Argee

Before you get the thread removed - I need to do a rear crankshaft oil seal, while I'm at it I'll do the cambelt and water pump. I think my turbo oil feed pipe might need a little bit of love, I'm going to fit a recon power steering pump....and I might think about replacing the thermostat (even though I've done the secondary thermostat mod to the top pipe.)

Hi Sentech, I'm looking at removing the engine of my 2.5 CRD manual sometime soon to do some work on it and was wondering about removing the engine through the top. I was chatting to an experienced mechanic today and asked him about his thoughts on the matter. He said that by far the easiest way to get the engine out was to drain the radiator (which you'd have to do anyway) and remove it, then take the front beam of the car off. Then swing the air-con radiator out the front and use a hoist to bring the engine out the front. I don't know if there would be space to separate the engine from the transmission and take it out. Perhaps someone here knows...

I had a similar issue with my 2003 2.5 CRD a few years ago. It was actually oil leaking into the turbo. I took the turbo out from the back of the engine, which was a bit of a fiddle. I bought a turbo refurb kit for about £50 and then sent the turbine off to the same company for balancing - again about £50 and refitted it, and said goodbye to leaving clouds of white smoke behind me! Good luck!

I had an ABS light issue on mine. After about an hour with a multimeter and some long leads, testing the continuity between the ABS unit connector (under the car under the passenger seat area) and the back of the relay/fuse box under the bonnet - I found a broken connection. I spliced in a wire (with some soldering and amalgamating tape) to bypass the broken wire and it worked a treat! So it might not be the unit anyway - just a broken wire.

It is with a very heavy heart that I have come to realise that I need to part company with my beloved Chrysler Grand Voyager. 2 years ago I started preparations to replace the rear crankshaft oil seal. Unfortunately I had to divert my attention to repairing my son's and then my daughter's cars and now, when I had hoped to get back to it, I have found out that I need to move house and won't have the time to do the work. I would much rather let the car go at a very reasonable price to someone who will return it to the road - rather than sending it to be scrapped. I have the parts for the oil seal as well as a new clutch plate (which was an obvious thing to replace at the same time.) I also have a refurbed power steering pump that I was going to fit as the old one is a little noisy. It's a 2.5CRD with a manual 5-speed gearbox on a 53 plate. On a long run it gets just shy of 40mpg (why did they stop making manual gearbox versions?!) If you are interested, or you know of someone who would be, please get in touch. Either PM me or email me richjgibb at googlemail dot com

Does anyone know the correct name for the rectangular rubber and metal mount that goes in the back corners of the cradle plate, and more importantly, where to get a replacement? The one on the photo is okay. The other one looks like it wasn't put back properly by the last person who had it off and it's a bit mangled where it fits up inside the body.

Update time... I've managed to remove the cradle plate and both lower control arms today. I discovered that both bushes on the lower control arms were very tired.

Thanks Maxcaddy - I'll keep an eye out for a decent set. Touch wood, my new breaker bar is holding up!

Update on my slow progress: I managed to take out the earlier mentioned 3 bolts :-) I used a heat gun to try to free off the top steering knuckle bolts....and managed to melt the CV boot cover.... :-/ (I should've used a few layers of foil as a heat shield.) Then broke a ring spanner trying to undo them. Tried an impact screwdriver, and I think I knackered that too. Then managed to undo them with a breaker bar and a deep impact socket. Then more fun trying to shift the axle nuts!! I upgraded to using a blowtorch along with lots of WD-40, but still couldn't free them. At one point I thought I had loosened one of them - but it was my breaker bar that had given way! : I bought a bigger breaker bar and had to use an extension tube on it to get the axle nuts off - I have no idea who had put them on so tight! The next pain was trying to free the tie-rod ball joints. I had to use one of those wedge fork shaped ball joint splitters and a club hammer. The half shafts came out very easily after I drained the gearbox oil - not that that had anything to do with it! I noticed that the ABS rings were very corroded (which explains the ABS issues I've had in the past!) so I've ordered some replacements. I hadn't realised exactly what the 'cradle plate' was but have now started to take it off. One of the bolts at the back doesn't seem to have an accessible nut and the 2 bolts right at the back corners seem very tight - I retired back to the house without freeing off those 3 bolts. Oh, I did find that there was a lot of play in the rear of the left suspension control arm, so I've ordered a set of replacement bushes for both sides. More later.

umm...I'm probably misunderstanding your post....(sorry if I am)...they are just push fit and the cable end can be levered up.

I had a bit of a brainwave - I decided to look on ebay for 2.5CRD gearboxes and found the attached photo. It shows the orientation of the 3 bolts that need to be undone. From that, I had another look at the diagram. I realised that I had misidentified the 3 bolts - the diagram only shows 2 of the bolts, but if you trace the dotted line down from one of them, it splits into 2 locations. I think I'll use a length of old exhaust pipe to direct some air from a heat gun onto the bolts and then use another length on my ratchet to get a bit more torque onto the offending bolts. Another update this weekend...

Hi BumBle02, thanks for that - really good quality videos - they will be very useful.

Hi Everyone! It's early on in this project to replace the rear crankshaft oil seal on my 2003 2.5CRD Grand Voyager, and I already need some advice.... The first part of this task is to remove the manual transaxle. Taking out the battery, battery tray, disconnecting the battery temperature sensor, removing the coolant bottle bracket - easy peasy! The next part was to pop off the connectors at the ends of the two gear cables - straightforward with a large flat head screwdriver. Removing the clips from the gear change cable sleeves was a little more tricky. It was a bit of a reach, but not too bad with the aid of a pair of mole grips, some WD40 and a long flathead screw driver. The next step says to 'Remove three (3) right engine mount bracket-to-transaxle bolts'..... I'm not entirely sure which bolts they mean. I've highlighted the ones I think they mean on the attached diagram and photo. Are these the right ones? If so, I can just about get an 18mm socket on the front 2, but couldn't really get a good enough purchase on them to loosen them before I gave up for the night. I couldn't even get a socket on the rear-most bolt... I've highlighted the front 2 bolts in the photo and put dots where the rear most bolt sits - through the hole in the bracket. Are they the right bolts, and do I really have to remove the bracket? Would the gearbox drop okay if I left the bracket on? As ever, all advice gratefully received. Argee

Hi BumBle02, Thanks for the response. Mine is a manual gearbox. The oil is black and definitely not from the sump (although it could do with a new gasket.) I've had a look at the service manual for the 2.5 CRD and it looks like there are 2 seals for the crankshaft - but looking online, a lot of places seem to have a third item that looks like a ring with holes in it. Any idea what that piece is for? Have you ever done a rear crankshaft oil seal change? If so, any tips? Cheers. Argee

I had a similar problem with my 2002 2.5 CRD.......It was the turbo.... Oil was leaking in the turbo and making its way through to the exhaust. Eventually I was leaving behind a trail of white smoke. I took the turbo out. (once you remove enough, it comes out the top.) I found a company online ([email protected] ) who supplied overhaul kits and also sent the turbine to them for balancing. The balancing was £50 and the kit, I think, was less than that. Good luck!