Hello all...

Recently, my mother's 2000 Chrysler Grand Voyager van (195,575 or so miles
on the clock) seems to have jumped out of time. It was going down the
highway at the time, probably about 45-50 miles per hour and it just quit.
Subsequent examination shows that the engine is very clearly out of time but
it will try to run, albeit very poorly. This experiment was only attempted
once, and the engine only ran for about three seconds before stalling. The
rhythm of the starter motor is also very clearly off.

I read through some old posts here and it seems like the lifespan of the
chain should be about 200,000 miles. Okay, fine. I won't argue with it over
5,000 or so piddly miles. Stuff happens.

What nobody ever seems to say one way or another is whether or not the 3.3L
V6 engine is an interference engine design or not. People have asked and the
answer that comes out is "why does it matter, the chain is good up to
200,000 miles". Well, that's fine, but if it slips or fails at that magical
point, one needs to know if the engine can simply be retimed, the chain
replaced and everything goes on as it did before...or if repairs to bent
valves and such may be required. That's why it matters!

The van ran fine before this unfortunate incident.

I'd also like to know how much of a job it is to change the timing chain. Is
there anything in particular to watch out for? Things that should be done
"while we were in there anyway"? Many thanks to anyone who can shed some
light on this.

William