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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 48 of 428

#471 of 4276 caravan 1997 tip.. by earredondo

Oct 09, 2000 (6:44 am)

I sold my 97 dodge caravan v6 3.3lt with 110,000 miles but let me give you a tip that happens a lot and you can fix it yourself and save a lot of money (in case no warranty).
First Sign of problem :
1. A/C will work and then stop blowing cool air.
2. Starts heating up when driving below 65 MPH, and you end up turning the engine Off because it start beeping at you that's overheating.


Problem found:
1. radiator double fans are not working.
so a/c shuts off automatically because the heat it produces can't be cooled down. also engine overheats.


Solution:
1. Buy a FAN RELAY at the dealer (I paid $40..list price $85) and replace it. It's very easy and it takes less than 10 minutes to set it up. It's located below the air filter housing.


Remove Airfilter plastic cover, disconnect big Hose from carburator(I think that's what it is,located on top of engine, i'm not a mechanic, I do computers stuff)to loose the black plastic housing , then remove bottom housing of black plastic (1 bolt) and then you'll see the tiny square shape fan relay, remove it and replace it, it works like a champ.


Do not turn on the car while the fan relay is disconnected 'cause it will make a new error code show up on the Engine service soon light. ( I did this mistake and I'd end up disconnecting the battery to erase the light).


Hope this is useful. Bye

#472 of 4276 fredk4 by mark194

Oct 09, 2000 (1:22 pm)

I had a similar experience with another vehicle and the answer was the fuel pickup in the tank, it had become clogged by a bad tank of gas. I'm not sure how you could correct this but my guess would be you would at least have to remove the pump from the tank and go from there.

#473 of 4276 Tranny on 2001 GC by nbagadio

Oct 10, 2000 (3:26 am)

I've read somewhere that DC has decided to use the same Tranny in the 2001 Caravan that was used in previous years...is this true?

#474 of 4276 by eneth

Oct 11, 2000 (8:20 pm)

Yes. It is still the 42TE (formerly known as the UltraDrive 604).

#475 of 4276 DC Transmission by rbacsafra

Oct 12, 2000 (12:48 am)

Correction:


It is the 41TE not 42.


The 41TE transmissions in late 99 and current mopar vehicles currently use ATF+4 Type 9602. Most...(not all) people who experience tranny failures in their DC minivan or chrysler vehicle is from improper tranny fluid replacement with Dexron. Dexron is not compatible with the 41TE and will eventually cause it to fail. It happened to our 96 Grand Caravan LE. Only use the proper Chrysler tranny fluid ATF+3 type 7176 for pre 1999 vehicles and ATF+4 type 9602 for late 1999 and current vehicles. Never use Dexron/Mercon. Always refer to your owners manual first.


Check this website for this information.
http://www.allpar.com/fix/trans.html

#476 of 4276 by eneth

Oct 12, 2000 (12:27 pm)

That may be - but the 41TE/42LE/A604/etc. units are all the same basic transaxle - they came out of the same engineering staff, are built on the same Indiana transmission line, and are similar in design, use similar parts, and have similar histories.

#477 of 4276 gcintender by gcintender

Oct 12, 2000 (3:28 pm)

Similar being the key word...

#478 of 4276 Mopar Tranny by rbacsafra

Oct 12, 2000 (6:24 pm)

Similar is the keyword. The application in the NS minivans is the 41TE.

#479 of 4276 by eneth

Oct 12, 2000 (9:58 pm)

The 41TE is "similar" to the UltraDrive A604 original. It is exactly the same 41TE that's gone into these minivans since 1992. The name "UltraDrive" was simply dropped in favor of the 41TE designation.


http://www.wam.umd.edu/~gluckman/Chrysler/CCD/Ultradrive.html

#480 of 4276 41TE by rbacsafra

Oct 13, 2000 (1:25 am)

I don't see where you keep emphasizing on the
ultradrive. Yes the 41TE is a improved version
of the ultradrive. I believe that the 41TE gets tweaked here and there every year because I have not had any of those problems from those TSBs on that website or any of the current TSBs. I don't think that information is pertinent to the 96-and up vans because its dated info.


The only thing that happened to our 96 GC LE was getting new tranny put in at 78,000 miles from the use of DEXRON in the tranny. Ever since that incident, we kept using the RECOMMENDED fluid where shift quality felt like new and didn't have any problems all the way up to 141,000 when we got rid of it. Not everyone experiences the same things but I do believe alot of tranny failures are caused by improper maintainance and lack of reading the fine print. Our 00 is doing well and it does have the 41TE. Most of us already know you dislike Mopar. Just leave it at that. It's not necessary to keep dragging it along. You made your point already. =)

Messages Page 48 of 428

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