My 2001 Caravan SE with the 3.3 has a clunk in the front which seems to be worse when the cold season comes about. It feels like the front end is loose or something when going over bumps or dips in the road. The steering is tight, and the ride is no differerent. It has 92000km with damage or repairs. It really feels like something is loose in the front, any ideas or helpfull tips from anyone.
gas28man
10-05-2005, 01:39 PM
Since you say steering is tight, that would seem to rule out tie rod ends. You would notice a little slop in the steering if these were bad. So I would look at the sway bar links and mounts. The links are especially prone to problems. I had a mechanic tell me he has yet to come up with a way to change struts on a Chrysler minivan without breaking at least one of them. But where the sway bar mounts to the frame, there is a rubber isolator that has also been known to fail and cause noises like you're experiencing.
There are other potential sources of the noise, but these are the most likely. Check it out, and let us know what you find.
Good luck.
Rick
hemi_dakota94
10-05-2005, 01:50 PM
I know that sound first hand, it almost sounds like a ball joint going bad, so thats another thing to check and hopefully rule out.
My parents have the same van you have, and as gas28man said, the sway bar rubber isolators go bad. On mom and dad's van, its the front passenger side, and its bad right now. He is supposed to stop and order the part so I can install it this weekend.
okanagan
10-06-2005, 08:22 PM
Can you tell me exactly where they are and what they look like?
Any help is great as i havent got a manual yet.
Thank you very much!
okanagan
10-10-2005, 12:13 PM
The sway bar rubber isolators were the problem. Thanks for the help.
