Help...96 Chrysler Town & Country...

[blondasmith]

Ok, A few more things Ive found since having purcahsed this Van.

-The power door lock on driver side wont pop up to unlock as all the rest of them do. Maybe its stuck or maybe I need to check the fuses, I dont know. Where is the fuse box located and which fuse would I need to check?

-The power window on the Passenger's side will not roll down, the drivers side works fine. How can I fix that?

-I also need reprogramming directions for the keyless remote I just bought off of ebay.


Now the more serious stuff, heres some background on this Van, I purchased it from a transmission shop who had acquired it from a lien sale. They rebuilt the tranmission and put a new brain in it, once they did that I picked it up and on the way home I couldnt steer the thing once I got it into a driveway or at a slow speed. I had to take it back and it was the rack and pinon that had gone out. They also put in a new pump of some kind, I think fuel. So I picked it up again and it drove better but theres still things going on under the hood like noises and shaking, its just a rough ride. It does need all new tires but I dont think thats the problem, anyway, Ive had it back for a week and its now overheating on me. I'm taking it back in today, needless to say the mechanic and I have become quite acuainted. I know that they put a new battery and a new belt of some kind because of a screaching noise in the front end. Now, this is what else I hear going on in the front end in addition to the overheating. When I'm driving it hesitates at times, seems to pull back and then push forward, it does this off and on while driving but its at its worst when I stop at a light and then go. There is also like a popping noise, almost sounds like a POP POP POP of an air gun or something that also happens when stoping and going. Any ideas? Its still making like a squealing/screaching noise but not as loud as before. Also, when I come to a stop the whole front end vibrates, everything in the dashboard area shakes. I think Ive really got myself in a heck of a mess with this thing.

Apreciate any suggestions.

[silverknight58]

I hope you didn't pay too much for it, wow it sounds like a lot of problems to deal with.

I may be able to help with the window, if it's not electrical that is. It could be you need a new drive belt for the window. I changed one on an 89 and it was realtively cheap and easy to do.

Best of luck with your other problems, I hope we'll be able to help.

[webbch]

Assumign nobody's messed with it yet, yours is the first case I've heard of where the window won't roll *down*. Normally, I've found them to go down just fine, but not go back up. Consider yourself fortunate in that regard. The cable for the PW regulator most likely broke. I've replaced both of the regulators on my front PW on my '97 for that reason.

As far as reprogrammign directions - do you have at least one working remote? If not, I think a dealer has to do it for you. I got a couple of remotes on ebay as well, but forget the reprogramming procedure - it's in the owner's manual (I know that probably doesn't help you).

Re the power door lock: You can unlock it with the key right? If so, do you hear the door lock actuator doing something when you press the unlock switch? If you do, then the door lock rod may either be kinked or disconnected. I've not investigated the door lock mechanism myself, but normally a rod hooks onto the latching mechanism. Either way, you'll need to pull off the door panel and water shield to investigate. Since the other door locks work fine, I'd doubt it would be a fuse, but I don't have a schematic in front of me either.

Also, when I come to a stop the whole front end vibrates, everything in the dashboard area shakes

Is the "Service Engine Soon" light lit up? This sounds like a cylinder misfire problem, and/or *extremely* worn engine mounts.

Re the overheating - did you check the coolant level in the radiator and the overflow tank? If the radiator was low, you need to find the coolant leak. Water pumps frequently go out around 125k miles on these vehicles, and that's where mine was leaking.

I agree - hope you paid next to nothing for it - especially assuming you knew it came from a lien sale. Sounds like you bought a mechanic's special, but you don't seem too inclined to work on it yourself. Not a good match. You could easily spend triple the value of a similar year vehicle in great condition to get this thing working, if you're paying someone else to do the work.

I made the mistake of paying fair market value for my '97 w/130,000 miles, but didn't realize some of the problems at the time. For what I have into it now (about an extra $2k), I could've bought a newer one with lots fewer miles, but I've fixed all the little problems and done it myself and picked up some new tools along the way.

Chad

[blondasmith]

Thank you very much!

[blondasmith]

yeah, I agree that I could have gotten something better with what I have and will be putting into this. Basically, I wasnt charged anything for the van itself but I have paid for all the work that has been done on it to get running which origianlly was supposed to cost me $2200 for the the transmission and a new brain to be put in to it. But once they fixed that and I picked it up Ive been finding out that it needs much more work than originally thought so I'm now into it for some $2900 and thats not includng the work that it still needs to have done. Well, I guess we live and learn. Although I am having the work done I'm still learnng much more about cars and parts than I ever thought. So maybe next time I buy a used car I'll know better what to look for. Anyhow, thanks for all your help! I will be checking under the door panel for the power lock issue, the lock tries to pop up but just seems stuck and I can unlock it with the key just fine. I will also check the cable on the power window issue and as far as the shaking goes, yes, the check engine light is on. So I'll see if I can have the mechainc take a look at what youve suggested. Thanks again!