Oil Leak Gremlin!

[Jason Fischbach]

Hi Guys,

I have a 98 Rt 16000 miles:

I have had the car into the shop with the Viper Tech who has basically worked on the car from day one, except for 1 time.

I noticed some oil on the floor under the front part of the engine. Upon further inspection I noticed that the top left drivers side portion of the engine had a leak somewhere. Not a terrible one but a leak non the less. So I took it to a dealer friend of mine, they didnt fix the problem. I then took it to the Viper Tech as stated above. He has worked on the car 3 times and is baffled. Im now going on a 4th time to fix the issue.

I know im grasping here but Im wondering if there has been any known issues over time with the same problem and what may it be. Jim the Viper Tech has been on the phone with Chrysler and the engine people and has very little luck in finding the issue.

Basically its coming from the upper left hand corner and wetting the little front tubes, and its pudle if you will a few ounces of oil down into the pockets on the top of the engine..like the first 3 going front to back. If If i drive it long enough the oil will make it to the floor. He has changed valve gaskets, some of the pcv system ( he eliminated something on my 98 that isnt on the 99"s).

Im wondering if there are oil lines up there that would burp if you will, under more spirited driving only because the little breather tubes are just plug together and not really fastened. There looks to be a thermostat housing right there on top and is there something running through there. We put die in there but I let my son drive the car and more oil than usual. Im sure he was getting on it. Leads me to believe it could be driving related with pressure or something.

From the pics maybe a head gasket which Im not sure has been changed. Ill check. To me it seems like such a cut and dry engine, I mean everything is right there that it shouldnt be this hard.

I know Im shooting in the dark but I thought it was worth a shot.

Thanks for any input.

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[MTGTS]

First pic it looks like there's a leak at the valve cover seal? Have they ever been off? They aren't to expensive to replace IIRC and it's a pretty easy job.

You could also have a leak in the PCV hose or connection which is under the intake behind the Tstat housing. Very hard to see unless you take the manifold off. Mine went bad and I had a similar looking oil pool in the valley there. I have an extra one of those hoses if you end up needing one.

 

[Jason Fischbach]

Thanks for the reply..

Yes the covers have been removed and replaced 2 times now. As far as the PVC they have worked and replaced there to. I wonder if its possible something is warped and if so how? Very strange and really frustrating.

 

[MTGTS]

try putting some of the UV additive in the oil and use a backlight on the motor in a dark garage. Dealerships usually have some. not sure about Pepboys, autozone, etc but I'm guessing they do

 

[gutterworks129]

Mine leaked as well in the engine valley. Took the hood off, intake off, installed a $4.00 rubber grumet. I had to slick it with oil and press in with a socket. PVC valve was super tight. You also need intake gaskets as well, $48.00. Simple-Green the engine and vacuum with shop-vac.

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[Jason Fischbach]

so you traced your problem back to the PCV Valve so I understand. Making it a much tighter fit.

Thanks

 

[klamathpro]

Replace the PCV rubber gromet first. Take your valve covers off, then seal them with a thin coat or black RTV. If problem persists, it's your timing chain cover for sure. It is definately NOT head gaskets so don't worry. Call Chuck Tator, he will explain why it's your timing chain cover and how that oil gets in the valley. I have a 98' with the exact same problem. Retorqing the timing chain cover bolts and doing all the steps I mentioned got rid of the problem. You may or may not get lucky if your timing chain gasket is already shot though. There was a build quality problem from 96' - 98' where the gasket wasn't put on right and the torque numbers were wrong.

 

[Jason Fischbach]

Thank you, very interesting information. Does the car have to get ripped apart to get to the bolts? Ill look the the service manual in the am.

Couldn't wait took a quick look and It looks as though if those bolts aren't tight oil could come out the top and run into the valley area. That would also explain why the tiny vent tubes right above are wet looking. I think I can re-torque them without too much trouble. Ill clean it up and give it a shot. Fingers crossed.

Thanks again.

 

[GTS Dean]

The only thing that's a pain is replacing the timing cover gasket. The rest is ordinary tinkering.

 

[Jerry Scott[CO]]

Your oil could be coming from the two vent hoses that come off the front of the valve covers, that dump into the airbox. This will happen with heavy breaking going into turns and send oil into the arifilter. The fix is to add a puke tank that collects the oil instead of letting it go to the airbox.

Jerry

 

[Solid Red 98]

I had the same leak on my 98 GTS. After chasing it for a while, I took it to Valaya racing for evaluation. They determined that it was the timing cover gasket. I had them replace it, and I haven't had any trouble. Apparently, it is a high pressure/rpm leak. My GTS had about 17k on the clock when it went started. Ever so often i get a seep around what looks like the pcv grommet, I clean it up and it goes away for a couple of thousand miles. Definitely look into the timing cover gasket, as coolant mixing into the oil is a possibility.

 

[GTSHolgi]

... There was a build quality problem from 96' - 98' where the gasket wasn't put on right and the torque numbers were wrong.

That's interesting to read as I also own a '98 RT/10. Is there any idea when they corrected that in production? My car was made in November '98 so at the end of the mentioned period. I have checked the area under the intake manifold and luckily it is as dry as it gets: ) but I am worried that my car is impacted by this problem (has 14,5k miles at the moment)

Holger

 

[DaveGF]

My 1996 GTS was the timing cover gasket. My leak was actually visible when revving the engine up to about 3,500 RPM or so. You might try that. Apparently the increased oil pressure at that RPM was enough to make the leak visible. My gasket needed replaced. I took it to the dealer in full SCCA T-1 trim with Hoosiers and a roll cage and they warrantied it in 2002. Good luck.