Pacifica issues?

I had an '86 turbo wagon that I drove the heck out of. Sold it at 275k miles running as good as when it left the facotry with original engine and turbo unit. Oh - did I mention that the guy who bought it emailed me 6 months later saying he had to junk it for frame rust - wouldn't pass inspection?

Anyway - after I sold it, I was reading about *lots* of problems on the new stuff, including the WRX's, with clutches, brakes, and rear wheel bearings. That '86 wagon had disk brakes all around - had the original rotors on it when I sold it, and I never once had them turned - the brakes were always unbelievably smooth.

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

Interesting. I tried Mr Lube once just for a simple engine oil change, resisting their warnings more lubing was needed, including the transmission. It took 1.5 hrs for the change as one chap was servicing 4 bays. After a few weeks I noticed the oil level was down and oil was streaking underneath. Looking further I found the oil drain plug was only finger tight.

• Never again to Mr Lube. *

If you like it, the clear out buys are the buys of the century.

The Subaru OutBack is also on my short list.

I've not had or heard of an LH 3.3L water pump problem.

IMO the Sebring seems to fit. Here a one yr old 10k miles '06 Sebring is about 60% of new price. Quite a deal.

The only significant problem I've heard of is head gasket failure. Google will give you lots of hits on that.

their fuel consumption is a bit high.

I seriously question why I continue to go back to these folks. On my last visit to Mr. Lube, they asked if I wanted my transmission serviced and I said no, I only use Chrysler transmission fuild as specified in the owner's manual (I was trying to be polite). They told me they didn't have Chrysler fluid, but add something to what they use on other vehicles to make it "manufacturer approved". I didn't ask for details, but it struck me as a possible scam and if that's the case, I wonder how many other Chrysler owners may have fallen victim to it.

So, does anyone know the real story here? Can you use a different transmission fluid, add one or more magic ingredients to it and

*presto*, you're good? And any sense if this is the practice of all Mr. Lube locations or was this particular one just trying to pull the wool over my eyes?

Cheers, Paul

I like the Sebring convertible and would have likely bought one except I can't comfortably see out the windshield -- the cowl is right at eye level. I would have had to jack up the seat to raise my head above it (à la Jerome the Giraffe) or recline the seatback so far my hands wouldn't touch the wheel. I've never experienced this problem with any other car.

Cheers, Paul

This has been discussed *many* times here. They're talking about "Dexron? with an additive". I hesitate to call it a scam, because a scam is someone intentionally misleading you, and the person telling you that may have actually believed what he was telling you 9(repeating what he had been told). Unfortunately the aftermarket industry has duped many people, including 90+% of transmission shops, into believing the lie. So while what you Mr. Lube told you maybe wasn't an intentional scam, it would have the same results and looks just like one. :)

When I wantd to pay a shop to replace filter and fluid on my Concorde, 4 out of 4 of the most reputable shops in the area told me they would use Dexron? with an additive. I did it myself.

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

While I owned my '86 turbo wagon, I spent a few years on a couple of Sybaru forums. There are a lot more problems that just head gaskets ont he late model ones. As I said: brakes, clutches, rear wheel bearings.

Take a look at rec.autos.subaru over the last 4 years.

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

What Bill said. I consider the transmission fluid to be a dealer-only service, if you're not going to do it yourself. The fluids on these cars are very Chrysler specific, particularly the transmission, engine coolant, and for some cars, the steering. There are now equivalent approved fluids for the coolant (Zerex G-05 and the equivalent gold Ford fluid, but NOT Dextron and equivalents), as well as the transmission fluid (it must say ATF+4 fluid).

Then again, I did have my dealer replace my steering fluid a year or two ago. If the receipt is right, they goofed. There were three different Chrysler fluids, old, transition and ATF+4 (I don't have the MS numbers handy for the first two). The old fluid is not compatible with ATF+4, the transition fluid is. My '99 was factory filled with the transition fluid and should have been changed with ATF+4. Instead the paperworks shows they used the old fluid, which could cause problems at the next fluid change, unless it is fully flushed and refilled completely with ATF+4.

Unfortunately at the time I didn't realize the difference and you have to read the TSBs in detail to realize what's going on since Chrysler made it confusing. (My factory service manual says DON'T use ATF+4 for steering, the lastest TSB confirms that is now the right fluid to use. I believe the transition fluid is no longer made and the older fluid (not compatible with ATF+4) is for older vehicles.

When I had the dealer do the transmission fluid replacement, I wrote on my service order to use ATF+4 without any additives. Since they have specials every now and then on these fluid services, the dealer price can be very reasonable, but you have to watch them, since service quality varies depending on the tech.

Thanks Greg and Bill for sharing your insight; very much appreciated.

I hadn't paid much attention to this matter before; I had understood one uses only Chrysler fluid and that anything else was pretty much the kiss of death and to be avoided at all costs. That's why I was highly suspicious about the use of additives. However, I didn't realize there are multiple flavours of ATF and so now I'll be counting on my dealer to pick the right one (and the Vegas odds aren't looking good).

Further to that last point, there are three Chrysler dealers in the Halifax metro area. The service at my current dealer is only so-so and I can't recommend them in good faith. Another one is so bad I would rather eat dirt mixed with crushed glass washed down with some of that ATF; frankly, I won't even drive past the place due to all the bad karma. The third is a complete mystery to me and, at least for the time being, I'm sticking with my current dealer for fear of the unknown.

I had mentioned Jim Davidson Chrysler (Toronto) in another thread and I always found them to be excellent. Now whenever I hand over my keys I break out in a cold sweat.

Cheers, Paul

They tried that on me, but I didn't bite.

I'm sticking to Chrysler dealer service on my transmission.

IMO our local Mr. Lube is a terrible place to get service anyway; took

1.5 hrs for a simple engine oil change. At our local Speedy it's 15 minutes.

That sounds like the Yogi'ism: "No one ever goes there anymore - it's too crowded". :) Of course maybe what you're saying is that they only had two customers therer and it took them 1.5 hrs.

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

"The Subaru OutBack is also on my short list"

Well, we opted to punt a year. Making it an even decade we've owned the Intrepid. I'm happy. I like the car. :-)

FWIW Subaru got knocked down a couple pegs after talking with some owners and my mechanic. They are not problem free (which I can live with if I like the car) but it seemed like parts were *expensive*.

"I've not had or heard of an LH 3.3L water pump problem."

I've got the 3.5 litre. I love the motor. Great power, and great power band.

The water pump would leak on them, at least the early ones. I had mine replaced shortly after I got it under warranty (they checked it out and replaced it). Then, when I got the timing belt preventatively changed, I had 'em change the water pump for an additional $40.

Jimbo

Yes, different motor, obviously not as reliable as the 3.3L and having a design requiring more maintenance.