i thought i loved my new van
TWRIGHT
05-17-2007, 03:35 AM
i have a problem, i bought a 2001 dodge grand caravan sport. as is ok i know that was dumb. but with my credit i couldnt find much to choose from. i did go through a dealership with my own bank something called a loan to value. any ways from the first week things keep going wrong with it. the ac stopped working, i had more freon added. guess what that lasted a week so i must have a leak, the van gets hot with no warning, has a lot of pressure and gets hot after a mile or so. the passanger window wont go up or down elec. the gas gage is not reading correct all the time. and the power sterring pump acts like no powersterring fluid in it .makes that growl. if i take the cap of it has plenty of fluid and it solves the prob for a while valcum prob maybe? and the rear main seal crankshaft is going out. i begged the dealer to fix the problems they refuse said it was as is so to bad man this burns me i am a mother of 3 disabled kids and i need my van fixed i poured all my money into this van and it is one big lemon to me. i cant afford to fix this i just bought this van and i have just made the first payment on the 1st.i am now stuck with it can you guys help me troubleshoot each thing so i can fix it my self. i may be female but i can do it ( i roof houses and paint and plumbing etc so i know i can learn that to thank you for your help
webbch
05-17-2007, 12:38 PM
>>the ac stopped working, i had more freon added. guess what that lasted a week so i must have a leak,
OK, I see you live in Texas, so living w/o A/C right now really isn't an option for most. Take a look here (http://www.autoacforum.com/) at an A/C forum for more knowledgeable help on the A/C. Unfortunately, A/C work is not cheap, and neither are the tools you would need to get yourself set up to DIY. It sounds like you are virtually broke right now, so kind of in a pickle and can't help with that.
>>the van gets hot with no warning, has a lot of pressure and gets hot after a mile or so.
I take this to mean that you drive a mile or so and the temperature gauge goes well above the halfway mark. You don't mention that you've checked the coolant level in the radiator. Next, I would try to squeeze the upper radiator hose after it's heated up to see if you can feel any fluid flowing - idea is to see if the thermostat is opening. If lots of coolant in the overflow, but low coolant in the radiator, could mean lots of things. Would want to have a radiator pressure test. Could be an easy fix, or could be a bad head gasket. Can't tell w/o further testing. I will say that water pumps to tend to go out on these vans. About a $30 part, and is pretty easy to replace. Check to see if it is leaking and perhaps the source of your overheating problems
>>the passenger window wont go up or down elec.
That's an easy one. Bad power window regulator. I've replaced both of mine. Typically about $115/ea and can't buy the regulator separate from the power window motor, so you're stuck buying both, but can be found on ebay for much cheaper if you need to. Need some Torx bits to remove existing regulator. If the window is open and you just want to roll it up for now until you have the cash to fix it, remove the existing regulator and jam a piece of wood cut to length in there to hold it up for now and disconnect the power window connector. That's how mine was when I bought the van and it held the window up just fine.
>>the gas gage is not reading correct all the time
Money is tight, ignore this one for now and use your tripmeter to determine when to get gas. You should be able to get at least 250-300 miles per tank I would think. I'm not extremely knowledgeable on this one, anyone know if the fuel level indicator is contained in the fuel pump assembly (inside the fuel tank)?
>>the power sterring pump acts like no powersterring fluid in it .makes that growl. if i take the cap of it has plenty of fluid and it solves the prob for a while valcum prob maybe?
A new P/S pump is about $50-60 I believe. I've not changed it myself before, but others indicate it's no walk in the park. I would check to make sure there are no leaks in the steering rack at this time as well. This means loosening the inner tie rod boots to see if there's any fluid in them. A steering rack is about $200-300. All the repair manuals say you can't service them, but for some reason auto parts stores stock a $20 seal kit for them, so that must not be entirely true. Personally, I wouldnt' try to service it without detailed instructions.
>>the rear main seal crankshaft is going out
How bad is the leak right now? I believe this job requires you to remove the tranny - no small task. Maybe you can live with for now? Good news is the seal is only about $13. Probably doesn't make you feel better I'm guessing :(
How many miles on the van? If I were to throw out a guess, I would guess about 130,000. Sounds to me like the van hasn't been maintained at all since new. I, too, purchased a van with a few known problems, and a lot more small unknown problems. I'm almost done fixing everything on it 5 months later. Good luck.
OK, I see you live in Texas, so living w/o A/C right now really isn't an option for most. Take a look here (http://www.autoacforum.com/) at an A/C forum for more knowledgeable help on the A/C. Unfortunately, A/C work is not cheap, and neither are the tools you would need to get yourself set up to DIY. It sounds like you are virtually broke right now, so kind of in a pickle and can't help with that.
>>the van gets hot with no warning, has a lot of pressure and gets hot after a mile or so.
I take this to mean that you drive a mile or so and the temperature gauge goes well above the halfway mark. You don't mention that you've checked the coolant level in the radiator. Next, I would try to squeeze the upper radiator hose after it's heated up to see if you can feel any fluid flowing - idea is to see if the thermostat is opening. If lots of coolant in the overflow, but low coolant in the radiator, could mean lots of things. Would want to have a radiator pressure test. Could be an easy fix, or could be a bad head gasket. Can't tell w/o further testing. I will say that water pumps to tend to go out on these vans. About a $30 part, and is pretty easy to replace. Check to see if it is leaking and perhaps the source of your overheating problems
>>the passenger window wont go up or down elec.
That's an easy one. Bad power window regulator. I've replaced both of mine. Typically about $115/ea and can't buy the regulator separate from the power window motor, so you're stuck buying both, but can be found on ebay for much cheaper if you need to. Need some Torx bits to remove existing regulator. If the window is open and you just want to roll it up for now until you have the cash to fix it, remove the existing regulator and jam a piece of wood cut to length in there to hold it up for now and disconnect the power window connector. That's how mine was when I bought the van and it held the window up just fine.
>>the gas gage is not reading correct all the time
Money is tight, ignore this one for now and use your tripmeter to determine when to get gas. You should be able to get at least 250-300 miles per tank I would think. I'm not extremely knowledgeable on this one, anyone know if the fuel level indicator is contained in the fuel pump assembly (inside the fuel tank)?
>>the power sterring pump acts like no powersterring fluid in it .makes that growl. if i take the cap of it has plenty of fluid and it solves the prob for a while valcum prob maybe?
A new P/S pump is about $50-60 I believe. I've not changed it myself before, but others indicate it's no walk in the park. I would check to make sure there are no leaks in the steering rack at this time as well. This means loosening the inner tie rod boots to see if there's any fluid in them. A steering rack is about $200-300. All the repair manuals say you can't service them, but for some reason auto parts stores stock a $20 seal kit for them, so that must not be entirely true. Personally, I wouldnt' try to service it without detailed instructions.
>>the rear main seal crankshaft is going out
How bad is the leak right now? I believe this job requires you to remove the tranny - no small task. Maybe you can live with for now? Good news is the seal is only about $13. Probably doesn't make you feel better I'm guessing :(
How many miles on the van? If I were to throw out a guess, I would guess about 130,000. Sounds to me like the van hasn't been maintained at all since new. I, too, purchased a van with a few known problems, and a lot more small unknown problems. I'm almost done fixing everything on it 5 months later. Good luck.
Mrbizness1
05-17-2007, 09:16 PM
Depending on the mileage this van could have been covered by the lemon law which most states have on the books. Its too bad you made the first payment, you could also have had the bank put pressure on the dealer especially if they arranged the loan. Next time tell the dealer you want to take the car to a mechanic before you buy it. Check to see if you have a local state consumer affairs office.
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