Help 3.9L oil capacity issue

who wrote:

> In article ,
> Moses wrote:
>
>
>>I have a 99 RanVan with 3.9, no owners manual. Haynes says all full
>>size vans use 5 qts oil. This one, with filter change, shows over full
>>with 4 qts. Is this normal?
>
>
> Possibly the oil pan is dented?
> I'd have a look underneath.

That'd be a heck of a dent, so it should b e obvious

My guess is its got the wrong dipstick.
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"Moses" wrote in message

> I have a 99 RanVan with 3.9, no owners manual. Haynes says all full
> size vans use 5 qts oil. This one, with filter change, shows over full
> with 4 qts. Is this normal?

Engine oil with filter change 4.0 qts, Without filter change 3.5 qt

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech
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maxpower wrote:
> "Moses" wrote in message
>
>
>>I have a 99 RanVan with 3.9, no owners manual. Haynes says all full
>>size vans use 5 qts oil. This one, with filter change, shows over full
>>with 4 qts. Is this normal?
>
>
> Engine oil with filter change 4.0 qts, Without filter change 3.5 qt
>
> Glenn Beasley
> Chrysler Tech

Why oh why does anyone use Haynes manuals?

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
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"Bill Putney" wrote in message

> maxpower wrote:
> > "Moses" wrote in message
> >
> >
> >>I have a 99 RanVan with 3.9, no owners manual. Haynes says all full
> >>size vans use 5 qts oil. This one, with filter change, shows over full
> >>with 4 qts. Is this normal?
> >
> >
> > Engine oil with filter change 4.0 qts, Without filter change 3.5 qt
> >
> > Glenn Beasley
> > Chrysler Tech
>
> Why oh why does anyone use Haynes manuals?
>
> Bill Putney
> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
> address with the letter 'x')

Wait a minute Bill those manuals are good to have, just the other day I was
trying to burn a brush pile in the back yard and the pages I pulled out
made the fire start really fast. Thanx to Haynes I got the fire started
fast. I still have many pages left for the next time

Glenn
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maxpower wrote:
> "Bill Putney" wrote in message
>
>> maxpower wrote:
>>> "Moses" wrote in message
>>>
>>>
>>>> I have a 99 RanVan with 3.9, no owners manual. Haynes says all full
>>>> size vans use 5 qts oil. This one, with filter change, shows over full
>>>> with 4 qts. Is this normal?
>>>
>>> Engine oil with filter change 4.0 qts, Without filter change 3.5 qt
>>>
>>> Glenn Beasley
>>> Chrysler Tech
>> Why oh why does anyone use Haynes manuals?
>>
>> Bill Putney
>> (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
>> address with the letter 'x')
>
> Wait a minute Bill those manuals are good to have, just the other day I was
> trying to burn a brush pile in the back yard and the pages I pulled out
> made the fire start really fast. Thanx to Haynes I got the fire started
> fast. I still have many pages left for the next time
>
> Glenn
>
>
you just wait till your car breaks down on some country road and you
don't have your Haynes manual,what are you going to wipe with if you
have to poop?
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i've always liked the Robert Bentley manuals. Seems like sometimes
they are comparable, if not better than some FSMs.
 >> Stay informed about: Help 3.9L oil capacity issue 

Bill Putney wrote:

>>
>>
>> Engine oil with filter change 4.0 qts, Without filter change 3.5 qt
>>
>> Glenn Beasley
>> Chrysler Tech
>
>
> Why oh why does anyone use Haynes manuals?
>

And why oh why didn't Chrysler give the 3.9 a decent oil capacity?!? I
guess because it was a shortened LA block and they didn't want to deepen
the sump. But hell, even the contemporary 3.5 v6 had a 5.5 quart
capacity (with stock filter, 6.0 quart if you use the FL1A/PH8/PF2 size
filter).
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Nza wrote:

> ...The check engine light comes on after about 30 miles on the highway..
> every time...

That may very well be the oil pressure switch in need of replacement
rather than actual low oil pressure. Less than $20 for the part. That
is one part you should get from the dealer - aftermarket pressure
switches are often so far out of cal right out of the box as to give
false low oil pressure indication. OEM parts generally at least start
out having been tested to higher standards (tighter tolerances).

Anyway - very common for these switches to fail on Chrysler vehicles -
and when they do, it seeems it's always in the direction of falsely
indicating low pressure - and often leaking oil too.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')
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On Aug 8, 6:55 pm, Bill Putney wrote:
> Nza wrote:
> > ...The check engine light comes on after about 30 miles on the highway..
> > every time...
>
> That may very well be the oil pressure switch in need of replacement
> rather than actual low oil pressure. Less than $20 for the part. That
> is one part you should get from the dealer - aftermarket pressure
> switches are often so far out of cal right out of the box as to give
> false low oil pressure indication. OEM parts generally at least start
> out having been tested to higher standards (tighter tolerances).
>
> Anyway - very common for these switches to fail on Chrysler vehicles -
> and when they do, it seeems it's always in the direction of falsely
> indicating low pressure - and often leaking oil too.

Thanks Bill, will get one of those soon.

That doesn't explain the rise in temperature, though.. turning on the
heater to max heat brings the temp back down a bit and keeps it at bay
(on a long highway drive). I haven't tried it on a long drive since
it's been 90+ outside, though.
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On Aug 9, 12:48 pm, Steve wrote:
> Nza wrote:
> > The check engine light comes on after about 30 miles on the highway..
> > every time. The coolant temp starts to climb about that time as
> > well. I am thinking water pump. Can the water pump set the check
> > engine light?
>
> Only indirectly by causing an over-temp that might set the light.
>
> Overheating after prolonged operation usually comes down to lack of
> coolant flow or lack of air flow. Since this happens on the highway, its
> *probably* not an air flow issue, but some cars don't flow enough air
> through the radiator without a good fan even at highway speeds. Just to
> be sure, check the fan clutch and check the radiator and condensor fins
> for dead bugs, grass, dirt, leaves, etc. For water flow, make sure the
> radiator isn't clogged (if the oil was neglected, I'll bet the coolant
> was also!). Make sure the thermostat opens and opens all the way, and
> make sure the lower hose doesn't collapse. Also make sure the radiator
> cap pressurizes the system fully.

ok i'll check all those... now that you remind me, the radiator is
pretty scaly inside. The coolant was brown when I first got it
because it was just water..

I will definitely check the fan clutch as well. It's amazing how
quickly all this troubleshooting ability seems to disappear now that i
don't do it every day for a paycheck...
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Nza wrote:

> The check engine light comes on after about 30 miles on the highway..
> every time. The coolant temp starts to climb about that time as
> well. I am thinking water pump. Can the water pump set the check
> engine light?

Only indirectly by causing an over-temp that might set the light.

Overheating after prolonged operation usually comes down to lack of
coolant flow or lack of air flow. Since this happens on the highway, its
*probably* not an air flow issue, but some cars don't flow enough air
through the radiator without a good fan even at highway speeds. Just to
be sure, check the fan clutch and check the radiator and condensor fins
for dead bugs, grass, dirt, leaves, etc. For water flow, make sure the
radiator isn't clogged (if the oil was neglected, I'll bet the coolant
was also!). Make sure the thermostat opens and opens all the way, and
make sure the lower hose doesn't collapse. Also make sure the radiator
cap pressurizes the system fully.
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Nza wrote:


> ok i'll check all those... now that you remind me, the radiator is
> pretty scaly inside. The coolant was brown when I first got it
> because it was just water..
>

I think you just identified the problem... :-p

The question now is whether just a rigorous flushing will clear it up
enough, or whether you'll have to have the radiator rodded out.
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