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Anyway, as you have pointed out, the Pacifica has the looks inside and out, it is not your same old chassis going down the road, and that is what keeps me going with it........at 64,300 miles, I have a few annoyances with the Pac, but it looks and runs very well, the brakes are excellent, and overall, things could be much worse than they are.....I no longer look up the resale value of my 2004 Pac, because when I trade her in after 120,00 miles (my goal), resale will not be an issue......
Why Rodut, I just may keep her and one day in 20 years I may be the guy you see hanging out at the annual Tour de Pacifica road tour/swap meet.....(Post intermission #2 : held in Pacifica, Ca., of course).........I will probably be found at the booth selling replacement lo/hi beam bulbs. :shades:
The 1st time when I replaced the bulbs I had to pull the headlight assembly so incredibly hard that it made me believe that the fender would come out too !
After that I always went to the service department. So often that they were recognizing my voice only after "Good Morning". Probably that's why I miss the Pacifica. It was developing impressive social networks for me. Here on Edmunds, at the service department, with Chrysler customer service, even at gas stations I was talking with other Pacifica owners ! It was like a family !
The only stronger "car family" I ever saw was in Eastern Europe around a car named "Trabant" made in Eastern Germany (during the communism). They had clubs, meetings, they were stopping on the side of the road to help each other (which happened pretty often because the car was remarkably unreliable). I think the engine had something like 25 horsepower, 0.6 liters, 2 cylinders, 2 stroke, no valves, and the body was made out of cotton with some resin, not metal ! Do a Google search on "Trabant". You will enjoy it !
I was told one way to check for this ( sway bar problems), is to actually remove the sway bar, drive it at low speeds , and just listen. If the noise goes away, that is your part to replace.
Someone should make some chassis "remote microphones" that you just attach to various parts underneath and drive away......the noisiest location is just that.....your noise............you could just wirelessly hook it up to a laptop and drive around........
A Chrysler dealer just wanted to replace the whole rack & pinion assembly, which did not surprise me. Why think/analyze when you can replace everything from the passenger side to the driver's side?
I would like to see your pictures, I will just contact you off of this forum.
Sincerely,
Brooks Davis(aka SteelyDan)
Thanks
gourdman
Our Pacifica was clunking when driven off the new car lot, was clunking during all the time we owned it, and was clunking the day when we traded it ! Probably now it's still clunking somewhere, but fortunately I can't hear it anymore !
The hapiness I felt when I bought it, was nothing in comparison with the hapiness I felt when I got rid of it. I paid CAN$ 33,000 for it, and traded it for CAN $19,000 after 3 years. The best deal of my life, and I am not talking money here. Getting rid of a Chrysler is the best thing I ever did.
Chrysler logo: Clunking (not Inspiration) comes standard !
P.S.: do you know what "H o n d a" means ? It means: "Happy Owner Never Drives Anything else". Nice huh ?
Cheers
Clunking cannot be fixed on those cars. It's a standard feature ! You may believe it was fixed each time you leave the shop, but later (at slow speed on bumpy roads) you will realize that they just replaced one more good part. It keeps repeating forever.
My advice for you is to just forget about the clunking, BUT every 20,000 miles take the car to a shop, and ask them to lift it and check the wheels for play. Plain safety check. The quality of the ball joints is the lowest I saw in 25 years of driving, in 4 countries. In 25,000 miles they are already dangerous.
Mine is just starting (2007 FWD) and is most noticeable when
- right turn
- bump
My description: some clunk noise, but more so 'loose' feeling of the front end.
Also, can you describe in more detail what was involved (all the parts) when they changed "the front axels". And what specifically was wrong with the old 'front axels'?
Thanks.
other owners is something I am experiencing also. The information provided by
other Pacifica owners has been very helpful. I know now to avoid the costley
repair attempts. I will look into the transfer case replacement and lower control
are bushings. Not sure how to proceed beyond that because getting rid of the car
is not an option at this time. I really like the car but that clunking gets on your nerves.
I went to an independent garage recommended to me by a friend.
Repairs performed:
1. New front struts
2. Inner tie rod linkages replaced
3. 4 wheel alignment
4. Replaced wheel bearing assembly right front wheel/adjusted "prop nuts" , made some adjustments (tightening).....
These repairs ( August 2008) were not entirely succesful, and the clunk remained, but the car drove pretty well otherwise. I lived with it.
Just recently, I passed 79,000 miles, and I needed a new battery and a 75,000 mile checkup before a long trip. I used the same garage, told them the "clunking" was still there, please go over the car and report back.
Here is what they found:
1. a broken motor mount, the other two worn.
2. sway bar linkage worn( they removed the sway bars, drove the car, and the clunking was greatly reduced).
3. outer tie rod end linkage worn...
4. front brake pads retaining clips were allowing the pads to "rattle" , i.e. "not tight enough."
I am not interesting in getting into a new car, I just told the garage to go ahead and do it. Cheaper than a new car, my Pacifica still looks great and runs well overall.
Bottom line: two days later, my 2004 Pacifica drives almost like new. The clunking is gone, steering tighter, the whole drive is tighter........I am resolved to driving as smoothly as possible to make this last as long as I can.
For now, all is good with my 2004 Pacifica.....Hats off to Westside Automotive, they stayed after it until they had all they could to declunk my Pacifica. It should be noted here that this garage used to be a Volvo Garage when the present owner bought it 10 years ago. If you can work on Volvos, you are probably up for anything, which is why I let them have another go at my Pacifica's front end suspension.......
I still can't believe it everytime I get in my Pac and start off........
Therefore, I'm reconsidering the car I mentioned above. The dealer told me that it needs:
1. bar bushings
2. inner tie rods
3. alignment
4. blower resistor
5. left window switch
6. motor mounts
7. UCI &LOF (I have no idea what these are)
My question is to those of you who have had these repairs done- did it resolve your issues or did the problems occur again later?
If fixing these things will work, it won't be a bad deal for me even with the cost of the repairs. However, if this is something that's going to pop up again I won't even consider this purchase and will probably look at a different make and model.
Thanks in advance,
Holly
Repairs #4, #5 are not related to the Pacifica's front end, and I do not know what UCI and LOF mean, just ask the Service Department what that means. This could just be code for some routine maintainence services that any car would need at 66,000 miles.
Hope this helps a little,
Brooks
Repairs #4 and #5 have nothing to do with the front end. I too am not sure what UCI and LOF mean, ask the mechanic.
I live in Houston Texas, and while I have had clunking problems with my 04 front end , rust has not been noticed by my mechanic..............again, it never snows down here, so road salt is not a problem.
It snowed about 4" on December 4th, 2009 in Houston, and we all stayed home that day to build a snowman in the front yard..........Houston was paralyzed.... :surprise:
Your mechanic probably already knows this, but you will need a front end alignment after these services..........
Good luck, and may your clunk be exorcised from your '04 Pacifica........Mine is much, much quieter now, and I am loving it ( after two tries)......
I second your mechanic on the struts......as I posted before, make sure the strut mount is tight after the strut is replaced.
Sorry about the rust....