Issues to look for in 3rd Gen 96-00 Caravan 3L V6?

[Mr_Accord]

I run a small lawn care company during the summer for extra cash. Recently the van I used for the past 7 years (92 Aerostar) finally died and I'm now quickly trying to find a cheap replacement van to haul around my 2 mowers and the rest of my equipment. I found a couple of cheap Dodge Caravans and I'm planning on going to check some of them out. I just wanted to know if there were any people one here familiar with this vehicle that know of any common problems I should look for?

Thanks.

 

[FusilliJerry82]

Don't, just don't. More problems than you can shake a stick at.

 

[NHGUY]

They leak and burn oil.At least you could still get the 3 speed trans with the 3.0,you had no choice but the glorious 41TE with 3.3 and 3.8

 

[eljefino]

Electrical/ computer issues... computers that won't talk to the scan tool, solder joints burn out, VIN locked so you can't use a junkyard one. All the power for the world goes through a connector on back of the blower fan switch which burns out and makes life interesting.

There aren't any great vans; GM and Fords from that era blow intake/head gaskets, and noone makes a bulletproof trans.

You might like one of the last aerostars or a safari/astro. RWD FTW.

 

[hypervish]

Trust me, you don't want one. I have a 96' grand caravan with the 3.8L and it's on the forth transmission, it had 221k miles though. But still that's way too many reasons. Most of the reasons why these vans are terrible have been already mentioned.


A few other things comes to you mind about the electric gremlins. Sometimes the wipers will randomly turn down. Also they have undersized brakes.

I'm in the middle of a road trip right now or else I would write more. But I'm writing this from my iPhone while I fill up the gas in my RX.

 

[03hemi]

Change oil and they will run forever. the 3.0 is not as good as 3.3 or 3.8 but still pretty troublefree.

 

[edwardh1]

ac and transmission issues

 

[rshaw125]

I have a 1995. First transmission lasted 202,000 miles. I started looking for a replacement at 150,000 found one that had recently been rebuilt. So I was ready. The 3.0 engines are tough but are prone to oil leaks eventually.

 

[Hokiefyd]

In Canada, check out the strut towers very carefully. Especially the driver side one. It's very common for them to corrode so bad, the strut breaks through the tower.

I'd stay away from one of these myself.

 

[SteveSRT8]

OMG, not as a tow vehicle!

That thing has enough problems just dragging itself around. A trailer with equipment will quickly kill it.

 

[72te27]

Had a '96 with the 3.8 engine. Actually liked it very much with the small exception of the 4 transmission replacements. Very fragile transmissions.

 

[Mr_Accord]

Well thanks for the heads up guys. After reading through the posts and others from chrysler forums I think I will try and find another aerostar ,ranger or escort wagon.

 

[440Magnum]

Not Chrysler's best version of that van. In fact, probably the worst. Body corrosion issues. The 3.0 (Mitsubishi) v6 still sucked oil like a 2-stroke. If you fed it oil and cleaned the plugs constantly it would last a long time in spite of the oil burning, but most people neglected them, let them run dry, and as a result most have seized up and gone to the boneyard. The 3.3 and 3.8 were rock-solid engines, but the 41TE behind (beside) them was still having problems at that time. Almost as bad as today's Odyssey transmissions

But I agree with the other guys. Just don't. Don't EVER consider a front-drive vehicle as a tow vehicle, especially not a minivan. Look for a small SUV instead of a minivan if your price range is making you look at 3rd-gen Caravoyagers. Cherokees are bulletproof and can tow a sizeable amount (just be careful of the short wheelbase and the trailer trying to steer the Jeep). They can be had cheap (hey, look at my sig). But they do have far, FAR less interior room and you have to lift much higher to load them. Next I'd consider Explorers or S-10 type Blazers from back in the late 90s. They're bigger than the Jeep, but have the same high liftover issues and still less interior volume than a minivan. A bigger trailer with the big equipment and the hand tools, blowers, weedwhackers, etc. in the back of a Cherokee might work for you much better than a minivan with a smaller trailer.

 

[Mr_Accord]

I don't plan on using it as a tow vehicle. I don't use a trailer I had an aerostar extended previously where I took out all the benches and had enough room for two mowers side by side and extra space for everything else...in fact I had too much room. Which is why I'm looking at smaller vans.

 

[JustinH]

My dad has a 2000 with about 150k on it. He had to replace the computer, which was right around 500 bucks. As stated, he needed to have it done at a dealership.

Also he had to have a shop weld something on the strut tower because they were rusting out.

Van runs good though, uses little oil and he has the trans oil changed every two years.

 

[dx92beater]

If you do a search for my username, you will see that the rear head was cracked on mine. Someone decided to fix it with JB Weld and had me fooled for the first 6 months or so of ownership. The little bubbles in the radiator gave it away eventually. This is my 3rd minivan of this generation. First one had a bad AC and tranny. Second one someone replaced the tranny with a jasper...same for the 3rd with the cracked heads. The brake lines rust on these too even if not driven in salt. Mine burst suddenly with my entire family onboard!

 

[dx92beater]

If you do a search for my username, you will see that the rear head was cracked on mine. Someone decided to fix it with JB Weld and had me fooled for the first 6 months or so of ownership. The little bubbles in the radiator gave it away eventually. This is my 3rd minivan of this generation. First one had a bad AC and tranny. Second one someone replaced the tranny with a jasper...same for the 3rd with the cracked heads. The brake lines rust on these too even if not driven in salt. Mine burst suddenly with my entire family onboard!

 

[hypervish]

Yup. My rear brake lines exploded too. I hate these vans with a passion, they have way too many issues.

 

[The_Eric]

Add to the list, the rear heater lines. The originals were steel that would rust out and puke coolant out causing an overheat.