2003 dodge caravan stalling out

[lizzswtnss]

My caravan has 110,000 miles on it and in just the last few weeks has started stalling out mostly while driving down the road. Most of the time I can put it in neutral and start it right back up. Twice it took a few minutes to crank back up. The first time there was a clicking noise from I guess it's the relay box on the drivers side under the hood? Anyways I called around and was told it was probably the crankshaft sensor so my boyfriend replaced that. It ran good for a few days but now it's doing it again. This time the check engine light did come on so I went to AutoZone and had it checked. The code was P1391 which they say is either the timing belt or chain has been stretched or jumped or a defective camshaft sensor. We have 6 kids and not alot of money to spend to see what's wrong with it, and they couldn't tell me which one could cause it stalling. Any suggestions??

[RIP]

Not to say this is THE problem but from reading this and other forums you may have a cracked Flex Plate (FP). It's about a 16 inch diameter steel plate affixed to the end of the torque converter in the transmission bell housing. On the outer edge is a ring gear. The crankshaft sensor reads the "teeth" in the ring gear to generate it's timing signal to the PCM (engine computer). If the FP is cracked it can wobble and change the required gap between the sensor tip and the ring gear. This throws the engine timing off and creates studdering and stalling. What to do? You or a mechanic will need to remove the inspection plate or the starter to get a look at the FP. It can be tough to determine if it's cracked or not so have someone with experience look at it.

That said, the cam sensor or timing belt should still be on your list though I've read about cracked FPs far more often. P1391 is "intermittent loss of cam or crank sensor signal".