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Dodge/Plymouth/Chrysler Minivan Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

4276 messages,  Last post on Oct 23, 2006 at 2:11 AM

You are in the Chrysler/Plymouth Voyager, Dodge Caravan Forum.

What is this discussion about? Dodge Caravan, Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Voyager, Plymouth Voyager, Chrysler Town and Country, Van

Messages Page 384 of 428

#3826 of 4276 Re: Chrysler Town & Country Oil Pressure [jnovice] by shipo

Apr 05, 2006 (8:23 am)

Replying to: jnovice (Apr 05, 2006 7:25 am)
A couple of thoughts...
 
1) Did this problem start before or after you switched to Mobil 1?
 
1a) If before, then the problem is probably unrelated.
1b) If after, it could be that the extra cleaning power of the Mobil 1 has striped so much crud from inside your engine that it has clogged your pickup screen (again). What did the pickup screen look like when you replaced it? Clogged or wide open?
 
2) Following along on the thought that your pickup screen is becoming clogged by sludge, and debris freed up by the Mobil 1, you might find that you have to pull the oil pan and pickup screen yet again and clean them out. After that, if you are committed to staying with Mobil 1, I'd suggest that you perform several oil changes separated by only a thousand miles or two. Why? Because the detergent properties of synthetic oils in general and Mobil 1 in particular are such that it WILL clean your engine up, regardless of whether that is a good thing or not (hence the fact that you noticed your oil was "very dark" when you changed the sensor). My other suggestion is to switch back to the Havoline, drive for a thousand miles or so (to allow the situation inside your engine to stabilize), and change it again staying with the Havoline for as long as you keep your T&C.
 
3) Another possibility (although I think this is a low probability due to your comment that said, "I immediately shut down and waited 5 minutes. I then cranked up again without any problems." which leads me to think that the screen had gotten clogged, and when you shut it down, the crud fell to the bottom of the pan --temporarily--): As engines age, the main and rod bearings start showing their miles by allowing too much oil to leak through. The typical symptom of this is that at idle, the oil pump isn't able to keep the flow high enough to keep the pressure above the minimums to keep the light off.
 
FWIW, I have a 1998 DGC with 110,000 (as of this morning) with the 3.8 liter mill (you probably have the same engine in either 3.3 or 3.8 guise), and it is also running on Mobil 1. The difference is that I've been using the Mobil 1 for the last 90,000 miles. If you would like to see just how clean that stuff makes the innards of your engine, take a look at a shot I posted in my "Caravan Stuff" photo album on Yahoo!
 
http://photos.yahoo.com/shipo
 
Hint: use the "Download" button to bring the full resolution picture down to your computer. The two valve cover/oil filler shots are really the same shot, with the oil filler detail simply cut from the larger view, so if you are bandwidth challenged, the detail shot is the one to use.
 
As a point of reference, that shot was taken 6,000 miles ago, at a point when the oil (pooled in the rocker arm and clearly still quite clean) had 4,000 miles on it. Even with my ~10,000 OCI schedule, you can see that the rocker arm and rocker shaft are still as clean as the day the engine was built.
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#3827 of 4276 Re: 2005 Touring [fish8] by familyguy4

Apr 05, 2006 (8:58 am)

Replying to: fish8 (Mar 13, 2006 5:23 am)
My wife and I own a '03 Grand Caravan SE with 33K on it and we have had power steering issues since approximately 18K. The power steering pump, reservoir, lines and rack have been replaced (the lines have been replaced twice).
 
The symptoms have been a groaning or grinding emanating from the steering at low speeds (such as maneuvering around a parking lot) along with a noticeable steering wheel shudder. The most recent service was performed in Feb. 2006. In late March, the issue occurred again this time in spectacular fashion culminating in stranding my family on the roadside for several hours and being without the van for 5 days now.
 
These vans have obvious transmission, steering and general quality control problems. I am thoroughly disgusted with Chrysler and will never again purchase a Daimler-Chrysler product.
 
If anyone else is having similar issues besides fish8 and me, please let me know, I'd like to hear from you

#3828 of 4276 Re: 2005 Touring [familyguy4] by gino45

Apr 06, 2006 (10:03 am)

Replying to: familyguy4 (Apr 05, 2006 8:58 am)
I have a '01 Caravan and have been experiencing a steering groaning/shuddering symptom for a few months now. Just like you it's noticeable at low speeds. I took it to an independent mechanic who said it could be the steering rack or the pump. Since neither are leaking at this time, he suggested that I wait until the part in question breaks down and to change it at that time. I don't want to get stranded anytime soon, so can you tell what problem caused you to be stranded? My mechanic mentioned that even if the steering pump were to fail I would still be able to drive the van, albeit it would be harder to steer.

#3829 of 4276 Re: 2005 Touring [gino45] by familyguy4

Apr 06, 2006 (7:32 pm)

Replying to: gino45 (Apr 06, 2006 10:03 am)
The issue that caused me to be stranded goes as follows. I'm editing for length On a steep grade the lower power steering line blew completely out of the power steering pump spewing power steering fluid all over the engine bay and exhaust which created a huge smoke plume. The pump was still turning and the reservoir was emptied of fluid in a matter of seconds. Without any fluid in the system, no way to keep it in and no way to change the hose on the roadside at 8:00pm on a Friday night, I had no choice but to use the 24 hr roadside assistance to tow the van to the nearest dealership and attempt to arrange for alternative transportation. Driving without fluid for even a short distance would have critically damaged the remaining components in the steering system and created a dangerous situation which could have resulted in the driver losing the ability to control the vehicle adequately. We were in a mountainous region and I didn't dare take a chance with the lives of my entire family and their friends.
 
Incidentally, the P/S pump and all the lines had been replaced previously under warranty due to grinding, shuddering, etc. The P/S pump failed at around 28K. All I can say is I have a

#3830 of 4276 Cost of rebuilt transmission?? by ckmnac

Apr 07, 2006 (3:27 pm)

I'm a little confused right now. When we bought our van (1998 GC) the previous owners had a paper showing transmission work which cost them $1300. You guys all said that was way too little $$ for a rebuilt transmission.
 
I took the van on Wednesday for them to drive it and give me an estimate. It needs a transmission and the guy said we can't just do patchwork again because the same thing will happen all over again (transmission started acting up only 23,000 miles after the first work was done). This isn't the same shop the original work was done at and this guy has been completely straightforward about everything.
 
So today he calls and says he has the estimate and it is only $1442.46. Now I'm wondering if this is too cheap for a rebuilt transmission. I have the list he gave me and here is everything. Please tell me what exactly they are doing if you know. I want this transmission to last longer then 23,00 miles. Thanks.
 
604 Master Overhaul Kit
604 Up date kit
Torque Converter
Fluid
 
Overhaul 604 trans axle and
replace torque converter. One year
or 12,000 mile warranty
 
I am so clueless about all this transmission stuff. I also got an estimate from the dealership for $2613.18.

#3831 of 4276 Re: Cost of rebuilt transmission?? [ckmnac] by shipo

Apr 07, 2006 (4:46 pm)

Replying to: ckmnac (Apr 07, 2006 3:27 pm)
Assuming that all of the hard internal components are still in good shape (i.e. the actual gearing and such), I suppose that your $1,442.46 is possible. Never having rebuilt one of these transmissions, anything I say must be discounted as, "just so much noise". That having been said, the questions I would have regarding this "Rebuild-it" approach (as opposed to the factory remanufactured $2,613 unit) are as follows:
 
1) Are the new kits and components that are being bought from the factory (i.e. MOPAR) or are they sourced through a third party? I ask because I've heard that non-MOPAR units are quite inferior.
2) I've heard that fairly specialized equipment is required to properly set one of these units up. What equipment does your shop have?
3) Does this rebuild bring the transmission up to the latest engineering build (i.e. model year 2000)? That coincidentally is the first and only year/build level that exists which allows our transmissions to safely run on ATF+4 (as opposed to the now apparently extinct ATF+3).
4) What price warranty? 12 month/12,000 mile for $1,442 (i.e. $0.12 per mile) or 36 month/36,000 mile for $2,613 (i.e. $0.0726 per mile). Said another way, is the extra $1,171 worth it to you for three times the warranty?
 
Best Regards,
Shipo

#3832 of 4276 '05 T&C recall by gregman

Apr 07, 2006 (6:37 pm)

Anybody able to tell me what a recall with F01 means? Wife says something in letter regarding a/c. I thought there was a recent recall for the windshield wiper motor. Any thoughts? Thanks.

#3833 of 4276 Re: Cost of rebuilt transmission?? [ckmnac] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Apr 08, 2006 (10:27 am)

Replying to: ckmnac (Apr 07, 2006 3:27 pm)
you aren't really getting a "rebuilt" transmission or a remanufactured transmission--you're gettng an "overhauled" transmission, which in kind of over-simplified terms means that bad parts are replaced and still-good used parts (within specs) are left in. In a rebuild, parts are replaced to bring the transmission to an 'as-new' condition whether there are still good used parts in there or not. So on a rebuild if the pump has only 50% wear on it and working perfectly, it's still chucked.
 
To put it another way, "overhaul" restores function, "rebuild" restores newness and function.

#3834 of 4276 2006 Chrysler T&C Satellite Radio Problem by tjcin

Apr 08, 2006 (1:19 pm)

A couple of weeks ago my Sirius radio stopped working. The subscription is paid for one year with the purchase of the van. The AM/FM portion of the radio still works as does the GPS and CD player. We have had it to one dealer for two days with no results. We also contacted Sirius and they were very helpful but were also unable to solve the problem. I was wondering if anyone has had any problems with theirs and can offer any solutions before I get frustrated with the next dealer. Thanks.

#3835 of 4276 Re: 2001 brakes [shipo] by willem

Apr 08, 2006 (6:34 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Apr 03, 2006 10:08 am)
Re: Lug nuts torque
 
It depends on the wheels (steel or alloy)
On my 97 T&C the required torque is 100lb-ft on the alloy wheels (I read that once somewhere, and it is an easy figure to remember).It is important to gradually torque them down. The pattern on 5 bolt wheels is 1,3,5,2,4and then #1 etc. again. For steel wheels the torque is lower, but I don't know by how much.
It is convenient to have a Johnson bar in the vehicle in case of emergency, because the nuts can be very tight, and should be!
 
Willem

Messages Page 384 of 428

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