[chuzz]

Hey guys, real quick question. I need to know if the 3.2 has a timing belt or chain. I've got a line on a 2000 Concorde with the 3.2 for a thousand bucks. That's my biggest concern with it.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

3.3 engine, I think. Don't know if it's belt or chain.

 

[hotan80min]

Hey guys, real quick question. I need to know if the 3.2 has a timing belt or chain. I've got a line on a 2000 Concorde with the 3.2 for a thousand bucks. That's my biggest concern with it.

I was 99 percent certain that the 2000 3.2L was a belt design, so I double checked and Rock Auto lists timing belts for it. They also mention that it is an interference design, meaning if the belt breaks while the engine is running, there will more than likely be other damage. If you get the vehicle and don't know when the belt was last changed, I would do it right away to be safe. The belts don't appear to be expensive, just time consuming to change.

 

[ImperialCrown]

The 3.2L is a belt. It is a smaller displacement version of the 3.5L and is very similar mechanically. Also a desirable engine.
If the rest of the car is clean and solid, this doesn't have to be a deal-breaker.

 

[chuzz]

Thanks for the replies, guys. This is apparently a kid that has the car, because he says it's a 3.5 (and I knew better than that), and that it has a rod knocking and he doesn't know how to fix it. It's a couple of hundred miles from me, but the body and interior are in extremely good shape from what I can tell in the pictures. He doesn't list the mileage, so I'm not sure about the timing belt. I'm more concerned that maybe what he thinks the rod knocking could be a busted flex plate. What do you guys think?

 

[Doug D]

I dunno Chuzz. The knock doesn't sound encouraging. Either way you're looking at major repairs. Flexplates are relatively inexpensive (it was $67 for the one in my 2000 T&C back in 2005 or so), but the labor will kill you. To replace the flexplate in my T&C it was $550 parts and labor(5-6 hour labor charge). If it were me, I'd pass.

 

[KOG]

You need to get this one about free or leave it alone.

 

[chuzz]

Thanks, KOG, that's pretty much what I'm thinking. If I can get the kid to send me a sound clip, I might be a little more willing to make the drive. I've had engines with both problems over the years and having had two brain surgeries, I'm missing part of my skull in the back just above my neck. I can't do any heavy lifting any more, so there's no way I'd tackle this job if it sounded like the broken flex plate. I'm not supposed to lift more than 15 pounds any more. I do sometimes, out of pure necessity, but I pay for it for the next couple of days with a severe headache. It's just not worth it.