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What is this part called that is leaking oil on my car?

Valve cover. Yours looks like it's fairly simple to get to (remove the hose and get the wiring pinned up off to the left.

You probably just need to replace the gasket, not the whole cover - I'd pay to have it done, since if you do a bad job, you could blow up your engine. (I have to have mine replaced soon too.)
 
dave_the_nerd said:
You probably just need to replace the gasket, not the whole cover - I'd pay to have it done, since if you do a bad job, you could blow up your engine. (I have to have mine replaced soon too.)
Click to expand...

It's not the gasket, it's the cover itself that's cracked. I know because I did it. My dipstick handle broke off, which seems to be a common issue on Dodge vehicles judging by a Google search about it. The most common way to fix was to drill a pilot hole into the remaining plastic stuck inside the dipstick tube, screw in a screw and pull it out. Tried that, wouldn't come out, so I got a hammer to pry it up like a nail, to get some leverage. I leveraged the head of the hammer against this valve cover because I thought it was solid metal, but I was wrong.

It's slightly cracked but the picture you see is from just running the car in the driveway and holding at 2k RPM for about 30 seconds. I'm not even sure if I should drive it at all now.
 
maybe cracked valve cover. you may want to try cleaning it first. it may not be a cheap repair if it is really cracked. you normally don't replace those.

after reading the post above mine, jb weld may work, but first cleaan it really good , get all the dirt and oil off. and you won't have to remove or replace it.
 
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dawp said:
maybe cracked valve cover. you may want to try cleaning it first. it may not be a cheap repair if it is really cracked. you normally don't replace those.

after reading the post above mine, jb weld may work, but first cleaan it really good , get all the dirt and oil off. and you won't have to remove or replace it.
Click to expand...

And just fill in the crack, and let it dry?
 
blurredvision said:
It's not the gasket, it's the cover itself that's cracked. I know because I did it. My dipstick handle broke off, which seems to be a common issue on Dodge vehicles judging by a Google search about it. The most common way to fix was to drill a pilot hole into the remaining plastic stuck inside the dipstick tube, screw in a screw and pull it out. Tried that, wouldn't come out, so I got a hammer to pry it up like a nail, to get some leverage. I leveraged the head of the hammer against this valve cover because I thought it was solid metal, but I was wrong.

It's slightly cracked but the picture you see is from just running the car in the driveway and holding at 2k RPM for about 30 seconds. I'm not even sure if I should drive it at all now.
Click to expand...

Oh... yeah, okay, I see.

If I had a leak like that, I would probably risk driving to a dealer, but I live about a half mile from one. You're right to not want to drive it.

The repair / JB Weld option is my first choice too.

If it doesn't work, a replacement valve cover for my car is under $100. Yours is probably not too much more. You'll want to look up the torque spec for the valve cover bolts to prevent overtightening (that can crack the cover.)
 
I appreciate all the advice guys, I really do.

I just ran to the store and picked up some JB Weld, and applied. Luckily I have two other vehicles to get me around so I'm going to let it cure until Saturday morning.

dawp said:
yup. hard to tell from the pic but how big is the hole?

I'd let it set overnight before starting.
Click to expand...

Not a hole, it's a crack about the size of a quarter around. If I give a moderate push on the cracked part, it doesn't feel likes it gives any at all, so it's still fairly solid, but a crack is a crack.

I cleaned it thoroughly and then put enough JB Weld on to not be too thick but enough to where you can't see the cracks anymore.

If this doesn't work, time to call in the father-in-law and start going to some junk yards I suppose.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
Valve cover. Yours looks like it's fairly simple to get to (remove the hose and get the wiring pinned up off to the left.

You probably just need to replace the gasket, not the whole cover - I'd pay to have it done, since if you do a bad job, you could blow up your engine. (I have to have mine replaced soon too.)
Click to expand...

Valve cover gaskets are generally pretty easy, as long as there's not a whole bunch of stuff that has to come off in order to access it. As long as you properly clean the surfaces and apply RTV if indicated by a factory service manual (on my MR2 it is just on the corners of the cam seals), it's really not difficult.

I haven't done one on a Dodge, but I'd expect a similar process on most vehicles.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
Valve cover. Yours looks like it's fairly simple to get to (remove the hose and get the wiring pinned up off to the left.

You probably just need to replace the gasket, not the whole cover - I'd pay to have it done, since if you do a bad job, you could blow up your engine. (I have to have mine replaced soon too.)
Click to expand...
What? D:
How? You'd have to do, like, a PHENOMENALLY bad job to do that.
I mean, on the scale of automotive difficulty with changing an air filter at 1 and rebuilding an engine at 10, I'd put valve cover gasket at 2 on most cars.
 
nakedfrog said:
What? D:
How? You'd have to do, like, a PHENOMENALLY bad job to do that.
I mean, on the scale of automotive difficulty with changing an air filter at 1 and rebuilding an engine at 10, I'd put valve cover gasket at 2 on most cars.
Click to expand...

Indeed.

Assuming one did a phenomenally bad job, when you turned the car on, you'd spray oil all over the underside of your hood and then the engine would run out of oil and seize. You'd definitely have to also be completely not paying attention too. (As opposed to seeing the problem and immediately turning off the car.)

Or if you, say, lost a wrench in the valves or something. Surgeons do it with clamps in patients. If a surgeon can forget a tool, so can I.

It's not impossible. Call me a cynic, but I assume if something can be screwed up a certain way, it has been. 😀
 
dave_the_nerd said:
Indeed.

Assuming one did a phenomenally bad job, when you turned the car on, you'd spray oil all over the underside of your hood and then the engine would run out of oil and seize. You'd definitely have to also be completely not paying attention too. (As opposed to seeing the problem and immediately turning off the car.)

Or if you, say, lost a wrench in the valves or something. Surgeons do it with clamps in patients. If a surgeon can forget a tool, so can I.

It's not impossible. Call me a cynic, but I assume if something can be screwed up a certain way, it has been. 😀
Click to expand...

You can't really lose a wrench 'in the valves' in an overhead cam engine. The camshafts and buckets/etc are all covering the valves. This is basically what you'd see:

cams.jpg


If you put it back together without a gasket at all, sure you'd be throwing oil everywhere...but if you have enough brain cells to find the valve cover in the first place, you should notice a leak before any harm is done.

If you want to stretch the meaning of "bad job" to include stuff like "putting gasoline in instead of oil", basically any DIY job reaches the point of "you'll destroy your engine / kill someone / other-catastrophic-event if you do a bad job."
 
V6s and V8 have two valve covers. One is usually easy and the other is the pain in the ass that requires removing plenums or manifolds, and wiring along the way. Four bangers only have one and are usually simply to do. If you like DIY, always go with the 4 banger.

Look up junkyards if you can. Rarely is the valve cover a damaged part. Will take time to pull it out of there though if it is a pull-a-part.
 
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Torn Mind said:
V6s and V8 have two valve covers. One is usually easy and the other is the pain in the ass that requires removing plenums or manifolds, and wiring along the way. Four bangers only have one and are usually simply to do. If you like DIY, always go with the 4 banger.

Look up junkyards if you can. Rarely is the valve cover a damaged part. Will take time to pull it out of there though if it is a pull-a-part.
Click to expand...
Unless your engine is mounted the correct way. Transverse mounting is fine for 4 bangers, but sucks for vee engines for sure.
 
I'd like to meet the person that could blow an engine by replacing the valve cover 🙂
 
jlee said:
If you want to stretch the meaning of "bad job" to include stuff like "putting gasoline in instead of oil", basically any DIY job reaches the point of "you'll destroy your engine / kill someone / other-catastrophic-event if you do a bad job."
Click to expand...

You sounds like you've done it before. 😀

Look, maybe I'm being a dick about it, but IMO a little fear encourages deliberate caution and makes you less likely to make a mistake.
 
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