2004 to 2007 dodge caravan

Seeking knowledge from the hive mind.

Need to replace my Moms 2004 dodge van for her. Needs to be the same generation.

Current one has been pretty reliable with the 3.3 v6.

Any reason to look for the 3.8 over the 3.3 or vice versa? Reliability and longevity being key. No need for more power.

Any other problem areas to watch for?

Thanks

3.8 eats oil, otherwise not much difference. I just traded my 3.8 07 GC in on a new T&C, I used it for everything and it performed well.

PCV valve commonly is the cause of oil consumption.

Steering rack leaks.

Sliding door wire harnesses(door will intermittently fail to open or close, or door will be hard to slide manually etc)

Trans leaks

EVAP leaks from the rubber/plastic lines by the pass side motor mount going to the purge valve

Rear EVAP core leaking is common with rear air

Blower resistors front an rear

Clock springs cause airbag light most commonly

Stuff off the top of my head I saw on a regular basis. Was a Chrysler tech from 06-07 and Caravans were my main source of income then. The rack leaking was super common on 05-06 in particular from my anecdotal evidence. I can still do a rack an have it aligned in about an hour and a half... I've done so many of them its stupid.

Most of the above you can check yourself and is where I'd pay particular attention.

Where are you located? Someone local to me in DE is selling a 2004 T&C with right around 100k for $3900 asking. I'm about halfway between Philly and Baltimore and within an hour of each.

My 2005 T&C with the 3.8 has needed the evap valve cleaned. That's about it outside of brakes/oil changes etc. that's with 186,000 miles.

Don't forget rust, they aren't as bad as the pre-04 but still rust at the edges of all the fenders and where the rear suspension mounts.

chandlerGTi wrote: Don't forget rust, they aren't as bad as the pre-04 but still rust at the edges of all the fenders and where the rear suspension mounts.

Seriously, these things must have been made of recycled Vegas or something. They get a few years old and the rocker panels and rear suspension pickup points all disintegrate.

Thanks guys. Great info as always.

Duke: Thanks for the offer, but they are near Charleston SC, and I need to find a car close to them or close to me in Charlotte.

Flatlander: How expensive are the clock spring and door wiring to fix? They sound like they might be pricey.

sevenracer wrote: Thanks guys. Great info as always. Duke: Thanks for the offer, but they are near Charleston SC, and I need to find a car close to them or close to me in Charlotte. Flatlander: How expensive are the clock spring and door wiring to fix? They sound like they might be pricey.

Cheap.

Clock springs are now under $80 for aftermarket, OE I'll guess is $150ish. About 0.8-1hr labor IIRC.

The sliding door harness is easy to do and costs about $65. Summit carries them now... Lol. Maybe 0.7-0.9 labor IIRC?

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/rnb-747-311?seid=srese1&gclid=CKKFlrGrhsoCFcEUHwod7KwCzw

The clock spring was a recall years ago. It's easy to check.. If airbag light isn't on and the horn works at all times while turning the wheel nothing is wrong yet.

The door harness is normally more intermittent at first. Look for what I said above to determine if it may be on the way out.

I can't say I'd trust an aftermarket clock spring, but the door harness is simple enough. Just wires and two connectors. The only special thing is the plastic "track" that allows it to roll up with the door movement. The wires break over time and start causing issues.

The steering gear leak is the most $$ item to worry about aside from the trans. I have had horrible luck with aftermarket racks... They all leak within 6mo it seems. Best to just buy OEM.

My neighbor had a same gen Caravan with the 3.3 with well over 300k with minimal troubles. The 3.3 may be one of the few modern Mopar engines that have a good reputation?

We don't see any rust on these here in Florida. I bought my 2002 Caravan SE new with the 3.3L flex-fuel engine. It has served well for 187K. It's been all over North America and never let us down. No rust anywhere, but the clear coat is going away on the roof. I rented a new one, but I think I like the previous generation better (2001-2007). IIRC you had to go to the Grand version to get the 3.8L, and I had always heard that they had more transmission problems. If you search the Caravan forums you will hear about all kinds of problems but there are millions of these vehicles out there, so you are bound to hear about some issues.

And as long as we have some Dodge expertise on this thread, what's the story on the rubber bushings for the rear leaf springs? Does anyone ever change those? I have some that look bad, but the usual parts houses don't seem to carry them. Rock Auto has the rear shackle assembly, but if I was going to change that, I would want to do the front bushings while I am at it.

Caravan Dan the Minivan Man

Those harness' take ten minutes to change once you've done it. I started re-wiring them for other people too since they are ridiculously simple.

In reply to Danny Shields:

I've never replaced them ever.

With almost 200k I'd probably just buy new leaf springs with the bushings already installed if the price isn't bad and you REALLY wanted them replaced.

i was unaware that the 3.8 and 3.3 motors would have problems unique to one or the other. Thought they were basically the same.

They are.

I think these are overall decent vehicles but they don't appeal to me as much as the earlier generations. Not for any kind of reasons anyone else would care about.