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Comments
1) Does the 'M have a stainless steel exhaust system?
2) How long should one wait before changing the original alternator?
3) How long should one wait before changing the original water pump?
4) Where is the water pump on the M?
5) How long should one wait before changing the original battery?
6) How long should one reasonably expect the catalytic converter to last?
7) How long should one wait before changing the oxygen sensors?
8) How many oxygen sensors are there on the 'M?
9) When is it prudent to change the wheel hub bearings?
10) When is it prudent to change the struts?
11) What is your secret tip for improving the car's long term performance (I have one anyway if no one else does)
On the long term maintenance questions, I can opine on a few of them. I have a first build year 99. Appraoching 57K miles. Don't think its has a stainless steel exhaust system but my exhaust guy said as he changed me over to duals last August that it was very high quality stuff down there. He hit the old stuff with his wrench and it was solid, and he even used part of it on the new set up. No original muffler failure in over 4.5 years. Change the alternator when it breaks. Change the water pump [according to Ottowrkr] when you have to change the timing belt and have that casing off the front of the engine anyway. I think that belt is considered good til around 100K miles. If it is still the original I would change the battery at 4.5 years or as the next winter is approaching. They have a tendency to quit with no warning rather than show weakened cranking power. No other answers to offer except the question on long term performance. If you got a good build, some didn't ala Christine and Beach's Christine II, be a fanatic about the 3K oil, lube and filter change, and wash her a minimum of twice a week with personal[you] or touchless car washes only. Do not use the brush or roller commercial wash stalls. Do the Razorstars twice a week with a small amount of mild dishwasher liquid in a bucket of water, and a soft sponge. Mine still look like new, with no road grime build up.
Pat please e-mail me, I need a favor from you.
what colours do you consider to be manly!!
Pster, I think we may have an identical problem with our A/C units. What is the function of the evaporator coil? Is it pricey to replace? Any info you could give I could give to my dealer to try to get it fixed; I have only about 3K left on my warranty for this stuff.
Sorry you're having another problem w/your car.
1) I see that you both disagree on whether the exhaust is SS. I'm not certain, but I side w/300michael and his mechanic that it isn't SS, because I've looked at many spec sheets and advertising brochures (varied years) for the 'M and never saw SS mentioned. Most manufacturers use it as a marketing point.
2) 300michael, I think you're wrong about there being 2 O2 sensors. There is an upstream one which threads into the outlet flange of the exhause manifold, the downstream one threads into the outlet pipe at the rear of the cat converter. But there are 2 catalytic converters on the 3.5 engine according to my manual , so there must be 2 downstream sensors. I'm not sure if there's one or two upstream ones, but in total there would seem to be 3 or 4. BTW, the O2 sensors are heated by an element (that's pretty advanced technology I think), and they keep tabs on when the CC is no longer working optimally; a diagnostic trouble code gets stored and the malfunciton indicator lamp illuminates.
3)Bigmike, I would go with 300s and Ottowrkrs suggestion to change the water pump when you change the timing belt at 100K, because the same disassembly is required.
4) As for the alternator, my strategy is that if it's still running after 5 years I just change it, along with the starter motor, at my convenience. This may waste a good part, but it saves me from having to deal with it whenever it might break down on its own.
Miscellaneous: If the battery just dies without warning, the manufacturer is wasting their time with the green-eye that you're supposed to check. My eye is deep green on a 4 year old battery, I would hope it would start changing color slowly, otherwise what good is it?
My tip for long-term performance is as follows: At some point I like to apply GM top head cleaner into the air induction of the system; it's a fun thing to do as it blows heavy white smoke out of the engine for about 10-15 minutes while the carbon burns off the cylinder heads. Don't do it while the neighbors are having a picnic--there's a lot of heavy smoke! Carbon hot spots rob the engine of power, so I think this is a great thing to do for your engine. At least my last 2 engines were purring smoothly when I sold the cars at about 160 K miles. I applied it to each car at about 100K miles, but I have a friend who does it about every 30K as he feels it helps the power significantly.
I just replaced the O2 sensor in my '90 Ranger (208k miles) for the first time. It failed the low speed NOx gas emmission test. That cost me about $70. It only uses a single O2 sensor.
I keep my engines from getting constipated from carbon build up buy giving the accelerator an occasional kick in the pants while entering the freeway on ramp:)
I may have misled you on the prices for the O2 sensors. What I bought for less than $25 was for a GM 3.3 liter 6 cylinder that they were putting in the Buicks in the early 90s. I bought these at Strauss Discount Auto; a chain of about 100 stores in the NorthEast that does have very low prices at times. I just checked their website, but they don't give prices. I just buy them and my local garage will put them on for me; I know some garages won't work this way.
I have way too much time on my hands tonight; I just found a website called www.oxygensensors.com . If you drill down by entering 1999, then chrysler, you'll find the 300M sensors you mentioned priced at $52.99 for the OEM type and $49.95 for the Universal type, but these are by Walker. I also found a website www.RockAuto.com which will sell them to you over the net for about $59 each, I think shiipping is free. When I replace mine I will look for the Bosch ones on sale; Bosch is quite leading edge in some of their parts such as spark plugs, etc.
Also I remember that my 300M used to blow vapor from AC vents toward the end of the lease, and then the AC ran out of refrigerant.
The lower grades typically used in exhaust systems will attract a magnet, but at a lower force than regular steel.
When You mentioned O2 sensors I was thinking of the two near the cats only. sorry.
Also asked if they had their 2 Pacificas out yet. They had the red one in the showroom, and had already sold the silver one. I took a seat in the cabin and it seemed pretty spacious and nice, but I never sat in an SUV before so it would be hard to compare the cabins. They also had an 04[? not sure on the year] M on the floor with a metallic lava red [?] color. Very dark, almost maroon/black it seemed to me. Would liked to have seen that car in the sun. An interesting color. Said it was a demo on the windshield and $5K off the sticker. Didn't check the mileage.
Bluesky-Humid air at a certain temp usually doesn't feel nearly as cold as dry air at the same low temp. I never get cold in the winter when it's rainy but if it's bone dry at the same temp, I freeze!
Lonestar-My dealer replaced my bolts last week. The recall notice online says it only takes a few minutes. My guess si that it's the bolts that attach the seatback to the base. I need to look at my service manual and see if they are shown in a seat diagram.
To clarifiy, the CTS-V is using a slightly detuned version of the Vette LS6 used in the Z06. OHV, two valves per - same as the Hemi - not the OHC Northstar V8. The Vette boys weren't happy sharing and the only consolation they got was a 5hp reduction from their version.
Doesn't really matter though, all reciprocating engines share pistons, valves, and crankshafts working pretty much the same way so all comparisons are totally fair. How well the engineers sort out the breathing and flexibility is what determines the engines merits.
To answer the question of where does the market go after SUV's the likely direction is towards small run, niche vehicle, appealing to smaller market groups.
That requires the ability to do strongly differentiated cars on the same platform economically. If DC does an anti-300C (styling wise) based on the LX than perhaps they may beat the odds. They are doing 7 variants vs 3 for the LH so perhaps the anti-300C may surface.
And Japanese car sales (Honda/Toyota/Nissan) are holding their own nicely - no incentives, that I've seen, so far.
The sunroof lowers the headliner 1½" so try one without.
In my case, took my early build (4/98) '99 LHS into the 5* yesterday AM. The car was inspected and pronounced that no bolt problem existed and was sent merrily on my way.
It appears that the bolts in question are those which hold the seat back to the seat structure. They are very sturdy, about 1/4" hex recessed. They can be accessed by tilting up the back of the seat. There are 4 bolts, two on each back.
I would imagine that any owner could do this job if he had the suitable size hex wrench and IF DC would issue the bolts to him. But why bother? The fix/inspection is free, takes about a half hour and I doubt if DC would certify the fix/inspection if they didn't do the job.
Due to the bolt location, just under the rear of each seat fascia, no messing with the upholstery is done and the car was left perfectly clean.
I did read article where one owner was complaining a wind noise on front doors and also highway noise on top speeds. Have Chrysler adresed these problem and if so how quiet is the car, can we compare it to Lincoln or a another car on same price clas, and what about the ride without stiff suspension? Anybody? Dose 300M and Intrepid share the same body, same measurements etc.?
Now, here's the difference between Intrepid and 300M. Otto's right. If you look up the interior specs in the literature, head room as measured in the bodies of the cars is exactly the same. The difference is the seats. Intrepid has much more foam in the seat bottom and its firmer. You tend to ride on top of it. I really wanted a sunroof and my head was jammed in the headliner in Intrepid with one. I fit fine in the M with sunroof. Check the I and the M out side by side and you'll see what I mean. The M's seat is softer, wider and shaped so that you sink down into it. There is at least 2" more headroom in the M due to the seat cushion.
Another reason that the M might offer more headroom than an Intrepid is the height adjustment on the M's power seats. The seats will move up or down a pretty good distance (probably over an inch).
Lynn Flowers
McKinney, Texas
I owned a Lincoln MarkVIII and I found the Lincoln to have a much quieter interior. But all the other attributes such as roominess, interior layout, overall style, decent handling, and eye-popping style sold me on the M. Still enjoy driving mine after over 50K miles. And except for some minor mechanical issues, it has proven to be pretty dependable.
You will find the M to be a very comfortable vehicle on long drives, especially for someone as tall as you.
Regards, Bill
enthusiasts board, too.
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