98 Intrepid oil use, leaking by cap?

I have a 1998 Intrepid with a 2.7L engine. I noticed that the engine
seems to use a bit of oil but doesn't seem to burn any. I also noticed
that my engine is always wet looking right around the oil filler cap.
Anyone else have this problem? I am thinking it is probably the pcv
valve but maybe the cap is screwed too. Any ideas or is a new pcv a
safe bet?

 

Could be one or even both, is it time to replace the PCV valve? How many
miles are on this vehicle? And the oil fill cap is only a few bucks.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Sounds like you need a new cap - it has an o-ring - yours must be bad -
will come with the new cap.

Regarding the PCV: If you've never checked your PCV valve and hoses out,
I'll bet you'll find the hose going to the PCV valve completely clogged
with black powder and liquid goo at the 90° bend just before the PCV
valve, and the hose wall possibly coming apart (dissolving at that 90°
bend).

If your PCV valve or hose is clogged, what can happen under certain
conditions is that the crankcase breather (the hose going from the
passenger side valve over to the intake tube) will have to bleed off
higher than normal blow-by pressure in your crankcase, and the air
moving thru it at the required velocity will be carrying a bit of oil
with it.

Also, even with a working PCV system, there will be some oil going into
the intake plenum thru the PCV and breather hoses. IOW - it's normal to
see some oil loss under heavy acceleration with everything working
properly. There may be some contribution thru bad valve seals too at
this age.

I have a suggestion for the PCV valve and hose:
Replace the hose with a new design assembly that they started putting on
the '01 2.7L's as part of the solution to sludging in this engine. I
don't know if they obsoleted the old hose or if they will provide you
with one or the other depending on what came in yours from the factory.
But get the PCV hose assembly for the '01 model year (tell the parts
guy that's what you have). It will cost just under $40.

It will be plug-n-play with one exception. It has a heat exchanger
(yours doesn't have this) in the middle of the hose. It steals a little
heat from the coolant system to keep the blow-by gases from condensing
out in that hose and clogging it up. On your car now, there is a small
(10 or 12mm) coolant hose that goes from one of the heater hoses
(between the engine and the fire wall) to the coolant pressure bottle
(driver side fender well). Cut that hose in the middle and plug one cut
end to one of the heat exchanger ports, and the other cut end to the
other heat exchanger ports. (Actually the new hose assembly has one new
hose already on one of the heat exchanger ports - so just cut your
orignal hose shorter and throw away one of the cut off ends.)

Here's a photo to give you an idea of what I'm talking about - shows the
new hose assembly (not installed yet) laid parallel to the original hose
on my 2.7:
http://images9.fotki.com/v181/photos/4/42816/2169829/IMG_3902b-vi.jpg
(you're looking straight down on the back of the engine, firewall at top
of photo, pressure bottle to the right)

Oh yeah - put in a new PCV valve - get it from the dealer. I've seen
too much junk in aftermarket PCV valves over the years.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Oh - here's the part number for the new-style PCV hose with heat
exchanger: 04663792AH

Just give that to the parts guy to avoid any arguments about model year,
VIN numbers etc.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Awesome, thanks for the help. I am going to the parts store later today
to pick up what I will need. One more question, I have heard a lot
about sludging in these engines. I am wonderign if there is a way to
clean out any sludge buildup my engine may already have. Thanks for the
help.