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Hello everyone! I have a 1996 Dodge Stratus ES 2.4L 4 cyl. I bought it last year around May with 109k miles. It currently has almost 115k. I noticed the past month that the engine is starting to run rougher than ever before. It used to make the noise that I point out in the video only when accelerating, but now it’s happening when idling.
I get a gurgle whenever I start my car/accelerate car. This is all only happening on a cold start. The gurgle lasts ’till it warms up a little bit. I change the oil regularly, coolant is good, and all motor mounts are brand new. My exhaust seems good… I put my hand on the tailpipe and it isn’t a constant stream, but “puff, puff, puff” with a puff every 1/2 second. It also has a strong pressure, and there is no smoke/vapor coming out of the tailpipe (but I can smell to CO).
Here is a video of my problem. Ignore my amateur video-making experience. If you can’t hear the gurgling, please try to turn up your sound and listen harder…
http://youtu.be/EC1zwsO9u4Y
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I could not hear anything.The car seems to idle and
shift right.I would suggest an engine mis.make a video
of the tail pipe exhaust sound.An oil change would be the first thing I will do before if you went to a garage to change your car engine oil. Because some time garage don’t put the right oil viscosity (ex:5w30 ). You can change you oil now from above the hood easier then ever. If you oil is good, inspect you engine air filter. When It dirty, your engine will have hard sound. Then I will test It as the video above show to you.
https://www.ericthecarguy.com/kunena/6-Maintenance-Forums/43507-oil-change-from-above-the-hood
Thank you to both of you.
Collegeman, I’ve done all of those tests. Also, I believe my exhaust is good. I asked a pro mechanic who’s been doing this for years, and he believes it’s a head gasket failure. He also said that my specific engine tends to blow head gaskets very easily…
Plasmide, thank you but I do my own oil changes. I also use 5w-30, the recommended viscosity. Also, I’m running Pennzoil Ultra, and it’s only been in there for 2.5k miles. I plan on running it for 6k miles…
Hopefully I can get some more advice. I want to test the headgasket, but I can’t afford the tester!!!
An head gasket failure will give you and burn synthetic alcohol, a white smoke in the exhausts and oil mix in the radiator. You can use a pressure test. Just need a compressor and the tool,
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgrfT0LFMhc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgrfT0LFMhc[/video]
Thank for the update ! B)
I couldn’t really hear it either. Can you hear it outside of the car or under the hood or just inside? If so it could be piston slap. My buddy had a Neon with the 2.0L which I think is the same as a 2.4 just different stroke. Don’t quote me on that since I’m a GM mechanic lol. Up here it gets cold as in -30 cold in the winter. Cold start up in that weather it rattled so bad due to piston slap you’d think it was going to come apart, once it warmed up it didn’t make a sound. He had it for years and never got worse from the time he got it til the time he got rid of it.
I have heard of head gasket failures on that engine being common. If it’s blown between the combustion chamber and a water jacket it’d be putting air into the cooling system and you could haar a little gurgling as the coolant circulates through the heater core
[quote=”Concurssi” post=50369]I heard it, no idea what it could be though.[/quote]
Thank you. Good to know I’m not crazy. However, it is hard to hear because of my video camera.
I should add that whenever I’m driving along, my air conditioner/heater make a “shhhhhh” sound occasionally, especially when idling (this only happens if I’m not using them). $50 compression test kit or $50 coolant test kit are out of the budget. I have a friend’s father who is a mechanic. I may ask him if I can swing on by there and look…
I’m starting to lean towards a blown headgasket between 2 cylinders. If that’s the case, I’ll be pissed off. I have no clue how hard it is to get to a head gasket, but everyone says it’s pretty damn hard!
Thank you for all of your advice.
[quote=”Shaun_300″ post=50360]I have heard of head gasket failures on that engine being common. If it’s blown between the combustion chamber and a water jacket it’d be putting air into the cooling system and you could haar a little gurgling as the coolant circulates through the heater core[/quote]
Could it sound like a “shhh” sound coming out of the dashboard from the vents? Especially whenever I’ve been using heat for a while???
I think you’re on to something, friend!
You can fix you begin head gasket leak by using a radiator fix leak.http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Head-Gasket-With-Engine-Block-Sealer. But It’s 99 us $ to 200 us $. But i think is just for minor leak.
See the video how long and how you can change a head gasket.https://secure.steelseal.com/index.php/t14/
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WHBskK_F3o[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEJ51BJ23yk[/video]
I went to Autozone today and they said they have a loaner (no fees!).
Thank you all. I will try to get a compression test done this week and update ya’ll one the progress.
If you suspect a head gasket failure you can always test for that. I would be sure to do the test before condemning the head gasket. That’s a lot of work. This video can help with the procedure.
[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=51742]If you suspect a head gasket failure you can always test for that. I would be sure to do the test before condemning the head gasket. That’s a lot of work. This video can help with the procedure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUzOTnsWImI%5B/quote%5D
Yeah I have found that it’s not the head gasket. I have no clue now… I guess I’ll just have to live with this obnoxious sound. My mother always says: If you drive an old car, it’s going to sound/run like crap. Don’t try to fix it because you can’t.
I don’t know if that’s true but whatever.
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