Over thanksgiving, I went home and drove my crossfire for the first time in about 6 weeks. (I go to school in New Orleans, the car is in New Jersey.) The steering felt really heavy, so I opened up the hood and there appears to be a leak on the left side of the engine as shown in the pictures below. I'm pretty sure it's the power steering fluid since the reservoir is located right above where all that fluid is. Could it be anything other then the power steering?

I'm a little concerned as the car only has 9,000 miles on it, and it's been over 2 years since purchase so New York Lemon Laws no longer apply, but the warranty is still in effect for a few more months. Has Chrysler's bankruptcy impacted warranty repairs in any way?

Thanks

Edit: Added a quick video I had on my BlackBerry of the leak to YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWStLn1-UiI

 

The first picture looks like the valve cover gasket is leaking oil but hard to tell just by the picture. You could have oil on the belt causing it to slip which might make the steering feel heavy.

 

Thanks, I had the oil changed for the first time this summer (only 5,000 miles when that was done,) and a few weeks after that I had a rough idle/drive a couple of times coupled with a check engine light, which would go away with a restart. Could there be a link between a valve cover leak and that?

 

It is not power steering fluid. That is a pic of the valve cover, drivers side, upside down.(you can see the oil filter cap) That is a common problem. The small cover on top leaks and needs to have the RTV gasket replaced. You can DIY if you want, but warranty is much easier.

Robby may be correct. If you are getting oil on the belt it could be slipping. Unusual to get oil on the belt from that leak. But you never know......

 

I'm not sure about the check engine. You should check if the belt is covered with oil. If it's slipping it could be causing some of the problems.

 

If you just had an oil change done recently they may not have got the O rings on good or they may not have seated the oil filter cap tight and your leaking there?? THAT would get oil on you belt.