Way off topic 1993 caravan transmission

[Los_Control 696]

1 hour ago, JBNeal said:

The last few years of the K-car platform minivans were good ones,

I guess thats where I am at. If I can actually fix the issue, may be able to turn this 27 year old car into a survivor. Otherwise better people then me have sent them to the scrap pile.

 

I really enjoy driving it because of the amount of crap I can shove in it, the dogs like riding in it, the ac works great ... just the electrics of the transmission that is creating a issue.

[Tooljunkie 245]

The 91 i had was an awesome van. 3 litre. I preferred the 3.3, was a better engine in my opinion. 
 

[Los_Control 696]

Mother inlaw wanted a caravan, Father said he chose this one for 2 reasons, 1, paint issue been fixed, 2, has the 3.3 that he claims is a better engine ... I honestly do not know the difference. Of course the transmission was bad & bought it cheap.

 

Years ago I bought my wife a 1988 caravan with the 4cyl engine. The van just turned out to be a nightmare.

Never had the power it needed, but did ok. When it ran decent.

Example: we made a 200 mile trip, she driving the van, I was following her with my 1 ton flatbed. She went to pass a slow moving semi, I follow her and cars following me.

She gets 1/2 way and the van starts doing the dance and cuts out ... end up slowing down to 40mph & pull back in behind the semi. Kinda dangerous.

I spent a lot of money taking it to shops to be tuned and correct the issue for months. That was the final straw, I parked it in the backyard for 8 months.

One day I wanted to try again, I was wondering if maybe it had some water in the gas. I put a $1 can of heet in it and a fresh tank of gas ... never had the problem again.

By then I had bought the wife a toyota suv, "I am not going to drive that pos van" We sold it cheap to someone who needed it worse then us.

 

Yeah the older vans had issues, The 1993 model they are comfortable, convenient,  plenty of power with the 3.3, the 4spd od trans is awesome when it works.

If I was still working, I would not waste anytime on this old van. Just replace it. .... Since I have more time and less money, seems to be more of a challenge then anything.

I just have to be careful on where to draw the line.

[Eneto-55 145]

1 hour ago, Tooljunkie said:

The 91 i had was an awesome van. 3 litre. I preferred the 3.3, was a better engine in my opinion. 
 

I had a 93 Chrysler T&C.  We were all packed up and ready to come back to Ohio after visiting my folks in Oklahoma, and as soon as I started it, there was a terrible racket from under the hood.  Water pump.  Decided to try to make it to a repair shop about 4 miles up the road into the small town where I had gone to public school.  It shelled out before we got there and dumped the coolant, so had to have it hauled in the last mile.  The guy takes one look at the minivan, and says "I won't work on any of this Japanese stuff."  I had a Chiltons manual, and so I pulled it out and showed him that the 3.3 was an American engine.  So, a few hours later we were on our way.  I don't know where I could have gotten it repaired if it had been the 3.0.

[Tooljunkie 245]

12 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

I had a 93 Chrysler T&C.  We were all packed up and ready to come back to Ohio after visiting my folks in Oklahoma, and as soon as I started it, there was a terrible racket from under the hood.  Water pump.  Decided to try to make it to a repair shop about 4 miles up the road into the small town where I had gone to public school.  It shelled out before we got there and dumped the coolant, so had to have it hauled in the last mile.  The guy takes one look at the minivan, and says "I won't work on any of this Japanese stuff."  I had a Chiltons manual, and so I pulled it out and showed him that the 3.3 was an American engine.  So, a few hours later we were on our way.  I don't know where I could have gotten it repaired if it had been the 3.0.

I used to do those water pumps in about 30 minutes.

With it on a hoist. Belt tool would hook on pulley,and an air ratchet. Zip all the bolts out and catch coolant in a tub. 
reinstall pump, flip belt back on, snug pulley bolts,lower car and refill with coolant. 
what took the longest was purging the cooling system. wish i had an airlift then. Vacuum fill is way better. 

[Sniper 694]

I had an 89 Plymouth version, turbo 4 in it. 

 

It was a $400 beater when I bought and the larger turbo I put in it cost more than the van did, lol. 

[MackTheFinger 308]

I swapped out a motor in a Plymouth van once. IIRC it was a Mitsubishi V6 motor. A friend's OL had run it dry and blew it up. Junkyard motor was $300 and I charged her $150 to swap it out. I was impressed with the amount of power it had. Van ended up with my friend's brother in KC and now that I think about it those people are all underground now. Buddy died in '98. There were 9 kids in his family, only one of them's left, and she's nuttier than a monkey on crack.. 🙂

[Los_Control 696]

13 minutes ago, MackTheFinger said:

There were 9 kids in his family, only one of them's left, and she's nuttier than a monkey on crack.. 🙂

Oh Lord, I am feeling the itch .... I just hope I can drive my wife to the grocery store with no voodoo hex.

I drove it again today, no issues. Not sure what I would do if I saw monkeys  .... Suspect I would be looking up @MackTheFinger address 

[MackTheFinger 308]

14 hours ago, Los_Control said:

Oh Lord, I am feeling the itch .... I just hope I can drive my wife to the grocery store with no voodoo hex.

I drove it again today, no issues. Not sure what I would do if I saw monkeys  .... Suspect I would be looking up @MackTheFinger address 

 

I'll be happy to help but if those are flying monkeys you're on your own!!