98 caravan 2.4L 4cylinder reliability

I just got a 98 caravan w/2.4L 4cyl. with 38K miles. I've read that
older 2.4L 4cyl. sometimes needed head gasket replacement until a new
head gasket design came out. Does anyone know when the new design came
out? My van was built in Jan 98.

 

Yours has it. The updated one

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Hmmm. I had understood that the new MLS gasket did not enter production
until Feb of 1999. The gasket in my 1998 Stratus with a 2.4 started to
leak oil from the left rear corner at 53,000 miles. I was told that was
the classic symptom of 2.4 headgasket failure. My Stratus was assembled
in June 1998. Did vans get the new gasket earlier?

-KM

 

You are right, I stand corrected.
The MLS gasket was released for production, as a running change, in the
1999 model year for all models except FJ.

 

Hopefully, the previous owner had the headgasket changed. With the low
mileage that your van has, the problem has yet to develop if the
original is still there. I don't know if there is a way to determine if
the gasket has been changed or not. If it was done at a dealer, it will
probably show up if they look up your VIN in the database.

When I had mine done, the repair was around $750. That included
re-surfacing the head. The original factory warranty was expired, but I
had purchased a third party service agreement. It covered most of the
cost, except some of the supplies. A special spray on sealer is needed
for the MLS gasket, and they would not cover that.

-KM

 

it will still leak over time i have done 2 in the last month that had the mls
gasket
heads were straight