Chrysler Repair: 87 5th Ave - Oil in air intake box & battery dieing, positive crankcase ventilation, chrysler dealer

Question
I have an 87 Chrysler 5th Ave, approx 106K miles.

I opened the top of the air filter compartment (sorry for ignorant terminology) and it had puddles of oil and a soaked air filter. I have to add a quart of oil about every week or two.

Also, I have a problem with the battery dying. Had the alternator replaced and the battery still died. There are no lights being left on or anything I can see that would drain the battery. After the alternator was replaced I noticed that the voltage meter and lights (inside and headlights) would drop slightly when the car is at a stop and then brighten/go up when driving.

Any advice would be wonderful!

Thank you for your time!
Lori P.
Tampa, FL

Answer
Hi Lori,
I would begin by checking the positive crankcase ventilation valve and its associated hoses. It is located on the top side of the engine, approximately the middle, underneath the air intake box (air filter compartment) which you will probably have to remove to see and service it. When removing the box make sure you not all the hose connections on it including the underside so you can get those all hooked up again. The PCV and its hoses connect to the air box, the intake manifold and other hose inputs. I suspect that either a hose is cracked or the valve is plugged up with crud. I would buy a new valve to begin with as they are very inexpensive, and check all the hoses for cracks or for being plugged up. If a hose is cracked you may have to get a replacement at a Chrysler dealer. When that system plugs up or leaks then blow-by of oil vapor ends up in the air box instead of being sucked into the manifold to be burned.
On the voltage regulation, I suspect that you may have some sort of a short or component that is drawing current unnecessarily. Do you have a voltmeter-ammeter to do some checking? If so let me know and I can tell you how to find it. Another possibility is that the belt that runs the alternator is too loose, so press on that and see if deflects more than 3/8", and if it does then loosen the lock nut and the mounting nuts and turn the adjuster bolt to adjust the position of the alternator to take up the slack.
Roland