20 Most Recent 1997 Dodge Intrepid - Page 4 Questions & Answers

the cockpit is the drivers seat

Hi Javier, glad to help! The body control module on your 1997 Intrepid is located under the dash on the drivers side mounted to the dash where it bolts to the kick panel. Hope this helps and have an awesome day Javier.

There is a pressure switch in the a/c system that shuts off power to the compressor when Freon gets low. This is done to prevent running the compressor and locking it up, as the oil circulates with the Freon. Get your Freon checked.

Going through the same thing with my 2000 2.7 l intrepid.

Thermostat, water pump, plugged radiator, blown head gasket? I tinker with autos, but on a very basic level.

My story and course of action (that you may be able to glean some ideas from)
I live in NW Indiana, and was on vacation on ease coast. Noticed water/antifreeze leaking from vehicle in a New Jersey Rest stop. Don't believe car was overheating at the time, but possible that I drove the car for up to a mile in this state.

Had vehicle towed to a local garage (Friday afternoon, so thought garage and not dealer was best option for geting back on the road asap).

Garage diagnosed water pump, and replaced it ($750 US). Said there was some antifreeze in oil, so engine flushed oil system, coolant, replaced oil filter, and refilled oil and coolant.

Car operated fine for 1 week of pretty hard driving (both local and highway driving, and then rather large hills in Maine). Then on way home, near Erie PA, car overheated on Toolway. Noticed overheating pretty quickly, within 1/2 mile.

Towed off of tollway, where refilled Coolant (added about a quart). Drove car around local town for 10 - 15 minutes, with no problems. No sweet smell from tailpipe (that would indicate possible head gasket leak), no antifreeze apparent on oil dipstick, and no visible coolant leak on or under engine, so drove on US 20 into Erie, going both 35 mph ;local, and 55 mph between-town driving. No problems. Stopped at place to eat in Erie, gave car a chance to cool down to check coolant levels. No leaks (external anyways) and coolant level where I left it.

Started again, and after approx. 3 - 4 miles of driving, car overheated (almost instantaneous going from normal temp to overheating (noticed it within a block). Overheated 1 block from Dodge dealer on Sun. afternoon. Let car cool down, ensured coolant full, and drove to hotel 2 miles away for night (no problems with overheating, but car may not have gotten back up to temp in those 2 miles- was approx 65 Deg Far ambient. Noticed that when the car does "act up" and heads for overheating, the vents blow cold, even though set for high heat.

Got to Dodge dealer the next morning. Dealer said no external leaks, and no mixing of oil and antifreeze (mixing could indicate blown head gasket). Diagnosed thermostat ($340 for parts and labor), and would be fixed in 3.5 hours. 8 hours later, dealer said finally had thermostat changed, but still overheating. Would try to reblead air out of the cooling system (air or air pockets in the system could cause overheating). Still no luck - car was overheating. So dealer said next thought would be partially plugged radiator. Plan- next morning, send radiator out for testing.

Well, radiator was sent out, and some gunk was found and cleaned from radiator
($225 US), but dealer said was not enough to be causing the problems I was getting. Next guess was to check the water pump, at $700 -$800 labor to see if it was defective. Dealer said, but I have not confirmed, that car would idle fine for unlimited time without overheating, but when took out for drive, it would overheat. The cooling fan was functioning properly.

Well, at that stage, decided to just tow car home, and fix there so I rented UHAUL truck and tow dolly ($350 US), plus the gas such a vehicle consumes.

Take to NW Indiana garage, and they say,

check water pump to see if defective ($650), replace water pump if defective, and if not defective, pull heads to inspect for blown head gasket (an additional $450 labor). Said exhause gases could be internally leaking into the coolant (because bad head gasket) and causing the car to overheat. Said may consider just putting in a used engine- may be cheaper. Well I know the previous owner, and the car was maticulously kept, so I say I need to think it over. Drove car home (about 2 miles) and coolant temp gage didn't budge an inch- coolant level was fine, so who knows what happened to it...

Checked from garage that replaced the water pump, and said it was a dealership new waterpump that was installed, with all new gaskets, and did NOT replace timing chain.

Go and talk to dad (aren't dad's great!). Dad has rebuild many motors in his day- was a millright who completly rebuilt from scratch Model A's , 1940's sedans, and some cars in the 1970s and 1980s. Successfully rebuilt 2 automatic transmissions in the 70s and 80s as well. Dad's getting up in age (mid seventies) so didn't want to burdeon him, just wanted his input. He said, consider water pump, but he seemed to remember a test you could do on the coolant to check for exhaust gases. After trips to 4 local Auto parts stores (some "fake" ones like Autozone, and a couple real ones), found a guy who knew of the test, and ordered one for me. So, for $40, hopefully will be able to see if there are exhaust gases in the coolant, indicating a blown head gasket.

Will have to make some decisions based on test results. Have about $1600 or so in car already. May try to do work myself- who knows!

Just trying to explain my overheating issues, and giving some insight into potential causes, and remedies that were explored in my case so they may be of help with you.

sounds like a fuse(s) , check the fuse box lower dash drivers side , the lid/cover should give a list of what fuse does what, also as a few things have gone at once check the fuse box under the hood, usually near to battery , will have list on cover , might be one of the higher amp fuses 30+ hope this helps

The spark plugs for the intrepid are fortunately easy to access. There are 6 wires that go to locations next to the valve covers on both side of the engine. pull those wires off one at a time, pulling out the spark plug after each wire. go through normal spark plug procedure for the rest. good luck!

remove the top radiator hose and the bottom radiator hose and put the hose in the bottom and let it all flow out the top. Personally flushing does nothing unless it is to remove oil residue as blocked cores do not unblock. Have a flow test done by a competent radiator shop and consider a new radiator as a long term fix.

The BCM is located on the passenger side of the car in the lower front kick panel. My manual says that you need to drop the lower knee bolster to gain access to it. I never removed it before.

When does this happen, at idle, when?

Sounds like the start has gone bad, the clicking noise is the starter solenoid engaging the starter. Inspect the wire connection on the starter first and if all is good, replace the starter.

Thank you for using fixya and be safe.

Check your temp sending unit

Replace the fuse housing! This should fix the problem, or it may also be a ground issue. I would check for a ground fault first. Good luck.

Hi and welcome to FixYa!

If that's the case then the oil seals of the rack and pinion should be replaced. If the seals are worn out it tends to leak and can definitely feel a loss of power. If it still leaks even after the replacement then the rack and pinion should be replaced.

There are instances that after oil seal replacement it still leaks it's because that the rack and pinion has severe damage.

Hope this helps and thank you for using FixYa! Have a good one!

Use a bottle of yellow HEET dry gas to remove any moisture problem in the fuel. Clean / replace air filter. Top off ATF to MAX level. Use starting fluid to aid starting.

The crack you refer to is a carbon track laid down by the high tension spark jumping to earth from the coil tower, caused by a damp atmosphere and a bad insulator on the king lead, the carbon track can be scratched out or filed off and then coated with ladies nail polish, problem solved till the next time! Could try a coil cover, if you can't get hold of one, get a rubber glove and cut one of the fingers down to make a tight fit round the lead, then tape the glove over the coil tower. (that's a trick that works in rainy Manchester UK)