Well, I have a little oil leak in the srt6. I don't actually have the car right now, it's back home with my dad (back tires are GONE) and just sitting in his garage. He drives it every few days just to keep it happy, but he said it's leaking oil from somewhere, but he can't tell where yet, mostly because he doesn't want to have to crawl under the car.

I saw on here someone recommended a UV dye to put in the oil to find the leak. He went to the store and got something called "super seal engine oil stop leak." It has the UV dye as well as something that I guess you pour in and it stops the leak. Is it a good idea for him to try to use that stuff, or should he trash the quick fix and find the leak and take it to a mechanic? I saw a couple of things while looking around online that said stuff like that is a bad idea, but I figured I'd get your guy's opinions as well.

We have a warranty on it from the dealership that may cover it, so he's going to look into that, but if it doesn't we'll have to find it.

So to sum up, where are the main places he should look for the leak when he puts the dye in, and should he use the stop-leak stuff?

 

Check your valve cover gaskets before pouring anything into the engine.

 

Unless it's the dreaded transmission fluid leak. Is your dad capable of telling the difference?

And Harbor had it right-the valve covers are the #1 place to look for motor oil leaks.

 

I actually asked him if he was sure it was oil and not the transmission fluid, and he said definitely oil. He's pretty mechanically smart so I'm sure he's right.

I'll tell him to check the valve covers and get back to you.

Where exactly are the valve covers, for those like me that aren't car smart at all.

 

The valve covers are rectangular (roughly) shaped castings or forgings on either side on the top of the engine. With your SRT, you might have to remove the engine cover to do a good inspection. Sorry, bud but the photo upload ain't working.

I'm sure he'll know where to look.

Actually, at least on the N/A engine there are small covers on top of the valve covers and those are what leak. Shouldn't be too hard to find.

Best of luck, little buddy!

 

Ok, he said he's pretty sure it's not the valve covers. He said he looked and couldn't find any oil around there, and that he never smells any burning oil from it running down the engine (should he smell it if it's truly leaking from there?) He said he'd check again, but he's pretty confident it's not there.

Where is the next most likely place to look?

 

The oil filter housing.

 

Front pulley seal and oil pressure sending unit have been mentioned as leaking a few times. You would have to search the forum for the threads.

 

I read this thread last night, and today after washing and waxing the SRT, I
took a look under the motor and saw what looked like oil sitting on top of
the underside cover. Stuck my finger in it, and it looked kinda like oil, but
didn't have a slippery feel. Maybe diluted with water after the wash?

Anyway, I took a quick look around the valve covers (didn't take the air
boxes off) and around the oil filter location. Didn't see any oil leaking from
those areas. But, when I checked the dip stick, I found I was a little more
than 1/2 quart low.

I'm for sure to have this looked at in the Service Center. I was planning
to have the "double wrench" service done next Saturday, but I guess I'll
be taking it in sooner. Thanks for opening this thread.

Coyote

 

I had to replace the trans fitting due to leaking, and while I was under there, I cleaned everything up. I looked the othere day and found that the steering stabilizer is no leaking, so I need to fix that. I would like to do a tranning fluid change so both will be done while up in the air.

How bad is the leak? Is your dust cover on or off the car, to better tell where the leak is coming from?

 

The leak is pretty slow, I think he said it leaves about a quarter size puddle if sat overnight. So not horrible.

Not sure if he's taken the cover off or not. I'll ask.

 

Ok, update.

Home today getting the car and took a look. After we got the pan off of the bottom and followed the oil up I think I found it at the back of the left (if you are looking at the front of the car) valve cover.

We also pulled out the warranty info and I believe it is covered. If it is, I'd rather have someone else do it than do it myself. So I'm going to go to a dealership sometime next week probably and seeing if they will do it under the warranty. Question for you guys is, should I bring it to a chrysler or mercedes dealership? Will one know what they are doing better than the other?

And on a side note, I replaced the steering stabilizer while I was under there. That old one was shot, easy to pull it back and forth with my hands. New one is much better. Definitely worth the 20-30 bucks and 3 minutes to fix.

 

Apparently MB guys wont touch our cars anymore. Only Chrysler mechanics will service it, unless you know of a private mechanic with Merc/Euro certified. I also changed my stabilizer, along with changing the tranny fluid and filter. I went by one of the used tire places and grabbed up some brand new 285/35's for the rear. It is looks great with the bigger footprint.

The many gasket shouldn'y be a hard fix, so good luck with the dealership. Cheers

 

It's an easy job and not hard at all. The most difficult part is disconnecting the gas line so the cover can come out on the drivers side. The valve covers have a rubber gasket so no mess. I would suggest if you do want them to do it, to also have the little breathers on top re done as well. Those are usually what leaks and not the valve cover. You may also try tightening the valve cover. You can also choose to do just the one cover. I don't trust the dealer for that easy of a fix.