Dodge - Grandcaravan :: 2000 - Right Front Brake Stuck And Smoked On Drive Home
May 17, 2011
Short Version. 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, I two weeks ago I replaced the front brakes (rotors, calipers, and pads both sides) I drove the van 100 miles Saturday night with no problems. Sunday afternoon, whilst driving home from a restaurant with 5 people in the van (driving super gingerly because they were my inlaws) the right front brake stuck on and smoked on the drive home. The calipers are new, and I have not had any other problems since I replaced the brakes that were trashed when I got it.
Long version, So heres the deal, I am the proud owner of a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan, its got about 140,000 miles on it, its a little rusty, but I got it for free. A family member was getting rid of it, as it was 11 years old, and they wanted something newer, and it needed brakes and a few other things. They were going to donate it, but it sat all winter waiting for the donation company to pick it up. Being a consummate grease monkey elite shade tree mechanic tinkerer type, and being in the new family, new house cash flow situation, I swooped in and towed it home in hopes that I could make a decent enough ride that I could fit two adults, a car seat and a dog into.
Now when I got the van I knew it had some problems. That's the reason it was free. But it is/was all fixable stuff. Typical of age and mileage It had a whiny power steering pump, it needed an oil change, the power steering lines leaked, the transmission cooler lines needed to be replaced. It needed a serpentine belt. It has a motor mount that needs replacing. The front suspension clunked because of worn out swaybar bushings and end link Its a bunch of work and few weekends and a few hundred in parts, but when the van was free, and you do the work yourself it costs a lot less.
The front brakes were completely trashed when I got the van, that is one of the reasons that the previous owner had parked it. And it was obvious that the right front caliper had seized, I could not push the piston back in. And that was the one that seized on, and had the most damages so I replaced it, along with the left front, as it was also the original one, and well they were both the same age, and have the stuff to bleed the brakes out. So what causes disk brake calipers to randomly stick on when they are used gently? Because when I drive it angry, such as now, they seem fine.
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One tech wanted to replace both rotors and sanding down the pads to re-use (he said my brake pads can last up to one year). The guy in auto part said the surface of brake pads having hard spots could cause the pulsation, replace the pads. Of course, replace both rotors and pads is recommended but I have tight budget! What options do I have? can I just machine the rotors?
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I have a 04 grand caravan 3.8 liter. after filling up with gas & only after filling up i have a prob with the way the van runs. it will start and idle fine but once i shift in to gear and try to drive it starts to buck. if i take my foot off the gas it wants to stall. if i shift in to N or park the RPMs are around 400/500. if i rev the motor in N or park it will smooth out and idle fine and drive fine until the next fill up, then it starts all over again.
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I have a '09 Dodge caravan. The ABS, ESP, TCS, and Brake lights are on. As we drive along the brakes apply, probably on only wheel. After we stop, we can drive on for a short way and it happens again. A mechanic told us that the steering sensor was telling the computer that the steering wheel was turned all the way to the left. I wonder if I pulled the fuse for the ABS pump and ABS valve if it would be safe to drive, at least until we can get it to the dealer for repair. I am cheap and like to get by as cheaply as I can/. I am not fond of ABS, or TCS any way?
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1996 Grand Caravan with ABS, 3.3L V6, 152k.
Am I correct that Dot 4 brake fluid is equivalent to Dot 3 - with the added advantage of higher boiling point? Is there any downside to using Dot 4, other than a small additional cost? Seems like the cost difference is irrelevant compared to the safety margin to reduce the chance of boiling the brake fluid on a long downhill in hot weather, or - as in a recent puzzler - heating from the exhaust system. Or is Dot 3 really just fine for most cars?
Either way, I'm going to flush the system with new fluid (and replace old parts as needed), it's definitely due. Neither my owners manual, nor the factory service manual, gives a capacity for the entire system. Ditto the Napa store. I'm guessing it's in the range of two quarts. I don't want to buy a full gallon only to let it sit in the garage, but if I need three quarts, I may as well buy the gallon. Where to find the capacity, or have a ballpark approximation for what the system will need?
Also, is there any benefit to flushing the system BEFORE replacing wheel cylinders to keep old fluid out of new parts? That makes sense to me, even if it uses extra fluid. So:
1: Dot 3 vs Dot 4
2: capacity
3: which comes first: flush or new parts
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I have been a reader for years and finally have a problem worthy of your consideration. I recently acquired my brother-in-law’s old 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan. It has over 200,000 miles on it, so I am not inclined to spend much on repairs. It has an automatic transmission which runs well, but pulls distinctly to the right when it shifts gears. The effect is strongest when it goes for 2nd to 3rd, but it is noticeable at other gears. It does not pull when it is running normally. Tires are new and looks to be balanced and aligned. Likewise, the brakes seem ok. First, what is going on? And, second, is it dangerous to drive it in this condition and will it get worse if unattended?
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I have a 2002 Grand Caravan, when foot is on brake, speedometer jumps all over, engine bucks so bad I have to put it in neutral or park at every red light. When I go forward, it jumps a little, and sometimes will not shift, engine revs up so bad, I have to pull over, shut engine off, turn it on and then it shifts. Speed sensors were supposedly replaced with the plug for them. It is at a dealership, they checked all the sensors, electrical wires, etc, and not it doesn't shift at all!! It is still there, now I have no van to drive. They claim they did nothing to it, it was shifting 90% of the time. It will not shift at all, even when I shut it off and re-start it. Now they claim it may need a new used tranny.
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In cold weather, front suspension is very noisy. I've replaced stabilizer bar bushings, stabilizer bar links, control arms (complete with new bushings and ball joints). A few months prior, I replaced struts with Monroe quick struts. Noise appears when I hit a pot hole or go over a speed bump. Not really a creaking, almost like a slapping sound. I've taken a look at motor mounts and they look OK. Now that the weather is warm there's no noise. Rack and pinion were replaced about a year ago so engine cradle was removed. I removed it and reinstalled. Also installed new tie rod ends and lubed the inner tie rod joints.
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Sounds like an old police car siren but only about 10 % of my driving time and usually late evening hours...
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I just completed a front brake job on a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan, installing new rotors and pads. Right front rotor and pad installation went perfectly. Left front - I heard a faint "hiss" as I compressed the caliper piston using a c clamp. In addition, as I placed the new inner pad against the caliper/piston, I noticed that the piston had become slightly "uncompressed," meaning it moved back out a little bit on its own. I compressed it again with a c clamp and had to rush to get the caliper back in place with the new pads in place before the piston SLOWLY worked itself back out and I wouldn't be able to fit the caliper around the new rotors and pads. I completed the brake job, pumped the brakes, and took it for a ride - all seems fine. The pedal is not spongy and it does not travel all the way to the floor.
Do I have anything to worry about? This is my 6th brake job in total. This is my first brake job on this vehicle. The slight hiss and the fact that the caliper piston did not stay seated after I compressed it bothers me.
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I have a 2000 Grand Caravan and had a Chrysler dealer change the oil in July....just took it in today for another oil change and they told me the oil drain plug just turns - either the plug is stripped or the threads on the pan are stripped....I said that they were the ones who changed the oil last time so if anything happened then they did it....they are saying that over time the threads can become stripped - suggesting that if the threads on the oil pan are stripped then I will have to buy a new oil pan.....I said that I had not touched the oil pan so if something is wrong then they are responsible - the threads don't just strip themselves.
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Today I noticed a knocking sound coming from what sounds like the front left (drivers side). When I accelerate and when I brake the sound stops. The sound also stops when I am going around a bend in the road as well as when I change lanes. When I am turning a corner I do not hear the sound.
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I just drove away in a new 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan - had 106 miles when I took title at the dealership - and immediately noticed the most annoying high pitched whine or whistle. It seems to occur under 2000 RPMs and starts around 25mph. It continues until about 45 mps and then either becomes less audible behind the engine noise or stops - hard to tell. When the car slows down, it comes back -- most of the time. It changes in pitch as the car goes faster and as it slows down.
It has been so loud at times that I think it's a police or ambulance siren and I have gotten ready to pull over. It does not happen in neutral when I rev the engine - the car has to be moving. Turning the wheels doesn't seem to make a difference. I am going to take it in to the dealer but I suspect they will just laugh and say that's how the car sounds. I've never had a car that had such an annoying soundtrack - and I've rented about 5 of these minivans over the past 3 years and never experienced this, either.
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I have a 1993 Dodge Grand Caravan with about 160,000 miles on it. The front end has been deteriorating steadily for some time now. I have no power brakes or power steering, but I do not think that this is related to my REAL problem: My driver side CV joint (or axle or whatever) failed last week. Upon inspection, my mechanic commented on how he was surprised that it held on long enough for me to get to his shop. It was replaced by a mechanic with a new (not re-manufactured) piece.Yesterday I was driving a friend to the airport about 150 miles away, and 20 miles out of town, my van began wobbling in the front, and then shaking violently - consistent with my previous CV failure.
After dropping my friend off at the airport, I proceeded to the nearest mechanic, who again commented on how he was surprised that I was able to make it to his shop. He said something about the last CV joint being too long or something against a tulip joint (or something, I should have written it down).Initially it drove smoothly, as it did after the first fix, but on the way home I noticed a slight wobble that is connected to acceleration (that is, when I take my foot off of the gas, the wobble disappears). I am concerned that the CV is going to fail again. What would be causing this? Are the mechanics at fault, or is there another problem that propagates in the CV?
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My automatic door lock is making a buzzing noise when it locks the door. It does not make any noise when unlocking. I need to remove the door panel to take a look. How to remove the panel on the drivers door of a 2000 Dodge Grand Caravan?
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I just had my van inspected and tires rotated...van sits for a few days then travels 20 miles and am now smelling something burning and smoke is coming out from front right tire. Other discussions say calipers/pads and that's ok BUT my question is since my van only has @24,000 on it, did the mechanic do something when he rotated my tires? I am a senior citizen and only use my van once a week.
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This last week my brake fluid light comes on my 2006 Ram 1500 but my fluid level in the reservoir is at max..fluid is a yellowish color when I look at it out of reservoir (looks darker in the reservoir).
If I unplug the sensor to the reservoir, the light still stays on which puzzled me, but I'm not honestly sure what I'm hoping to see happen. I am no positive if I'm due for a brake job, but the pads still looked to be good to me (not sure if that could trip the sensor). Where to start?
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A few months ago, my '00 Sentra developed a rough idle but I ignored it because it wasn't too bad, until recently at least. It had been getting progressively worse so I went out and bought some CRC MAF cleaner, which solved the rough idle altogether for about a day. After doing some errands, I started the car but it was now stuck in limp home mode, not matter how much gas I gave it, she wouldn't top 20 MPH and 2.5k revs.
I bought a new MAF, and that made the problem worse: in any drive gears or reverse, when given any gas, the engine would stall and die but when in neutral, I can rev it as high as I want to. I reset the computer and cleaned the new sensor to no avail. After re-installing the old sensor (which was visibly broken, it was missing an entire wire assembly), it will run poorly but will now drive with some quirks, and I don't trust it further than around the block.
My question is: with the new sensor, do I need an ECU reprogram, did I receive a bad sensor, or is there a compound problem? (I've heard with similar issues: bad alternator, bad TPS, bad IAC module, dirty IAC or TPS, clogged fuel filter, bad fuel pump, dirty air filter, among others.)
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2002 Camry XLE. 134,000 miles. 1MX-FE 6cyl.
The timing belt was replaced by the Toyota Dealer in Sept 2011 at 101000 miles.
Yesterday after leaving home the engine just died about 1/2 mile from home. No warning, just died.
I tried to start it, the engine will turn over but won't start. It spins freely but doesn't sound like there is any compression.
The coolant reservoir was empty. I checked the fluids a week or so ago and it was full.
So:
1. Does this sound like a timing belt failure?
2. Is it possible that the water pump went out and trashed the timing belt?
3. Or, could the timing belt just be bad?
4. I've read that this engine is a non-inteferrence engine, is that true?
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I have a 2004 Grand Caravan 3.8 engine. For the last 2 months the oil light has been coming on when car is first started. If I stop engine and start again the light will be off. I don't think its actual oil pressure because the car runs fine with light on or off. I'm thinking a bad pressure sensor?
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Sometimes when I start my 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, 3.3 liter engine, the oil light comes on and stays on, even if I rev engine up. Engine sounds normal, does not sound like oil pressure is low. If I turn engine off and the immediately back on, light goes out and stays out. I replaced the oil pressure sending unit - didn't work. I hooked up a gauge - engine has 60 psi oil pressure at idle - plenty! I'm guessing an electrical problem in the circuit.
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