I have a '97 Plymouth Voyage with about 188k miles. It has a severe oil leak that I would like to locate and resolve. The valve cover gasket was shot. I replaced that and it helped only a little. The leak seems to be from an area at the rear of the motor. Any thoughts on a likely culprit? -- Christian
It sounds like it might be a rear main seal. In order to replace it, you need to pull the trans. I say this not knowing what type engine you have.
NCS wrote (copied from Google since my newsserver didn't bring in the reply): It's the 2.4L engine w/ automatic transmission. This job is beyond my scope. Do you have any thoughts on what it would cost to have this done? Thanks for the help. -- Christian
Don't just get prices on a rear main seal without first having an oil dye test performed on the vehicle. More then likely your oil leak is the cyl head gasket. A very common oil leak for that engine in that year. Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech
Glenn, Thanks for the advice. As a Chrysler Tech, maybe you can give me some ballpark figures on the repair costs, parts & labor (I know they'll vary from place to place). How much for... The dye test? Cylinder head gasket replacement? Rear main seal replacement? The reason I ask is: 1) There is no Chrysler dealership locally so I would be going out of town; 2) I avoid additional debt as much as I can and would like to have money set aside ahead of time. -- Christian
Dye test about an hr labor, cylinder head gasket about 6 hrs labor, materials roughly $200.00 parts not including timing belt or water pump if needed. Rear main $60.00 parts roughly 5 hrs labor. Thats a guesstamation
