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Hmmm, I've never heard that from any of the four dealerships that have worked on our vans. I'm not saying that it isn't so, I've just never heard of it. That having been said, motoringmama was told by her dealership that her plugs were shot and that the van was running poorly as a result.
Thinking about this another way, I was curious what a plug with 100,000 miles on it would look like before I took mine in for its last service and as such, I decided to pull the front three, take a peek and then put them back in. The good news was that I didn't notice any unusual corrosion, and had no problem pulling them out.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Thinking about this a little further, I'm surprised you even bought the thing in the first place. Why? Because by mid 1998 when we got our first van, there were widely known problems with that engine in virtually every vehicle it was installed in, Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and Mitsubishi alike. When we ordered our 1998 I did a little research just to make damn sure that I didn't get ANY mill made by Mitsubishi. Oh, and one of the other things I found out while doing that research is that on vans with the 3.3 and the 3.8 liter Chrysler engines, you also get a different and much stronger transmission. Needless to say I'm quite glad I held out for a 3.8 liter van. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
"...dbl platinum plugs or not - its not a bad idea to replace them for peak perfomance and better mpg."
I've never seen any evidence, scientific or otherwise, to support that statement. In the case of my 1998, when it was brand spankin’ new it was a struggle to get that thing up to 20 mpg on the highway. Last June I changed consulting gigs and started commuting nearly 100 miles a day and as such was able to establish a very consistent mostly highway driving routine. Between June and October when I had the 100,000 mile tune up performed, that van delivered a very consistent 22.5 mpg. Between October and now (almost 9,000 miles) that same van over that same commute has delivered a very consistent 22.5 mpg. I'm thrilled with the difference. ;-)
"fuel induction and injector cleaning is a good idea about every 30K "
Hogwash. Modern fuels must meet certain minimums of detergency and purity, and once again, I've never seen any evidence, scientific or otherwise, to suggest anything to the contrary. Actually, quite the opposite seems to be the case, fuels are getting cleaner.
"buy a fuel system cleaner not just injectors. a throttle plate cleaner wouldn't be bad either(make sure safe for Fuel inj.)"
Again, what's the point? The van that motoringmama is driving is by her own admission, running very well. Back in the 1970s when I was a plebe mechanic, one of my mentors popped the hood of a Chevy Pickup truck, started it up (it started immediately and ran smoothly), and then pulled the air cleaner off of the top of the carb. With the air cleaner housing removed the scene that was revealed was to my untrained eye, revolting.
Apparently there had been some blow-by leakage (I'm thinking from the PVC system), and a HUGE amount of oily dirt and grime had built up all around the carb. My mentor then asked me what I would do with this truck. I told him that I'd fix the PVC system and then pull the carb and rebuild it.
As he was a former sailor he was always very fond of using colorful language and this moment was no exception. The translation of what he said was basically along the lines of, "Wrong! Fix the [lousy] PVC system and leave the [mother] [loving] carb alone. If it ain't [flippin'] broken, then don't [flippin'] touch it."
End of lesson. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Once inside the house, to the internet I went and did a little research. What I came away with is that there are now some options that will improve the lighting situation to a fair extent. In the end I opted for the Sylvania Silverstar 9007ST Halogen bulb inserts for something like $37 for the pair.
http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silv- erstar/ProductLine/
Tonight I had a chance to try them out and they are very definitely a substantial improvement over the factory bulbs, and while they are probably still a little shy of the 2001 and later MiniVan lighting scheme, the difference is no longer so obvious.
So, for all y'all still running with the factory bulbs in your 1996-2000 MiniVans, you might want to consider dumping twenty bucks per side and upgrade your lighting. I just wish I hadn't waited eight years to do it myself.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Believe it or not, I have yet to change any bulbs, front or rear, inside or out on our 1996 Caravan except one fog light. (fog lights are in most respects aesthetic only devices anyways) I did a Rube Goldberg rebuild to it as it had sprung a leak and allowed good old Wisconsin winter salt water in and corroded everything. After pricing a replacement(way too expensive), I reworked the socket, resoddered the wires, and with liberal used of clear silicone caulk, sealed it back up myself. Hasn't failed since in about four years.
Getting off subject some, but I have noticed that the vast majority of one eyed cars on the road seem to be VW Jettas and Passats. Does VW have an inferior bulb supplier, or a overly vibratory bulb mounting or what, or is this just my imagination?
Hmmm, I wonder of those vehicles that didn't improve used an OEM bulb supplier that provided a better baseline bulb. What I found when I pulled the old (OEM) bulbs was that they were made by the same manufacturer (Sylvania) as the Silverstars, and maybe within the Sylvania product line the Silverstars are indeed better. Kind of a weird paradox.
As for your VW Padiddle sightings, IIRC, the whole Padiddle thing originally started with the old Beetle (when you were a teenager on a date and saw a one-eyed Beetle you were supposed to kiss -- geez I'm getting old), so I wonder if VW is simply trying to keep the tradition alive. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Aiming the headlights a little higher will improve visibility on minivans
Regarding your comment that said, "I thought they were brighter at the time but now I think they were brighter because they were newer than the OEM bulbs I replaced."
I did a little reading about how halogen lights work and discovered that they use a regenerative process that keeps the bulb just as bright as it was the day it was made, all of the way through the day it burns out.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Also, I have had electrical problems with windows and locks, steering gremlins as well as the sliding door almost falling off. I also live in the city where it was built and with my wife being a teacher, she feels that she must also support the parents who work there. I say to h--- with the patriotism and give my cash where it is appreciated.
Sadly I have different neighbours with the same vehicle who absolutely abuse them with extremely poor if not rare maintenance without a hitch. Luck of the draw I guess.
Figures. :confuse:
Maybe the moral of this story is that in an effort to keep an American car running in peak condition one must abuse it and not maintain it. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
From my experience this is not true. Halogen bulbs become dimmer over time. Replace a new bulb, turn on your lights and compare it to the other bulb that is a few years old and you will see the difference. Bulb mfgs package 2 bulbs for that reason. I believe it has something to do with the gas inside the bulb.
Please take a look at the linked discussion regarding Halogen Cycle lamps vs. Tungsten-Halogen lamps:
http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/Products/Halogen/How- - HalogenWorks.htm
I don't know when the industry switched over to the Tungsten-Halogen process, however, the bulbs that I removed from the 1998 DGC were just as perfectly clear as were the new ones that I replaced them with.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I have been adding brake fluid since day 1 with the dealers never finding the leak. They attribute it to wear of the brake pads.
Four trannies in the first year I find hard to believe, but if true you should have contacted the Chrysler Corporate office. I apologize for sounding harsh but you should have never tolerated such shoddy service. Maybe they were trying to repair the trans. rather than replace it.
The dealer is correct brake fluid level will get lower as the brakes wear, and will overflow when new pads are
installed.
Toyota and Honda make good cars but they are not as perfect as Consumer Reports makes them out to be. Their dealer don't have service departments for show. I had to wait ten days to get a Nissan dealer to change my alternator with a factory re manufactured unit for $450.00
They also learned that putting a vehicles power train into a minivan puts more stress on it resulting in Odyssey transmission problems and Toyota motor sludge problems.
Take a look for yourself
http://www.odyclub.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=4430a090c27273e9682807e7f662a37- 6&forumid=9
http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/index.php?s=ca60eb2cdcf480f8dd2c5179b9448a9b&sho- wforum=5
Has anyone heard of any issues with the power steering in these vans?
Here is the link
http://www.daycoproducts.com/
The only reason I mention this is that I also wondered whether the Silverstars simply seemed brighter because the old bulbs were shot. Much like when one installs new speakers in their car and marvels at the wonderful sound. Well sure, the old ones were nearly garbage by the time most people look for a replacement! Although many stock speakers are simply cheap garbage from the beginning, price is everything in most cases unfortunately.
So I guess the real question is: has anyone checked out the Silverstars vs a new Sylvania regular bulb? I'd like to know myself, since I was contemplating the "upgrade" as well but put it off since many people seemed to be having life-span issues with the Silverstars (could be a bad install though, halogens are very sensitive).
Regarding the Silverstars, I have little doubt that they are brighter than the OEM bulbs simply because of their relative brightness to other cars. When we first got the 1998 we noticed it was very marginal in the lighting department, then a few months later I got my first BMW with Xenon headlights and WOW, what a difference. The good news about Xenons is that since they don't have a filament, they don't degrade over time, and as such, they can be used as a relative benchmark. Is the 1998 now as bright as the Xenons? Nope, however, it's a hell of a lot closer than it was when it was new.
Regarding the life-span issue, even Sylvania states on their web site that life-span and brightness are inversely proportional, the brighter the bulb, the shorter the life. Taking a line from the old Blade Runner movie, "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy." Personally, I have no problem with the concept of replacing the bulbs every four years if they are indeed brighter. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
Front drivers seat (defective leather)
Replaced defective rack and pinion
Replaced defective power steering pump.
I consider the last 2 pretty major and am not too happy with these developments.
They very well might be brighter than tradition bulbs, I would also like to know. If you come across a comparison with some real numbers of lumen output over time, please post a link. Are you sure the BMW isn't HID? Those do not have a filament and are much brighter than conventional headlights but it takes a while to warm up to full brightness (sometimes a few minutes and any electronic feed interruption results in a partial reset of this time).
As for life-span, I would generally agree that the brighter the bulb, the lower the life but only within the same technology generation. Today we have LEDs (though technically not a bulb) and fluorescent bulbs that can match incandescent brightness in most cases, have a much longer life, and operate on less resources. I was hoping the Silverstars were somewhat of a breakthrough - thus yielding greater light output but with at least the same or near same life span.
I also would change them every 4 years for brighter bulbs, that's certainly reasonable as far as I'm concerned.
happy motoring
I don't actually know what HID headlamps are. :confuse: I've been hearing the term for years but I don't think I've ever actually seen a technical description of their construction. As for my BMWs, both of them were ordered with Xenon headlamps which are a gas filled bulb with no filament. They do take a moment to warm up; however, "a moment" is measured as no more than a second or two.
Best Regards,
Shipo
http://www.sylvania.com/LearnLighting/LightAndColor/HIDTechnology/
Yeah, you probably have HIDs then. Xenon is used most commonly in the autmotive form of HID to start them. Here's a wikipedia link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_discharge_lamp
Instead of a filament, there is an arc across electrodes. They use a ballast to start and maintain the operation. Any interruption of current causes them to reset and "charge up" again, like you see happen in a fluorescent. They also look somewhat blue simply because they are so much whiter than traditional incandescents. Similar to why LED flashlights look blue compared to a mag lite or what have you. Not to be confused with the blue bulb HID "replacements" for standard headlights. These are just garbage to emulate the look of HIDs.
Hope that clears some things up. Also explains why your BMW is so much brighter!
Take care.
Best Regards,
Shipo
Thanks
Jon
We bought our Caravan a year ago now. We bought it New/Used. It ran great when we got it. Starting in July1, 2005 we started having problems. It has now been in the shop 6 times including today. We had an AC problem which they pushed off, Door closing problems on the sliders (pushed off for a later date also). Things they have replaced so far include...2 headlight switches and wiring because they just went off while driving at night with our to little kids in the middle of trafic. Swaybar bushings, power steering pump and rack and pinion. They can't seem to fix the awful odor that makes you want to throw up. It is in for the 4th time now on that. The last time it did not want to start then did not want to stay running when it did start. Oddly enough no check engine lights or computer errors. Since this happened we are now getting 4 mpg in city and 6mpg on hwy. Chrysler can not provide any resolutions and the dealer is stuck. I told them if it can't get fixed I want it bought back and want something different!!!! It is also in for a popping noise when you take off in drive after backing up and yesterday the trans hesitated/slipped. We are up in arms. Has any body else had this much trouble? We can trust our 190,000 mile 93 Honda civic more than our new Caravan!!!!
If the noises continue over the weekend I will show up at the dealer Mon morning and talk to the Service Manager.
Jon
up the rad, after which I replaced the rad cap and restarted the engine. While idling I checked for external leaks and found none. I continued on my way and had no problems the rest of the day. The following days the same thing happened. Every morning after the engine had cooled I had to go through the same procedure. I installed a new rad cap, but still have the problem. The engine oil does not show any water ingress. Whenever I bring the engine to operating temperature, the coolant backs up in the bottle but will not go back in the rad when cooled down. Low rad level seems to keep the thermostat closed (not sure). The exhaust does not show any steam. What can be wrong..?
Can anyone help me..?
-- Kip
Best Regards,
Shipo
Incidentally the only way to then set cruise back on is to cancel it and then turn back on.
This only seems to be happening when cold (and is getting more frequent) but if taken for a long trip (over 2 hours) the thing runs faultlesley!!
It has recently also started to just cut off when idiling........I would be grateful for any advice as all the mechanics and Dodge dealers in the area are at a loss to the fault!! :confuse:
12 means 'battery disconnect within the last 50 cycles', and 55 is 'End of code' display.
You can find those codes in automotive manuals like Haynes.
My '97 T&C shows the #12 code for a long time now, even though the battery has not been disconnected in the longest time.
If you do an OBDII scan, you get more precize pinpointing to a specific problem.