Help a Sucker

[DJHead]

My wife recently purchased a 1993 Plymouth Voyager as a second get-around ride while i was on Army Business. She paid WAY too much for it, and even though we have had it 2 weeks, it has a myriad of issues. So armed with my Haynes book, tool kit, and hopefully some friendly helpful advice, i am wanting to fix these problems ASAP....just need to know what they are and how :)

1. The rear of the vehicle moans in turns, no matter how tight. Also during turns, the CHeck OIl light comes on, but off when turn is complete
My Guess: Wheel Bearings?

2. A high pitched whine when the van runs, whether or not the engine is on. It never increases or decreases in pitch, and only stops when the electricity turns off.
My Guess: Fuel Pump

3. Oil leak from the front , almost directly below the driveaxle. It only leaks when then van has been driving and lasts for about 2 hours after shutoff. Its not a fast leak, just a drip.....drip.
My guess: got me.......seals?

4. Whining when the accelerator is depressed. This is different than the previous noise, as it only happens sometimes, and different pressures on the pedal make it eacher change pitch or stop.
My guess: no clue

5. There is a rattling noise coming from the engine area of the van, and it speeds up along with the vehicle, and slows when it does. It sound like when you put a baseball card on a bicycle.
my guess: Fan?

6. And lastly, of the biggies anyway. The fuel gauge will register full after a fill-up until it is about 3/4 empty, and then the gauge will sway all over the place.

This is a real pain because my wife, who speaks minimal english, was suckered at a dealership into paying 4500 cash from her savings for this ride.
Someone help me make less of a sucker out of her.

[Chet42]

First what engine and tranny type 3.0L or 3.3L / 3 speed or 4 speed?

No1. Could be the shocks are gone bye bye.
As for the oil light when turning. most likley the oil sending unit.

No4. The whine could be the serpentine belt tensioner pulley,sometimes the bearings become very noisy and then they cease up and shred the belt.

No5. The fan is electric so it won't speed up with the engine, most likley something is loose or you have a bad CV joint.

No6. Most likely the fuel pump sending unit (Float is incorporated into the sending unit) is on its way out, thats why the gauge is going crazy, its in the fuel tank along with the pump.

Chet.

[gas28man]

DJ,

We could render more help if you could tell us the engine size and number of miles on the van, but I'll take a stab at a few of them:

Nos. 2 and 6 are probably the same problem: fuel pump and fuel gauge sending unit are all one piece, mounted inside the top of the fuel tank. You must drop the tank (drive it around first to run as much fuel out as you dare) to replace the part, which, at $160 or so, ain't cheap. The Chilton's manual (pick up at a parts store for around $15) gives good instructions.

No.3: "Good" oil leaks (i.e., those that are easily fixed) would be your oil pan gasket or valve cover gaskets. "Bad" oil leaks (less easy to fix) would be the main seal or, on some engines, cylinder head seals. I can't say from your description which you have. You'll have to look around the engine for yourself.

No. 1: Sure does sound like a rear wheel bearing. These are not all that expensive parts-wise -- about $65 to $85 -- but they are a be-yotch to do because the bearing and hub is all one piece and they rust themselves in place but good. They take massive amounts of persuasion to get off, not to mention the fact that you have to disassemble all the brakes on that side (although you can do it without opening a brake line, so you don't have to bleed anything). Give it to a mechanic. It will be worth every bit of the $200 or so he'll charge you.

No. 4: Probably the serpentine belt and or the tensioner pulley. Your best bet is to replace both. Search this board for procedures and experiences.

No. 5: Sounds like a CV shaft. Not an easy DIY job, but not the hardest either. If you've done one before on a front wheel drive vehicle, you probably know the drill. The minivan is typical. If you've never done one, give yourself a lot of time to do the job. The part, as you might guess, is not cheap. One is shorter than the other. The shorter one runs around $150, and the longer one, $225.

So, for $4,500, plus around another $1,000, you should have a pretty nice van. Take heart. My 96 has gone 316,000 miles and still runs and rides like new. They last if you take care of them.

Good luck, and let us know more detail.

Rick

[DJHead]

thanks for the initial adivce guys, as for angine and trannr, its a 3.0L, 4 speed automatic with 160,000 on it

[donald7150]

My guess with the check oil light maybe you're a little low on engine oil
could be starving the oil pump when the oil runs to either side of the engine