PRV Concept
FR / EN
Home/Vehicles/Dodge Monaco

Dodge Monaco —
the other American variant

Dodge's turn: the 1990 Monaco carries the Z7X 715, the PRV's other American variant — 150 bhp. Premier and Monaco are sisters under the skin, and their Douvrin V6 shares the same transverse architecture with electronic injection — and the same service manual, « Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco 1990 », seven excerpts of which are in the Library.

150
bhp · Z7X 715
2975
cc · MPI injection
1990
the PRV V6 Monaco
7
manual excerpts in the Library
Engines

One code only: Z7X 715

The Z7X 715 is, with the two Eagles' 711, one of the two « US market » variants of Douvrin's 3.0-litre, rated at 150 bhp — the mildest members of a family that stretches to 268 bhp. Dodge never struck a code of its own. A 90° V6 of 3.0 litres, 93 × 73 mm bore and stroke, 2,975 cc, 9.3 compression, 150 bhp at 5,000 rpm and 232 N·m at 3,750, firing order 1-6-3-5-2-4 — mounted transversely and fed by MPI multipoint injection, while Europe still mounts it lengthways. Aluminium block and heads, forged crankshaft with 30° crankpin offset: it is the offset-crankpin version, with even firing intervals, and its rockers carry hydraulic lash adjusters — no valve clearance to set, the only such case in the Library.

Dodge Monaco Transverse · MPI injection · 1990 Every known code →
Z7X 715150 bhp
2,975 ccMPI multipoint injection12 valvesHydraulic lash adjustersTransverseZ7X engine file →
Dodge Monaco (1990) — the service manual common to both cars gives RS 9YCX plugs at 0.9 mm and 15 N·m, fuel pressure 193 to 207 kPa, 5.7 l of oil and 8.2 l of coolant, unleaded mandatory and methanol forbidden.
One manual for two

Premier and Monaco, sisters under the skin

The 1990 service manual covers both cars in one: engines, MPI injection, cooling, ignition, manifolds and emissions — completed by the 1989 Chrysler overhaul booklet. What it says of the 3.0 L therefore applies to the Monaco as to the Premier: hydraulic adjusters with no clearance to set, a distributor reduced to a cap and rotor — advance lives in the ECU —, no knock sensor, no radiator cap, and engine number 89616 that changes gasket, torque and liners.

The seven excerpts are in the Library; the Eagle Premier file details the 711, and the Z7X file the whole family.

150
BHP · Z7X 715 · TRANSVERSE · MPI
2975
CC
9,3
: 1 · COMPRESSION RATIO
232
N·m AT 3,750 RPM
The American chapter

Three saloons, one French V6

The two Eagles

The Eagle Premier and the Eagle / Renault Medallion carry the Z7X 711; the Monaco the 715. All three share the same transverse architecture with electronic injection, the norm on every 1980s and 1990s PRV.

The famous compatriot

They are not America's first PRVs: the DeLorean DMC-12 had already made the V6 a movie star — with a rear-mounted 130 bhp K-Jetronic 2.8-litre, from the previous generation.

On the same block

The Americans' Z7X is the same 3.0-litre as the Alpine A610's (250 bhp, Z7X 744) and the Safrane Biturbo's (268 bhp, Z7X 726) — from 150 to 268 bhp on a single block.

In the workshop

What the Chrysler manuals say about the 3.0 L

Eight answers drawn from the shared service manual and the overhaul booklet — the FAQ has nearly ninety on the Monaco and the Premier.

Dodge Monaco The full FAQ →
Moteur
Which PRV engine powers the Eagle Premier and Dodge Monaco?
A 90° V6 of 3.0 litres (182 cubic inches), bore × stroke 93 × 73 mm, compression ratio 9.3 : 1, rated at 232 N·m at 3,750 rpm, firing order 1-6-3-5-2-4. Cylinder block and heads in aluminium alloy, steel camshaft, cast nodular iron connecting rods, hemispherical combustion cavity in the piston. The crankshaft is forged steel with a 30° journal offset — this is the split-crankpin version of the PRV. Capacities: 5.7 litres of oil, 8.2 litres of coolant. Cylinders are numbered 1 to 3 rear to front on the left bank, 4 to 6 on the right. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folios 9-1 and 9-2.
Distribution
Does the Eagle Premier's PRV V6 have the original PRV's asymmetric valve timing?
No, and the way the manual writes it says so by itself: a single column of figures, where the A310 guide gave two, one per bank. Intake opens 14° BTDC, closes 58° ABDC; exhaust opens 56° BBDC, closes 12° ATDC; overlap 26°, intake duration 252°, exhaust duration 248°. This follows from the 30° journal offset: firing intervals became even, and both banks share one diagram. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folio 9-68.
Soupapes
Do the valve clearances need adjusting on the Eagle Premier's 3.0L?
No — and that sets it apart from every other PRV in the Library. The 3.0L has a hydraulic tappet housed inside the rocker arm itself (an “automatic lash adjuster”, one per rocker, in left and right versions): take-up is automatic, there is no adjusting screw. The Alpine A310, the DeLorean and the Volvo B27/B28 are all screw-adjusted. The practical consequence: valve clatter on a 3.0L is not taken up, it is diagnosed — oil level, oil too thin or diluted, worn rockers or shafts, a failing hydraulic tappet. This also sheds light on an open question about the Z7X family, whose Renault manual mentions hydraulic tappets: this Z7X 711 does have them. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folios 9-10, 9-38 and 9-39.
89616
What does engine number 89616 change on a 3.0L?
It splits production in two, and the list is long — it is the number to read before ordering any top-end part. Before no. 89616: liner protrusion 0.13 to 0.20 mm, head gasket 1.70 mm, head torque 20 N·m + 106°, re-tightening compulsory after running in. From no. 89616: protrusion 0.05 to 0.12 mm, gasket 1.45 mm, torque 40 N·m + 180°, no re-tightening, and a different rear crankshaft seal (interchangeable, but fitted with its own tool). The manual adds the essential: “the new and old style liners are not interchangeable” and “engines starting with engine number 89616 utilize a different gasket that is not interchangeable”. The number is on the tag on the right-hand side of the block, below the exhaust manifold: first six digits Z7X711, then the build sequence. 3.0L V6 engine overhaul book — Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco, Chrysler Motors 1989, pages 5, 6, 21-24, 46 and 55.
Radiateur
Why has the Eagle Premier's radiator no cap?
Because pressurisation happens at the expansion bottle, and it alone carries a cap: “the radiator does not have a pressure cap. The cap on the coolant pressure bottle is the only cap used in the system”. Coolant flows through that bottle at all times, cold engine or hot — so it is not a catch tank, it is a component of the circuit. Useful figures: the cap's valve releases between 110 and 124 kPa (16 to 18 psi) and that is how trapped air is purged; on the bench, pressurise the cap to 124 kPa and it must stabilise within ± 6.9 kPa (1 psi), or it is scrap. White deposits around the cap betray a leak. The system itself works between 108 and 140 kPa; beyond that, radiator and hoses suffer. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folios 7-1, 7-11, 7-14 and 7-15.
Cliquetis
Does the American 3.0L have a knock sensor?
The documents say no — despite one stray sentence to the contrary. The injection chapter describes the warm-up mode thus: “if an engine knock is detected by the knock sensor, the ECU will retard ignition timing until the knock is eliminated”. But that sensor appears nowhere else: not in the ECU's two input lists (fourteen inputs, listed twice), not in the full pin-out of the ECU's four connectors A, B, C and D, not in the twenty-nine points of the visual inspection, nor in the diagnostic procedures. That sentence is boilerplate copied from another engine in the group — the kind of accident these American manuals are prone to. A family reminder: it is the European Z7W with Renix injection that carries a knock sensor; the K-Jetronic Z7V does not. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folios 14-17, 14-18, 14-26 and 14-33.
Essence
What petrol for an American PRV V6?
Unleaded only — the filler neck is sized to accept only unleaded nozzles, and a deflector pushes larger ones away. On blends the manual is clear: ethanol is accepted up to 10 percent (“gasohol”), with the caveat that “due to their generally higher volatility, these blends may adversely affect the starting, driveability and fuel efficiency”; MTBE is accepted up to 15 percent; but methanol is FORBIDDEN — “DO NOT USE GASOLINES CONTAINING METHANOL. Use of methanol/gasoline blends may result in starting and driveability deterioration and damage to critical fuel system components”. On knock, a useful nuance: “occasional trace knock at low engine speeds is not harmful; however, continued knock at high speeds can damage your engine”. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folios 14-1, 14-2 and 14-7.
Refroidissement
What are the cooling specifications of the Eagle Premier's 3.0L?
Capacity 8.2 litres. Radiator with one row of tubes, 23 fins per inch. Electric fan of 14.6 inches with 5 blades. Thermostat: starts to open at 190 °F (88 °C), fully open at 214 °F (101 °C). The system normally works between 108 and 140 kPa (16 to 20 psi) — and the manual warns that exceeding this pressure may damage the radiator or the hoses. Draining and flushing recommended at 48,000 km or 30 months, whichever comes first. 1990 Eagle Premier / Dodge Monaco service manual, folios 7-10 to 7-12 and 7-28.

In the Library

The service manual shared by both cars in six excerpts and the Chrysler booklet, readable page by page: 1990 service manual — group 9, engines · Chrysler booklet — 3.0 L engine overhaul · 1990 service manual — MPI multipoint injection · 1990 service manual — cooling · 1990 service manual — ignition · 1990 service manual — manifolds and exhaust · 1990 service manual — emissions

On the forum

The Monaco has its own section on the forum — presentations, restorations, questions to members who drive one. Dodge Monaco section →

The code behind the Monaco

Z7X — from 150 to 268 bhp, code by code — and the two Eagles that share the manual.

Z7X file →Eagle Premier file →Medallion file → All vehicles →