Grand Caravan AWD

We just bought a used 1999 AWD Grand Caravan. Seems like a really nice vehichle. I'm going to take care of the transmission flush right away, although the original owners had the tranny replaced under warranty by Dodge.

Couple questions:
Is there any way to tune the transmission to stay in 4th gear longer? It drops into third under the slightest load, and I know the motor has plenty of torque to handle a bit more delay in the downshift.

any particular problems spots in the AWD? Who designed it? Where to get info on it?

Welcome to the world of Chrysler van ownership.

The 4-speed automatic is controlled electronically. There are no adjustment that can be made to the transmission. Having said that, I have read that computer in the transmission "learns" your driving habits over time and adjusts itself to match your driving habits. If you disconnect the battery and let sit disconnected for a while, you can erase the transmissions computer memory. Then, after driving it for awhile, it will relearn to your driving habits. Or you can just be patient and see if it will change over time as you drive it. Our transmission doesn't seem to drop out of 4th like you describe so it may be a matter of how you drive versus the previous owner and this should change as you drive it.

What I know about the AWD system is that it works in a similar manner to the old limited slip differentials in old RWD cars. Most of the driving force is directed to the front wheels under normal driving conditions. Should one front tire start to lose traction, torque is redirected towards the rear wheels. There is no way to "turn on", "turn off" or manually adjust the unit. Operation is automatic.

Several of us AWD owners have had a discussion thread on this forum about the mysterious AWD Clunk. My wife, and others have reported an infrequent clunk when starting to back up from a stop. It is described as a sharp clunk from the engine/transmission area and the feeling like you have run over something in the process. I have felt this once with my wife driving and have never been able to repeat this when I have been behind the wheel. My theory is that for a split second, both front wheels lose traction simultaeously, causing an immediate redirection of driving force to the rear wheels. The clunk is the sudden engagement of the clutches in the power transfer unit. Nothing to worry about, just don't be surprised should it happen to you.

Recently, one CV joint boot cracked and leaked on one of the rear axles in our AWD van. Being a "do-it-yourselfer", I decided to fix this problem myself instead of getting reamed by the dealer again. What I discovered is that replacement rear axles for the AWD vans are backordered at Chrysler and not available through local auto parts stores. I was able to buy replacement rubber boots from the auto parts store, however. So, I removed the axle myself, then took the axle and the new rubber boots to a driveline shop. The shop installed the boots for me for a small fee, which was less than the price of a reman axle (that was backordered) from Chrysler. I then reinstalled the axle and we were on the road again. The only draw back to this was the van was laid up for a day or two while the axle was out getting worked on.

We have a 1998 Chrysler Town & Country LX with AWD, 3.8L engine and 4-wheel disc brakes. We have owned it for seven years, purchacing it with 9,300 miles. It now has 99,000 miles. I have changed the oil regularly and serviced the transmission fluid at 30,000 mile intervals, as well. I have no complaints and expect to drive it another 100,000 miles or more. For more information on my experiences, search this forum for my posts.

Let us know if you have any questions or comments.

Do not get the transmission flushed, it will only caouse problems.

Change the fluid and use only Chrysler ATF +4. No fast lube. There are countless horror stories on this forum of problems caused by the wrong fluid.

I have a 1999 3.8 AWD, 270,000 kms, no issues with the AWD system. Uncle has a 1994 with over 500,000 kms. Great AWD system. very simple.

I must agree with Vats, keep your transmission away from fast lube shops. No need to go to the trouble of "flushing". Again, I am a "do-it-yourselfer". I did the transmission fluid change myself at 90,000 miles after having the dealer do it at 30,000 and an independent shop do it at 60,000. It is very easy. Remove 14 bolts and the pan drops right out. This will rid the transmission of approximately 5 quarts of old fluid. The old filter snaps off, the new one snaps on. Be sure to clean out the bottom of the pan and remove any metal flakes from the magnet. Replace the pan with the new gasket, retorque the bolts and refill the transmission with only "ATF+4" fluid. Mixing some old fluid with new fluid is not going to hurt anything. Knowing how easy this is, I now going to use the servere usage fluid change schedule in the owners manual, which is a pan dump every 15,000 miles.

I'm not sure how mechanically inclined you are, but I find it is better to do the simple jobs right yourself, than to spend good money to have someone else do the simple things for you.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Glad to hear that the AWD has not been an unusual source of problems.

I will try the battery disconnect trick. I had thought of doing that myself. I'm just wishing the folks who ordered it had bought the select shift option, where you can select which gear to use.

I will take the thing to the local trans shop I trust for this first fluid change. I want them to change all the fluid in both the transmission and the torque converter. They may also know some tricks for getting it to behave more like I want too. They have been very knowledgeable for me on three different cars.

Too bad I can't get a stick shift!!

One other thing, on the cracked CV boot. If you can get the axle off, replacement boots and a couple simple tools from Advance Auto or Autozone let you put on new boots for about $30 or so, including the tool to lock the retaining bands on. I've done it twice. Just make sure you catch the torn boot early before something corrodes. But on one car, even though the joint was making noise, cleaning it up and relubing it put it back on the road for quite a few miles for very few dollars. $25 vs $150 for a reman. axle.

I need to get a boot replaced on the rear right side axle. My manual has no instructions of how to remove the rear drive axles. Is it a straightforward job? Any instructions available?
Thanks
Ian

Welcome to the world of Chrysler van ownership.

The 4-speed automatic is controlled electronically. There are no adjustment that can be made to the transmission. Having said that, I have read that computer in the transmission "learns" your driving habits over time and adjusts itself to match your driving habits. If you disconnect the battery and let sit disconnected for a while, you can erase the transmissions computer memory. Then, after driving it for awhile, it will relearn to your driving habits. Or you can just be patient and see if it will change over time as you drive it. Our transmission doesn't seem to drop out of 4th like you describe so it may be a matter of how you drive versus the previous owner and this should change as you drive it.

What I know about the AWD system is that it works in a similar manner to the old limited slip differentials in old RWD cars. Most of the driving force is directed to the front wheels under normal driving conditions. Should one front tire start to lose traction, torque is redirected towards the rear wheels. There is no way to "turn on", "turn off" or manually adjust the unit. Operation is automatic.

Several of us AWD owners have had a discussion thread on this forum about the mysterious AWD Clunk. My wife, and others have reported an infrequent clunk when starting to back up from a stop. It is described as a sharp clunk from the engine/transmission area and the feeling like you have run over something in the process. I have felt this once with my wife driving and have never been able to repeat this when I have been behind the wheel. My theory is that for a split second, both front wheels lose traction simultaeously, causing an immediate redirection of driving force to the rear wheels. The clunk is the sudden engagement of the clutches in the power transfer unit. Nothing to worry about, just don't be surprised should it happen to you.

Recently, one CV joint boot cracked and leaked on one of the rear axles in our AWD van. Being a "do-it-yourselfer", I decided to fix this problem myself instead of getting reamed by the dealer again. What I discovered is that replacement rear axles for the AWD vans are backordered at Chrysler and not available through local auto parts stores. I was able to buy replacement rubber boots from the auto parts store, however. So, I removed the axle myself, then took the axle and the new rubber boots to a driveline shop. The shop installed the boots for me for a small fee, which was less than the price of a reman axle (that was backordered) from Chrysler. I then reinstalled the axle and we were on the road again. The only draw back to this was the van was laid up for a day or two while the axle was out getting worked on.

We have a 1998 Chrysler Town & Country LX with AWD, 3.8L engine and 4-wheel disc brakes. We have owned it for seven years, purchacing it with 9,300 miles. It now has 99,000 miles. I have changed the oil regularly and serviced the transmission fluid at 30,000 mile intervals, as well. I have no complaints and expect to drive it another 100,000 miles or more. For more information on my experiences, search this forum for my posts.

Let us know if you have any questions or comments.