Oil leak on '94 Voyager

I have had a '94 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 V6 since it was new, with about 55,000
miles on it. It is used mostly for short trips such as a daily 6-mile
commute to and from work and it gets less than 6000 miles/year. I've pretty
much babied it other than the frequent short trips.

It has started leaking oil pretty badly. As best I can see, the oil is
beginning in a broad band just below the exhaust manifold, on the back side
of the engine.

I've done some searching on the internet and I've noted quite a bit of
material on leaky rear main seals, and problems with stuck PCV valves
causing overpressures in the crankcase, and I suspect that trying to fix the
problem would be more expensive than the minivan is worth. It may be
cheaper to fix it than to get a new car, but every couple of years or so the
engine of the minivan has died while driving (usually on a busy urban
interstate highway) so I am reluctant to put too much money into it.

Do any of you experts out there have an opinion on what could be wrong, and
what the cost range (best case - worst case) would be to get it fixed? Or
is it time to get another vehicle?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I am not the famous director.

 

That motor is a notorious leaker. The biggest culprits are the valve cover
gaskets, and cam seals.
Larry

 

It has started leaking oil pretty badly. As best I can see, the oil is

Below the exhaust manifold? Head gasket. Above it? Valve cover gasket.
Believe it or not, there's a world of difference in the cost of the repair
between these two, so it will pay to have somebody diagnose it for you.

--Geoff

 

I was suspecting the head gasket, but I wanted to get unbiased opinions
without voicing my opinion first. According to my 'net research the head
gasket is also likely to allow water to leak into the oil, but I have not
seen any evidence of that. I replaced the rings on a motorcycle engine a
long time ago, so I can imagine what is involved in replacing a head gasket.

I forgot to ask another question in my original post but forgot ... if it
is a head gasket and the repair cost would probably better than the trade-in
value of a healthy van, would anyone advise using a stopleak oil additive to
try to reduce the problem, or is that likely to cause problems?

Thanks in advance...

 

Cam seals. They all do that (burn-out 'cuz heat is trapped against the
firewall). Just have the Cam seals and valve cover gaskets Replaced. Not a
big deal, or DYS.
LS

 

I own a 98 Voyager. I am also tired of saying how nice it runs, because it has cost me a lot of money in stupid common Chrysler problems. The problem you are having is the Cam seals are leaking. I changed mine last year and here I go changing them again.

 

I own a 98 Voyager. I am also tired of saying how nice it runs, because it has cost me a lot of money in stupid common Chrysler problems. The problem you are having is the Cam seals are leaking. I changed mine last year and here I go changing them again.

 

Chrysler didn't make the engine. Mitsubishi did. If you had a "chrysler
engine" you wouldn't be having those issues.
Larry

has cost me a lot of money in stupid common Chrysler problems. The problem
you are having is the Cam seals are leaking. I changed mine last year and
here I go changing them again.