I have a leak coming from the timing belt side oil pan gasket. Its coming
from the round area around the crankshft. What's the easiest way to pull the pan? Do I have to raise the engine like the Chilton book says or can I get it out without?

 

Is it the pan that is leaking or the crankshaft seal?

 

Newbie here, I hate to hijack this thread, but I'm having the same problem on my 2000 3.0L grand Caravan.
If needed, I can start another thread asking the same question.

I've detected a good amount of oil leaking from the same area. It seems to build up at the curved point on the oil pan. I originally thought the oil pan gasket was leaking in that area and was going to simply replace the oil pan gasket and go from there.
However, anyone trying to do so will find out very quickly that this is no simple task and requires disconnecting motor mounts and a several other things to gain access to all 16 bolts.

Against my better judgment, I was thinking of thoroughly cleaning that area and applying some sort of compound to see if it stopped the leak. This is not the correct procedure and I do not normally justify "cheating", but removal of the oil pan is difficult for the typical person and if that is not the problem, then I do not need to expend time and money doing so.

How can I tell if it is coming from the oil pan gasket/lip area or the crankshaft seal itself?

again, I'd hate to got through the tedious task of replacing the oil pan gasket if that is not the problem.


Also, I originally thought the water pump had a leak. I noticed about a month ago that the water level in the reservoir and radiator was low. The temp gauge was reading normal. I added antifreeze and ran it some more. The level dropped again. at this point, I was sure that the engine had a leak so I added water to the system, put it up on ramps, put a piece of cardboard under the vehicle, started it up and turned the heater on.
This is when I found the vehicle leaking the oil, but I've been unable to find a significant leak of water from anywhere yet. doesn't mean it's not there, it could be very small.

 

I have the same problem, 2000 Dodge Caravan. Oil light came on, leaking oil fairly rapidly when the car is running from the timing belt side.

Did anyone figure out what it was, and more importantly what's the cost estimate to fix it? (I can't do it myself).

Thanks!
-Erik

 

If it leaks more when it is running then it is probably the crank seal or even the cam seal. Cost is going to depend on who you find to do it.

 

Mine ended up being a crankshaft seal, not too bad too do yourself, takes patience and time, probably pretty costly at a shop.

 

Thanks for telling us the fix.

 

Thanks for the info. Any idea what I should expect for costs from a repair shop? If its just the oil pan how much, and if it's the crankshaft seal how much? Ballpark is fine, I'm just trying to figure out if it's even worth fixing.

I appreciate the help!

 

I have the same thing going on my1994 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.0

 

Step 1 ask the dealer for the cost to do the job, they will look up the book time on the job. Ask them to break down the cost of the job if it seems to expensive (it will be at the dealer most times) then find out how many hours they quote. Most shops will charge you book time unless they find a complication that wastes their time because usually the book time is longer than needed since book time involves diagnosing the problem, so any shop expects to beat that time but will bill you for the time anyway.....that's life!

Step 2 get quotes from small shops capable of doing the job (read reviews) and tell them what the dealer quoted as "the book time" which will save them time looking. The small shops will contact Autozone/O'Reilly's/Advanced/Pep Boys ...etc. and find who will sell them the parts cheapest. Then they will call you back with quotes.

Note: you have to get quotes for oil pan gasket and crank seal separately because you don't know which. But as another poster pointed out if you loose far more oil with the engine running then the leak is likely a crank seal if it is a seal. It could also be something like a filter bypass or oil pressure sending switch/sensor that is leaking (I'm not familiar with this engine just stuff like these can leak).

Note 2: If you know any used car dealers they can usually tell you which shops are giving them the best prices which is an indication they need the work and you can negotiate a better price.