I had a strange thing happen with my wife's 08 Dodge Caravan. I checked the engine oil tonight and it wasn't showing any at all on the dipstick. There has been no check engine light on or anything. I put 2.5 quarts I had and brought the level up to just showing low on the dipstick. She's taking it in for an oil change tomorrow. I did the last oil change about 2000 miles ago and I am pretty good about double checking the level after it warms up and circulates through the new filter. The car has around 62,0000 miles on it. Theres no oil pressure gauge either.

The only possible thing I can think of is the big snowstorm we had around Christmas, my wife had quite a time getting home and said she was flooring it trying to make some big unplowed, unsanded hills. She didn't know about the anti-skid feature (EFS) which automatically puts the brakes on if the front tires don't have traction. She thought she was spinning and from what she says had the pedal to the floor. She said she could smell the tires (probably the transmission). Is is possible she burned the oil out of the engine? I would think if it went down that much we would be seeing clouds of smoke whenever we start the car up which we don't. Why didn't the engine oil level sensor trip? Like I said, it was just below the dipstick. Could there been enough with 2.5 quarts of oil (it takes 5 with an oil change) to keep the engine lubed properly?

Whats your thoughts, experiences?

 

Chrysler has always said,that your engine may use up to 1qt of engine oil from 800 to1k miles. And this is normal. But what you can do, is add engine dye to the engine and drive it for a few miles and have it checked with a black light. The black light will make easier to find any leaks.

 

The van is parked in our garage all day and the garage floor has no oil drip spots at all. my wife works from home so its not like it is driven much and sitting in a parking lot somewhere all day. Thanks for the suggestion but I think if it was leaking somewhere I would be seeing it all over the garage floor.

Whats your thoughts about the engine oil level sensor, could it be bad? There is no check engine light on. If the engine burned more than two quarts of oil wouldn't I see a cloud of smoke everytime I started the engine?

Another question comes to mind, when that ESP mode is on, and both wheels have no traction, the system applies brake pressure to both slipping wheels correct? Is there some kind of govenor on the engine from taching up high?

thanks

 

My wifes van does bascially the exact same thing, and I know of 2 other vans of variuos years with the same motor that also do the same thing.

I was told to try and replace the PCV valve, and that should help my issue, evidently its a common problem with the 3.8 liter motors. I got the same information from 2 different dealers, which is surprising in itself.

Anyway, I just got the pcv valve and its been so cold here in Pa that I havent had time to do it, but during the warm months we are using 3/4 of a quart of oil after 2 full tanks of gas. (600-800 miles)

My wife also ran it low on oil one time, and I to put 2.5 or 3 quarts in, but there was no dash light. I asked the dealer about this to, and he said the light wouldnt come on unless it had 10psi of oil pressure, so the level in the pan might only matter to some extent, as long as it keeps that little bit of pressure, then it probably wont come on.

Good luck, and check that oil often.

 

Some 3.8s have oil control ring problems and consume excessive amounts of oil. Over the long run this will damage the catalytic converter.

The PCV valve being bad won't help, but it won't cause 3/4 quart/800 mile oil loss.
I had a stuck PCV valve on my 3.3L and it caused it consume 1L in 6500km. After changing the PCV valve my oil consumption is down to what I believe to be perfectly reasonable, about 0.25L in 8000km.

 

I looked around and can't seem to locate it. I haven't had a chance yet to pick one up from Advance Auto so I know exactly what it looks like.

Thanks for any help.

Jeff

 

Jeff,
It is located in rear valve cover. But you cannot see the PCV valve because it is hidden inside the #2 hose. The hose connects to the valve cover not to the PCV valve.

Remove the two #4 clamps and remove the #2 hose, you will now see the PCV valve is pressed into the valve cover. Take note of how far the valve is pressed into the valve cover before removing the old one.

The valve just pulls out, but it can be quite difficult to remove as the rubber seal hardens with age. It can also be somewhat difficult getting the new valve seated properly, I used a deep socket with an outside diameter slightly smaller than the hole in the valve cover to help to seat the valve. Be sure the valve is fully seated or it will become loose and not function correctly.



George