Minivan Drivers

Hope I'm not the only one. We are on Chrysler minivan #5. Our current ride is an '02 Dodge Caravan Sport with the "H" package. Very nice!

Drew

My mom owns a 1995 Caravan with the Mitsu 3.0L (not very reliable) and my dad owns a 1998 Voyager with the 3.3L (pretty decent engine).

How's it going?
I have a 2000 Dodge Caravan Sport with a few mods. McClane, autolite 3923 for the front blinkers right? and tell me about the Mopar M1 Intake Manifold, will that fit on a 2000 Dodge Caravan?

Jason

I've had the Mitsu 3.0L V6 in three different vehicles over the years--'89 Grand Caravan, '94 Dodge Spirit & '96 Voyager. It did a pretty good job performance-wise, especially in the lightweight Spirit. I also got decent fuel economy with all three vehicles.

In the case of the '94 Spirit however, the 3.0L was quite a "leaker"; seems like many of these engines wind up leaking oil around the cam cover gaskets & seals. Our '96 Voyager didn't leak at all, but the '89 Grand Caravan was starting to leak a little at 90,000 miles.

The big advantage to the Chrysler-built 3.3L engine is that it does not require a timing belt change as does the Mitsu engine (the 3.3L has a timing chain!). It also doesn't seem to experience chronic leaks like the Mitsu engine does. I've had the 3.3L in three different vehicles as well--'94 Voyager, '99 Voyager and now the '02 Caravan.

In both the '94 Spirit and the '96 Voyager, we had the dependable A670 3-speed auto trans hooked up to the 3.0L V6. That's a nice combo. Of course, the 3.3L V6 has only been available with the more troublesome A604/41TE 4-speed auto trans. I always wished there had been a 3.3L/3-speed ATX combo available. This would be almost bullet-proof!

Drew

angldrkns9
Ooops, I should point out I own a Dakota, the Autolite 3923s are spark plugs and the M1 2bbl intake manifold is only available for 5.2/5.9L magnum engines. My parents own a Caravan and a Voyager.

Caravan_Sport
Since my dad's old 84 Reliant with the Mitsu 2.6L, I've never been a big fan of Mitsu engines for Chrysler. They are very problematic and not very reliable. I've often felt sorry for my dad because he poured alot of money into that 2.6 to make it run half decent. In -10 degree weather, even with a brand new battery and a few month old rebuilt starter, the motor would crank but not start. It is embarrassing in -5 degree to be plugging in the car.

On my mom's Caravan with the 3.0L, the transmission was overhauled twice. Once when the vehicle was brand new (roughly 3000 km) and the second time at 66 000 km. My mom was not impressed the second time around. The first time it was still under warranty so it didn't cost us anything, the second time it cost well over $1100.00 (ouch ! ) Both times the transmission was slow to engage into gear until the engine fully warmed up. After the second overhaul, the transmission engages immediately.

Being a mopar fan, I have to admit that is rather disappointing.

Now that you mentioned it, the valve cover gaskets were leaking, and that had to replaced as well.

I agree, the nice thing about the 3.3L is it has a timing chain, rather than a belt. At around 71 000 km, the dealership replaced the timing belt on her Caravan.

When we were looking for a minivan for my dad, we test drove two Voyagers, one with the 3.3L and the other had the 3.8L, and we liked the 3.8L much better because it had much more power. Alas, the Voyager that had the 3.8L had well over 100 000km, while the 3.3L Voyager had only 70 000km.

Hey, what mods do you have in your Caravan ?

Mods? Heh heh! Unless you count multiple french fries in the cushion of my daughter's seat or some bugs in the radiator, I don't have any mods. The Caravan only has 1800 miles on it now; we got it at the end of February. My '00 Neon still has a month to go under the factory warranty so I haven't touched it either.

I'm getting to be such an old fart

Drew

hehe.. mods? if i could find some for my car, i'd put them on...

but i have to say... putting on a supercharger or a turbo doesn't seem to far away... i can make custom exhuast manifolds for my minivan, fit in an intercooler, do some moving around, and i should be able to put a turbo on... but i still have to learn how to weld before i make the exhuast manifolds...

doesn't anybody know of a cone air intake that will work?

This rather puzzles me, one of the most popular vehicles on the road (Caravan/Voyager) and it is a real chore to find any aftermarket mods for the vehicle.

I know a cone filter will fit, but in allpar.com, I read something interesting for the 3.0L. The computer is located in the same area as the air inlet, because it uses that air rushing in to cool the computer down. If you dismantle that airlet, then you have to construct a fan (like a cpu fan on a computer) to cool the computer down.

I wouldn't mind doing some cheap mods (if my parents let me touch their vehicles !! ), like installing cooler spark plugs, cone filter, and when their exhaust needs to be replaced, a decent cat back.

I think it's kind of the nature of the beast...there are a few people doing modifications to their minivans, especially older models, but the vast majority of minivan drivers are probably a lot more like me--get in, turn the key and go. For people like me, your biggest concern is getting all of your kid's stuff into the rear area so the hatch will close.

I probably plant my foot to the floor about twice per year in the minivan, and that's for a very short duration to get around some slow-moving Honda Civic or whatever

There are a couple of groups on Yahoo that deal with minivans. There are some hotrodders within those groups so you might want to check out what they've been up to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chryslers_MiniVans/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcminivanclub/

You have seen the two websites dedicated to turbo minivans, haven't you? Both these guys have figured out how to get their Caravans down into the 13-second bracket for the 1/4 mile (do a search for Gus's "mean Mini" or Paul Smith's Caravan). Also, here's a couple of guys who are doing some big things with 3.0L-powered minivans:

http://www.geocities.com/t115_2000/

http://robskorner.freehomepage.com/

Drew

I'll definitely check out those websites. I usually head over to Donovan's garage (www.thedodgegarage.com) for info on Mopar fwd vehicles.

You're right about slow moving Hon-duhs (Hold On Not Done Accelerating = honda) !!! In my Dakota, I am tempted to just run them off the road !

Before I owned a Dakota, I used to drive a 87 Horizon and a 98 Breeze. I would never mod them at all, and I was content to just get in, turn the key, and go. I guess once bitten by the mod bug, you are hooked.

lol... HONDA... hey, i'm an import fan here =P

Mini-vans are defintely underrated cars. They are consider some of the safeest cars on the road today. In a safe car you want weight and a low center of mass. In an SUV, you have weight, but a high center of mass. In a sports cars, you have a low center of mass, but you have no weight. And with the mini-van, you have a low center of mass and weigth. =P

Yeah, in terms of modiciation, on the interior side, I've found plenty because it's mostly universal parts... but for the engine, i'm defintely having a hard time. For the cone filter that you said would work, does that work witha 3.3L??

Also, does anybody know if a high performance brake kit for a dakota or a durango or a neon would work for a caravan? I know Dodge often re-use their designs and stuff between different models (same rear lights between a caravan and a durango)... etc...

I didn't really mean to single out Hondas in my earlier post...as a Mopar fan, I can still admit that Honda puts out some darned fine automobiles. My cousin has a Civic Si that can really romp. I wouldn't take him on with my Neon (especially since my Neon is bone-stock & has an auto trans; his Civic is highly modified and has some special 5-speed stick in it). As the old saying goes, "To each his own...".

Drew

I apologize for the import slam; whenever I see guys slap stickers, coffee can exhaust, lowered incorrectly, and that stupid park bench they call a spoiler, I just have to wonder why they take a decent looking car and ruin it.

On one of the links that Caravan_Sport posted, it showed a picture of a Caravan with the 3.0L with a cone filter attached.

I'm pretty sure you can probablly do the same thing to the 3.3L.

What I would do is dismantle the box airfilter setup, but leave the accordian tube that connects the TB to the air filter box. Measure the outside diameter of the accordian tube, then go to www.knfilters.com, under universal air filters, and find a cone filter with an inside diameter that matches the measurements.

Just wondering, on my dad's Voyager, how in the world do you take the airbox apart to check the air filter ? I've disconnected the two bolts connecting to the vehicle's frame, but I can't find any levers or attachments to loosen to gain access to the air filter.

As for brakes, I'm not sure. I doubt a Neon brake would work in a Caravan, perhaps it is too small. A Dakota or Durango may work, but I'm not sure.

I've read on a few links from www.thedodgegarage.com, that some guys have installed a 180 t-stat + cooler spark plugs. I'm having a difficult time in finding out what brand and model # of spark plugs work best in the 3.0 and 3.3 engines.

The civic si is lighter than the neon, which gives him an advantage. Weight of the vehicle makes a huge difference. Even a difference of 500 pounds is noticable.

I know my Dakota has much more hp and torque than the civic si,
but my vehicle probablly outweights a civic by 4x, which gives the civic a weight advantage.

Hey guys, I thought I would share this article with you :

http://www.cadvision.com/sihlisl/caravan.htm

Hmmm, go anywhere Caravan ?

hehe.. are we the only 3 people in this forum? lol..

for the air intake.. is it good to use a cone filter in the engine compartment, as in intake hot engine air... or is it better to use the stock air box and use a K/N stock air filter replacement, and get cool air from the bottom of the car?

"Just wondering, on my dad's Voyager, how in the world do you take the airbox apart to check the air filter ? I've disconnected the two bolts connecting to the vehicle's frame, but I can't find any levers or attachments to loosen to gain access to the air filter. "

Strangly enough, the air filter is acutally BELOW the airbox... it's not the box that's on the top of the engine compartment... it's the one BELOW it...

For the spark plugs... i replaced my stock ones with Bosche 4+ plug and wires... they seem to work fine.. what are the 180 t-stats ones? Do they work well?

I'm really curiouse about the brakes.. If the brakes on the Durango or Dakota are the same as the brakes on the Caravan, I'm sure companies make high performance brakes for the Durango that would work for the caravan..

There's got to be other Caravan owners out there !

I don't know if the mods for a Dakota can be crossed referenced to a Caravan, but the stock air intake is very restrictive. Yes, if you put a cone filter in, you'll be sucking in more hot air than if you put in a KN drop in, but wouldn't it be better to suck in lots of hot air rather than a smidgeon of cold ? With the cone, you are getting air from all around the filter. With a drop in, all you're getting is whatever the size of the air box opening is.

For Dakotas, many enthusiasts have pointed out to stay away from platinum plugs. They cost more and don't give you the performance you'd expect from a higher costing spark plug. I'm not sure if the same can be said for Caravans.

I believe Chrysler put in a 195 degree thermostat for the Caravans. For Dakotas, that is too hot, and Daks make their best power at 183 degrees, thus the need for a 180 degree thermostat. Besides, running the engine abit cooler will help the engine last longer. Just wondering, can the same be said of the 3.0 and 3.3L engines ? Will running it a tad cooler trip any codes ?

Go to www.speedtweaks.ca or www.speedtweaks.net

They sell high performance parts for Dakotas. There is a link on the websites that refer to brakes, and kits to convert rear drum to discs. Check it out, they may have the information you're looking for regarding brakes on a Caravan.

Thanks for the site. Well, i guess with a STOCK engine, maybe a smidgeon of cold air will be enough? beats me... i'm acutally going to try to make a custom air intake with metal tubing and stick a k/N cone filter at the end... summer project =P

I'm sure the Dakota engines react the same way to cold air like the Caravan engines, positively !

Good idea in constructing your own cold air intake. I would just stuck a KN cone filter at the end, but removing the stock plastic hose and using a metal one is also a good.

I'm probably going to be purchasing a minivan soon, since our first child was born April 26. However, my brand loyalty runs more true with rear wheel drive 80's and earlier Mopars and Dodge trucks. I'm definitely considering the Chrysler and Dodges, but if I get a better deal on one of the others I may go for it. Unless, of course, you guys talk me into buying a Mopar minivan!

We drove all of them when we went looking for another minivan earlier this year. And I think I can safely say that there isn't a bad one on the market now. They are all at least capable. Some have some really nice strengths but I have to say that the Chrysler/Dodge models still combine all of the best features into one vehicle, and they are now very competitive in price too. Sure, the Honda Odyssey can probably out accelerate our Dodge Caravan (ours has the smaller 3.3L V6) and the rear seat folds into a recess in the floor in the Honda--but after driving the Honda, it just didn't seem worth $6000 more than what we paid for the Caravan. Interestingly, the Caravan sure feels like it handles better than the Odyssey, in spite of the fact that the Honda has an independent rear suspension (which is a liability if you frequently haul heavy loads or tow).

Besides the Dodge/Chrysler models, the minivan that impressed me the most was the Mazda MPV. It's a nice size, smaller than the current Dodge Caravan but about the same as the original generation Caravan. It handles well, has some nifty interior features and they've FINALLY put in a decent engine--3.0L V6 with 200 HP, compared to the puny 2.5L they've had in there for the past couple of years. But the Mazda seemed a little pricey for what you got, plus the tranny seemed to shift kind of harshly for my tastes.

The GM models have great powertrains but are starting to seem a little dated compared to the rest of the competition. There's some great pricing available on the GM models too.

I guess I'd rate the minivans with Dodge/Chrysler on top, the Mazda MPV and Chevy Venture tied for second, and the Ford Windstar third (nice, powerful engine in the Ford). The Toyota Sienna is a nice van, but wow, is it ever pricey!

Drew