2006 dodge stratus interference or non interference motor?

Answer 1

Let me first say this: There is a lot of conflicting answers on the internet as to whether a 2006 Dodge stratus is an interference motor so I had to write this. I just got a call from my trusted mechanic after my timing belt broke on my 2006 2.4 litre, 4 cylinder, 16 valve engine and there WAS damage to the valves. I happen to be going 60 mile per hour when the belt gave. He said that if I was just idling or going slow I might of had a chance at not damaging the valves (I think this is where the confusion stems from)

So, sorry to deliver the bad news. I was hoping and praying that the people who said that this was an interference motor were wrong but I can tell you they are not.

If you have a good mechanic in the family you might be in luck because this is a LABOR intensive job. If you have someone do it make sure they change the water pump while they are already in there.

If you are going to go to the dealer I can tell you that you are looking at about a $2,500-3000 job all said and done. They cant determine if there is valve damage until the timing belt is back on, so that is $1,200 to find out. Then if there is valve damage (which there probably is if you were driving fast) now your looking at another $1,500 (ball park). As soon as I heard that I had to shell out $1,200 with no guarantees I took it to my mechanic and got the answer (the only reason I went to the dealer is because I was out of state when that happened and I did not want to tow it that far, I then rented a uhaul tow to take it to my mechanic after I realized the kind of numbers I would have to contend with)

Bottom line: If your stratus has over a 130k miles on it with very limited options its probably not even worth it if you have the dealer fix it. My 2cents. It is worth noting that is specifically for a 2006 dodge stratus with 2.4 litre engine, 4 cylinders and 16 valves. I know there is a v6 version out there which may be different. For people who have the v6 you MIGHT be in luck because I heard that they might have done something different with the larger engines (not sure), good luck and hopefully it turns out better for you than the people who bought the 4 cylinder version.