Hey, sorry if this has been asked and answered...its late and I'm posting this right before I head to bed in the hopes I'll get some answers on this.

The last oil change I had done at a service shop where I bought my tires for the van. About 2500 miles later I was cleaning the TB cause it was sticking, and just doing the usual look-over. I checked the oil, and it was really low. I had to add 2 qts to bring it level. So I thought maybe the service shop shorted me on the oil, but I also thought to keep an eye on it. Well just today I check it again (about 800 miles later) and its down about another quart. So that's 3 quarts in about 3300 miles....seems a bit excessive to me.

I haven't done too much investigating, but I don't have any oil stains on the garage floor. I noticed the oil pan gasket looked "oily", but nothing real major. No drips or wet spots. I haven't dug into it yet, but wanted to know if there were any common issues on the 3.8 that I should start investigating like changing the PCV valve, etc.

BTW, this is a 2005 Chrysler T&C Touring, 3.8L Auto. It has about 53K on it, so I'm still under the 7/70 powertrain warranty if this would be something engine mechanical related.

Thanks for any info!

 

No thoughts?? I found a site after searching the internet that suggests this might be consider normal, however I tend to be somewhat worried by this type of consumption. I'm doing the PCV replacement this weekend, we'll see how that goes.

For all I know, this could have been going on for some time now. This is the wife's car, and she always had the dealer do the oil changes, and other than checking the air on the tires, I never did much maintenance on it during that time.

I guess I'll keep an eye on it. It appears this is somewhat common with this motor to consume oil between changes.

 

Chrysler show 800 to 1k miles is normal. But if you want to add engine dye to the oil and ck with a black lite.

 

I replaced the PCV valve this weekend, I'll keep an eye on it and see how it goes for now. I'm covered until 70K miles (assuming Chrysler Corporate doesn't go under....) so unless it gets worse I'll just keep on keepin' on.

 

HELP! I have the same problem. Did you ever find an answer? Ours has high highway miles and is out of warranty. The problem just started a month or so ago after we realized it was over 3 quarts low. Added 3 quarts and 2 weeks later it was down a quart an a half. No sign of leakage. Our mechanic suggested the PCV valve and to make sure to go with the factory part in this instance, not aftermarket. He said if it's not leaking, it's burning it and the catalytic converter was working overtime to keep up to prevent smoke out the tailpipe. Only a matter of time til that failed. $$$. I'd love to hear if you solved the problem. I'm not optimistic that the PCV will do it.

 

You'd be surprised what manufacturers consider acceptable oil loss. A small drip will not account for such a large loss of oil. You are on the right track with the PCV but your problem is probably related to oil control rings. I would take a look at the plugs.

 

i have noticed with the 3.8 that the factory oil pan gasket is garbag and can leak under driving speeds but wont under idel or when it is parked if i where you id replace the gasket with a dry type rubber bolded one and see if that helps

 

In my opinion, a "wet" gasket should not cause a 1,100 mile per quart oil consumption without coating the engine and evetually reaching the ground unless it is a valve cover gasket coating the clyinder head, block and oil pan before it drips to the ground.

I'd follow the van and watch for light blue smoke out the tail pipe when the van is driven under variious conditions.

My '98 DOHC Neon occasionally puffs out blue smoke (oil) after a long red traffic light idling and when the throttle is first cracked open - and usually more towards the end of the oil change interval. No drips on the floor, etc. with 1500-2000 miles per quart - depending on the brand of oil and my driving (drag strip, auto crossing or just having fun with more expensive cars)

 

Replaced the PCV valve 2 weeks ago. Actually, just like most people said, I could not get the old one out. Took it to my mechanic and they struggled with it a while but finally got it out. When I asked how they did it, they just smiled and said "patience", but admitted they had a tough time and contemplated removing the windshield wiper motor cover as others have had to do. In the end, they didn't but it was a royal pain. Nice design job, Chrysler - put a mission critical, user-replaceable part down in a non-removable sleeve on the back side of the engine with no clearance. What were they thinking?

Anyway, at my mechanic's recommendation, I picked the part up at the dealer. They told me that for some reason, non OEM PCV's have failed them more than once, even brand new. $16 for a lousy OEM PCV valve!!! (ouch) but my mechanic didn't charge me to put it in - great guys. I'm happy to report it did the trick. 2 weeks now, even a long weekend road trip, and haven't lost/burned any noticeable amount. Quite a change from the quart a week we were burning. Hopefully we didn't do too much damage in the times the oil burned 2 quarts low. I'm hoping the cat. conv. recovers after working overtime to burn that oil. Thanks for this forum. Without it, I was out of ideas. Hope my success can help others.

 

my 2006 chrysler van with a 3.8 will use 3qts in 4k mile no leaks or drips,haven't tried pcv yet. With all oils now in qt bottles check your oil often, add amount to put on full mark donot let level go to add mark, oil temp will increase as level goes down, increasing oil break down, causing high enternal metal temps in engine. This increases engine wear and failure
Valvoline oil run 2 cars on dynos, running one car 1qt low, 1car on full, at 85k the qt low engine blew and was completely worn out, the one kept full had no measurable wear.both cars serviced by gm schedule. Keep you oil level full no matter what you drive