Noob with a serious oil leak, Help...

[TSPalmer]

Recently, my wife hit a bike rack in the middle of the road with her 2006 PT. It was tubular aluminum and from what we could tell did no real damage other than cosmetic (knocked out the honeycomb cover over where the passenger fog light woud be and broke the front license plate bracket). A few weeks later she had the oil changed and I noticed she was leaving a light trail of oil in the driveway as she came in after work, but none before. I kept a check on the oil and replaced as necessary (5W30 synthetic). As a week or two goes by, I notice the trail becoming larger and the oil consumption increasing. I figured the oil filter was loose or the seal had stuck from the previous filter so I put it up on ramps and from looking, thought the oil pan had slid back a bit cause it looked like that was where the oil was dripping from.

With all the testing and looking, just about all the 5W30 was gone, so I put 10W40 in to see what that would do. No change, so my brother-in-law the diesel mechanic came over while I was sleeping (I work 3rd shift) and took off a large black plastic cover from the bottom passenger side of the engine and proclaimed that the front seal was leaking. I talked with another guy that works on Chrysler products and he said that was a strange thing for the PT series and was probably not the problem. It now pours oil at a frightening rate and I've not had a chance to get back under it. It's been sitting in the yard ever since and I really need to get it back on the road so I don't have to wait for my wife to get home to go to work.

Now that I've wrote a novel, any ideas where my oil leak may be? It only leaks once the engine is running, nothing noticable after it's cut off.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. 2006 PT Cruiser 2.4 Non Turbo Auto Tranny 36,000+ miles.

[2004PTCruiser]

maybe a camshaft oil seal you can see it if you take off the cover for the timing belt or a crankshaft oil seal either one would not be much fun changing

[littleblueGT]

Check the oil drain plug! Some mechanics will over tighten or cross thread the plug. If all was OK before the oil change check the plug and oil filter. Also due to the impact check to see if the filter or oil pan was punctured.I change my own oil because I fear the plug being over tightened and strip the threads.

[ucantcme]

Oil Changing places like to ruin that plug. They stripped mine. It was only a matter of time before I went back to them and having them say "We'll put a new one on for $9.99 or some bogus stuff.

Check that plug for sure!

[TSPalmer]

Thanks everyone for the replies, it's been raining like mad, I'll have to wait a while to get out and crawl under, but I'll check the areas mentioned. I did notice that the place that changed the oil had put blue goo on the oil filter and the drain plug, so I'm beginning to have a bad feeling about the drain plug. The two seals sound out of my league

Thanks,
Shawn

[BLUEH20]

Blue goo-!!!!

Find yourself another oil change service--better yet get down and dirty--do it yourself!

[slartyblarfast]

I know what's happening. The thrust bearing in the engine has worn out causing the crank to move forward and knock out the crank seal. Take it to a Chrysler dealer and see if you have powertrain warranty. Did you buy it new or used? Did you get an extended warranty? If not and you have to pay out of pocket get ready to bleed heavily. Bare minimum you will need a crank package (crankshaft,crank bearings and rod bearings). A short block is the easier fix but may be a more expensive. Probably not related to to the accident or the oil change. It's not a common thing but I have seen it happen before.

[TSPalmer]

Slarty,

You hit the nail on the head, I had the PT towed up to the dealership yesterday and that's exactly what they told me was going on. I was getting ready to post to ask if this was possible as it would seem if the crank was loose enough to do that it would be noticable driving, but I guess not.

I'm hoping to add this to the original claim that I had opened with the insurance company for the body work that needed to be done (minor $700.00, scratches and the little honeycomb cover where a fog light would be).

We got the vehicle used and the 3yr ran out on Oct. 17th. The tech suggested the short block as putting in a new seal would blow out the first time we stepped on the gas. At least this way we'll have 3yr/36,000 on the short block. They offered to find a used engine, but I'm kind of leary of that, you never know what your going to get and with only a 90 day warranty, I'd rather try the short block. I'm supposed to go up there Monday and bring the insurance info so they can fax in a supplement to the claim. I'll mention the crank package and see if that is an option as the short block with labor is $3700.

Thanks all, I'll post back and inform as I get more info.
Shawn