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Be careful, alot of crank seals are replaced unnecessary because the head
gasket is the problem. It wouldn't hurt to have someone do an oil dye test
to verify the leak.
Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech
Glenn is right. I would suggest putting in the dye first, to rule out
the valve cover gasket. I bought some dye from NAPA for about $4.50.
Mine turned out to be the rear main seal. It is a one-piece unit, so
the transmission has to come out. I had a transmission shop do it, and
it was about $460, and that included the seal and a new flexplate that
the seal had gouged, as it back out of position. The cost also
included a fluid and filter change for the tranmission, so I felt that
the cost was reasonable.
In your post, you did not mention the year for your LX. If it is an
early 1999 or before, I would suggest checking the headgasket for oil
leakage too. When my 1998 gasket started having problems, oil started
dripping from the left-rear corner of the head. It did not go as
headgaskets typically do, where the cooling system is involved.
This is a known problem for this engine, that was finally corrected
mid-way through the 1999 model year.
-Kirk Matheson