So after sitting at the shop for over a week, they finally looked over the Intrepid. For those of you who don't know, it's been parked in the driveway since late November, when on our way home we could hear the timing chains contacting things they shouldn't because they were so loose. So it rested quietly for the winter, besides when I went out to start it, until I could get it fixed.
I got a call around 2 telling me to come down to the shop. What they showed me was that the oil was milky...which meant that the headgasket had failed. How long ago it failed I'm not sure, but odds are it's been long enough to do damage. This, coupled with the fact that it needs timing chains, and burns some oil, is the final nail in the coffin.
I'm saddened very disheartened, as I'm less than 4,000 miles away from 200,000 original miles. It seems even more....unfair, if you will, that it has to end this way when the engine runs like it has 10,000 miles on it...it runs so well that several of the shop people asked why the car was being worked on in the first place.
I suppose the term ticking time bomb applies here then. You'd never know it by listening, but as is, the engine is very close to death....which sucks. Add one more 2.7 to the list. If nothing else at least it made it to almost 200,000 miles. Many cars never even get that far. It still sucks though.
So what's next? Tomorrow they put the "new" front tires on it, and give it a Rejection sticker. It has to be driven around again before it can pass inspection. I'll probably just drive it around locally and hope nothing happens.
Despite this setback, I'm undeterred. In fact, this made deciding what to do with the car much easier. I had always planned, since the day I bought it, that if the engine ever went, I would swap it out for one of the bigger, better engines. So tomorrow the hunt begins for a used 3.2L. I wouldn't mind a 3.5 but the 3.2 is a nice compromise. It makes less power than the 3.5 but more than the 2.7, it doesn't have any of the issues the 2.7's do, its computer will give my transmission better gear ratios, and the fuel economy penalty is minimal. Best of all, it costs less than a 2.7.
This also plays in my favor because I need a new compressor for my car anyway. Swapping engines means I'll end up with compressor for the 3.2, fixing that problem.
So now the hunt begins for a 3.2 complete engine drop. Wish me luck on finding a nice, low miles one.
As the journey of this car's life draws to a close, it shall be reborn stronger, faster, better than it ever was.