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Vans & Minivans Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan Chrysler Town and Country EX/LX/LXi/Limited
2155 messages, Last post on Nov 24, 2009 at 5:43 PM
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| 2001 T&C LX, A/C hissing from under passenger side dash. Also passenger side vents are blowing cold air but driver sides are warm. Any suggestions? | |
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Hi! Would like to get your opinion: I bought my '98 T & C Lxi five months ago from my boss (I had been driving it for the past three years as a nanny). Gave me a really good discount so I don't owe anything on it. However, have spent $$$$ in repairs in the first three months of ownership. The van had 97, +++ when I bought it so it could be normal wear and tear. Recently, on a family outing, the front rocker arms broke and we had replaced for around $179. The mechanic said, they don't know the condition of the back rocker arms but the valves definitely need to be replaced and that it would cost around $1500. Would it be worth it to just get a newer used car or brand new car or (gulp) put in another major repair and keep the van, hopefully, for another three years?
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Replying to: yasminmk (Aug 16, 2006 10:34 am) The truth of the matter is that the 3.3/3.8 liter engines (I assume yours has the 3.8) are very robust with some reaching well into the 300,000 mile range with just normal maintenance. That having been said, if yours has been abused (and if what your mechanic has told you is true, it has) I might be inclined to unload it. Of course, getting rid of it in favor of another car of unknown history is a gamble as well. If the body of your LXi is in good shape, it might well be worth fixing the engine and driving it into the dirt. Think about it this way, even if both the engine and the transmission fail tomorrow you should be able to get them both replaced for less than $4,000 (used but serviceable engine and factory reman transmission). Were I in your shoes, I'd be inclined to have a "leak-down" compression test performed, and if that comes back good (and assuming the valves really are bad -- something I'm having a hard time believing), then I would probably have both cylinder heads pulled, reconditioned and put back on. If nothing else, I think a second opinion regarding the condition of the engine is in order here. Best Regards, Shipo
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Replying to: shipo (Aug 16, 2006 10:51 am) Again, thanks for the good advice.
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Replying to: yasminmk (Aug 18, 2006 11:03 am) The question is, "Replace it with what?" A new/rebuilt engine? Total waste of money. With a used (but still very servicable) engine? I'm thinking that the cost should be less than half of what you were quoted. Best Regards, Shipo P.S. Check my profile for my private E-Mail address if you want to discuss this any further as I'm thinking that we're getting a little off topic here. 
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I recently purchased a 2002 T&C Limited, and so far, we love it. However, when we recently tried to install child safety seats in the third row, we found that the LATCH system (Lower Anchors and upper Tethers for CHildren) described in the owners manual does not exist for the third row -- though the manual clearly says it does. The "captains chairs" in the second row do have them (2 steel lower anchors in the back of the seating area and 1 tether anchor on the back side of each seat), but we need to seat our twin grandchildren (just turned 2) in the third seat so their parents can tend to them from the second row. I made an appointment with the local police who have a program for guiding folks in the installation of child safety seats (supposedly up to 90% of them have not been properly installed). They were very helpful, but could not figure out where the tether should be attached. [The lower anchors can't be attached either, but the seat belts, though not as safe or convenient, should be a reasonable substitute.] The safety officer suggested I contact the dealer which I did. The person at the dealer had no idea and was not willing to pursue it (I had not purchased the van from them.), but he gave me the number of the Chrysler Customer Care Center which I also called. When I finally got through to a human, she was very courteous, but knew nothing about installing the seats. She read from the 2002 manual and confirmed that the anchors should be there, but could not offer further advice or information. She gave me the number of the child seat experts -- which I had assumed would be someone within Chrysler who knew something about their LATCH systems. It turns out that she had given me a wrong number (some other agency) of the government agency who administers child restraint safety regulations. When I finally got to the right person, they were very helpful, but were not able to suggest a suitable anchor point. However, they did indicate that they would look into it and get back to me next week. I asked if they had the number of their child safety contact in Chrysler (which they did not), but promised to try to find one. So is this a widespread problem? Or am I the only one with the missing LATCH anchor points in the third row seats? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. We are planning a week-long family vacation trip in two weeks.. Thanks in advance. Roger
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Replying to: rogerlawson (Sep 01, 2006 11:56 am) 
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Replying to: masterpaul1 (Sep 01, 2006 3:33 pm) This is my first Chrysler van so I'm not completely familiar with all the seating options. My third seat is a bench with seating & belts for three. There is also a fold-down armrest, fwiw. Is that what you mean by a 50/50 bench? The biggest issue is the absence of an designated tether anchor point. The owners manual indicates that there are 3 but no more than 2 should be used at once. However, the bench has only one, in the center. Naturally, we would like to seat the twins in the outboard positions. Thanks for your advice!
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