Intrepid 2.7 Liter Thermostat Housing

I have a '99 Intrepid with a 2.7 liter engine that has a thermostat
housing cover that has a slight leak around the air bleeder vent. The
housing cover is made of a molded "plastic" and it seems that the leak
is occurring between the plastic and the brass vent.
Does anyone know, is this a common 2.7 liter problem and is there an
easy fix to this rather than spending the $135 that the dealer wants
for the new cover?
Thanks for the help.

 

If you mean the plastic housing with the Bleed valve about centre top at the
front of the engine, that is not the thermostat housing according to my
Chilton Manual. The thermostat is situated on the lower part of the engine
drivers side.
I have had leakage in that area for a couple of years, the bleed valve just
rotates in its housing! I was going to remove the housing but its a bit
difficult without removing the plenum, so I added some radiator stop leak
and that seems to have succeeded.,

 

Don't use stop leak to repair this, it will just cause problems down the
road. It isn't a common problem but I do see it on some vehicles, if the
dealer is just gonna charge you $135 I would jump on it.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

The $135 is just to buy the part! To remove the 4 bolts and replace the
piece............. I can only imagine they will charge at least 1.5
hours @ $90/hr!...........This is why I'm trying to fix it.

 

It is a *very* common problem on the 2.7L. And, as others said, that is
not the thermostat housing - it is called the outlet housing.

If someone is quoting you $135 just for the part, you are being heavily
gouged. Maybe that is parts and labor? Has to be. It is a little
difficult to replace, as the intake plenum has to be partially removed
just to get two of the four screws out that hold it to the block.

The part comes in two forms:
(1) Just the housing - lists for $63.25 - you should be able to find it
for $52 at discount dealers.
(2) The housing plus the tube that connects to it and runs under the
intake plenum to the heater core - lists for $84 - should be able to
find for $69.

You just need the housing (1) - that's the part that fails - the metal
insert comes loose from the plastic of the housing. Also, the o-ring
between the tube and the housing should be replaced at the same time
(should be a $5 part).

Mine seeped coolant for 2-1/2 years before I finally replaced it. It
may never have gotten worse - more of a nuisance. The leak was so small
that I never had to add coolant in the whole 2-1/2 years. Others have
had the insert twist out completely - especially if shops mess with the
bleeder - must be the same shops that like to strip the threads out of
the oil pan drain hole. If that happens, then you have an emergency
repair on your hands - you have no choice but to replace the housing
before the car can be used again.

If you are the only one that works on your car and are likely the only
one to mess with the bleeder and treat it gently when opening/closing,
it will probably be OK. But you never know...

Oh - guess what - the new one I replaced it with seeps coolant - again -
not enough that I have to add coolant - just keeps dried coolant residue
around the bleeder insert.

If it were me, if it is not an active drip or leak and is only seeping
trace amounts, I would leave it alone. You will be spending money and
will likely not get an improvement. However, if you are seeing actual
large drops of water, perhaps you should replace it.

The parts guy at one dealer told me that he has seen brand new ones
twist out right out of the box - and he warned me that if I bought a new
one from him and it did that, that he would not replace it or refund my
money. Nice system, eh? I just love modern business.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Find another dealer. See my other post. Part (#4663723AF) is under $85
list - and that's with the tube that you don't need. Part without tube
(#4792329) lists for $64. Those are list prices - you can find for $52
from discount dealers.

There is some labor involved - it's *not* a simple matter of removing
the four bolts - the intake plenum essentially has to be removed (at
least enough to raise it an inch or two). Don't fool yourself into
thinking you can get the back two bolts out without raising the plenum -
I though I could with special twisty wrenches, etc. No way around it -
the plenum has to be raised.

If you do it, you probably ought to get a set of plenum gaskets - not
too expensive, and it will ensure that you don't end up with an intake
leak, which can and does happen if the old gaskets are re-used.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Is it possible to drill out the bleeder and replace it with a standard
plastic NPT pipe plug from the hardware store? The plug plus teflon
tape should be usable for a bleed, assuming there's enough material
there to be able to tap in pipe threads. Just curious, as I don't have
one of those engines.

Ted