1999 Dodge Caravan TRANNY

[MiDnIgHt RuMbLeR]

Hey guys,

I just recently bought a 99 dodge caravan platinum anniverssary editon with the 3.0 that has 134,000 km's on her. My question is should i replace the tranny fluid in the van?. I have not experienced any problems with the tranny but not knowing what the van has been through for the past 134,000 km's makes me want to change the fluid. I have heard that by changing the fluid in these vans it can actually make things worse. Should i just leave the fluid or should i replace it?. I am also noticing that i have a chirping sound under the hood of the van on the passenger side, sounds like a pulley. I am thinking it is maybe a pulley on the alternator. Has anyone else had this similar problem?

[Senatorfan]

I have the 3.0 l engine with the 3 speed transmission. I had to replace the tranny and since then, the fluid and filter are changed every 50,000km as preventive maintenance.

As for the other noise, it could be many things but I did have to change the tensionner : apparently, all Caravans driven in snowy conditions have the problem.

[bobcat2001]

Very Bad design on the belt tensioner. If you have $100 to throw away, replace it. If you have an hour to spare, repair it yourself. It is not that difficult to remove. Once you remove it, ignore the wording on it that says "do not disassemble". There is a high tension spring in there which is a little challenging to get back in place once you have fixed it, but not much different than a starter coil spring on your lawnmower.

Anyway, if you can leave the spring in the notch, then do it. I did not, of course. Loosen the nut on the pulley and hammer out the press fit bolt (used as a bushing in this case). The problem is that they did not use a rust resistant bolt for the bushing so it rusts and seizes (due to inactivity. I mean how much does your belt actually stretch and contract???). Take some sandpaper and sand the rust off the bolt, coat it with bearing grease and put it back together.

$100 in your pocket.

Bobcat