Heavy oil leak - Chrysler Voyager
 

Hi there, I joined this forum to see if anyone can shed some light on the problem I have.

I have a 2008 (08reg) Chrysler Voyager se 2.4L petrol that has covered ONLY 28000 miles

about 5 weeks ago it started Leaving oil everywhere from the bottom end of the engine. so took it straight to a garage and they said the seal near the crankshaft had split. so they went to change it and said they couldn't get the timing pulley of so they had to break and replace it all.

We then had a phone call to say that they had changed everything but the problem hadn't been solved (fixed for 5 mins until it was driven then popped the seal straight out again), so it then had to be transported to Chrysler main dealers to let them find the problem to sort it out. this garage have gave us a bill of over £400 for what they couldn't sort out.

Chrysler say that its some bearings that have worked lose and it will cost around £500 to fix. as well as this Chrysler said that the car had a recall against it for the airbag sensor's (wasn't working)

so all in all there is a major engine problem at a very young age and a serious airbag fault that they neglected to notify us about.

Do i have A leg to stand on to get Chrysler to cover any of the costs??

You have a crankshaft thrust bearing that has come out. That causes play in the crankshaft laterally. That movement is what is popping the front crank seal out.

It wasn't widespread but I have seen several of them. Mostly in PT Cruiser and Stratus. Not so many outside the warranty period. You need to get in contact with Chrysler yourself. Don't depend on the dealer to do it. Does your van have powertrain warranty past the 3/36 ?

We got in touch With Chrysler head office which said to have it sent to the dealer to be fixed.

I didn't think this would be a common problem but it seems like it might be so is there any way off them Paying the costs?? I know its just out of warrenty but it seems like a fault on there half.

It IS a problem Chrysler is aware of. I can promise you that. It wasn't in such huge numbers that it made big headlines, but Chrysler techs and dealers here have run into this issue with the 2.4L MANY times.

There is no other fix except for a lower engine replacement. IMO they should step up and cover it....all of it. You may be a year or so out of warranty but your mileage is low. However, if you are not the original owner it may be difiicult getting it covered 100%.

Ohh this is very interesting as they have said that to fix it they are going to replace the bearings. and mentioned nothing about a Lower engine replacement.

Would you know how I can go about getting them to step up and cover all the costs because as of yet they are billing us.

Not sure what country the problems and fixes normally happen but I am in the UK.

They probably didn't see it much in the UK. I believe there are mostly Diesel 4 cylinder engines in the UK version. But, the 2.4L Gas is in a bunch of cars here...not in the 2008 vans though. Wierd...anyway. I have to think as rare as a 2008 van with a 2.4L is, they had to have pulled some old stock to put that particular powertrain together. There was a known issue with PT Cruiser 2.4L from 2005-2006 and some even newer. There was never a TSB, but they knew about it. For repair purposes, tell the dealer to search for a STAR case from 2006 PT Cruiser USA concerning front crankshaft seal. I would NOT do just a bearing. To my knowledge there isn't a modified thrust bearing available, so you'll end up right here again 28,000 more miles from now or sooner than that.



The way you make your case is...you were original owner.. your friends said "no! no! don't buy that piece of chit bankrupt Chrysler or you'll be sorry!! " ....but you did anyway because you heard about the great Chrysler minivan reliability.

The mileage is low, even within the basic warranty period even if the time has expired.

You have plenty of brands in UK to choose from like Cooper or Ford. You would rather make a downpayment on one of those rather than spend it on another engine...bla bla, you get the jist of it? Try and at least get something. Play hardball, but don't be a complete jerk.

Outside of this thrust bearing issue in some of them, they really are reliable engines. The fuel economy is a joke for a 4 cylinder though to be honest. Just keep the plugs and wires changed every 30 or 40K and keep your oil changed and you'll be good.

Ohh I see. Didn't think i've seen many petrol versions in the UK

I cant seem to access my Private messages :(

Yeah, I edited that. You won't have access to PM for about 10 or more posts. Refresh the page and re-read my last post.

ah right thank you. will get in touch tomorrow and let you know how we get on.. thanks

Not had any luck in the costs being covered but had a quote of £4000 for a bottom end engine rebuild.

Also does anyone know the recommended service time (either so many thousand miles or per year etc??) We cant seem to find this in any of the books we have for the car. and we got no actual service book with the car :/