I am having noise from my Caravan when in gear (squeal and tapping). Had an oil leak, so changed the gasket. When I had the Oil Pan open I saw the hole on the attached picture. Want to know how big of a problem I am having?

 

Post your engine info. It looks like a hole a counter weight section of the crankshaft based on the pic you shared.

 

3.8 L V6. That is what I thought, but the hole looked awfully big, rough and jagged like something broke off. I would love to hear it is normal. I didn't see any metal in the oil pan.

 

My guess is that it's most likely a crankshaft balancing hole.

http://www.carcraft.com/howto/ccrp_0...g/viewall.html