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My 1996 Town and Country Van needs HELP.

littleladylittlelady Member Posts: 1
edited May 2014 in Chrysler
I will be driving my van and all of a sudden it will rattle/shake until I let up off my gas for a second. Then it might not do it again for a couple of days, then again it might do it off and on until I get to where I'm going. The feel and sound reminds me of those ridges you drive over in the road that remind you to slow down for a stop ahead. My tires are new and other than that it runs great..
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Comments

  • djcprojectdjcproject Member Posts: 4
    I have a 97 town & country LXI 6cyl fwd/ now this is the problem! For some reason the steering wheel shakes a lot and a wobble it feel in the front end when start moving a slow speed! Well it happening even at a faster speed now it getting worst and worst and it's like it coming from the front driver side it's like if it was one of the tire is going bad. But now i had change the tires and balanced them, the driver and passenger side axles ,driver side hub with bearing and both sides brake rotors! I'm focusing more in the driver side because that's where it feel the most I also done wheel alignment, and still the same problem. There's nothing else i can think of that it can be. Some one suggested that it may be the motor mount that may not be center and it can cause the axle to go out of place and someone told me that may be the tie rod the inner or outer that's what I'm checking next. This thing is driving me crazy. Any one have any suggestion? Help please!!
  • joepeterson56joepeterson56 Member Posts: 95
    Have you checked/replaced balljoints, swaybar links or tierod ends? Sounds like your problem is most likely one of or a combination or those things.
  • djcprojectdjcproject Member Posts: 4
    No I haven't but that's my next step since a lot of people had suggested me to check them!! thanks!
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 16,793
    I agree. I would look toward the ball joints first. One thing is for certain, once you replace the culprit part(s), it will feel like driving a new van!
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100, 1976 Ford F250
  • ltistudentltistudent Member Posts: 5
    Check your ball joint and lower contr arm first, then all the bushings I can bet that something is wrong with one of the suspension part, your problem wouldn;t cause bad engine mounts

    -if not that check your rack and pinion assembly sometimes you can adjust that kind of problems with Yoke lash!
    -check rack and pinion, bushings!!!

    when you did alignment to the car,
    was it 2 wheel
    or 4 wheel alignment?

    before any alignment mechanic should check all front and rear suspension parts (shocks, springs, tierod ends, ball joints, all the bushings, lower contrl arm, upper contr arm, spindle, steering knuckle,)if any of this part is bad alignment is pointless!!!!!!
    did the car was in any accidents before?
    check the tires for any type of wear, that can tell you a lot,
    I hope is not the SAI this angle is not adjustable and might cause big problems
    next time when you're doing alignment tell them to print out your CASTER, CAMBER AND TOE measurments before and after alignment
  • djcprojectdjcproject Member Posts: 4
    well the wheel alignment was done to the 4 tires! I did it because I told that was the problem and by doing it will solve it but that wasn't the case. No the Van was not in any kind of accident, this problem just started like 6-7 months ago and I had this van for 6 years. The mechanic when did the alignment wasn't the best mechanic ever I just didn't like the way he did it!! but when I finally find the cause of the problem I'll take it the re alignment (not to the same place).
  • djcprojectdjcproject Member Posts: 4
    I finally changed the Tie-rod ends inner and outer on both sides, the ball join on driver side, the sway bay link on both sides,and the shocks and both side and Thanks God the problem is gone now. I noticed that when I took the Inner Tie-rod they were real bad, so thanks guys for your suggestions and ideal. thanks!!
  • tbaby74tbaby74 Member Posts: 1
    my town & country van will drive for a couple of days and then just cut off by itself..If i wait a couple of minutes it will crank right back up...what could that be? :confuse:
  • srs_49srs_49 Member Posts: 1,394
    Is the CEL coming on?

    Did you pull the OBD-II codes?

    Problem is ignition (no spark) or no fuel. First have to figure out which one of those two it is.
  • mack29mack29 Member Posts: 3
    My issue is somewhat different, but here is some stuff I did and I am also looking for some help.

    When I hit a "ridge" in the interstate or over some speed bumbs there is thud, it feels like the dirvers side front wheel bottoms out. Mine is a 1994 Town and Country with 188000 miles and the 3.8L V 6.

    So far I have changed....

    The long rack (for a different issue)
    Sturts and shocks
    CV joints
    Had a 4 wheel alignmnet
    All the motor mounts (this did not fix the issue, but made a tremendous difference in the way the car behaves, I would recommend this to anyone if you are getting a jerking feeling or shaking when starting off.
    Sway bar bushings

    Any ideas would be great! Mack29
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