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thanks
I had the same failures ... not cracked plugs ... intermittent engine missing problems that would go away after plugs/wires were replaced and then come back a few months later with no "codes" in the onboard computer.
My bug turned out to be the ignition coil pack.
This may also be your cause of engine missing.
Lou B
Anyway we have a 99 Dodge Caravan Sport with quad seating, and an 05 Nissan Quest. We use a Samsung L300 DVD player which has a nice 10" screen. Usually we just prop it up on a cooler.
But the L300 has a button so that you can flip the display screen. If we had brackets to mount to the headliner, we could mount it where the factory DVD's are monuted, but with a much bigger screen and very portable to boot. It comes with a remote control.
Any kits available for this? It's quite light so they wouldn't ahve to be too substantial.
Ray
Hi, garandman,
It's more a matter of who started the discussion -- this one was started (and titled) by a member, whereas the "Problems & Solutions" topics are usually opened by Edmunds staff. If you look at the Maintenance & Repair Forum, you'll notices vehicles of all origins that are titled "XXX Problems" (with no mention of solutions). At any rate, I've edited the title here, if that helps.
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Yes - it gives me hope! lol
We have a 1999 Caravan Sport and looked at a 2006. It was so similar on the inside that my wife decided she'd prefer to keep driving hers. It has 90,000 miles on it. We replaced the trans at 73,000 miles or so, but otherwise it's been an excellent vehicle and IMHO is the best looking minivan ever made. Although I know some consider that a conundrum.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Hmmm, interesting question. For starters, "Are you serious?"
If you are, I guess the first question is, "What engine do you have now?"
IIRC, the 1999 GC Sport came with a 3.3 as the base mill and for a while at least, Dodge was offering the 29N package with the 3.8 as an option. I know that because that's how we managed to get a 3.8 in our 1998 GC Sport. Funny thing, we got ours because Chrysler allegedly ran low on 3.3s and started offering the 3.8 as a $250 option to the 29N package, even though the Dodge web site never listed such as an option. Come the 1999 model year, they listed the 29N 3.8 option for maybe the first half of the year, and then it disappeared, apparently never to be available again.
So, if you have the 3.3, dropping in a 1999 version of a 3.8 should be fairly easy, however, given the differences in the entire top end of the newer/higher horse power 3.8 (like the one in our 2003), I'd be surprised if you could make said newer engine fit with all of the accessories in the proper place and all of the linkages set properly.
From a subjective point of view, our 1998 3.8 performs about as well as the 2003 3.8, up to about 65 or so, not surprising due to the fact that the older van is both lighter and has almost the same exact torque available from the engine. Above that point the extra HP of the newer mill makes itself known, but even then the difference just isn't all that great.
If I had a 1999 3.3 in nice condition, and really wanted to keep it, I would certainly consider a 3.8 transplant; I'd just make sure that the new engine was built for the same vintage of van.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Umm, what Chrysler product did you own?
Do you have any idea how to manually pop the primary latch from below?... I could rig something after I got it open... (My original problem is that I have a dead battery (shorted cell), so I can't get to it because I can't open ... well... you get the picture.
Any advice on how/where to reach up and pop it would be appreciated. As luck would have it, The hood latch is the only one of the latches on the car that isn't in the shop manual that I have... Go figure.
If you sniff around on the web you might find a site that I found a year ago or so from a transmission rebuilder from the southwest (Arizona I think). On their web site they have a grid that shows by model year and engine what transmission the various Voyagers, Caravans and Town & Countrys (hmmm, when you pluralize "Town & Country", is it "Town & Countrys" or "Town & Countries"?) have used. Let us know how you do.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Just the other day we were driving it (milage now 126,000) and it started clunking into gears while shifting up. It does jerk into first while downshifting but we were told it was just a computer problem and nothing to be concerned with. Today we took it to be looked at were told that it needs a new transmission. The old warranty was 12 month/12,000 miles so it is no good. But you would think this one should've lasted more then 23,000 miles.
I'm taking it for a second opinion in a few minutes because I'm having a hard time believing it's the transmission again. I absolutely love this van, I mean it has it's quirks as any car with high milage would but so far it has run great engine wise. I'm just worried this transmission thing could be very costly in the long run.
Regardless, it sounds like you're going to be shopping for a new transmission in the very near future. :-(
BTW (again), I also have a 1998 GC (with only 107,000 on the clock) and so far at least it's been just about perfect (unscheduled maintenance so far: Battery - replaced with a DieHard for about $75, Vacuum Battery tray - about $125, and Drivers' door switch - about $8), so I'm curious to know which high mileage "quirks" you're experiencing as it's very likely that I'll have to deal with the same things pretty soon as well.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Here is exactly what the invoice from the original owners says about what was done:
1998 Caravan transaxle overhaul with rebuilt torgue converter $1,300
Not sure what that means, I guess I assumed it meant a rebuilt tranny. The guy at the other shop said it would be $1800 for a rebuilt one. The first transmission work was done in Mansfield, OH so not one of the richest towns in the world.
The little quirks it has are no big deal really - I did have the battery replaced a couple of weeks ago and the fan relay was replaced in August. But it's things like the dome light not working (and we know it's not the bulb), the windows don't work in the cold, the key doesn't work on the drivers door, and the headlights are very dull and probably need replaced. Oh and the delay for the wipers doesn't work quite right. The wipers will come on as they are suppose to and after ahile just stop coming on. You then have to switch it to high and back to the speed you want until it happens again.
"...the dome light not working (and we know it's not the bulb)..."
Yup, that's why I replaced the drivers' side door switch. Assuming that you have the same problem, you can buy the part for $8.00. Putting it in is simply a matter of one Philips head screw and one clip on wire.
"...the windows don't work in the cold..."
Don't have that problem, yet.
"...the key doesn't work on the drivers door..."
Hmmm, on mine, if I use the key in the door (instead of the key fob), I have no problem locking the door, however, when I unlock it, the power locks will unlock and then quickly relock. I've found that if I very slowly turn the key to unlock, and as soon as the locks click open I return the key to the middle (as opposed to turning the key to the stop), the van will unlock and stay unlocked. As I almost ALWAYS use the key fob for all locking and unlocking duties, this isn't what I consider a problem. If it ever becomes an issue, I'm pretty sure that this is either a worn out or dirty electrical switch, and the repair cost would be very reasonable.
"...and the headlights are very dull and probably need replaced."
Hmmm, I've seen some vans with yellowed lenses and have always wondered about that. Our van has been garaged for most of its life and the lenses are still perfectly clear, as such, I wonder if the garaging has anything to do with the lack of yellowing. Having said that, our generation of van was never known for having great headlights, quite to the contrary really. The lights on our 2003 GC are WAY BETTER than those of our 1998.
"Oh and the delay for the wipers doesn't work quite right. The wipers will come on as they are suppose to and after ahile just stop coming on. You then have to switch it to high and back to the speed you want until it happens again."
A time or three the intermittent wipers have stopped mid-use on our 1998 as well. What I have noticed is that this only happens on the lowest setting, and only if I've gone from off to low by carefully clicking over the detent. If I "click" twice (i.e. to the second lowest setting), and then ease the knob back into the first position, the problem never happens. Clearly this is simply just a worn out switch and as such should be a fairly cheap fix.
The only other squawk that I have is that the multifunction overhead display doesn't get the temperature correct. How do I know that? Simple, it can go from -40 to 120 and/or anywhere in-between in a matter of moments, regardless of what the actual temperature is outside. Here again I could care less and as such I haven't spent any resources to debug the problem.
Regarding your transmission, unless your receipt from the transmission repair specifically states the proper transmission fluid was used, I'd have that sucker drained (torque converter included) and completely refilled. A new filter would be considered mandatory as well.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Overhaul means you leave alone what's good, replace what's bad. So you have a mix of new and used parts.
Rebuilt means you bring everything back to factory specification.
I have never posted to this site, but have found it helpful in the past with several issues.
Recently, my van has just made a "click, click" sound when attempting start. After a few clicks it eventually starts. More noticeable in the morning when cold.
Any advice?
Thanks,
click, click, clicker
don't know what that means but am leaning toward the ecm. any suggestion and am i on the right path
It started when the tranny blew @ 60K. We're still waiting for the next one to blow. We know someone who has replaced 6 transmissions in their Dodge Caravan! Engine blew @ 70,000 miles. Clock spring/horn @ 85K. Seat belts were recalled (isn't that reassuring?), and we've had to replace 4 air conditioning compressors in 3 years, each $1500. Most of them were covered by warranty, though. If we would have known this van was going to give us so many problems, we wouldn't have bought it. Since we put so much money into it, it's not worth trading in/selling because we would only get $2400-$2800 due to the 113K we've put on it. We bought it from a LARGE dealership in town in March of 1998. Not one of those crappy, small dealership. I'm saying we paid $25,000. Yeah, that's right. $500/month for 60 months. We paid it off in 2003. Most of the problems happened before we paid it off.
Don't let any "good" quotes on the Dodge Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country/Plymouth Voyager fool you. Japanese vans such as Honda and Toyota can last 5-10 years longer, or more. You get more for your money with less mechanical problems. Pay the extra $$$$ for a foreign car, and I'll tell you why. Japan and Korea put an extra $400 part in their cars that reduces shaking and rattling and increases the life span. No joke. American car manufacturers know it, but this part is a tricky part to put in, so they won't do it. God forbid they pay their employees another buck to help a consumer.
That's why Ford is laying off 30,000 workers, and Toyota is hiring another 10,000.
Oh yeah, we have a 1989 Plymouth Acclaim sitting in our driveway right now with 100K. It needs a tranny. We put $500 into it 3 years ago. Brand new tires, too. Then the tranny blew. That's when we got our 2000 Hyundai Accent. It had 45K on it when we bought it for $4500 in May of 2004. Now it has 70K.... not a single problem. 35MPG, too! Our Mitsubishi Mirage has 107K, and we bought it from the same private dealership as the Hyundai. $2500 in Sept. '05, no problems yet. That's driven 85% highway, too.
Our Voyager's "service engine soon" light has come on a few times, and the mechanic said it was nothing.
So now it's sitting there, all alone, in the dark, because it can't start. It's unreliable, and it can act fine one MINUTE, and then DIE the next! That's what happened to us. We found ourselves coasting down a hill, when the spedometer read 40MPH. We were only going 25. It's not a battery issue. It tries to start, but we just can't get it to run.
I think it has a cult. As do all other Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth vans. If you're looking into buying one, don't waste your money or time. Don't let the good safety ratings fool you, either.
Our brakes went out @ 14,000 miles.... just after we bought it. I mean, not the "squeaky" noise. They were full-blown SHOT. Did the same thing @ 55K. We've had the roders replaced 6 times!
Another thing, the dome lights always flicker and go out. They've done that for about 4 years now. Not convienent in the dark.
It's not easy to just go out and buy a new vehicle ...... nor in the budget.
Save up for a foreign one, though. You'll be a million times happier you did it!
Like/believe it or don't, the DC MiniVans are some of the most reliable on the road (assuming proper maintenance of course), and for every disaster story such as yours there are many, many stories like mine (1998 DGC, 107K miles and $200 in unscheduled maintenance).
Relative to a couple of your points:
The transmissions... There is a huge base of both scientific and anecdotal evidence that suggests that unless you've made absolutely sure that the proper transmission fluid was used, your transmission is highly likely to fail. Why? Because folks like Jiffy Lube (and other quickie maintenance places) insist on putting transmission fluid in that is not up to the Mopar spec. Put that stuff in, your transmission is a goner, period, full stop, the end.
The A/C... In the mid 1990s the car manufacturer of the world converted to non-CFC based refrigerant, and that caused lots of problems, not just for Chrysler I might add. Once the manufacturers figured out how to keep that stuff inside the system, problems solved. My 1998 has its original A/C system still fully intact and operational. It's never been touched, even for a recharge.
The fact is that after experiencing the extreme reliability of our 1998, we wouldn't even take a serious look at the foreign offerings (what with all of their transmission problems -Honda and Toyota-, engine sludging problems -Toyota- and crummy gas mileage -Hyundai-) when we were shopping for another van in 2003. Yup, you guessed it, we got another DGC, and after nearly 60,000 miles its been just as reliable as our 1998.
As for being "a million times happier", yup, we are. ;-) Sure glad we didn't get a Honda.
Best Regards,
Shipo