Head gasket blew - poof! The End.
This car was purchased brand new by my father-in-law in 1991. He took meticulous care of it, and kept records of every single thing he did. Around 70k miles, he had the radiator replaced, then he gave it to me.
I drove it for less than a year when the temperature gauge started reading high every time I drove it. It would go ALL the way to hot, then a few minutes after driving, drop down to normal. After a few weeks of this, I had it diagnosed and was told the head gasket was cracked.
Apparently this is a common problem with these cars... the mechanic said it's a main reason why Chrysler stopped production of it. Oh well, it's a free car I had for a year...
Yup, the head gaskets were a weak point on these cars. Don't know if it was the reason why Chrysler stopped selling the 2.2/2.5 though. A head gasket can be changed by someone who knows what they're doing in a little over an hour, but it's better to take longer.
I have had several of these cars from chrysler that had the 2.5 four cyl engine and found them to be very reliable. I have had the temperature gauge go up and down on some of the cars, but never had a gasket blow. Most of them went for more than 200,000 miles with little trouble.
Many times.. temp gauge will go up... because its HOT... and you should check the coolant level and or thermostat for proper operation. When it does the ABOVE... AND the gauge starts to read LESS... its probably also that the coolant is TOO low and therefor your temp sensor cannot read steam vapor... only it can read sold water/coolant. When you continue to do this you are COOKING the engine. The end result is your head gasket gets blown. ALWAYS check for the mickey mouse things that can cause the MAJOR headaches and bills. Many times all these things can be avoided with a little checking of your basic fluids as per instructed in your owners manual.
It is odd how the problems started shortly after replacing the radiator. One scenario might be that after the radiator was replaced, the cooling system was never completely filled (filled up the radiator, but didn't bother to wait for the thermostat to open to draw in coolant so the rest could be filled up) and then the subsequent owner never bothered to check the level on the plastic overflow bottle that says "Coolant level HERE when hot". Or perhaps the thermostat was sticking and should have been replaced at the time of the radiator. Either way, as the previous respondent states, a high temperature reading from your gauge is telling you that you need to do something. I get a kick out of some of these reviews, i.e.: "This car was total junk! The temperature gauge never worked, and I drove it for 3 years with the needle pegged above H. Then the stupid engine blew up! I will never buy another Ford/Dodge/Chevy!"
My wife had one that we used for a while, the model with the 3 litre engine... it was her Grandfathers car from new... when he passed away, we bought it. Rad had already been replaced... we replaced the belt tensioner... upgraded the A/C to r134, replaced the shocks, exhaust, wiper motor, and the usual steering parts. Car had 126000 kilometers on it (about 75000 miles) when the Transmission gave out. We had it rebuilt / gave out again at 131000 kilometers / replaced it this time. Gave out again... we are selling the car now... as is. But I must admit, the 3 litre engine was good and it was cheap to run. It was not a "comfortable" car, but it was adequate. The body was easy to maintain as long as it was rust proofed... I have seen many that were not, and rusting in the rockers and fender & quarter tops was quite prominent. I was told by the local Chrysler dealer that the 3 Litre engine models had a habit of blowing transmissions. It was not the engines fault... it was a weak transmission for that engine. But otherwise... if the transmission had not been an issue, we would have kept the car as our daily driver and just used our SUV on days off. I looked at it as a no loose situation... the car was running / it was cheap / it wasn't worth anyone stealing it / and if it was hit... is was solid enough to protect and wasn't worth anything... so no loss. I just wish the transmission wasn't an issue.
Yep, the headgasket blew and took out the head at 156k miles on my '92 Acclaim. It just happens with the 2.5L 4cyl. engine. Expect it. $800 to replace the head and headgasket in my case. If you can get over that hurdle, it's an EXCELLENT car and otherwise a very long lasting engine! In 7yrs. and 182k miles of driving, I had a total of 4 repairs to make on the car... alternator (95k), radiator (120k), headgasket/head (156k), and the shocks (171k). Total cost of all repairs was roughly $1200 over the 7yr. period that I owned the car. Not too bad if you ask me for a car with 182k miles on the original engine and transmission by the time an accident finally killed it. I was still driving it daily at that point, but was having trouble with it idling erratically and the temp gauge jumping up to HOT on occassion. The car never left me stranded. Always started reliably. I don't think even an early 90's Honda Accord can beat that, especially given the cost of repairs.
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