Our latest featured service is a lot of repairs done to many components on a 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan.
This vehicle came to our shop by tow truck. The van had died and wouldn’t restart; and that was a good thing. A good thing? Yes, in this case it was, because this vehicle had a few major problems. The worst of which was a rear wheel bearing worn so badly that the wheel could have broken off at anytime.
A vehicle breakdown is rarely a good thing: it creates stress and inconvenience along with unplanned expenses. For this vehicle and the owner though I’d say it was a very good thing. The engine dying was caused by a dead fuel pump and this forced the vehicle into the shop to address a few long overdue, serious concerns.
While most people can’t stand the sound of a loud noise in their vehicle, some folks tolerate it. Perhaps they are too busy or don’t have the funds to do the repairs. Perhaps they don’t really like the vehicle or don’t ‘feel good’ about spending money on it. Whatever the reason sometimes things get left too long.
The list of urgent repairs on this 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan was big: right rear wheel bearing, right front wheel bearing, fuel pump (this is why the vehicle died), engine oil change, sway bar end links, rear wheel cylinders and brake hardware. All of these repairs brought the vehicle back to safe operating condition. The bonus was that the vehicle was quiet to drive. Two badly worn wheel bearings makes an incredible racket while driving.
The ‘Grand’ part of the Dodge Grand Caravan’s name refers to the size of the vehicle: it is a longer and more spacious model than the regular Caravan. They come in a variety of trim from basic to fully luxurious with leather seats, full power accessories and climate control A/C. In spite of their poor reputation,especially in the transmission department they are fairly reliable vehicles. This one has over 270,000 kilometers.
For more about the immensely popular Dodge Caravan click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_caravan
For more about wheel bearings click here http://goo.gl/OuS9Bs
