Location of Camshaft Position Sensor on 3.8 liter?

(See 'Safety Shutdown for Low Oil Pressure' thread for more background info)

1997 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8 liter V-6.

I think I may have an oil leak coming from my camshaft position sensor. The sensor itself may be damaged, so I'm thinking I might as well replace it. Where is this sensor located? Is it easy to replace?

Thanks.

Reply to
powrwrap
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You think the sensor is leaking oil but you don't know where it is? First of all those sensors on that vehicle don't leak. wait till you try to get it out!! It will be stuck and you may have to break it apart to remove it. But the sensor is located on the passenger side belt area. where the engine mount bolts to the side of the engine.

Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

Reply to
maxpower

Yes, it sounds strange to say I've got something leaking and don't know where it is! Here's the background:

I've had a niggling oil leak for months, off and on and just slightly enough to leave marks on the garage floor that needed to be cleaned up every 10 days or so. I brought it in to my usual trusted mechanic for a look-see. He admitted it was hard to determine where it was leaking so cleaned off the built-up oil on the engine, put some dye in the oil and had me come back in a week. He thought it was coming from the valve cover.

Then a couple of weeks ago the oil leaking got much worse, to the point of laying cardboard on the garage floor. It leaves a spot about the size of a quarter every time it's parked. Then last Friday the vehicle died and I was getting a 54 error code. Then today I Googled 1997 Caravan 3.8 liter camshaft sensor and see this TSB summary:

Date: 12/11/1998 Component Name: 061000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE NHTSA #: 090798 SUMMARY: SUBJECT REGARDING OIL SEEPAGE AT CAM POSITION SENSOR / MISINTERPRETED HEAD GASKET LEAK. *YC

so I'm thinking I've got linkage between the oil leak and the error code 54 and the vehicle dying. Any further info on that TSB would be appreciated.

But this morning I drove the car and the Check Engine Light was not lit up.

Reply to
powrwrap

Yes, it sounds strange to say I've got something leaking and don't know where it is! Here's the background:

I've had a niggling oil leak for months, off and on and just slightly enough to leave marks on the garage floor that needed to be cleaned up every 10 days or so. I brought it in to my usual trusted mechanic for a look-see. He admitted it was hard to determine where it was leaking so cleaned off the built-up oil on the engine, put some dye in the oil and had me come back in a week. He thought it was coming from the valve cover.

Then a couple of weeks ago the oil leaking got much worse, to the point of laying cardboard on the garage floor. It leaves a spot about the size of a quarter every time it's parked. Then last Friday the vehicle died and I was getting a 54 error code. Then today I Googled 1997 Caravan 3.8 liter camshaft sensor and see this TSB summary:

Date: 12/11/1998 Component Name: 061000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE NHTSA #: 090798 SUMMARY: SUBJECT REGARDING OIL SEEPAGE AT CAM POSITION SENSOR / MISINTERPRETED HEAD GASKET LEAK. *YC

so I'm thinking I've got linkage between the oil leak and the error code 54 and the vehicle dying. Any further info on that TSB would be appreciated.

But this morning I drove the car and the Check Engine Light was not lit up.

If the mechanic put dye in the system he should be able to tell you where the leak is by using a black lite. Just because you got a fault code for a cam sensor does not actually mean that sensor is at fault. If a vehicle exhibits a no-start due to failure of the cam or crank sensor, the opposite sensor may be reported as the fault ( bad cam sensor sets crank sensor fault and vice versa). The faulty sensor may generate a signal strong enough (at key on) to be interpreted by the controller as a legitimate signal. Since the engine is not running, the opposite sensor will not be generating any pulses. The controller, expecting corresponding pulses from both sensors, sets a fault for the sensor that is not generating any pulses. In this case, the good sensor is reported as faulty. A scan tool would verify what sensor is at fault. If your planning on keeping this vehicle my suggestion to you would be replace both the cam and crank sensor.

As far as that TSB you found. are you sure it doesn't say 4 cylinder in your google search??? Because the cam sensor on the 4 cylinder engine was always misdiagnosed as a head gasket failure. The 6 cyl cam sensor is not in the area of a headgasket failure.

My opinion

Glenn

Reply to
maxpower

He did use a black light and he said it looked like the valve cover, but that it was difficult to tell. Of course during that week after he put the dye in the car barely leaked a drop.

OK thanks. That's good information to know.

Upon further review at more sites, it appears this misdiagnosis applies to 2.0 and 2.4 liter engines.

Reply to
powrwrap

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