1996 Dodge Stratus 2.0l

[Austrian Dodge]

i'm currently looking to buy that car...the problem is, that the owner says one of the rods is bent/broken.

i haven't seen the car, nor did i see the engine from the inside, so i have no clue.

anyways, what i wanted to know...is this the same engine as the 2.0 neon?
how much are used rods/pistons, new bearings and stuff?
whats the size/length of the stock 2.0 rods? any chance i can use my TII rods? :eyebrows:

i'll take a look at the car tomorrow so i can give you guys more details!

[Vigo]

it is the same engine..

i actually recently bought a 2.0/5spd stratus and took it apart to put the tranny in my neon:thumb:

still have the motor too. spare for the neon now.

id be skeptical about that diagnosis and take a look for myself.

good luck.

[Austrian Dodge]

i just got off the phone with the owner, that guy is pissed because the car gave up on him after 2 months of driving.

he said he was very carefull about it, and then on the way home at 30mph the car just ran on 3 cylinders and died. he said he never tried to start it again and had it towed to a shop.
they told him one of the rods is torn off??? he doesn't know anything about cars nor engines, so i can look over the car tomorrow...it's stored at the shop.

we'll see

[Vigo]

i dont think a rod would fail at low speed unless the nuts came loose, in which case it would make a HORRENDOUS noise before it failed. if theres no hole in the block, id take a long screwdriver, tools to take the spark plug out, and a compression gauge if you have one. when you're turning the motor, see if the screwdriver moves up and down as far as it does in the other cylinders. Just sticking it in there and messing around with turning the motor should tell you whether the rod is bent or broken.

[Austrian Dodge]

as i thought, the shop never opened the engine, they just presume that a rod failed. no air vented block, nothing.

the engine is stuck, it can't be turned over. likely a piston hitting the valves. so i think the timing belt has failed.
anyways, the junkyard a few km's down the road wants 700 euro for another engine (just block, head and manifolds).
+ the time that is involved i'll just leave that out.

took another look at a 2000 year stratus - will take a test drive today :)

[Big_P]

I didn't even think there were those cars over there :P

[Austrian Dodge]

haha of course they're here, but nobody wants them ... i think it's just me

well .. i bought that other stratus for $3350.00USD yesterday.
it's a 2.0l manual, year 2000, with all options except leather seats and cruise control. it has 117k miles on the odo.

plus i get a new hood, because the one which is on the car is kinda rusty.
all in all it's in very nice condition and i can't wait to get it on monday :)

[Vigo]

sounds good! you'd guess they're underpowered but mine wasnt. post some pics and impressions when you get it home.

[Aries_Turbo]

swap a 2.4L turbo in it :)

how are things over there in regards to engine swaps and emissions stuff?

Brian

[Austrian Dodge]

it feels a bit heavy, so i think the 2.0 is a bit overchallanged...but hey it's just a DD anyway!

the only 2.4 turbo i could swap in is from a pt cruiser, because srt-4's aren't for sale here! there's just one in austria in it still sits at the dealer ... for 29.580 € (equals $43785.00 USD)

and you wouldn't wanna swap another engine in your car here, unless it's a stockish engine. it's rediculous, they check everything here...
k&n air filter - not allowed because enhancing performance of the engine
aftermarket rims - you gotta have TÜV papers where your car is listed in them
same with body kits and the list goes on and on
but people do it anyways ;)

that's why my car isn't insured in austria anymore :)

[Aries_Turbo]

aaah gotcha. that sucks. i basically can do anything i want in a 95 and older vehicle. the 96+ has to pass a ECU scan test to ensure that there are no fault codes.

Brian

[Austrian Dodge]

sweet overseas LOL

[Austrian Dodge]

drove her a couple of miles yesterday...very smooth, it's like sitting on a couch :)
pressing the clutch and releasing it to drive the car makes an annoying noise...kinda like when you've got air in your power steering fluid. need to check that out soon.
do those cars already have an hydraulic clutch?

electrical antenna isn't working, i hear the motor doing it's work but the antenna stays in.

and i don't get washer fluid on my windshield, maybe just the hose blew off...i'll take a look on that that too..

that's like all, everything else seems fine!
I'll do an oilchange + change out all the filters on saturday and get the car ready for pics :)

[Big_P]

I'm surprised that there are no inspection stations where you are that would pass things for you. Are they really that tough? My car initially failed emissions, but passed with flying colors the second time when I gave the inspector a case of beer.

[Austrian Dodge]

well we have annual tech inspections, and you're able to pass those without problems...no questions about it.
but we also have a state tech inspections...they check vehicles randomly when they're 12 years and older, or when you get pulled over and police officers notice that you've obviously modified your car and don't have tüv papers for the parts.

which brings me to this: state tech inspections also checks modifications on your car, you have to go there with your aftermarket rims or whatever and have them check the papers and clearences then you're given an approval to have this part on your car legally!
if you don't have this and drive around with, lets say 18" wheels instead of stock 16" then you can get fined for this!

this is a fault!
we have "small" and "big faults", you get warnings for "small faults" and get fined for "big faults" (aftermarket parts which aren't approved by state tech inspections).
and there's so called "hazard" or "dangerousness" - i don't know how to translate those terms better - which applies when you're car is lower than 8cm above the ground (lower than 11cm is just a "big fault"), steering wheel with less than 32cm diameter, or really dangerous stuff - dripping brake fluid and kinda stuff like that.


i know it has to sound like gestapo for you guys, but there are still a lot of legally tuned cars here.
and of course it's always good to know somebody at those state tech inspections stations, or have car's that are really rare - like a TM! :)

[Aries_Turbo]

thats BS. i feel sorry for you guys.

Brian

[Vigo]

the noise you mentioned sounds like a throwout bearing. gotta pull trans for that one. part is fairly cheap but you may want to do the whole clutch while you're in there depending on what shape its in. clutch is still cable on those. same as a neon.

[Austrian Dodge]

i'll just get used to it for now and do it with the next clutch :)