Just bought a 2005 Crossfire SRT 6 Convertible. I consider it almost new with only 26,000 miles.

1. In one forum, an owner warned that I need to replace the gaskets on the valve covers now to prevent leakage, and that oil will definitely leak down under the engine from the engine seals. True or not? I have always maintained my own cars, changed my own oil, and have built a complete aircraft engine from the block up, so I'm somewhat familiar with engines.

2.He also warned that the valves are an inevitable weakness in the Crossfire engine, and that I will need a complete valve job (extremely expensive) sooner or later. Humm - my research shows that the majority of Crossfires have traveled well over 50K total miles, and many more for sale are running 100,000 to 150,000 total miles. What me worry?

3. The previous owner used only Mobil 1 oil. I'm also going to run the highest quality synthetic oil (5 - 30 weight). Any tips for new owner, especially engine related experiences, greatly appreciated? Anything I need to know about maintaining the transmission? Transmission oil change worth it at 26,000 miles? Best type/brand transmission oil for the auto transmission?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions,
Dennis

 

1. TRUE, but not the rubber gasket under the main covers, instead it is the valve cover vents on top of the main covers.
These are sealed with RTV ( no gaskets ) and the RTV tends to break down over time.
There is a DIY of fixing this, look in below link.

2. Not true, I know of one with over 450,000 miles without anything internal to the engine failing.

3. Mercedes has recently changed the recommended from 0-40 to 5-40 ( Mobil1 ), although any good synthetic is probably OK.
Transmission oil at 70-80K, I used Pentosin.ATF 134. I also changed the transmission connector plug and the conductor plate along with the filter.
Due to age, not mileage, you might also want to replace the brake fluid, PS fluid, and coolant.

 

Congrats on the new car and welcome to the board!

George got you answered well above, a few further notes,

1. lift off intake air filter plastic box assembly, look at the top of your valve covers and see if the upper covers have oil leaking from them and across the top of the valve cover. it will begin to drip oil down onto your hot exhaust manifold. if you remove the air filter system and then snap pictures of the motor we can tell you if it needs the repair or if has already been done.

2. not these motors

3. 0w-40 or 5w-40 MB229.5
use only a fleece oil filter, they are built with better quality, others collapse down
I run mobil 1 0w-40 on all our m112 and m113 engines so long as i can still get it. i believe benz switched over to keep things easier with the new era of cars/engines the dealer is also maintaining.

 

As to #1 - yes the engine is prone to having leaking valve cover seals. The job is easy to do and parts are cheap. Mine started leaking around 100,000 miles and the car now is nearing 200,000 with no signs of them leaking.

As to #2 - Not sure about this one. There were some cars that had some valve noise that owners complained about and dealers could not identify or repair. However most of that was from the N/A 3.2 motor, not the SRT6 motor.

As to #3 - There is a reason for the use of 0-40 in the car, while 5-30 is an option in the owners book, you need to remember a few things. First that much of the info is a copy of what was done for the 2004 SLK32 AMG and Chrysler did a poor job of checking for incorrect info and updates. During those years finding 0-40 oil was pretty limited. These days it can be found nearly everywhere and costs vs the alternative are so small it really does not make sense. Also remember the reasoning for the light oil is to ensure proper oiling, too thick of an oil means the squirt driven oilers cant deliver oil as effectively. This is a key reason why oil thickening additives are not recommended.

As to Part two of #3 - trans fluid change every 75,000 miles should be fine. Always the factory fluid as it is trans specific. As these cars are older it is possible that newer fluids are going to be approved that may incorporate better additives or account for wear. I have done a few changes so far with filters and each time the fluid looked fine, no metal or other issues. Generally, check the trans connector plug for leaking, if you need to change a electrical plate change the fluid.