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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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.