I was tight for an appointment. I always start whatever vehicle & let it idle while I set up GPS & fasten seatbelts... The Cirus just shut off. Refused to restart although it turned over fine. I grabbed my stuff, GPS, fired the CTD up & away I go. I was ON IT to make up time, so I'm sure I screwed up mpg. I hit WOT a few times & the low restriction exhaust definately is louder. I made it on time. I "old lady" drove the CTD on the way back to earn back some mpgs... I tried restarting the Cirus. It seemed like it wanted to start but really wasn't firing at all. About the third try, I got one cylinder to kick in & ran the rest of them into operating. I don't get it...Russ

Edited November 16, 200915 yr by flagmanruss

8 AM call from the mechanic. Yesterday, he tried to start the car with no brakes... he couldn't get it to start. I know intermittant things are a SOB to find, so was not surprised when the mechanic said he needed to see it in failure mode. The Gods of Friday the 13th heard him & obliged! LOL.Crank & cam sensors check out. Distributor has failed. All coroded inside. So, the "Mystery of No Start" is solved. The body is good. Interior is good. only 91,000 original miles. I know lots of folks would total this car. The issues are accumulated maintance. I'm going to fix it. Estimate $1500 total. The next big item is timing belt, water pump, probably in a year... 100,000. This is an interferance engine.Russ

Edited November 20, 200915 yr by flagmanruss

Ouch Russ... Sounds like the moisture and road salt really gets to everything. :eek: I know for you it might be tough for you to move around but it might be a idea it grab another family member (younger gen) and have them wash your rigs (body, under the hood, and under body). This would help in this problem. Of course you would have to teach them a little bit but it would help you in the long run. During the washing and such they could be looking for unusual leaks, wet spots, rusted or damaged parts, etc. Then if you arm them with a digital camera you can have them shot pics of the damage or leaks and you can see them without having to crawl under too... Just trying to think outside the box and give you the upper hand...

  flagmanruss said:

8 AM call from the mechanic. Yesterday, he tried to start the car with no brakes... he couldn't get it to start. I know intermittant things are a SOB to find, so was not surprised when the mechanic said he needed to see it in failure mode. The Gods of Friday the 13th heard him & obliged! LOL. Crank & cam sensors check out. Distributor has failed. All coroded inside. So, the "Mystery of No Start" is solved. The body is good. Interior is good. only 91,000 original miles. I know lots of folks would total this car. The issues are accumulated maintance. I'm going to fix it. Estimate $1500 total. The next big item is timing belt, water pump, probably in a year... 100,000. This is an interferance engine. Russ

My mother owns a Stratus and the water pump and timing belt were a major pain on that car, we had it all apart when the head gasket decided to go. Its not that there is anything complicated about the procedure but mother mopar really jammed the engine in there. Here car has 130k now, she bought it brand new in 96. She still likes the car and really doesn't want a car payment again so I guess we will continue to fix it every time it gives till we have built a new car lol.

This shop is very through & slightly aggressive about finding minor things to fix... which can get costly. I did not allow them to do the serpintine belt which has some cracking (I've never seen one that did not) or the timing belt. When that is done, the water pump will be replaced too. The "front" (right side) did not need to come off to do the work needed to get it back on the road. They stripped the top of the engine to get to the plugs, wires, distributor. The transmission oil looked contaminated after the previous transmission line failure so that was flushed & refilled. The rear brake lines were replaced. I'm not real happy with the feel of the brake pedal but am going to drive it & see if the auto adjusters take up some slack. As is it cost me $1700 on Ma Mastercard. I'm thinking of putting one old Chrysler under the tree.