Manager Forum

Customer brought his 2000 Chrysler Cirrus Lxi with a 2.5L engine that has a coolant leak. I found the coolant leak on the expansion plug on the front of the block up above the AC compressor and behind the front of the exhaust manifold. Can I replace that plug without removing the engine or do I R&R the engine an do them all? Cause if I need to pull the engine I am gonna do them all.

Tim I would recommend pulling the engine. You may want to check for recalls. When I worked for Chrysler we had a run of them mostly in the Stratus convertibles. Seems the coolant wasn't mixed properly when they were put together in Mexico. To that end I would replace all of them.

An the correct coolant is ??????

I believe they were filled with Chrysler orange coolant. The problem was, as it was explained to us, that the coolant was shipped to mexico along with purified water, unmixed. The factory workers were taking the water home and using local water to fill the engines. Don't know how much truth there was to it, just what we heard in the shop.

Am I right, this engine comes out the bottom on the cradle with transaxle attached?

Yes. You may get it out the top but it will be easier to drop the cradle.

Not exactly my favorite flavor of coffee to do a job that way. Customer also wants water pump and timing belt replaced as well.

when we do the drop outs we use a dolly we made out of 4x4's and 2x6's with steel wheels on them. It only cost about 75 bucks to build and I drilled a 5/16th's hole in each corner I drop a dowel through as a guide and mark the floor where it hits so I can align it when we drop the car back down. We set jack stands up to support the cradle and give us some height to work on the engines. When we're replacing all the freeze plugs I'll drill through the lowest with a 1/2" drill bit and suck out the coolant with a shop vac.