Dodge 3.3L V6 Caravan - Burning Oil - WHY?

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hi fellow oil heads,

i've got a question regarding my Dad's 2002 Dodge Caravan. the motor in there is a 3.3L V6 (what a pile of poop that engine is!)

anyways, it has been consuming massive amounts of oil lately. The car has about 130,000 KM on it now, which really isn't so high. I've been doing the oil changes myself using good filters (napa gold) and either mobil 1 or castrol syntec. more recently syntec. always 5W-30. so it has been consuming about 2.5 liters of oil every 4000 KM's for the last while, and it doesn't seem normal at all.

i was wondering if anyone knew if these engines are notorious for oil consumption or something? or if anyone might be able to suggest why it is consuming so much? also, what can be done to reduce consumption?

any help is much appreciated!
 
for one check for leaks like Rear Main Seal and valve cover gaskets. if no leaks are there,look at where your oil filter goes on and see if you have any streaks of oil down the bottom of the motor and parts behind it.. some people are bad about not tightening those things like they are supposed to. (not saying you are one of them) but just some things to check off the list. if everyhting is fine there and the oil filter is on tight and no leaks, perhaps change to maxlife by valvoline for a few OCI's... for one chrystler products are subpar aside from the 4.0 inline 6. personally ill never buy one again. from what you said it seems like you are leaking somewhere. its not old enough to burn a lot of oil IMO.
 
btw is it the Mitsubishi motor? if it is, kiss those rings goodbye. if there is a company that sucks as bad or worse than chrystler its mitsubishi.. this is just my opinion. i have had jeeps, caravan, and the diamante.. all [censored] aside from the jeep motors
 
The 3.3 litre engine is a Chrysler engine.....only the earlier 3.0 litre V-6 was a Mitsu engine. I've known a couple of people who have gotten realy high mileage out of those engines (3.3), I'd say they are fairly solid, but I'd agree, that oil consumption seems high...
 
One mans pile-o-poop is another mans treasure. I have almost a million combined trouble-free miles on the 3.3's.

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I think the advice to check for leaks and check the PCV is a good start.

A compression or leakdown test wouldn't hurt.

Then you could try a thicker oil like Castrol Syntec 10W-40, Shell Rotella synthetic 5W-40, or Redline 5W-30, 5W-40.

My experience has been that many times I simply have to start running Lube Control LC-20, or better yet Auto RX to give the ring packs a little extra cleaning.
 
I think the PCV is the source of your issues. If it was leaking ...you would surely have an oil slick under the van's parking space. You're at a quart/1000 miles (if I did my math right). Before I used any alternative oils in an attempt to reduce it (assuming that a new PCV valve doesn't work), I'd use Auto-Rx with the cheapest conventional oil you can find.

I have a hard time believing that any engine driven sensibly and serviced regularly can decay to this state due to wear. Even if it was a decade older.


btw- my 3.0 Mitsu went around 170k without undue oil consumption. It was replaced with a long block due to warped heads. Otherwise, it would still be going strong. It was a choice of reman heads for $900 or a reman long block for $2200.

Although "excitment" isn't something I associate with the 3.3, I've heard no mass complaints about it in terms of durability.
 
My Dads 3.3 van just runs and runs. In fact he has run the last three oil changes at 19k miles, 27k miles (this one was not supposed to go that long) and the current one he has 13k miles on the Amsoil ASL.
I am not sure how many qts between changes. A few? The thing takes it all in stride.

You should check out allpar.com good site. I would check some of the things mentioned and maybe try auto-rx.

I think they are pretty decent engines my self.
 
thanks for the suggestions guys.

i'm gonna have the PCV checked. in fact, the car has been showing a check engine light for a little while now... might be related to the PCV as well. i'm gonna borrow a scanner from a buddy of mine and see if it shows the problem indicated by the check engine light.

as for oil leaks, there are none. no oil under the parking spot. no visible oil under the motor or at any of the main seals. the car is definitely consuming, not leaking.

so my next steps are check the PCV and then run AutoRX on it. but can someone explain to me exactly how this AutoRX stuff works, and how i'm supposed to apply the treatment? oh, and where can i get it in Canada?
 
do the pcv first just go ahead and replace it and save the auto rx for later if it doesnt help. seems to me you dont need the RX just yet.. drive it for awhile and see if the pcv helps if not check back with us. look into buying new plugs and wires for that thing too if it hasnt been done in forever. it wont help your oil but it will help your gas mileage and future breakdown issues.. look into a seafoam treatment too. its affordable and easy to do.. oh and it works
 
If you decide to use Auto RX with Castrol Syntec:

Add 1 bottle of Auto RX to existing oil 2000 miles before the next oil change. A new oil filter is a good idea.

When you do the next oil change, use a conventional oil like Castrol GTX for 2000 miles with a new oil filter. [ If you use a synthetic oil for the rinse, go 3000 miles.

Change the oil filter after 1000 miles.

Go back to oil of your choice.
 
Typically it's not the 3.3 and 3.8 Liter chrysler engines that give the problems. Usually it's the transmissions. And this is the point where someone usually pipes in and says that they fixed it back in the year blah blah blah.

Well, my mother has had 3 of these and all of them blew the trannies at around 60K. Consumer reports has given the worst possible reliability ratings for the transmission units in Dodge and Chrysler vans. Obviously there is a correlation.

I would check the PCV and run an AutoRX dose.
 
yeah its deff the trannies and electrical issues that gives chrystler a bad rap from me. i had a mitsubishi diamante and it started smoking and burning oil at 90k miles. it had the same motor as that 3000 gt. yeah that thing would scoot but it was a POS. i will never ever buy another chrystler or mitsu product again.. well until i see chrystlers getting better in the quality dept. which i dont see in the near future..
 
Despite Chrysler's propaganda it's still a sub-par transmission....should have been replaced two generations ago.
 
ya, i'm not a dodge/jeep/chrysler fan myself either. in fact, my dad has never bought a new car in his life until this stupid van... and he only regrets it. it has been problem after problem from day 1. steering rack, transmission, etc. always problems.

anyways, i'm going to have the PCV replaced a.s.a.p. and we'll see if that helps. i think i'll also run an AutoRX dose again. can someone tell me how to buy it? is there any store in Canada that carries it?
 
You have to buy it from their website.
It does work for cleaning inside the engine.
Follow the intructions on their website.

If you have a check engine light, I would get those codes read.
I don't know if auto part stores will do that for you for free in Canada, like they do in the USA.......
If not, I'll bet you have a co-worker or friend that has a OBDII code reader.....is SUPER easy to read the codes.
Just make sure that you get the actual numeric code.
A internet search on "Dodge Caravan Pxxxx" with the "P" code in the 'xxx" will get you plenty of input on common causes of the code on your particular vehicle.
There are a lot of your vehicle on the road.....so there is a LOT of data out there.
Your Napa Gold Filters are Made by Wix, and are a very good filter.
 
A friend asked me to replace his valve stem seals in one of those a few years back because he was burning oil. I removed the valve covers to begin work and noticed the rear valve cover had a massive leak. I fixed it, put the engine all back together and drove it. No more lost oil. I called him back to pick it up and he was infuriated that I didn't do the stem seals. It still doesn't leak oil to this day. We don't talk anymore.
 
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