Chrysler 300M

ajpiii

I have the H&R Sport Springs, and now have the vibrations they were referring to Its during hard accelerations, you can feel it comming right from the front end... Kinda Scarey in fact...

Its not the Badyears either(99 Non-PHP Car), I put on some 245/45ZR-17 Bridgestone Potenza RE730's (which are great), had no vibrations, then added the springs and got the vibrations...

What I want to know is will this cause serious damage ? I really like the lowered look, and the better cornering...

grunschev

How much do your springs lower the car? The Eibach Pro-kit lowers the car 1.2". The So-Cal shop cut their own springs and lowered the car something like 2" front, 3" rear.

I'm with you -- the handling is much improved and I don't want to go back. The looks are a nice side-effect, too, particularly with the 18" wheels. Since I'm not having any problems I'm not going back to stock.

Igor

dthobart

During a small snow storm a couple of weeks back, I was forced to drive between 55 and 65 (my wife was following in her car and refused to go any faster) from the Portland, ME area all the way to Waterbury, CT and the M got 28!!!! MPG.... I had gone about 250 miles and the trip computer showed just under 200 miles to go!!! I normally travel around 70-80 MPH, and get 22-24.5 MPG, so those 15 MPH do quite a bit... or I had a tailwind the whole way. This was with 87 octane - I can't justify paying up to $.10 more/gallon for 2 octane, or $.20 more for 4, the benefits do not outweigh the costs...

Anyhow, I have owned my 2000 300M for 1 year (in a few weeks) and have about 27,500 miles on her - 28,000 by the weekend. I need to bring her into my new dealer in southern Maine - just moved to Maine from CT, thank God... Sorry to you CT folks... I have the, now infamous, shrinking weatherstripping problem (I actually noticed it a few months back, but have been putting off sending it to the garage) as well as the clicking driver's side window - as mentioned by easyrider300m a few hundred posts ago - and figured I'd get both things fixed at the same time. The window is starting to make me nervous, I haven't gotten the transpass yet for the Maine Turnpike, so I'm continuously rolling my windows up and down, and I fear that they will not work one of these days, as the sound is getting louder and more ominous...

Other than those new problems, I don't have any of the creaking issues, even though the northeast in the winter/spring is not very kind to cars. I rotate my tires every other oil change (done every 4000-5500 miles) and haven't had any of the pulling or vibration problems noted by other goodyear users.

We are moving into a new house, with a garage, so I'll finally be able to reap the rewards of my Zaino (once it warms up a bit - although this week has been nice). Too bad my driveway is gravel....

Anyhow, time to hit the road... Still love M after all these miles.

bigmike5

Fuzzywuzzy-- Checked the book again and found out I was only half wrong on the radiator change for the 99M. The owner's book said 3/36K. I went at 2/24K. But they must have decided to use 5/100K stuff when they finally got to production. All the new M books probably say 5/100K, I don't know since I haven't read one. On the transmission fluid, the 99 book also said use AFT-3, which my dealer did. Don't know when they started AFT-4 or if it would hurt to use 4 in a 3 or 3 in a 4 car. I intend to stick with 3 since the book said to use that in the 99.

All-- Got the chrome to grey tint yesterday. Bottom 1/3 is chrome fading to grey as it goes up the window. It really looks super with platinum. If I can avoid a citation for this kind of tint, and get some pics of it I will try to post them.

ajpiii

The H&R Springs Lower the car 1.4" Front and 1.3" Rear... In Addition the new tires (245ZR-17) have about a 0.5" lower profile than the stock Badyears resulting in around 1.9" & 1.8" difference from stock... Maybe the original tires would correct the problem ?

fuzzywuzzy

Did you install the kit, or have a shop do it. Also do you have some pics of the before/after results. I would really like to see how much different the ride height is. I have been afriad to do this since I will be driving on pot hole ridden streets. I did have the Ebach kit but returned it unsed. Also how harsh did the ride become?

ajpiii

I had a shop do it... It was on the list of recommended shops on the tirerack webpage (where I bought them)

There is quite a large difference in stance with this combination as compared to a stock M... However, it really doesnt look like it until you put a stock M next to it...

The ride definately isnt as smooth as before, and when driving on streets in need of repair I often think of putting the originals back on... But, since most of the time Im on the highway, and not on bad streets its definately livable...

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post em so you can see what it looks like now... I dont really have too many pics of the before...

These are the only pics I have of it stock...

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1507958&a=11387283&f=0

silverbullet4

My 2k has the following info in the owner's manual. In a box in bold type on page 176:

CAUTION!

Using a transmission fluid other than ATF+4 may cause deterioration in transmission shift quality and/or torque converter shudder. Using a transmission fluid other than ATF+4 will result in more frequent fluid and filter changes.

Recommended Maintenance Schedule "B" calls for Fluid and Filter change every 48,000 miles.

Coolant Info: Page 170 "Use only a high quality ethylene glycol base antifreeze coolant with an organic additive technology. Mopar ANTIFREEZE/COOLANT 5 Year/100,000 Mile Formula is such...."

On the top of the overflow can in the engine compartment is says to use only distilled water. The manual says to maintain at least a 50% Ethylene Glycol mixture with "high quality water" (Perrier? Deja Blue? Ozarka?) LOL

My Tranny fluid at 12,100 i. is still red color. It is a year old. What is the opinion of this board about the advisability of changing the fluid/filter at this time? I'll be getting a five wheel rotation and oil change, plus any TSB work I think they might spring for.

Regards, Silver

fuzzywuzzy

Well I got my car back. No serious damange. 2 bad sensors. The MAP & Input speed sensor. They were replaced. The map showed a low voltage reading, & the speed sensor was just dead. They also did a tranny relearn. All seems good. The car is alot more responsive, now, & isn't so eager to stay in the next higher gear. Before when I was slowing down to a light, the tranny would still be in 3rd gear even though i was only going 10-15mph. Now it seems right. I will have to do some more testing with the Jet module now. These 2 sensors could have been the reason why my numbers were messed up. They also alighned the hood, And replaced the keyless entry antenna, & reprogrammed the remotes. I was also told that there is no way to programm the little features the 01 model has into a 00 computer. The 00 computer has no provisions for upgrades like that, I could replace the 00 computer with 1 from a 01, but it would void the warranty. Or so I was told.

fuzzywuzzy

For anyone who has added this on a LHS, or 300M, Please let me know what kind of problems it seems to cause. I have heard it works fine, & also have heard it creates electrical problems. Would like to get details. I can be emailed if you want.
thanks

bad2krt

i have a 2000 intrepid R/T and i had a noise coming from my passenger side rear. it was a very annoying squeak. I dont know if your noise is the same or not. It started after the car had been driven 10 or so miles. The longer it was driven the worse it got until all you had to do was touch the rear of the car to hear it. Anyway i took it to the dealer and they lubed the strut. @ weeks later the noise came back. They "more aggresively" lubed the strut and said if it happens again they will replace it. if you have the same noise hope this helps.

sdmike2

I was driving Big Red yesterday and noticed an annoying dash rattle coming from over on the passenger side every time I hit road vibration. This big wave of dispair came over me remembering the posts of Beach15 and a few others. After some poking and proding I realized that it was my....SUNGLASSES! Jeez!

Still happily driving (although getting 16mpg so far)..

Mike

sdmike2

I just picked up the 2001 Mopar accessory book from the dealer and there is some interesting stuff in there. Has anyone installed the 300M splash guards? Very practical, but I'm wondering how they look. Also, I know someone here wrapped their wooded steering wheel and had a link to the leather wrap provider. Can you post that again? Yesterday I about burned my hands off on the wooded part of the wheel. That's sunny San Diego for ya.

fuzzywuzzy

I had the 300M logo splash guards on my 300M. I did not like them. The were too long in the back, & scraped the ground on deep driveways. I bought the molded ones, had then painted, & been happy. I bought a wheelskinz leather steering wheel cover. But is was for the regular wheel. Mine was wearing fast. I wanted to cover it.

http://www.wheelskins.com/

300michael

fuzzywuzzy, glad to hear it was nothing serious about the transmission. I will wait (nail biting) for the new jet/stock comparison numbers. I may try out the electric supercharger if jet can not shave off at least 2 tenths of a second (I still want a 7 second M). I have ordered two different air filters to experiment with. My first problem with the car has come up. While driving hard, I noticed my M's tach went to about 6200rpms (which I liked) but I heard a thud from the bottom rear area (which I didn't like) and now I am getting that resonance at between 1700 to 1900 rpms. I will take it in sometime next week to have the exhaust system checked out. I am only going to do mods that I can revert back to stock (exhaust for exhaust) like what I am starting to hear about the 02's.

sdmike, get a window shade for you M, not a wheel cover, that would cover the great looking wood.

ionosphere

Called dealership with info about service manuals and the TSB from the allpar site. They called me back about 3 hours later and said that ATF +3 would not hurt the tranny, but to be on the safe side come in and we will replace with ATF +4. Did that this morning. The flush uses 4 gallons, the ATF+3 was 12.50 per gallon, +4 is 34.50 per. This was a no cost to me, change. Seems like a lot of fluid for a flush, but I do not know what the entire trans system holds. Is it more that 4 quarts? The normal cost on this is 39.95 for the cleaner, 4 gallons at 34.50 per and an hour of labor, at full cost about $250.00 seems a lot for a tranny flush. I paid $130.00, that was for the ATF+3. Does anyone know of a company that makes polyurethane bushing for the LH cars?

Thanks for the info.

rogor2k

The special membership dues promotion for the Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club ( http://www.300mclub.org ) runs out in a few days; April 16th to be exact.

The first thing that Club membership will do for you is to save you 10% on all your parts and service needs at your Chrysler dealer. All you have to do is join the club, print out our Dealer Invitation letter, take it to your Service Manager, get them to sign it and send it to me, and YOU'RE IN!


The dealers are SERIOUSLY happy to do this. We haven't had any Dealers turn us down yet. I have four local dealers and I have them ALL signed up for the Member Discount program. If I can get four dealers, surely everyone can get just one. The dealers get a link on our web site, they potentially get new business and happy customers. Everybody wins!


Check out the web site at http://www.300mclub.org. We're already planning our first Club event, the M MONTEREY RENDEZVOUS, in Monterey, CA in August. We're not just an "Internet Club" any more. We're going to meet with our fellow owner/enthusiasts, attend some car races (the Rolex Monterey Historic Auto Races), and celebrate our M-ness together (M-ness is a fanatical devotion to the 300M).


Join the Club now and save $5 bucks on your dues. Join us in Monterey in August. This will be the first ever 300M Enthusiasts get together. We want to show the boys at Chrysler that this car has a serious following.


Yours 300Mly,


Roger Waters, President
Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club.

rogor2k

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=934019&a=7113867&p=24084723&f=0


I have them on my Deep Slate and have been very happy with them, but color matching was not a problem for me. I don't know how they would look either painted or unpainted on Inferno Red.

thill381

I am looking for a wood trim kit for my 00'. I saw a car on the internet from europe that had the entire clock/vent pod that was covered by wood. I am wondering if any one knows where this is available.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks

ottowrkr

Who ever told you that you can change the body controller is WRONG. The 01 body controller has four extra electrical connections that go into it that the 00 does not have . So it will not work. .........Otto.

race9fan

so that jetchip screwed your m up huh??? oh well someone had to be the guinnea pig.

Race

ezaircon4jc

Mike, if you remember I, too, live in San Diego. I wish that I was in your part. I haven't seen the sun since last Saturday! I feel like I live in Seattle! Sooooooo, how 'bout that "run" on the 78 between Julian and Borrego? ;~)

rogor2k

I DO live in Seattle and we're in the middle of the worst drought in decades. Wanna trade some rain for some sun??

ezaircon4jc

Your state or mine (don't forget we have very little, high priced electricity!)?

rogor2k

Here's a kit from Autodash.com that might be what you're looking for. It covers ALL the existing faux wood trim pieces and comes in a nice English Burl finish. 99_300m_ric_va just installed this and it looks awesome.


http://www.autodash.com/details.lasso?sn=2328&pn=ch-300mc00ca

300mlover

Not sure if anyone remembers, but when I first joined this forum I was looking for info on this subject. Last summer I had my M in for this issue 2 times. Balanced and rotated both times. After the vibration returned the third time I called Goodyear to see what they could do for me. They were more than happy to help me out, but by the time I decided to call I had switched to my winter tires and rims. Perelli Winter Ice on steel wheels. So Goodyear took down my mileage and tire depths 7k and between 4-6/16 per tire. Very fast wear. Goodyear asked me to call them back after I switched back to the stock stuff and they would work things out with me. Well, today I spent 3 hours at the dealer getting various TSB's done and they fixed the growling from the belt and window motor regulator, but no luck with the vibration. So off to the a Local Goodyear dealer I went. Called Goodyear Corp. while there and had four new LS's installed and balanced with the GSP 9700 from Hunter. Total cost to me $173.00. And three hours!! I felt this was fair (the money) since I am hard on my tires. I could't believe the amount of weights they put on my wheels. On the outside of three rims I have about 4oz of weights. and on the inside I have one wheel with about 6 1/2oz's. I feel this is way too much weight needed to correct a balance issue. Not even factoring in how ugly it looks. Oh well I only have to drive about 1k before it comes back. So we will see. Sorry about the long post!

sdmike2

Roger - thanks for the pic of the flaps. I agree...not sure how those would look on Big Red. I'm considering a hood bra (not the full frontal), which I think would look pretty nice black on red.

ezaircon4jc - I forgot that you're down here! I've only had the car for a few days so I haven't taken her out anywhere "fun" yet except Del Dios Hwy around Lake Hodges. I'm going on a bike trip out in east county next weekend where there are plenty of 2 lane winding desert roads to run on. Where did you get your M? I got mine at Midway down in Mission Valley. I took great joy in driving into Rancho in Clairemont the other day to pick up an accessory catalog in the parts department. They were the ones that tried to jerk me around about the car. The sales person that I was working with there was standing in the driveway when I slowly drove by on my way to the back. The look on his face....priceless!

fuzzy - That's the information I was looking for...wheelskins. Thanks for the link.

Oh, you guys are either going to love this or think it's twisted. My cell carrier (GTE) was sold to ATT cellular, and as a result we had to trade in equipment (they use a different band) for a free swap. The phone they gave me is a tiny little Nokia number that comes in three colors...gray, blue, and an exact match for Inferno Red! Guess which one I got. I'm in trouble if I ever leave the phone sitting on the car. I'll never find it.

sdmike2

Here is another trim place that has been posted here several times:

www.woodtrim.com

sdmike2

All -
How much does the M's gas mileage improve once the engine loosens up. I got 15+mpg driving about 50/50 highway/local...and not driving it very hard at all. I'd be happy with numbers in the 20s like I've seen, but 250 miles on a tankfull is pretty pathetic

bigmike5

My 99M started out at about 18.5 mpg and now almost 3 years and 28K miles has stayed steady at 20 mpg on 87 octane in mixed city and highway driving [12 miles to work]. I have gradually made it up to 25 mpg on straight highway driving, though I haven't run it more than 140 miles each way on a round trip in quite a while. I think you will end up about 20mpg in a relatively short time, and the improvement in highway mileage to 25+ will take a little longer, maybe 2-3K.

fuzzywuzzy

Now race lets not blame the Jet module. That had nothing to do with it. I seem to remember other's having bad speed sensors that cause thier 300M to do the same thing. My dealer never questioned what the little box was, or what the wires spliced into the TPS were. I also called JetChip & and they told me the unit would not function if it was the cause of a problem.

fuzzywuzzy

Do not waste your money. That thing is garbage. I also belong to a truck board, & some of them tried it out, & it did nothing. Read 0% no HP increase. Some are talking about a lawsuit against that company.

fuzzywuzzy

That's right! I saw one this morning. Pulled someone over. FL Turnpike. It was a black Intrepid, with real dark windows, & all the police flashing lights. Including a big blue light on the dash. It might have been a officers personal car with the addition of the police lights, or might have been an undercover car. It was the first one I ever saw.

race9fan

didn't you splice into the map sensor too??? i'm blaming the jet chip, why not? it's not like jet tested the car as much as you have in the last month...i just wouldn't rule it out that's all. only time will tell.

Race

race9fan

they do the same thing here, you know they always say we got that car from a drug bust. well my city found out that they get the money from the drug busts, and instead of buying 2 crown vics or giving out bonuses to the officers they buy one pt cruiser, and say, "oh the kiddies just love the cars, and it helps reinforce that we are their friends" yadda yadda yadda!!! lets see them catch me in that milk truck ))

Race

sdmike2

Race -
A guy here locally has removed (illegally?) the front bumper off his PT to expose that giant grill. It's a real head turner for sure. Another has done an incredible airbrush job on his. What kills me is that when I bought my M, the PT sitting near it was THE SAME PRICE! The dealer also claims to have the cheapest Ms in Southern CA...with ONLY a $10,000 dealer mark-up. We both had a good laugh over the thought that someone would pay the same amount for a PT as I did for a fully loaded M. I think they call that disease Miataitis

fuzzywuzzy

yes, it's part of the install. It's not really a splice as in take the wire and splice it to the other. More of like cut the wire, put connectors on both ends, plug them together, resulting in a third connection for the jet module wire. It's very tight, & weather proof. Just in case I have all connections wraped in electrical tape. Hey it could have been. It could also be my many trips into 3 digit range

dustinnewton

sdmike-I drive about 50/50 not particularly hard, but regularly near triple digit speeds on the highway part of the time and I get anywhere from 17-19.whatever. The local part is a bit hilly too. I run 89 octane exclusively and am very happy with the numbers. With a V-6 in a two ton car that is so much fun to drive hard, I'm surprised that my numbers are even that high. BTW-if it makes a difference in the whole mileage equation, I run Pennzoil synthetic oil exclusively and have from day one.
Intrepid cop car- A lot of the towns in Alabama use confiscated autos as police cruisers apart from the D.A.R.E. (say no to drugs program) that keeps the flashy ones like Race mentioned. The town I live in has 2 Jeep cruisers that were confiscated in a drug bust a few years ago. If it's useful, they keep it, if not, they auction it and use the money for guns, vests, raises, cruisers, etc.

bobhex40

If there is a HP boost, I'm thinking of getting one.

ezaircon4jc

I bought the Lincoln LS. Nothing against the M. I think it is a BEAUTIFUL piece of art. Not a bad looking car, either ;~). I was just kinda tired of FWD after 18 years. My Sable does OK, but the handling is NO match for my LS. Once I drove the LS I was hooked! We drove up to Julian a couple of weeks ago, when the sun was actually visible. Wifey advised me that unless I wanted a big mess all over my pretty new car, I had better slow down .
Enjoy your new ride and I hope to see you around town.
Mike

jedi_knight

My box of springs showed up yesterday so I was busy making calls to get the install and alignment done. Found a local shop who would/could do it, dropped it off this morning and right after I get home, they call.....Um Keith, yes? We can't seem to get to the rear struts, do you know how to get to them......well thats just confidence inspiring now isn't it?

If I recall it only requires the removal of the rear deck (speaker) cover and then you have access to the bolts. Right or wrong?

Keith

sdmike2

At least they asked instead of trying to create a path to the struts with a power saw.

dustinnewton

2002 300M-Go here:

http://www.car-truck.com/chryed/buzz/b032901.htm

and then scroll down about 1/3 of the way to get some additional info on the 300M hot rod! (Thanks to Roger for this link)

Jedi-I may have overlooked them, but in the 4 or so times I had my rear seat and deck cover assemblies out, I don't remember seeing the bolts there. I don't have my service manual handy, but if no one responds with the location before I get home, I'll look it up for you and post it. Someone here should have a manual handy though and can probably tell you before then.

sdmike2

WHen I have questions like that I usually call the 5* service manager. They've been very helpful on the phone for this type of thing. I'm not sure why the shop didn't just call the dealer. It's not like they're keeping the location a secret.

sdmike2

I love the way that guy tells the story about the modified M (ground shaking). The thought of a 300hp dual exhaust 300M makes me want to take Big Red back to the dealer and wait this one out.

sdmike2

If you do a search on 300M on eBay you'll uncover some interesting items, including:

Logo Desk Box
300M jacket
300M lapel pin
Key Ring
Wooden dash kit
Factory transmission diagnostic manual (175 pages!)
K&N Air Filter
Full set of Chrome Wheels and Tires

fuzzywuzzy

It is not that hard. The rear seat comes out, The rear seat back, the rear side moldings, The rear seat belts, then the the rear deck. This will give them access to the rear top strut bolts. If you want I can email you the full procedure, from the manual, but it would be this weekend, since I do not have it with me. If I ever get mine done, I will remove all of it my self, & then give it to the shop to install just the springs. If they asked a question like that, I would look for another shop that has some more experience installing lowering kits on cars. On the 300M, & some more complex cars/truck, it's alot more then just taking out the stock struts, & replacing the springs, with the lowered ones. As with the 300M, you need to know how to take them out. If you are commited to this shop(ie-they did the front already) You could try & find a manual from the dealer, or a hayes/chiltion manual in a auto store. This should give them the knowlege to do it.

fuzzywuzzy

Yes, I'm a ebayer. I bought a few things for the 300M on there.

300michael

bobhex40, you and me both. I have read the car-truck news. Will wait and see. Should hold me until the "N" comes out.

Jedi, does't the shop have a computer to access the information for strut removel????? I am with fuzzy, on this. Remove most of the interior your self.

jedi_knight

I went to the news stand and picked up a Mopar Today magazine which has an article on the LH lowering. Went to the shop, gave them pictures (good thing that are not in IT) and then removed the side molding myself and got to working on the rear cargo cover. The super came out, said they had called another shop and figured out how to do it. Gads I hope so!

Guess I'll see the results this after noon. Only reason I went to this shop is they specialize in lowering and there was not another shop in town that wanted to touch a lowering job!

Keith