The fead gasket blew 5 times already - but I knew of this problem on Spirit's from day 1, so it was expected.
Nothing that has been out of the ordinary for a car with this mileage.
I have not had any major problems with my Spirit which I have considered out of the ordinary. With over 340,000 kms, I consider things like mufflers, brakes, timing belts, PCV valves, TPS sensors, oxygen sensors, spark plugs, you name it - all ordinary maintenance items to fix and replace.
I would love to chat with other Spirit owners about their problems and possible fixes, as I have owned this car from day one and have gone through every "maintenance" item that arises out of normal wear.
There is slight rust on the car, so if anyone knows a good private individual in the Toronto, Canada area that could get this problem fixed for me over the weekend or something, please let me know asap!
integra252@yahoo.com
Just following up on my own posting. It is now a year later and she is still running.
Now have 360,000 kms!
Taking it in to repair some bad rust spots.
Posting another follow-up. It is now December 2003.. she's still running, and now at 380,000 kms.
Posting another follow-up. The car now has 406,000 kms, still running strong. Tune-up done, engine still purrs nice. Here's to hitting 500K!
Very nice man! I have a spirit also and just wanted to ask what is a PCV valve and is it crucial to the health of my spirit? Because every time I get an oil change at jiffy lube, they keep telling me to replace my PCV valve and fuel filter.
What is so important about that little tiny piece of metal anyway? (Spirit 2.5L 4 SOHC)
BTW Just hit 100,000 miles on it (dunno what that is in kilometers)
PCV valve is a fairly cheap item to replace, if you haven't had it changed in a while, it is worth going ahead and doing it.
This link has a decent explanation of what a PCV valve is: www.vccc.com/pcv_valve.htm.
A PCV valve at Canadian Tire (or any parts store) should be no more than $3 and easily replacable by yourself. It's important to have it changed regularly.
100K miles is about 162K kms. Not bad. I'm now at 427,000kms and rolling.
Adding another follow-up. Just passed 439,000 kms - still going. Her engine is starting to show signs of age (mostly taking a while to warm up, oil leaks), but nothing I can't fix. I still love my Spirit.
When did you do a timing belt change?
Wow, 439,000 km, that is awesome! I love seeing people who keep driving cars and take care of them like that.
The PCV valve stands for "Positive Crankcase Ventilation." It is a little spring-loaded valve, generally plastic nowadays, that sticks out of a rubber grommet in your valve cover, with a rubber tube that runs to the vacuum side of the intake manifold, usually in the carburetor base plate. It's just there to help burn off some of the fumes that come from the crankcase, rather than venting them directly into the atmosphere like old cars prior to the 1960's. When the PCV valve gets old, carbon builds up around it and can make it stick closed, which allows pressure to build up in your crankcase. That can increase oil smoking as oil vapor gets pushed past the rings or up the valve guides into the combustion chamber. The other guy is right, a PCV valve is just a few dollars and takes less than 90 seconds to change.
I'm the original poster... timing belt is done every 100K kms. The next one is coming up around 470,000kms. I'm now at 447,000kms and rolling. Have a bit of problems with the oil pan gasket, but it's getting fixed.
I have just bought a 1992 Spirit.. the transmission isn't shifting right going down the highway. I was told to check the speed sensor. Where the heck is that thing?
Original poster here again. The speed sensor tells the computer how fast the car is travelling. I've had it replaced (I believe) 3 times during the life of the car. My transmission usually jerks badly and the torque converter doesn't lock up under high speeds as it sends erroneous info. What exactly do you mean by not shifting right?
Hi there, new poster, 92 Dodge Spirit 3.0l V6, 145,000km on it. Great little car.
If the transmission is shifting hard, it could be that the linkage arm between the throttle and the transmission is sticking. Some lubrication is all that is needed to fix that. If you wait too long your transmission could die. I just had to replace mine because the radiator was shot, and the mechanic who I had look over the cooling system a few months ago thought it was not anything to worry about.
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