Chrysler Stratus Convertible. Manual — part 213

OIL CONTAMINATION

Oil contamination indicates a leak at the rear main

seal and/or transaxle input shaft. Oil leaks produce a
residue of oil on the transaxle housing interior, clutch
cover and flywheel. Heat buildup caused by slippage
can bake the oil residue onto the components. This
glaze-like residue ranges in color from amber to
black.

GREASE CONTAMINATION

Grease contamination is usually a product of over-

lubrication. During clutch service, apply only a small
amount of grease to the input shaft splines. Excess
grease may be thrown off during operation, contami-
nating the disc.

ROAD SPLASH/WATER CONTAMINATION

Road splash contamination is usually caused by

driving the vehicle through deep water puddles.
Water can be forced into the clutch housing, causing
clutch components to become contaminated. Facing of
disc will absorb moisture and bond to the flywheel
and/or, pressure plate, if vehicle is allowed to stand
for some time before use. If this condition occurs,
replacement of clutch assembly may be required.
Drive the vehicle until normal clutch operating tem-
perature has been obtained. This will dry off disc
assembly, pressure plate, and flywheel.

CLEANING PRECAUTIONS

Condensation from steam vapors tend to accumu-

late on the internal clutch mechanism when the vehi-
cle is steam cleaned. Facing of disc will absorb
moisture and will bond to flywheel and/or pressure
plate, if vehicle is allowed to stand for some time
before use. If this condition occurs, it may require
replacement of clutch assembly. After cleaning, drive
the vehicle to its normal clutch operating tempera-
ture. This will dry off disc assembly, pressure plate,
and flywheel.

ADJUSTMENTS

CLUTCH CABLE

The manual transaxle clutch release system has a

unique self-adjusting mechanism to compensate for
clutch disc wear (Fig. 9). This adjuster mechanism is
located within the clutch cable assembly. The preload
spring maintains tension on the cable. This tension
keeps the clutch release bearing continuously loaded
against the fingers of the clutch cover assembly.

ADJUSTER MECHANISM FUNCTION CHECK

(1) With slight pressure, pull the clutch release

lever end of the cable to draw the cable taut. Push
the clutch cable housing toward the dash panel. With
less than 25 lbs. of effort the cable housing should
move 30-50mm. This indicates proper adjuster mech-
anism function. If the cable does not adjust, deter-
mine if the mechanism is properly seated on the
bracket.

(2) If the adjust mechanism functions properly,

guide the cable through the slot in the transaxle
housing. Connect cable to release lever, seating the
cupped washer securely on lever tangs.

(3) Pull back on clutch cable housing and insert

into transaxle housing (Fig. 10).

Fig. 9 Clutch Cable Routing

1 – CLUTCH CABLE AT CLUTCH PEDAL
2 – CLUTCH CABLE AT TRANSAXLE

Fig. 10 Cable at Transaxle

1 – BELLHOUSING
2 – CLUTCH CABLE

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CLUTCH

6 - 9

CLEANING AND INSPECTION (Continued)

(4) Reinstall cable inspection cover and air cleaner

assembly. Check clutch pedal position switch opera-
tion.

CLUTCH PEDAL POSITION SWITCH

The clutch pedal position switch is mounted to a

bracket located behind the clutch pedal. The switch
is held in place by four plastic wing tabs.

The clutch pedal position switch IS NOT adjust-

able. The pedal blade contacts the switch in the down
position (Fig. 11).

SPECIFICATIONS

NV T350 (A-578) CLUTCH TIGHTENING
REFERENCE

DESCRIPTION

TORQUE

Drive Plate To Clutch Bolts . . . . 75 N·m (55 ft. lbs.)
Drive Plate To Crankshaft Bolts . . . . . . . . . 95 N·m

(70 ft. lbs.)

Clutch Pedal Pivot Shaft Nut . . 41 N·m (30 ft. lbs.)

Fig. 11 Clutch Pedal Position Switch and

Components

1 – UPSTOP/SPACER
2 – CLUTCH PEDAL POSITION SWITCH
3 – CLUTCH PEDAL
4 – CLUTCH PEDAL RETURN SPRING
5 – CLUTCH CABLE

6 - 10

CLUTCH

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ADJUSTMENTS (Continued)

COOLING SYSTEM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

page

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

COOLING SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
COOLANT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ENGINE THERMOSTAT—2.5L ENGINE . . . . . . . . 3
COOLANT RECOVERY SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
HOSE CLAMPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ENGINE BLOCK HEATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
RADIATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
COOLING SYSTEM FAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
COOLING SYSTEM PRESSURE CAP . . . . . . . . . . 6
ACCESSORY DRIVE BELTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER EXTERNAL . . . . . . 7

DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING

COOLING SYSTEM DIAGNOSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ENGINE THERMOSTAT TESTING . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
WATER PUMP DIAGNOSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
COOLING SYSTEM FLOW CHECK . . . . . . . . . . . 14
RADIATOR FAN CONTROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
ELECTRIC FAN MOTOR TEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
COOLANT CONCENTRATION TESTING. . . . . . . . 15
COOLING SYSTEM LEAK TESTING . . . . . . . . . . 16
COOLING SYSTEM PRESSURE RELIEF

CHECK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

COOLING SYSTEM PRESSURE CAP

TESTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

LOW COOLANT LEVEL AERATION . . . . . . . . . . . 17
COOLING SYSTEM DEAERATION. . . . . . . . . . . . 17
ACCESSORY DRIVE BELT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
ENGINE BLOCK HEATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

SERVICE PROCEDURES

COOLANT LEVEL CHECK—ROUTINE. . . . . . . . . 18
COOLANT—ADDING ADDITIONAL. . . . . . . . . . . 18
COOLANT LEVEL SERVICING—2.5L ENGINE . . 18
COOLING SYSTEM—DRAINING. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
COOLING SYSTEM—REFILLING . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION

WATER PUMP—2.5L ENGINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
THERMOSTAT—2.5L ENGINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
RADIATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
RADIATOR DRAINCOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
RADIATOR FAN, MOTOR AND SHROUD . . . . . . 22
COOLANT RECOVERY BOTTLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
ENGINE BLOCK HEATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
ACCESSORY DRIVE BELTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

CLEANING AND INSPECTION

WATER PUMP—2.5L ENGINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
ACCESSORY DRIVE BELT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
COOLING SYSTEM PRESSURE CAP . . . . . . . . . 26
RADIATOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
COOLING SYSTEM CLEANING/FLUSHING . . . . . 27
TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

ADJUSTMENTS

BELT TENSION GAUGE METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

SPECIFICATIONS

COOLING SYSTEM CAPACITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
TORQUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

SPECIAL TOOLS

COOLING SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

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COOLING SYSTEM

7 - 1

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

COOLING SYSTEM

DESCRIPTION

The cooling system consists of an engine cooling

module, thermostat, coolant, a water pump to circu-
late the coolant. The engine cooling module may con-
sist of a radiator, electric fan motor, shroud, radiator
pressure cap, coolant reserve system, transmission
oil cooler and lines, hoses, clamps, and air condition-
ing condenser.

OPERATION

The primary purpose of a cooling system is to

maintain engine temperature in a range that will
provide satisfactory engine performance and emission
levels under all expected driving conditions. It also
provides hot water (coolant) for heater performance
and cooling for automatic transmission oil. It does
this by transferring heat from engine metal to cool-
ant, moving this heated coolant to the radiator, and
then transferring this heat to the ambient air.

The coolant flow circuits for the 2.5L engine is

shown in (Fig. 1).

COOLANT

DESCRIPTION

ETHYLENE-GLYCOL MIXTURES

CAUTION: Richer antifreeze mixtures cannot be
measured with normal field equipment and can
cause problems associated with 100 percent ethyl-
ene-glycol.

The required ethylene-glycol (antifreeze) and water

mixture depends upon the climate and vehicle oper-
ating conditions. The recommended mixture of 50/50
ethylene-glycol and water will provide protection
against freezing to -37 deg. C (-35 deg. F). The anti-
freeze concentration must always be a minimum of
44 percent, year-round in all climates. If percentage
is lower than 44 percent, engine parts may be
eroded by cavitation, and cooling system com-
ponents may be severely damaged by corrosion.
Maximum protection against freezing is provided
with a 68 percent antifreeze concentration, which
prevents freezing down to -67.7 deg. C (-90 deg. F). A
higher percentage will freeze at a warmer tempera-
ture. Also, a higher percentage of antifreeze can
cause the engine to overheat because the specific
heat of antifreeze is lower than that of water.

Fig. 1 Cooling System Operation—2.5L Engine

1 – HEATER
2 – THERMOSTAT HOUSING
3 – PRESSURE CAP
4 – WATER PUMP
5 – ENGINE

6 – RADIATOR
7 – COOLANT RECOVERY SYSTEM TANK
8 – HEAT UP
9 – COOL DOWN

7 - 2

COOLING SYSTEM

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