PT Cruiser high cost repairs ??????

Being the new owner of a "cherry" 2001 PT Cruiser w/24,500 miles on it, are
there any routine maintenance/repairs that cost more than for the same on other
vehicles?
For instance, on my previous vehicle (1990 Nissan 4 X 4 PU) I could replace the
spark plugs, spark plug wires and rotor myself. On the Cruiser, I can't even
see these parts!!
What kind of charges should I be expecting?

 

Tom,

The Cruiser was somewhat form over ease-of-repair. I changed the plugs
and wires on mine recently, and can tell you that it's not a quick and
painless task. You need to disconnect the air filter box from the throttle
body; unbolt the throttle body from the engine; remove throttle cable(s);
unbolt intake manifold (about 5 screws); unbolt PCV tube; pull intake
assembly up and towards the front of the car so that the PCV tube comes out
of the intake; find a creative way to hold it all up. (Bungee?) From there
you can play with the spark plugs. Two of them broke on my car just trying
to get them out. The intake hovering above can block your in-and-out
process with the wrench.

Putting everything back together can be a pain,especialy in the dark.
The bolts for the PCV tube are of different sizes, and the flange that holds
the bolts over the tube likes to slide down to the great depths. It's a
P.I.T.A. process. The Turbo owners have it easier, since their intake is
not blocking the plugs. Duh?!

-Brayton

 

The Turbo owners have it easier, since their intake is

I was going to jump all over ya, until I read the last part, my plugs are
right there, and yes its a turbo.

 

I too broke a wire off on the plug. You need to twist it not just pull it. I
got a set of Chrysler performance wires and dual plat plugs and hope never
to have to do it again while I own this nice vehicle.

Richard.

 

Thanks for the well written tips!

At what mileage did you replace the spark plugs? - RM

 

While the spark plug change on the normal 2.4 L PT is a pain, I've done it
myself, changing the oil, air filter and pcv valve are pretty easy
operations. The anti-freeze is that new orange stuff that isn't supposed to
be changed for 5 years, so not that many people have done anything with it.

For all repairs/maintenance the do-it-yourself PT owner should always check
out:

www.ptdoityourself.net

It's a great site with plenty of info on how to maintain, fix and modify
your PT. Instructions almost always have pictures with them. If you have a
question on how something is done, or need advice on what might be wrong,
just submit your own question and they usually get back to you within a day
or two.

Another great site for info and owner forums is:

www.ptcruiserlinks.com

Oh, and btw, you can't change the rotor on a PT Cruiser, it doesn't have
one, or a distributor either.

Good luck with your PT

SRG

 

If the PT Cruiser engine compartment is anything like a Stratus, I
understand what you mean. I had the headgasket replaced, and the shop
indicated that the work took more time due to the limited space around
the engine.

-Kirk Matheson

 

oh god not bosche (sp?) I hear the platinum plugs are not good for the pt
cruiser.

 

also join the forums, great people lots of knowledge.

punch

 

Well, I did twist the plug to get it off. From what I could see, all the
plugs were okay until my wrench got ahold of them. ;-)

 

Well, I have 9k miles. I did it just because 1) Plugs are fairly cheap and
2) I wanted to see how hard it REALLY was to do. It was all for the
experience, but I got more than I bargained for!'