Broken timing chain at 125,000 miles???

I've never had a timing chain last 200,000 miles. The best I've gotten was

Sorry, but the LHS used a 3.5L V6 with a timing belt. It needs replacement at about 70K miles.

You need to get smarter friends. There's no timing chain on an LHS. If you told this sob story to the guy at work, you'll have to apologize for misleading him.

Yes , this vehicle uses a timing BELT. However to complain, and for someone to say they will NEVER buy a "Crappler" because ONE broke a timing chain ( if it HAD been a chain) is rediculous. When is the last time you heard about a broken timing chain? I know that MOST vehicles nowdays use belts, however a broken chain is NOT COMMON. Someone just using it as an excuse to not buy something they don't like anyway. If you don't want to buy a Chrysler product, JUST DON'T BUY IT. with him about Chrysler quality not being THAT bad, but after this, that's

You call THAT bad quality?

No Chrysler LHS was ever built with an engine that had a chain. All LHSes (both first- and second-generation models) got the 3.5L v6- a BELT-timed OHC engine.

If you're gonna troll to bash Chrysler, at least pick a car that HAD a chain-timed engine available- like maybe a Concorde with a 3.3 (first gen) or 2.7 (second gen).

Blah, blah, and more blah.... I loved my LHS. It was a great car. And yes, I replaced my timing belt at 60k miles. Worked fine till I sold it at

Steve m.. Ps. Go buy yourself a Honduh... It sounds like the car for you.

He says that at 60,000 miles he asked his mechanic about changing the timing belt. Mechanic said that his particular engine did not have a timing belt, but used a timing chain that should last 200,000 miles. This would be logical assuming that the V6 was based on an OHV V8 with pushrods. When the thing did break he says that the shop charged him $1200 to replace the timing chain. I know that when the LH series came out there were two V6's, a pushrod design and a OHC design. I think that the LHS could only be had with the OHC flavor. I know most OHC engines use timing belts, but some use chains, like the Q45 V8 of old. Not sure about the LHS.

I am a bit suspicious about whether my pal misinterpreted what broke. On the other hand, $1200 to replace belt is HUGE and that's what he paid.

I'm wondering if what broke as a chain coupling the engine output and the transmission.

Sounds like he's just a sucker to me, but you may be right.

The LHS really has a great timing belt design in my opinion. It's easy to get to, with a 3-piece front cover that's easy to take off even without taking the balancer off. Has an inspection port for taking a peek at the belt. The old LHS was a freewheeling valve train design, so you could just run it til it pops, no harm done, no consequences. I'm not too sure about that timing belt-driven water pump, though. There are good and bad angles to that. Later 3.5 is an interference or "valve train wrecking" design according to guys in this group.

There's nothing wrong with them if the engine isn't interference. In fact they are easier to deal with than a chain. Chains stretch and jump teeth and many engines use plastic sprockets, which get old and hard and chewed to pieces.

Ted

Back when the change interval was on the order of 50 to 60 k miles, I would have disagreed with you. Now that the typical inteval is 105k and they are somewhat less prone to spontaneously breaking, you could argue it either way.

I still say that a timing belt, no matter the change interval, combined with interference design is engineering malpractice. A timing chain with interference design is not much better, buyt it is, on average, better. IMO, interference design should be reserved for a bullet-proof (i.e., properly designed and using appropriate materials) gear drive only.

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

HEY GRL, are you sure that Nomen does not live close to your friend? I think I found out what happened to your friend's timing belt.

So, the mechanic was wrong- it has a belt.

If the v6 in a Chrysler LHS WAS based on an OHV v8, then you might have a case. It isn't, its a 60-degree (for one thing) and an OHC (for another). Now, the truck-only 90-degree 3.9L v6 WAS based on a v8, but it was never used in any car or any minivan.

The pushrod 3.3L v6 (not "based on a v8" either, since it was a

Belt. Only.

No such thing, that's what GM does. Chrysler does use a chain to couple the output of the TRANSMISSION to the differential in that car, but not the engine-to-transmission.

dressmaker's

I agree completely. Foreseeable abuse matters. They just turned a blind eye to 24 valves getting bent by some poor sap (hundreds or thousands of poor saps) that doesn't need that extra expense. When I purchase machinery at work, and I have a choice, I never buy anything with an obvious unpredictable instant failure mode like that. And that's not even my own money! I sure as heck don't do it at home.

What we had hear was multiple problems and a failure to communicate.

The dealer DID tell my friend his car had a "life-of-the-car" timing chain, not a belt, when he first bought the car.

The dealer was wrong. He was confusing the base engine in the Intrepid with the only engine in the 300. This caused my friend to NOT change the change at 60,000 miles as he had intended.

The belt went at 125,000 miles, which is quite remarkable. In the good sense.

The repair cost was $400.

The $1200 was to replace the failed AC system. That is also remarkable, but in the bad sense.

I regret the confusion in the original post.

- GRL

Oh, indeed.

Oh, indeed.