A friend of mine bought an '01 Caravan recently with a 3.3l engine. He brought it over to me tonight to check it over for him.

1st} for future ref., is the engine a clearance engine?

2nd} how hard is it to change the rear valve cover gasket on this engine, in this vehicle? Does the upper intake have to come off?

3rd} how about the rear bank spark plugs? Can they be r&r'd from the bottom side or from the top?

4th} are these trannies as "problematic" as other Mopar trannies?

5th} it looks to have DexCool for antifreeze {the red stuff}, was it normal for Mopar to use this stuff in their engines? I thought it was a no no to use. I've seen the damage to the GM intakes,heads and head gaskets.

The van has 155,000 on it and I was pretty impressed overall with it. It seemed pretty clean. Had some minor body work done to it and it needs the general things done like plugs,wires, tranny service, rear drums and an alignment. But these are a few of the concerns he has with it.

Can you guys think of or let me know of anything to tell him to watch for? Thanks for your input.

Hasn't anybody worked on one of these as of yet?

Ok, I'll take a crack. I've owned quite a few of these. The 3.3 is just about bullit proof. I have one with 300k+ and have only had to replace a head gasket at 310k and the timing chain at 155k. With 150+ on your friend's I would be thinking about that sometime soon, but have seen them go 175+. I don't think red a/f is stock in an '01, but am not 100%. I do believe the intake has to come off to replace the valvecover gasket, but not a big deal. The plugs can be changed from the bottom, but are kind of a pain. I'm sure if that van had any kind of maintainance, it has many good miles left in it. As for the trans, I think they had allot of the bugs out by '01. Not really especially trouble prone.

The wife has a '98 3.3 with about 120k on the odometer. The source of much of my info is anecdotal from scanning boards online, as I have been fairly pleased with the service we have gotten so far. For us, there has been a relative lack of stuff breaking.

The rear plugs can be gotten out without tons of disassembly of intake, etc., but it's a challenge.

I had a cracked [plastic] radiator tank. It happens, but not super common. It's quite a job to swap one out, when compared to a 60's vintage musclecar.

The clock spring in the steering wheel had a recall, but I don't know if 2001 was a "bad" year. The symptoms include air bag light and/or no power to cruise control.

I don't know if it's an interference engine, but there's a timing chain (not a belt). I can't remember coming across anyone griping about the chains being a problem. (However, at 155K, it wouldn't be a bad idea to change it.)

Water pumps are super easy on this, and well worth it as preventative maintenance if you are doing anything in that area. Ditto the serp belt - put a new one in if you have the old one off for any reason. Early years had a issues with the serp belt tensioners, but that seems to have been resolved in later years.

The transmission design seems mature, and (if properly serviced) doesn't show up as a source of heartache for a large portion of the online population.

Salty environments play havoc with the metal coolant tubes for the rear heater (if so equipped).

Seems to be a tried and true transportation device that has pleased more customers than it has annoyed.

Thank you for the info.. We read your response at work today Koak. My friend said that he wanted me to print off these responses. This will be VERY helpful for him in the future as things need to be done. I,personally, have never worked on one fo these. I may end up doing some of it to help save him some money in labor.

the manual states to remove the intake to get to the plugs, at this point it will be easy to change the cover gasket, the plugs can be removed from the drivers side area and reach in...it is hard to do...u have to really climb into it..the belt tensioner is a thing to go also, rad cracks...spring clock for the abs light, electrical problems because of the harness connections below the battery tray that rots out...trans solenoid on the trans will cause a trans to stick in low gear...power door locks or a/c works sometimes on and off,phanthom wipers turn on by themselfs and shuts off also...some of these things might or might not happen to it...but things to know..don't forget the headlight lenses getting dull ...

Just use the new global stuff.Thats all we use at the shop.It mixes with anything.The rear plus are a pain but can be done without removing anythin.A lift makes it easier.Rocky

i just "retired" my old bus, which was a 95. it had 312k on the clock with the 3.3 and 4spdaod. it still runs great. no problems with the engine-doesn't use any oil between changes[3-4k]. the only problems with it was one egr valve solinoid and plugs & wires. the trans works great,a couple of input/output sensors & regular fluid & filter changes. and i used dexron3 !!!!! [yes i know this is a no-no, but it also had a shift kit installed at 125k. don't know if this means anything or not...]i think the engine/trans combo would be similar to the 2001 as far as reliability. most of the time, front rotors need replaced when pads do. i've never had any luck turning 'em , and they are cheap enough anyway. check the brake & fuel lines for rust issues, as well as the spair tire & lowering cable for rust issues, especially the spair wheel around the center hole and the stud holes. it really sucks if you have a flat and the center hole wont fit because of rust build up and the nits won't stay tight because of same. [ not like you & me live in the "rust belt" ]. my "new" bus is a 2001, and the body was great, but i had a devil of a time getting the spair out to check it. the wheel was a mess !

The spark plugs can be done easily from the top by reahing around from the drivers side and using an extension, swivel and air ratchet. The back valve cover is also piece of cake. Trans was good as long as maintained and serviced regularly. Main things with these vans was the steering racks, sway bar links and bushings, and the occasional fuel pump. At least that has been my experience with them since 01.

Wow.. Now thats the input I was hoping for. Thanks a buch guys.. I knew it wouldn't take too long to get some more opinions.. I'll print this all off tonight and give it to him at work tomorrow. Thanks again guys.. "Rust belt" ??!!! I don't even wear a belt..