Should I Change Engine Oil After Van Overheated?

[MrBiglund]

Hi, Guys, i just bought a used 1996 Dodge caravan 3.0L engine. Right after getting it i did a engine oil flush using Kleen Flo's "valve clean" product and then changed the oil with "Q Advance" fully synthetic oil from quacker state. I also used a Kralinator filter which is made by wix. Now, the lower radiator hose somehow came loose (i'm thinking it wasn't put on properly by someone who last worked on the van) while i was driving and the van overheated I immediately shut it off and waited another 20 minutes before starting it so that i could make it to my house which was very close. The van was running very rough and i barely made to my place. Next morning i checked what was wrong and it seemed like the clamp had slipped off the lower radiator hose that attaches to the radiator, thus, draining out all the fluid. So, I put the clamp in place and it seems nice and tight now and shouldn't come off like that, i gave a few good yanks after putting it on and it seems good. It's only been around a 1000 kilometers since i changed the oil, now i'm wondering if i should do another oil change because of the overheating, the oil does still look good though. Also, in the morning the van had completely cooled down and runs just fine as before. Now, should i change the oil immediately or should i wait? The oil does still look good nice and clean.

 

[TimVipond]

When in doubt, drain it out. Not worth being concerned.

 

[Colt45ws]

I would drain it out after an overheat, yes.

 

[coolman]

I would drain her too. Maybe even do a trans flush.

 

[Chris142]

I'd run it a few days to make sure the headgasket didn't blow. Doesn't take much on that engine.

 

[427Z06]

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Now, the lower radiator hose somehow came loose (i'm thinking it wasn't put on properly by someone who last worked on the van) while i was driving and the van overheated I immediately shut it off and waited another 20 minutes before starting it so that i could make it to my house which was very close. The van was running very rough and i barely made to my place.

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Here's a suggestion. Keep a flash light in the vehicle, and if it overheats, and it looks like the coolant leaked out, next time don't drive it home if you can avoid it or before attempting to do so, let it cool, MacGyver the leak, fill it with water/coolant, topping off periodically.

Some engines will have warped aluminum heads after one overheat, the head gaskets go shortly thereafter. Mucho Denaros to fix.

Makes me wonder if this didn't happen before and it's on it's way out already.

 

[MrBiglund]

Thanks for the replies guys. I think i'm gona drain the oil and put in fresh valvoline maxlife synthetic which i stocked up on during christmas sale. I got it for $19.79 for 4.73L jug, i shall also install a new oil filter as well. Now, is it really neccessary to drain the transmission oil, i just checked it the other day and it looks nice and clean with no metal shavings etc., Touchwood, the van is running pretty good after i fixed the coolant leak the next morning and put in fresh coolant. I haven't yet seen any signs of head gasket failure. The reason i use synthetic oil on this old thing is so that i can go for longer oil change intervals, i was thinking maybe 10 000km after i put in new oil.

 

[Roy Gutfinski]

That 3.0 L Mitsubishi is probably the ONLY good part about the Chrysler minivans. Change the oil and filter and you should be okay. The transmissions (3 speed auto) in thos minivans should really be called trashmissions. They #@$%! out after about 70,000 no matter what you do.

 

[Mr. Boston]

Like Chris142 said...keep an eye out for lost coolant and/or milky looking oil. Any aluminum (or aluminum headed) engine will suffer more from overheating then their old-er cast iron counterparts.

 

[PT1]

I would not do an extended OCI with that engine as they are notorious for lifter problems if you get any sludge in there at all. Plus, you should change the trans fluid in that platform about twice as much as recommended by the owners manual. Those transmissions are shearboxes.

 

[MrBiglund]

Well, i went ahead and changed the oil. The old oil did look quiet dirty when it was draining out. Another thing I noticed after changing the oil is that the lifter noise went away. I was getting some lifter noise with this engine and was told that it's very normal with these engines, so i didn't really bother much about it. This is the first time i'm using this oil (Valvoline synthetic maxlife) and it seems the engine is more quieter and smoother and no more lifter noise good thing i have 3 more jugs of it left. Now i'm worried after hearing all these bad things about the transmission. The van has 176000km on it now, it was 171000 when i bought it, hopefully the transmission won't go bad on me. Are there some steps i can take to prolong transmission life? Maybe, add some transmission additives? Is adding lucas tranny additive a good idea?

 

[benjamming]

You can do the Auto-RX procedure on the tranny. Lots of info on their site & also on here under additives (if you can wade through all the garbage).

 

[Ramblin Fever]

My sister has this exact van - it LOVES the Maxlife, I run 10w-30 in hers. Do NOT go over 4k oci on an oil change, and yes, it is known for lifter tap.

I would HIGHLY recommend a transmission fluid swap after the overheat, even if the tranny fluid looks good, it got hot at the same time the engine did, most likely as they are connected - IIRC - through the lower part of the radiator.

 

[Black_Thunder]

you may want to change the thermostat as well.

even though the hose came off because of a loose clamp there could have been another intial cause.

 

[Bullet]

Its to late for this, but if you find yourself away from home not far and your fan belt or water pump fails then allow the engine to cool. Then bring the car up to about 70 mph, put in neutral, shut the key off, and coast for about a mile. Repeat. Stop to allow for cooling. I had a water pump bearing failure on a 280zx. I cut the belt with a piece of roadside glass and made it home from over 20 miles in the above manner.

 

[Chris142]

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That 3.0 L Mitsubishi is probably the ONLY good part about the Chrysler minivans.

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Calling this engine "good". LOL Worst Mits engine ever.

 

[MrBiglund]

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you may want to change the thermostat as well.

even though the hose came off because of a loose clamp there could have been another intial cause.

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I actually did change the thermostat just as a precaution after the overheating occured. I just used an aftermarket one from local parts store. Now, there have been pretty cold days here in southern ontario where i live and i've noticed that the van doesn't give heat as quick as it should on the very cold days especially on the initial run, even if i warm it up for like 10 minutes and drive a few miles. There's still no heat. However, short trips after the first run are fine and i start to get full heat throughout the day. It's only the initial run that i get no heat even though the temperature gauge goes to normal operating temperature after about 5-7 minutes of starting in cold weather. I'm thinking it's the thermostat, even though it was rated at 195 degrees, i think it's opening too soon. Can someone recommend a good thermostat for this engine? I didn't go with the original because it was like 40 bucks compared to the aftermarket one that was around 10 bucks.

 

[Black_Thunder]

the stant brand is decent.

its like a guy on another forum did to test his.

he said he would buy 3 or 4 of them take them home and put them in boiling water on the stove and monitor the temperature.

as soon as they reached opening temp the one that was open the most was one that he put in.

 

[rcy]

Sounds like you might have air in the system. Did you run the heat on full hot when you added the new coolant? You have to let the van heat up enough to open the thermostat, then make sure the coolant level is OK.

 

[MrBiglund]

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Sounds like you might have air in the system. Did you run the heat on full hot when you added the new coolant? You have to let the van heat up enough to open the thermostat, then make sure the coolant level is OK.

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Yes, i've tried all that plus, i also did a coolant flush to make sure nothing was blocking the passageways. Also, put in a new rad cap as i had heard that it might help too. There's no air in the cooling system. Someone had suggested that it maybe due to headgasket leaking and that can put combustion gases in the cooling system also, but it's also not the case because i don't see and signs of that, oil stays clean, i'm not losing any coolant etc., etc., The wierd thing is that the heat does eventually comes usually in the second and other short trips thereafter. It's only the initiall run that for some reason doesn't product any heat. I have a choice of getting a stant thermostat or gates one. Which one is more recommended? Also, there is the regular model and the superstat model available for both manufacturers. Should i go with the superstat one and which manufacturer is better then the other?