Be really careful on this one, distributor shaft seal (Insert horror
story here). In early September of 95 I noticed a few drops of oil under
my 95 Dakota (318 V8, SLT CC, etc.). I took it to the dealer where I
bought it thinking it was a head gasket problem. They inspected it and
told me that the distributor casing was cracked and had to be replaced
along with the distributor shaft seal (not covred under warranty and at
less than 36,000 miles). Reluctantly I left my truck there for the
replacement and picked it up the next day. I specifically instructed them
to clean any oil which had leaked out off of the engine and exhaust
manifold, if there was any. I picked up my truck the next day and drove
home. Less than three miles down the road, I got a strong hydocarbon
smell. I figured they didn't clean some oil which had leaked out. When I
got home (a total of five miles) I lifted the hood to see if I could spot
anything. there was no smoke or smell of burning hydrocarbon, so i
figured if there was some leaked oil on a manifold it had burned off. the
next morning i went off to work in the truck. After a few miles, the
hydrocarbon smell was back. Just before i got to work (4 miles) i noticed
the gas gauge had really dropped. As i backed into my parking space, i
noticed a dark semi-circle on the parking lot which appeared to have come
from the center of the truck. I got out and looked under the truck and
somethnig was leaking out. I restarted the truck to head to the dealer
(a mile away). I never made it out of the parking lot. The engine caught
fire. I tried to release the hood, but the cable had already burned
through. I got soemone to call the fire department while i tried to put
the fire out with extinguishers. The fire department came quickly, but it
was too late. They used a crowbar( :^O )to open the hood and finally put
out the fire.
naturally, the dealer denied all responsibility and wouldn't even help on
a repalacement truck. To illustrate the condition of the truck, the
insurance agent was amazed that there was not one rock chip, scratch or
dent any where. I got an insurance check from allstate which enabled me
to buy a brand new Dak (from another dealer) exactly like I had with a
whole new warranty and the improvements the 93 didn't have with NO money
out of my pocket.
In any event, I still don't know what actually happened. But, there was
no fuel leak before this replacement, the oil leak was only a day old and
the truck was in excellent condition. If i ever need work on the engine
again that i can't do, i will watch every second of it.
On Fri, 17 Oct 1997 10:55:06 -0500 (CDT) Gregory M Smith
<gmsmith@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> writes:
>I, too, thought that my '93 318 was leaking oil from the rear main.
>Upon
>further inspection the last time I changed oil, I noticed that the
>starter
>was oily and it appears that the oil is running down the left side of
>the
>engine at the rear. Since then, I haven't really looked much closer,
>but,
>I'm guessing that the location of the leak may be around the
>distributor
>shaft. George, when you say that your oil leak was at the seal at the
>back of the intake manifold, could you possibly be referring to the
>distributor shaft seal? Any information would be greatly appreciated.
> I
>plan on scrutinizing the leak further to try to pinpoint it's location
>prior to taking it to a Dodge dealer (other than Shelby Motors in
>Champaign, IL) to get it repaired.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Greg Smith
>'93 Dakota LE Club Cab 4x2 V-8
>
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