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4276 messages,  Last post on Oct 23, 2006 at 1:11 AM

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#2720 of 4276 Strut Towers rusting out repair info by 5bucks May 09, 2005 (12:30 pm)
Can anyone provide info on the strut tower repair? I have a 98 voyager and the strut towers are rusting out. I've read a post or two about a "repair kit" but no specifics. a google search turned up nothing. Thanks. Replies to this message: 97xpresso (May 09, 2005 2:47 pm)
#2721 of 4276 Re: Strut Towers rusting out repair info [5bucks] by 97xpresso May 09, 2005 (2:47 pm)
Replying to: 5bucks (May 09, 2005 12:30 pm) There is a lot of info out there but this site frowns on posting links to other sites. Here is just a small sample:   There is a Technical Service Bulletin issued by Chrysler on Oct. 14,2002 (TSB 23-044-02) on the problem and it covers all minivans build from 1996 until 2000. If you were lucky enough to see it before your warranty ran out it would have been covered. What Chrysler told me was keep the reciept for the repair, if there is ever a recall in the future it would be paid for. Of course there will be no recall unless enough people complain to the National Highway Safety Transportation Agency.   NHSTHA can be found at www.nhtsa.dot.gov. I filed a complaint, you can find it under complaint number 10090457. It's easy and I'd ask everyone with this problem to issue a complaint and tell others who own 1996-2000 Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge mini vans to look for the problem and issue a complaint as well.   The parts number are 05080008-AA and 0580009-AA. The price is 27,65 CAD each. I have been lucky to find them. My dealer had one left side in stock and he found the right side for me at another dealer. They are back order everywhere.   If you want to do the job the way they want you to do it, you will have to buy also a set of aluminium rivets (I don't know how much) and a kind of glue they sell for 70,00$.   I did not use the glue nor the rivets. I used bolts instead. 5/16" by 3/4" long with washers. 6 bolts each side plus 4 self tapping #14 x 1" screws for the side wall.   Need to remove the wipers arms, the cover under the wipers arms, and the pan containing the wiper motor (sorry, I don't know the names of these parts.) I think you dont need to remove the hood as I did.   If you want to do a good job, you should get the strut assembly out of the way. Maybe removing them.   Me, I just lowered them as much as possible by removing the 3 nuts and raising the car.   My job is just a quik fix for an already almost dead car. My 96 voyager has 316000 Km and many other things are falling apart. The motor and the transmission are going. If he run another year, I will be happy.   Took me about 4 or 5 hours to do the job. No more that 2 or 3 if I had to do it again.   If you want to keep your car more than one year, I suggest that you make a better job than this one, removing the strut assembly, using the glue and rivets and putting a lot of rust protection.   There is no instruction available and it is not really needed. The dealer told me that this problem is affecting 1996 to 2000 Caravan and Voyager.
#2722 of 4276 Re: Airbag light [gino45] by dcater May 09, 2005 (8:01 pm)
Replying to: gino45 (Mar 29, 2005 10:47 am) Let the dealer tackle this as it should be done completely free of charge. It is most likely the clockspring which was recalled last year. Your dealer should know all about it. I had this same problem on my 98.
#2723 of 4276 Re: Dead Instrument Cluster, Gauge Problem resolved [5bucks] by chuckg May 10, 2005 (4:10 am)
Replying to: 5bucks (May 09, 2005 12:20 pm) I'll bet you're happy to get this fixed. Nothing to it.   Thanks for reporting back.
#2724 of 4276 Re: 2001 T&C LXI IAWD Intermittent Squeal noise [beemom] by bluebomber98 May 10, 2005 (6:03 am)
Replying to: beemom (Mar 23, 2002 2:59 pm) Did you ever find the cause of this? My 2003 Grand Caravan had just started doing this when it rains. Replies to this message: badgerfan (May 10, 2005 6:13 am)
#2725 of 4276 Re: 2001 T&C LXI IAWD Intermittent Squeal noise [bluebomber98] by badgerfan May 10, 2005 (6:13 am)
Replying to: bluebomber98 (May 10, 2005 6:03 am) It is probably your serpentine belt that drives all the accessories. Replace the belt and likely it will go away. Fairly easy do it yourself project if you are mechanically inclined. Belt costs about $25 aftermarket at NAPA.   It could also be related to the tensioner or tensioner pulley bearings, but I would change the belt first. I replaced the belt once so far on our 1996 Caravan, and also later on replaced the tensioner pulley as the bearings in that pulley started to squeal a couple years ago. I used an aftermarket pulley and replaced it myself.   The squeal related to damp conditions probably means your serpentine belt is getting cracked and dried out and is slipping somewhat when wet.
#2726 of 4276 Re: Phantom Wipers [Sylvia] by 97vanowner May 10, 2005 (6:06 pm)
Replying to: Sylvia (May 09, 2005 8:15 am) Hi Sylvia: Sorry about the e-mail request, but I was somewhat desperate--and had a scheduled appointment with the dealer since the "ghost activity" with the wipers continued AFTER I had paid $741.39 to get the wipers fixed. To bring you up to date, After replacing the BCM (body control module) the first time around--which did restart the wipers, yesterday they installed a new multi-function switch to fix the "ghosting" problem - another $151.00. Should it cost $892.00 to simply get the windshield wipers fixed? I don't think so. I would like to hear from anyone else as to similar experiences. I talked to a service person at the lawn mower repair place as I picked up my mower today and she says her Caravan is doing the same "ghosting" thing that my van did for 60,000 before it finally completely died. She has 68,000 on her van. I suggested thinking about planning to trade. Anyone else have any ideas? Thanks.
#2727 of 4276 96 Grand Caravan looses Power and shuts down by fep May 10, 2005 (7:21 pm)
My 96 Dodge Caravan has nearly 90K miles. On both my long trips this winter the vehicle lost power after crusing at 65 -70 MPH for about 2 hours. The "check engine soon" light would flash and than stay on as I coasted to the side of the road and stalled. One time it cleared immediately and I was able to travel side roads for an hour before it reoccured. The other time it reoccured nearly a dozen times going anywhere from 100 yards to 2 miles at each event. Both trips resulted in no work being done because after letting it sit for an evening it would run fine the next morning. Also the "Check engine soon light" was cleared after finding the code to read "Random Misfire." Is it possible for a over heated fuel pump to prevent the gas flow and the "check engine soon" light to come on? This is what the mechanic told me but that would mean that if a Caravan were to run out of gas the "Check engine soon" light would also go on. That doesn't sound right? It's been running great for nearly 3 months now but I haven't taken any long trips. Any ideas? Replies to this message: cct2 (May 11, 2005 1:46 pm) fep (May 12, 2005 5:52 pm) msbenz (Jun 04, 2005 5:50 am) bubbagump2001 (Jun 04, 2005 3:23 pm) dustyk (Jun 05, 2005 8:45 am) gvdead (Jun 21, 2005 8:57 pm)
#2728 of 4276 Temperature display... by shipo May 10, 2005 (7:42 pm)
Okay, it seems that our 1998 GC Sport 3.8 is having its third unscheduled component failure (the first was the battery and the second was the driver's door switch for the interior lights). The overhead temperature display is, ummm, erratic to say the least. This afternoon for instance, I got in the van with my two kids and the display showed -40, which the kids thought was rather hilarious as we were in the low seventies at the time. It stayed at -40 for maybe a mile then went to -5, no wait, 37, 105, -27, 55, 59, 51, 58, -40, all in the next mile. Me thinks it's broke.   I've never heard of this problem before. Is it common? Is the sending unit the likely culprit? If it is, where is said sending unit mounted? Is there a simple "Hold the A/C button while pushing the rear wiper and the rear defogger button together 47 times with one hand while scratching your nose with your other hand" type of reset command?   Thanks in advance.   Best Regards, Shipo   P.S. I'm not actually sure that I even want to fix this, ummm, errr, entertainment feature. My kids seem to actually enjoy shouting out the current OAT as it goes through its improbable series of displays. Either that or they bet each other what the REAL OAT is.
#2729 of 4276 Re: adding engine oil every 1500 miles [97vanowner] by fishing1000 May 10, 2005 (8:29 pm)
Replying to: 97vanowner (May 08, 2005 5:10 pm) how much oil did your van burn every 1500 miles? How much did the new head gasket cost? Did you replace it by yourself? Thanks!

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