another awd?

[bluefever]

I just recently purchased a 1992 Plymouth Grand Voyager Le Awd with almost 240,000 miles,I was wondering if anyone else out there knew of a website group of people with caravan,voyager and town and country all wheel drive's?

[bluefever]

does anyone else even own another awd chrysler van?

[KManiac]

I do and I have posted to several threads in this forum regarding my experiences. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Vats]

I have a 1999 AWD and another family member has a 1994 awd with 480,000kms on it.

[bluefever]

I was wondering how durable the transfer case is,if there are any common problems on them,it runs perfectly now,but is just under 240,000,so just wondering what to expect in the future

[KManiac]

I haven't heard of any failures with the "Power Transfer Unit" or PTU on the AWD vehicles. We have 102,000 miles on our '98 and no problems to report.

The PTU is a standby system. Under normal driving conditions, over 90% of the drive power is delivered to the front wheels. Should one of the two front wheels lose traction (spin), drive power is diverted through the PTU to the rear wheels. It works like the old "Sure Grip" or "Positraction" differentials of old, but with four wheels instead of two.

Now, I and other AWD owners have reported a condition with these beasts that I call the "AWD Clunk". This is a very rare condition that baffles most owners and mechanics, including the dealer mechanics. This has happened many times to my wife (the primary driver of our van). It usually occurs when she puts the van in reverse and starts to back up out of the driveway or a parking space. As soon as the van starts to move, you will hear and feel a clunk and have the sensation that you just ran over something. Then, when you try to reproduce it, either yourself or at the repair shop, it won't happen.

My theory on this condition is that the van suffers a momentary loss of traction of both front wheels simultaneously either from unstable ground, dirt, mud, ice, wet leaves or parking space paint stripes. When both front wheels spin simultaneously, full drive power is suddenly diverted to the rear wheels, causing sudden engagement of the clutches in the PTU. This would account for the sensation similar to dumping the clutch in a stick shift car. AWD owners are more familiar with this condition in snow country where icy roads can cause this condition on a regular basis. But here in sunny California, well below the snow line, a loss of traction is a rare occurance. Our van has never seen snow in seven years. This condition is not a symptom of pending failure, it is an inherent reaction to specific conditions that proves the system is working as designed.

The only inconvenience I experienced with our van was when I discovered one CV joint boot leaking on one rear axle. I found that new and remanufactured rear half shafts were not available either from the dealer (on back order) or at major auto parts stores. However, I was able to purchase replacement boot kits. I bought replacement boot kits, removed the shaft and took it to a driveline shop where they installed the boots. One day later, the shaft was ready and I put it back together. The van was down for three days during this repair. But the total cost to fix was my time and $60.

Good luck with your van and let us know if you have any other questions.

[bluefever]

thank you for replying,going to pick it up from the dealer I bought it from tonight,hopefully I have good luck with it,i'll keep you posted

[bluefever]

so far it seems to be going well,except for it only seems to have any heat at all when the engine's running around 2,000 rpm's or more(whenever idling it's stone cold),the awd seems to work great,where getting a northeaster here today as a matter of fact and it hasn't disappointed me yet,I have already noticed the awd "clunk" that you mentioned a couple times,mostly when backing the wheels and turning,but it's not unbearable,other than that and a slight vibration that only occurs between 30-40,it seems to be going well

[bluefever]

a couple different times when i was backing up with the van,it was not kicking into awd,but was making a grinding noise that sounded like it was coming from the rear end,i'd have to pull forward and try backing up a couple of times then all of a sudden it would make a loud hard clunk and finally engage awd and go back,has anyone had a similar problem?

[GC1999]

Regarding the "clunk" noise...Had a similar or the same problem, turned out I needed a new rear differential (the thing the torque tube connects to). Apparently the AWD would not engage the rear wheels (should be 80:20 I believe). Bring it to a shop and have them run it on a lift. According to my transmission guy, this is a rare condition that is usually not detected during a regular inspection. This was a 97 GC BTW...