I'm going to use it for my business, running parts around, etc...I'm currently rolling in my 08 hemi 1500 ram and its such a pig on fuel...plus it's only got 80K on it and to0 nice to beat up for work. A friend has the caravan with 110K on it. 4 cyl, just needs a battery. he got it with 90xxxx K from his neighbor and they had just done the timing belt and the tires only have abbout 5k on them. its clean, no rust or dents, paint good, and he only wants 500 for it.

are there any other issues to look for? I'll likely strip the rear of the interior and put bins in it, maybe paint it cargo van white.

I was looking at ford transit connect but it's 8-10K for a decent one and I've heard they are ok, but parts are hard to get. dodge and chevy now have transit connect equivalents but those models are so recent that i'd have to buy a nearly new one and thats not in the budget at the moment.

How much weight will you add to the van? The 4 banger is a very good engine, but it and it's tranny have their limits. We use a Grand Caravan with the 3.8 to tow our cars and parts home, which is a 125 mile trip. The 3.8s have plenty of power and we get over 20mpg towing.

The only other issue again depending on the weight that you will be hauling, could be the brakes. We definitely need brakes on the dolley when towing.

As long as you size the drive train to the job you are asking it to do, these vans make great workhorses.

P.S. We are approaching 200,000 miles on our '02 and it is going strong.

Not too much weight... swapping seats/carpet/trim for bins is close to a wash. I have a full size chevy 2500 that my guys will use for the "heavy lifting." The caravan will be my work vehicle: I'll be stocking it with some parts, couple of hundred pounds worth. NO towing.

I'll likely end up with a cargo specific mini van but before I drop that kind of $ the caravan will be a good cheap experiment to see if I can function out of a smaller vehicle.

Watch for rusted strut towers. Sway links and bushings wear but are easy replacement. Rear drum brakes are generally shot at that mileage. These things are cheap and plentiful. Do a cargo conversion on it and run it. When it dies get another.

The front transaxle has a nasty habit of spitting out the cross pin in the carrier, when that happens it is game over.
There is a fix, but requires the trans to be removed.

You read my mind....it's a pool business and vans work well because they keep your equipment and chemicals out of the weather. Traditionally, everywhere I worked even the lowest level guys ran full size vans. That's overkill because we don't carry much weight and don't need a vehicle that gets 11-12 mpg.

I can already tell it's going to end up being my favorite vehicle.

you should be able to do this fix with just the removal of the diff cover, as it just requires the removal of 2 ring gear bolts and a tin tab is placed over the "death pin", then the 2 ring gear bolts are replaced. it is tight to get to, but can be done. another thing needed to be done is install a shift kit. transgo makes 'em, and they are inexpensive. do both trans items at the same time, as the fluid is shared in the case. if the "death pin" spits, the spiders exit the case along with the pin and usually takes out the converter at the same time. i got pics to prove this. front wheel bearings sometimes can be a problem, and if replaced, don't use the parts store cheapies unless you like to do the job over. other than that, these things make great haulers, and tag fees are the same[or very close to] as a car. this can sometimes save big bux over truck tag fees. my 95 3.3 went 312k +, and my 200 3.0 went 199k before the bodies fell victim to the "red worm". they still ran like a top at that time with the original drivetrains doing nothing more than routine maintenance. my 99 3.3 was bought super cheap because of the "death pin" issue, but the body is rust free and i expect it to last a very long time as well. this time, i will be oiling the under side as well as the doors and rockers every winter to prevent the "red worm" from doing its damage.

I've bought 2 of them this year and love them. A 1999 3.8 Chrysler Town and Country(left strut tower gone) and a 2005 3.8 Grand Caravan. I made a new strut tower out of 308 stainless sheet so the red enemy won't return.

Did you make the tin tab or did it come in the Transgo kit?

$500 , bring a batt. If it runs and drives half way decent grab it before someone else does!!! $500 around my parts gets you a rusted non running parts car.

What years had the problem with cross pins? Which transmission / differential needs this fix?

i have seen this problem in all years, but the most issues came when the retainer bolt for the "death pin" was replaced with a roll pin. i'm not sure when this was, but i think it was some where in the mid 90's.
52 savoy, the tin retainer tabs are a separate kit from the shift kit i mentioned. that kit is only $7 from my local trans shop. when i got my latest 99, i bought a running 2002 that had a trashed body, but a good drivetrain. that trans will work on the 99, but the prindl switch must be swapped out, and the crank sensor is in a different place. when i inspected the transaxle, someone was in there before me and installed the "death pin" kit. some where along the line, my trans shop owner said the factory started using that kit, and he thought there was a TSB on that as well. on all his front drive rebuilds [all makes] he installs "death pin" kits.

I still have the 2005. What do think.. should I call the local Dodge dealer and see if it had a "fix" done to it?
Fred

Is there a time frame for this death pin to fail? Or can it be anytime? I have a 2000 Plym with 3.3. 160K and no issues.

Should I leave it be? And what improvements does this trans kit make or do?

You are right, you won't drive any other vehicle after you've driven a caravan. I've got a 99, bought used in 03. Been chasing a miss-studder for eight years, acts just like a bad accelerator pump, you name it I've changed it, I'm thinking it's got to be in the wiring. On second engine and trans. I picked up anouther van with the big bolt pattern wheels that I'm going to change out (15" wheels). Still no rust in the 99. Had to replace the sliding door glass, shooting BB gun at the cats and ricocheted off the mower. Anouther thing, no seat belt lights,bells or gongs going off every time you get in it.

I have not see the pin problem on the vans myself, but have seen it on a few Neons. And the ones that I have seen the pin come loose in had been run very hard.

Any of these design transaxles can have the pin come loose, but it is not a rampant issue and is not something I would be real concerned about. We have had several of these vans and have put over 200K on each with no "pin" issues. I think Mopar has a kit of their own to keep the pin in place.

cudaman, is there any chance that your "miss-studder" is the torque converter or tranny? I have seen that very thing before on these vans.

bill, the most common reason for this failure is when someone gets in a position for spinning a wheel. that results in the spiders to gall on the pin, causing the pin to rotate in the pin bore of the diff case which breaks the roll pin. then, the pin just falls down in the bore [not necessarily when the roll pin breaks] till it catches in the transaxle case. then parts react inside the case [ ] till they just "fall out", usually with lots of noise. in the latest 99 bus, the lady i bought it from said she just stopped at a light and when she went to go, it made a horrible sound. see the above pics for the results. the roll pin, at other times, just shears for no apparent reason. i found no galling on the spiders or pin[halves] in this transaxle, which makes me believe this lady was not stuck, or doing burnouts[single wheel peel]. if it were me, i would pull the diff cover next fluid/filter change ,or sooner if you really want to know if your transaxle has had the pin kit installed. the kit # is : 92717AK- clip diff shaft retainer. it was $7 at my trans shop. that fits all A670/604 3 & 4 spd diffs. it consists of just 2 tin brackets that use 2 ring gear bolts to retain these clips on both sides of the pin to keep it in place if the roll pin or retainer bolt shears. the shift kit just helps the trans do it's job better, not hard hitting like you would think a shift kit does. this is a separate kit from the pin retainer kit. cost $25-40 depending on your source. well worth it in my opinion.
52 savoy, i would check your transaxle to see if the clips are installed if it were me because i don't know when/if TSB was implemented.
AND, just to add another thing to muddle the waters, i have used dexron3 or common "all make" [read cheap] atf since almost forever, and have had NO failures what so ever. my 95 trans had 312K+ on it with just fluid/filter changes and just a couple input/output sensors and a couple of axle seals. everybody claims using anything except +4 fluid will result in almost immediate failure. this is just plain not true ! yes, there have been failures recorded, but i can tell you now it just hasn't been my personal experience in many front drive chrysler vehicles in over 20 years. now remember, this is in sensible use, not racing or "beating like a rented mule" driving. just my experiance. your results may vary.

Not sure, but I can change it out. Van starts this bad with AC on running along in high gear (30-45) push pedal to floor and just falls on its nose won't take the gas feeling, shuttering, then picks up after a few seconds, then it will miss for awhile, without AC on( winter) runs ok. I did let a lot of freon out thinking it was way overcharged but no difference. Like I said everything except trans( second one reman), conv and wiring has been changed. Some parts 2 or3 times. It does eat up mapp sensors. Idles so smooth you would think it's a new car.

I dropped in on him just to check it out... I remember him driving it to work a few years ago but hadn't laid eyes on it in a while and pretty much made the deal sight unseen...she's a honey alright.... I'll pick it up this weekend

Front

I just helped my brother in law change a pressure side PS line/hose on the same family van ( I think, its an ?05). The steel portion of the hose had rusted around a retaining clamp underneath the k frame. I guess it held the salt and water in. Low fluid took out the pump also. It is a labor intensive repair. May be a good idea to pull the clamp off and clean and grease around steel line the as PM.