technically a Mitsubishi engine but it was used in tons of Chrysler vehicles.

I had a 77 Plymouty Suburban Wagon with a 400cid Lean Burn fortunately the one problem that I had was the module hanging off the air cleaner, the grounding was poor and when the dealer could not find the problem I ran a separate wire directly to battery (-) and it was fixed. Your are correct Chrysler had some solid engines but they where plagued with various EPA bandaid of the time.

I have also ran into problems with the timing chains of the 3.9 V-6 in 90's pick ups. The engine was based on the venerable 318, but they obviously did little testing on the 3.9 version of the engine. There is an update timing chain, but it would have been great if the factory would have caught the issue in testing. The 4 speed auto trans would barely last 100,000 miles. We did SK update kits on all these these transmissions we encountered and then they lasted great... Just lousy engineering and testing. Too many short cuts Another modern Chrysler boner is the 4.7 V-8. For some silly reason, they painted the interior of the oil pan. In a few years, the paint clogs the oil pump then killing the engine. Stay clear of the 4.7 !!

I agree. The 3.7 is garbage too. The 4.7 had issues as well. My rule of thumb is to stay away from any of the engines ending with .7 when dealing with Chrysler.

Now if only Adam can buy and review one of those carb-converted 318 Imperials!

I thought the 2.2 might be in that list but your explanation is accurate. Keep em coming.

Fwiw, the early minivans had the 2.6 Mitsubishi. Timing chain tensioner fails from low oil level, chain drags on timing cover. Repaired like a million of them. Thanks for the video.

You point out - Chrysler engine history is much better than GM, and I’ve had a bunch of them from flat head 6s from the forties and fifties , slant 6s, V8s both A (318s and 360,) and B ( 383/400) , front wheel drive V6s - 2.5/3.3,/3.8/3.6) all bullet proof and all over 200,000 miles. You are right about the 2.7l, but with that I have just been lucky- 20 years on a Sebring convertible - 187000 miles no engine problems. I always said Chrysler would never have survived if they put out the dog engines GM did.

As to the Ultradrive 4 speed transmissions....the problem that was changing the fluid with other then ATF 4 which would cause all the problems. I have and own a 92 New Yorker, and have no problems at all thru the years. By the by, he didn't mention the 3.3, and for good reason, a terrific motor that will give you several hundred thousand miles.

Love this series, Adam. Thanks!

Stumbled onto your channel, probably because of Vice Grip Garage, Curious Cars and Scotty….. must say, you provide a wonderfully interesting perspective. Liked/Subbed

Had two Sebrings with the 2.7 - put over 200k miles on both.

Was for me very sad to see listed in N. 1 worst engine, that 2.7 liter V6 engine, fitted in that gorgeous Intrepid 1998/2004 line up because is very attractive and advanced body design one as well. Thanks God, here in my country, Colombia, the 361, 360, 413, 318 and 225 slant six units did not have any issue, due to the old school mechanics, carburated, manual chokes and no starting engine issues at all. The 361, and 360, for medium heavy trucks operated with Holley carbs, and the others, with Carter carburators, early 70 and late 70's references as well. Less electronics devices, more reliable engines, and as I told you above, Colmotores, the assembly plant, didn`t folled around testing any pollution devices, because our enviromental rules in those years, did not exist here at all. And let me tell you some interesting rear end mumbers: Because Colombia is very rough country, high hills and plans, the Andes Mountain System, 4.5 to 1 gear ratios in the trucks and 3.95 to 1 rear end ratios in the automobiles, Dart, Diplomat, Coronet and Aspen models, was a must in order to get a nice open roads performances. Eaton 16221 and 17221 models fitted in D700/600 medium trucks, Dana 70 rear ends for D/300 P/300 models and Dana 44 fitted on passenger cars listed above. Thanks for your videos and the technical data you share here.

In the late 70s early 80s I was young and always played with the mixture and timing on cars I bought. The best one was a 69 Tempest with the Overhead Cam six cylinder and 3epeed manual, in auto shop at school (Remember when schools offered that) I used the Sun Test machine and easily adjusted everything to get 27-28mpg highway. That was a cool car maybe one day you could find one do a video on. Highschool shop classes were great back then, I upholstered the whole car with a very tasteful cloth and Naga hide. I was able to repaint the car Canary Yellow. I then put Goodrich Lifesaver Radials on it. I wish I had not lost my pictures of it, it was pretty popular, one of my dad's airforce pilot friends offered twice as much as I paid for it and I let it go. Of course, I have regretted it ever since.

I work at a Chrysler dealer. I've done one water pump on a 2.7. I'd rather not do another ever again. Everything on that engine is a disaster.

Chrysler's major failure points the thermoquad 4-barrel plastic and aluminum Contracting and expanding at two different rates. Lean burn on small block, when I got 1 it was on an 87 5th Avenue. I took the distributor out throw it in the box took the lane burnout in the same box. I ran a points distributor ran a wire from the positive side of the battery cool switch under the dash then the other side of the switch Iran to the positive side of the coil a wire from the negative side of the coil to the distributor. Then I got one with that garbage 400 big block I beat the carburetor with a sledgehammer literally I really did through a Holley 4-barrel on it pulled the distributor out the lean burnout threw it in the garbage since a 400 was a low block I took a 383 distributor dual-point did the same thing and then I put a Holley 650 4-barrel on it

My dad had a Lean Burn 318 equipped Le Baron. It ran horribly, It was a big step backwards from the 318 ‘72 Fury he had previously. Loving the porch chats!

My 318 dart motor was incredibly durable. Our 383 Fury leaked out radiator fluid and the block still didn't fry. Terrific engine. Then I bought a used 2.2 1985 Chrysler. Burned oil at 60,000 miles. Nothing but problems. Blew a head gasket at 90,000 and I had enough. Never bought Chrysler since. I'm that bitter. I would buy anything Chrysler up to 1975 though when they were tough cars.

I think sometimes....the extended oil change intervals pushes a fairly reliable engine into a total pile of junk. My Chrysler experience....Dodge Dakota 3.9 LA V6...a 318 minus two cylinders....and the son of lean burn emissions controls since the 87s had the 2bbl carb. Hard to keep tuned properly,...not a powerhouse and a bit thrashy at idle. As the engine ages the timing chain starts to loosen so you get some chain slap at idle. Chrysler PT Cruiser 2.4 four cylinder. Not as refined as a Toyota or Honda but decent power and economy. This is a situation of staying on top of maintenance to keep it reliable.

The Chrysler transmissions,problems misdiagnosed a lot.Have seen it a lot

I get a participation trophy for guessing the 2.7L! It’s really a shame because I really liked the style of the Sebring convertibles, but if you wanted any reasonable performance you were forced into that horrible V-6. Thanks for this video, Adam! 👍👍👍

Australian Chryslers in the late 70s adopted the Lean Burn feedback carburettor system firstly on the 318 Valiants in 1977 but when they were fitted to the 245 and 265 Australian inline sixes known as the hemi six (though not true hemispherical combustion chambers), similar to the 4.0 litre six in the Jeeps, the fuel economy achieved had motoring journalists taking notice. 20 mpg was achievable around town and 25-27 mpg was achieved in mainly open road driving from both sixes. I read the analogue ECU was only designed to last 20 years. There is a guy called Ray Cook in Queensland who specialises in working on and tuning and reconditioning these Chrysler lean burn set ups known as ELB -Electronic Lean Burn on the Australian built Chryslers which ceased production in August of 81.

Chrysler was decent up into the late '90s once FIAT got their mitts into them they went to sh*t.

One of my buddies had a '60 Valiant with the Slant-6 and 3 speed automatic. That thing was unstoppable and a great little car.

Here's some notables, cam chain and tensioners on 2.6L fours, Valve guides dropping and stem seals on 3.0L V-6s, head gasket failures on 2.2 - 2.5 L fours (fixable but chronic) Virtually every head gasket failed on 2.0-2.4L fours. Nothing terminal but significant failures. My 2002 3.8 V-6 approaching 200k is happy as a clam, trans failure at 160K but not unexpected for a 41TE

I'm born in 1965 and became a Mopar kid of the 70's. My Dad had Chryslers (my earliest memory is a 69 New Yorker.). It was sooo long & sleek. It could not fit in our garage so Dad had a car cover. It was a midnight blue... always looked wet. It towed anything yet was soo quiet and smooth. If Dad passed someone the back end squatted lightly yet the sound was amazingly powerful. He then had a 73 Imperial (if a Cadillac was better, I could not imagine how). Yet we lived in a 100 year old farm, on 5 acres, a mostly caved in barn and a real tornado shelter. Mom's car wasn't memorable at all. Ever. He was getting a lot of car for his money. Dad stayed Chrysler until 85.. the K Cars were so... lame. He moved to a different brand a year. By the time I could drive in 81 I couldn't afford a good, used Chrysler.. and the stuff I could afford was bad.. I, too drover whatever was decent. No brand loyalty but a soft spot for Chrysler. Anyway.. the 1st Chrysler I ever had was a Dodge 99 Intrepid with that 2.7. My dad thought it road well. I thought it had "decent" power for a 2.7. I also thought it looked like a future that other brands could not dream big enough for. Even better than a Vette. Yet, very roomy for my wife & two daughters. It took two years then the crankshaft just... broke. I had never heard of such a thing and I have bought many cars. The warranty did not include "unexpected failures caused by owner neglect of maintenance schedules". Changing ones own oil doesn't count as a record of Maintenance. They said all that sludge showed I did not change oil. Never again. Yet... I still have some weird soft spot for "Dodge" Rams. I don't need a large truck but my Dad did end up buying a diesel Ram.. a 2006 that my cousin now owns. It still can be made t shine.. has slight rust around a wheel well, and the exact same 18 year old engine that pulls big stuff.

Sir your right on point with the 2.7 V6. Those engines were for the most part not bad, they ran good and were fairly smooth. There was a small weep hole machined in the block to allow coolant to leak out when the water pump was starting to fail. That is if only the internal seal failed. Thus not allowing coolant to enter internally into the engine. Depending where the vehicle was driven, those weep holes would get plugged up not allowing the coolant to drain out. If a bearing failed in the pump, besides the noise it made coolant would enter the engine and by the the time the owner was aware the damage was done. To replace the water pump was to say the least, was very timely and expensive. Based on the mileage usually the timing chain components also needed replacing. The resale of those vehicles equiped with that engine at the time were very weak so sometimes it wasnt cost effective to repair. So allot were scrapped, mechanically totaled. If I remember in the early years of production of that engine (I think it was from `98 -`02 maybe later) they had oiling problems with the crankshafts, the oil passages were under drilled or something to that affect. Later engines had the improved oiling systems along with the remanufactured units. The 3.5 V6 was by far a better engine it got about the same mileage but much more power and far more reliable. With those it was timing belts, water pumps and plug wires. As for the earlier engines, besides the 3.0 Mitsubishi V6, they also used a 2.6 Mitsubishi l4 in the '80s which was a decent engine but expensive to repair. Overall Chrysler never really build a totally bad engine, GM owns the trophy on that one, many to say the least.

The best thing to do with a lean burn cars to remove all of that as well as exhaust recirculation pump. Convert it to a four barrel, dual exhaust, headers as well. Get rid of the cat as well. Did that with my 80's Ram 4x4 truck and the 318 is shall we say "woke"! Lol Could care less about emissions and all that global warming nonsense. Plate C

I really like to have my cars as stock as possible, however I could not bear the lean burn system on my 79 New Yorker. I ended up just putting an edelbrock and going to points ignition. The thing is, if I ever want to go to stock it's a 30 minute job to swap back to the lean burn system.

My father had a 2004 Sebring with the 2.7 V6. After I found out about the problems, I told him to sell it which he did. I am now waiting for your video with the BEST Chrysler engines!

Hmm...2.7l v6 huh? Looks in garage....OH NO!! LOL Either I'm lucky...or just lucky....and hope to stay lucky. Haha. Bought my 2001 Chrysler Sebring Convertible Limited on Halloween 2001...scary huh? Haha. Over 20 years of ownership...engine continues to run great at 120k miles. I'll admit, it has not been my daily driver on a regular basis since 2003...which seems weird, but at the time I wanted to "keep the miles off"...well that went out the window with a few job changes all over the US, Maine, California, Texas...and while I loved ALL those trips...the miles racked up. Plus...been taking it to the Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, PA...that's 1400 miles from here, each way. But...again, yes, I'm very lucky...and you're right on the water pump quote. My trusted shop said it was about $1500, before tax..lol. Did I mention I've been lucky?

We had a 77 Monaco 318cid with the worst carburetor ever. it replaced a 72 Coronet after it was rearended. Virtually the same car/motor combination but lightyears apart from a driveabilty standpoint. Our familyonly bought Toyota's after that.

Good episode. I'm sure that the list of all time worst Ford engines will be featured in an upcoming episode. One Ford engine that was really bad was Ford's first turbocharged engine: the carburated 2.3L turbocharged Lima engine that was used on the early Fox Body Mustang(79-81). Like many early turbo engines, those early Ford turbos had poor reliability mostly due to poor carburation and many owners and mechanics not understanding how a turbo works. The later 2.3L Turbos that were equipped with EFI and better computer controls that was used on the 1983-88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, 1985-88 Merkur XR4Ti, and 1984-86 Mustang SVO proved to be more reliable and had better performance as well.

Best thing I did was to ditch the lean bum system and carburetor, and swap in a distributor from a 1973 Plymouth Scamp and a Holley 2bbl carb. The catalytic converters "fell off" and the EGR valve was closed off by simply taking it off and rotating it 180 degrees, effectively blocking it off. Gas mileage improved significantly, and it was really fun to drive.

Adam, Anyone who walks into a Chrysler dealership and buys anything other than a Slant 6 is looking for trouble 🤩

Noted comment about the very tall axle ratios. Not to forget, cars so equipped also received the A999 with the low first gear, which, with a mildly tuned 318, or, even better, a 360, were a nice package. Another great package was the F-bodies was a 318 and four speed A833 overdrive.

Good video. 2.7L engine still going strong with 200,000 miles. The trick is making sure you replace that water pump ahead of schedule.

The 2.7 v6 was a good engine. We put 125k miles on ours with no problems. A Chrysler tech told me to simply keep the oil changed. I have also owned 273, 318, 225, 360. 3.5 and 4.0 Mopar engines. All were good motors.

I love this. This is good. More of this please!

The ultra drive mostly suffered from that external solenoid pack failing. I got a ton of miles out of 2 ultraglides, 1 in a umc aeromate step van actually hauling tools, another in a 96 intrepid. I found keeping that sol pack and the connector clean and dry helps the lifespan. Regular Chrysler +4 fluid changes and ALWAYS coming to a complete stop prior to moving the shift lever. I had one absolutely internally grenade after my ex drove it for a week with the habit of shifting from reverse to drive before it fully stopped. If you maintain them well and drive them properly they can last with a solenoid pack change eventually. However, after searching a salvage yard for a good replacement, I pulled 16 pans til I found one that wasn't cooked or grenaded. The biggest annoyance was most owners and shops had absolutely no clue that using any other trans fluid than Chrysler +3/+4 would 100% guarantee clutch failure.

I remember renting some of the Chrysler 300s and Dodge vehicles back then. The first one I rented had a 3.6L V6 and performed adequately. The next one I rented had that 2.7L you mentioned. It would be easy to understand how that engine would get beat to crap quickly, it was just too small for those full sized vehicles, constantly downshifting and breathing hard just to maintain highway speeds.

Almost a year later, and watching this again, I would like to say that the Chrysler 318 has become one of my favorite Chrysler small block V8 engines. A good friend of mine has a 1986 Dodge Ramcharger 4x4, 4 speed manual, lifted and riding on Super Swampers wrapped around 15 inch wheels, and I have been helping him with working on it. That engine has taken more abuse than ANY OTHER engine I have seen in person. When he bought it, it ran like garbage, it idled like it had a big cam, it took forever to start hot or cold, it struggled to get going in 1st (granny) gear, and it could barely do 50 MHP on the highway. It was bad, I thought the engine was toast. And he drove it home 6 hours running like this! However, the list of issues I found from the previous owner, is extensive. The short list: Vacuum leaks at the carburetor base, at the unneeded carburetor adapter, intake manifold to the head and engine block (Edelbrock intake manifold), at the miss routed brake booster hose, and all the plugs in the manifold. The carburetor (Edelbrock 1406) was so badly adjusted, the primary butterflies had the transition holes completely uncovered and then some, and it was so nasty inside the carburetor one of the jets turned to dust on the secondary side when I tried to take it out. Last, but certainly not least, it some how would run, with the initial timing retarded about 10 degrees! It was THE perfect storm of wrong, to somehow run. Even when the temps here dropped to -14*F, his truck started and ran when his roommate's 2020 Silverado 1500 wouldn't. My friend reinstalled his intake manifold properly, I went through and tracked down EVERY vacuum leak and fixed them with fresh hose, a gasoline safe sealant on the intake plugs, cleaned the carburetor and replaced the one jet, set the float bowls correctly, set fuel pressure to the recommended spec for the carb, and we got to work on starting it. All that work, setting the initial timing to 8 to 10 degrees BTDC, cold you pump the throttle twice, turn the key, the engine fires in maybe one full revolution to two. Hot, same thing without the throttle pump. The engine runs like NOTHING ever happened. The truck will do 70 MPH even with the big tires (35 inch, I think) GPS confirmed, though it does slow to 50 on long, or steep hills he has to downshift to 3rd to maintain 45 MPH. That said, soon his Ramcharger will have a rebuilt and fuel injected 440 big block in it, and shorter gearing for the axles along with a full drive line rebuild. That little beast 318 may get rebuilt and put in a 4 speed Duster after the truck is done.

I enjoy the porch chat. Good information.