2.4L engine with a significant engine oil leak!

Tiny
FLIPJOHNSON
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 80,000 MILES
The oil leak (at least a quart a day) appears to be coming from a plug looking thing jutting from the back of the oil pan about a third or a fourth of the way up the engine block from the bottom. It has a thin wire coming from it leading to who knows where. The oil seems to be coming from the plug, running down the wire, and dripping off of it. I think it might be the oil pressure switch or the oil pressure sender. Are the switch and the sender two names for the same device? And am I right about what that thing is? I need to know so I can get the right part from the store and try to replace it; I can't afford to take it into a shop right now. P.S. It only leaks out (significantly) when the engine is running. P.P.S. I attempted to donate for this question but it kept on repeating that I needed a minimum of 2 dollars even though every time I filled out the payment information, I put 2 dollars in the respective field. Thank you.
Sunday, January 8th, 2012 AT 4:19 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 34,331 POSTS
Sounds like you are describing the sending unit. If it looks like a bell with one wire, that is for an oil pressure gauge on the dash. Yours might have two wires in a single plug. That would be for a gauge and a warning light / Check Gauges light. That style is a 1" diameter black plastic tube molded to the end of the metal base.
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Sunday, January 8th, 2012 AT 4:44 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
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If you give me a few minutes, I'll post a photo so you can verify we're talking about the same thing.
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Sunday, January 8th, 2012 AT 4:45 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 34,331 POSTS
See if this is what you're looking at. It's a photo from rockauto. Com. Looks to me like it just runs a warning light, not a gauge. I don't see any listing for a pressure sending unit. If the car also has a gauge on the dash, the sending unit will typically have two wires, one for the light and one for the gauge.
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Sunday, January 8th, 2012 AT 5:03 AM

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