3.8 Grand Caravan, oil leak- please help

I bought my 2000 Grand Caravan 3.8, 176000KM about 2 weeks ago, and have
driven it about 2500KM so far. When I checked the engine oil last night, I
noticed it lost the oil to the min. I put a cardboard under the car, and
this morning noticed an oil spot on it. So do you know if this is easy to
fix, where should I start checking.

Thanks in advance for any help-Rob

I have a 3.3, which is the same block as the 3.8.

Lots of places, but the most common a

- Valve Cover gaskets
- Front Crank Seal
- Oil Pan Gasket (sometimes)

But why guess! Do this:

- Have the engine shampooed TOP AND BOTTOM.
- Take the van to your shop and have them put a "UV Tracer" into the
oil
- Drive for a week or two
- Go back to the shop

They will hit the engine with a blacklight, and every single leak will
show plain as day

You can then assess the costs and priorities with getting the leaks
fixed.

The engine shampoo should be less than $100 (probably about $70). Just
about any car detailing shop can do it.

The UV tracer that my shop put into my van was provided at "no
charge". In my case, it was the front crank seal. That repair was less
than $100.

Valve cover gaskets, welll, that is a pain in the ass because they are
hard to get at. Not sure how much they will cost to do, but it will be
a heck of a lot more than $100, that is for sure.

hth

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:47:13 -0400, "Rob" > wrote:

>I bought my 2000 Grand Caravan 3.8, 176000KM about 2 weeks ago, and have
>driven it about 2500KM so far. When I checked the engine oil last night, I
>noticed it lost the oil to the min. I put a cardboard under the car, and
>this morning noticed an oil spot on it. So do you know if this is easy to
>fix, where should I start checking.
>
>Thanks in advance for any help-Rob
>

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:12:25 -0700, NewMan >
wrote:

>The engine shampoo should be less than $100 (probably about $70). Just
>about any car detailing shop can do it. <snip>

Why spend so much money on a detail shop and a UV dye? Just pressure
wash it using a citric acid degreaser and wait...the oil will be
visible very soon.

For a leak to affect oil level, it'd have to be pretty huge. With
176K on it, I'd opine that a lot of that oil's going out the tailpipe.

NewMan wrote:
> I have a 3.3, which is the same block as the 3.8.
>
> Lots of places, but the most common a
>
> - Valve Cover gaskets
> - Front Crank Seal
> - Oil Pan Gasket (sometimes)
>
> But why guess! Do this:
>
> - Have the engine shampooed TOP AND BOTTOM.
> - Take the van to your shop and have them put a "UV Tracer" into the
> oil
> - Drive for a week or two
> - Go back to the shop
>
> They will hit the engine with a blacklight, and every single leak will
> show plain as day
>
> You can then assess the costs and priorities with getting the leaks
> fixed.
>
> The engine shampoo should be less than $100 (probably about $70). Just
> about any car detailing shop can do it.
>
> The UV tracer that my shop put into my van was provided at "no
> charge". In my case, it was the front crank seal. That repair was less
> than $100.
>
> Valve cover gaskets, welll, that is a pain in the ass because they are
> hard to get at. Not sure how much they will cost to do, but it will be
> a heck of a lot more than $100, that is for sure.
>
> hth
>
> On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:47:13 -0400, "Rob" > wrote:
>
> >I bought my 2000 Grand Caravan 3.8, 176000KM about 2 weeks ago, and have
> >driven it about 2500KM so far. When I checked the engine oil last night, I
> >noticed it lost the oil to the min. I put a cardboard under the car, and
> >this morning noticed an oil spot on it. So do you know if this is easy to
> >fix, where should I start checking.
> >
> >Thanks in advance for any help-Rob
> >

I agree with the above procedure to put in the UV dye.

My 3.3 had a bad timing cover gasket that was leaking.

-KM

Rob wrote:
> I bought my 2000 Grand Caravan 3.8, 176000KM about 2 weeks ago, and have
> driven it about 2500KM so far. When I checked the engine oil last night, I
> noticed it lost the oil to the min. I put a cardboard under the car, and
> this morning noticed an oil spot on it. So do you know if this is easy to
> fix, where should I start checking.
>
> Thanks in advance for any help-Rob


things to check- oil leaks occur from the following:

front main seal- a job but can be done at home
rear main seal- a REAL job- you have to pull the transmission off, and
pull the oil pan to change it sometimes
valve cover gaskets- easy to change usually
front timing cover gasket- quite a job
also look at your oil filter area, any other area where a distributor,
sensor, etc. goes into the engine

one way to approach this is, take your car to the spray car wash,
totally clean it with the engine degreaser and rinse, then drive it
more and look very closely afterwards, with the car on ramps, to see
where it's leaking from

good luck

I took the car to a shop, he looked at it and said:
oil pan gasket and front crank seal has to be replaced.
the labour would be 3.5 hr ($300), Do you think if thats DIY job, $400 is
much mony for me.
Thanks agin for your suggestions-Rob

"duty-honor-country" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Rob wrote:
> > I bought my 2000 Grand Caravan 3.8, 176000KM about 2 weeks ago, and have
> > driven it about 2500KM so far. When I checked the engine oil last night,
I
> > noticed it lost the oil to the min. I put a cardboard under the car, and
> > this morning noticed an oil spot on it. So do you know if this is easy
to
> > fix, where should I start checking.
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any help-Rob
>
>
> things to check- oil leaks occur from the following:
>
> front main seal- a job but can be done at home
> rear main seal- a REAL job- you have to pull the transmission off, and
> pull the oil pan to change it sometimes
> valve cover gaskets- easy to change usually
> front timing cover gasket- quite a job
> also look at your oil filter area, any other area where a distributor,
> sensor, etc. goes into the engine
>
> one way to approach this is, take your car to the spray car wash,
> totally clean it with the engine degreaser and rinse, then drive it
> more and look very closely afterwards, with the car on ramps, to see
> where it's leaking from
>
> good luck
>

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:00:35 -0400, "Rob" > wrote:

>I took the car to a shop, he looked at it and said:
>oil pan gasket and front crank seal has to be replaced. <snip>

Get your sockets out, tighen up the pan bolts, clean off the pan
exterior and see what leaks after that. If the front seal's really
shot, you may have to do the front cover, a real buggar of a job, but
I can't imagine that the entire pan gasket is "gone."

Dirty up your knuckles and give it a go...you might clean up 90% of
the leak right there.

My 1994 Grand Caravan had 184,000 km on it, and did not burn or leak a
single drop of oil. (3.3 liter engine).

The UV die is "free", and it will pinpoint ALL the leaks. Some leaks
are very small and hard to find. I noticed a leak, and the shop could
not find it. After the UV, it turned out to be the front crank seal.

I HATE oil leaks. UV is an inexpensive and fast way to diagnose a
potential problem and head it off at the pass.

Degrease the engine yourself, OK. It will save you a few bucks - if
you have the time to do it, a place to accomplish it, and happen to
have the citric stuff. I don't have my own house anymore, and I have
very ittle spare time, so I just got a shop to do it.

On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:28:25 -0700, DeserTBoB >
wrote:

>On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:12:25 -0700, NewMan >
>wrote:
>
>>The engine shampoo should be less than $100 (probably about $70). Just
>>about any car detailing shop can do it. <snip>
>
>Why spend so much money on a detail shop and a UV dye? Just pressure
>wash it using a citric acid degreaser and wait...the oil will be
>visible very soon.
>
>For a leak to affect oil level, it'd have to be pretty huge. With
>176K on it, I'd opine that a lot of that oil's going out the tailpipe.

Shortly after I purchased my 1994 GC, the oil pan gasket started to
leak. I had it replaced, but it was so long ago (about 50,000 km) that
I can't recall how much it cost.

Seems to me that it was about an hours labour - so $75, and then
whatever the part was. Plus I combined with with a regular lube, oil,
and filter - so my bet is it was under $150.

The front crank seal is easy to replace, the complication being that
you need to re&re the harmonic balancer to do so.

Again, I had it replaced. Seems to me that this was under $100.

I would say your shop is a little high.

I think the oil pan gasket is certainly doable at home quite easily.
The front crank seal, depends on your level of experience. If you are
mechically inclinded, and you have the correct puller tool to remove
the harmonic balancer, and you have more time available than cash,
then you should be able to do it.



On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:00:35 -0400, "Rob" > wrote:

>I took the car to a shop, he looked at it and said:
>oil pan gasket and front crank seal has to be replaced.
>the labour would be 3.5 hr ($300), Do you think if thats DIY job, $400 is
>much mony for me.
>Thanks agin for your suggestions-Rob
>
>"duty-honor-country" > wrote in message
roups.com...
>>
>> Rob wrote:
>> > I bought my 2000 Grand Caravan 3.8, 176000KM about 2 weeks ago, and have
>> > driven it about 2500KM so far. When I checked the engine oil last night,
>I
>> > noticed it lost the oil to the min. I put a cardboard under the car, and
>> > this morning noticed an oil spot on it. So do you know if this is easy
>to
>> > fix, where should I start checking.
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance for any help-Rob
>>
>>
>> things to check- oil leaks occur from the following:
>>
>> front main seal- a job but can be done at home
>> rear main seal- a REAL job- you have to pull the transmission off, and
>> pull the oil pan to change it sometimes
>> valve cover gaskets- easy to change usually
>> front timing cover gasket- quite a job
>> also look at your oil filter area, any other area where a distributor,
>> sensor, etc. goes into the engine
>>
>> one way to approach this is, take your car to the spray car wash,
>> totally clean it with the engine degreaser and rinse, then drive it
>> more and look very closely afterwards, with the car on ramps, to see
>> where it's leaking from
>>
>> good luck
>>
>

Be careful and do not overtighten these oil pan bolts since they can snap
off... Retighten to the correct torque settings for that size bolt per the
FSM.


"DeserTBoB" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 31 Aug 2006 14:00:35 -0400, "Rob" > wrote:
>
>>I took the car to a shop, he looked at it and said:
>>oil pan gasket and front crank seal has to be replaced. <snip>
>
> Get your sockets out, tighen up the pan bolts, clean off the pan
> exterior and see what leaks after that. If the front seal's really
> shot, you may have to do the front cover, a real buggar of a job, but
> I can't imagine that the entire pan gasket is "gone."
>
> Dirty up your knuckles and give it a go...you might clean up 90% of
> the leak right there.