Premium Gas For 2000 & 2001 Chrysler 300M's?

Does the owner's manual for either of these two cars call for premium or
regular gas?

 

89 octane is called for.

It will run on premium if your willing to pay for it.

 

Is 89 "regular" or is it "87"?

 

In the NorthEast 87 is regular, 89 is Mid Grade

 

87 is regular, 89 is midgrade.

 

Never heard that one before. Why? Do you have an independent reference
for this? Using premium is a waste of money if it isn't needed, but
I've never heard of it causing harm ... other than to your wallet.


Matt

 

Do not use premium fuel if it does not call for it, it will do more harm
then good in the long run, higher octane fuel will leave carbon deposits on
the heads/pistons on vehicles that require low octane, and could cause
drivablity problems

 

I believe the owner's manual recommends against premium for the
regular 300M engine but haven't looked lately and my memory isn't what
it used to be. I stick to the recommended mid grade which it
definitely states in the manual. That much I remember.

 

Been feeding my '00 M with 87 octane pretty much since day 1 (which is
4 years 2 weeks now). That even includes the time-frame when Shell
Canada was supplying bad gas that was gumming up parts of the fuel
system that Chrysler cars were for some reason more succeptible to
(and yes I get about half my gas from Shell stations).

While on the topic of the M, what are other owners doing about

- coolant replacement
- brake fluid replacement
- battery
- timing belt
- spark plug replacement
- fuel injector maintanence
- differential fluid
- power steering fluid
- anything else?

Aside from the differential and PS fluid which was changed this past
summer, everything else on the car is original. K&N air filter gets
cleaned and oiled about twice a year, and oil+filter gets changed 3
times per year.

I'm wondering what others are doing about plug replacement and
injector cleaning. Anyone throw a bottle of injector cleaner in the
tank (good idea, won't hurt or help, or bad idea) ?

Anyone have to get a new battery for their M yet? If so, what year -
and how many miles?

 

Depends on where you are. What you said is generally true at most altitudes. At
higher altitudes, 85 is often regular, and 87 is midgrade. (Detonation is less
of a problem when the air is less dense (because there is less air to compress)).

 

Premium hurts nothing but your pocketbook.

 

You need to visit the 300M Enthusiasts club - $15, access to FSM
microfiche parts catalogs, and other stuff online.

Their forums (300M ezBoard) are broken down into very specific
categories, such as, one on changing spark plugs, another on tires and
wheels, one on brakes, a forum on nothing but black trim and
wetherstripping, transmission, etc, etc., etc.

You didn't mention changing the tranny fluid and filter - you definitely
need to do that. 60 to 80k mile intervals should work well.

P.S. fluid would be flushed and ATF+4 used for refill (Chrysler dealers
can't get the branded P.S. fluid because Chryler says to sub. ATF+4).

Coolant: Chrysler antifreeze or Zerex G05 (the aftermarket brand same
thing) - supposed to not have certain issues that the orange stuff
(Prestone Extended Life™/DexCool™) has.

I have seen not a single post on injector problems, so they apparently
are very problem free, but I throw some Techron™ or Marvel Mystery Oil
in the gas every once in a while as routine/preventative maintenance.

(BTW - mine's a Concorde not an M, but same car mechanically, except for
my 2.7L engine).

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

Oops - that's $15 to join and have access to the info. and other bene's
(Club decal, etc.).

The forums are open to the public. Great bunch of guys.

One guy has broken into the 14's with simple mods.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

My 99 is still on original battery though I had my dealer pull it and
clean terminals once when I was getting other things serviced.

Just had belts replaced. Noticed some tiny cracks in ac belt so had
both replaced.

Engine used to make a grind at low speed. Chrysler TSB says it can be
the belts. It went away with new belts. Also I've noticed that
engine is trifle quieter when oil is slight over fill mark and very
noisy if slightly under min mark (happened once to me when I wasn't
checking oil). Starting to wonder if stick is off.