I recently bought a 2001 Town & Country for my daughter to drive to school. It has 135000 miles on it and runs good. Other than the power sliders and hatch not working ( I can live with that) the van has a vibration at about 40-45 mph that seems to be coming from under the center or rear of the van. I bought it at a wholesale lot that is affiliated with a local Dodge dealer here. The salesman took it to the dealership and had the thing checked by the technician (he even removed the driveshaft and inspected it and couldnt find anything wrong.) They thought that the tires might be the culprit because 3 of them were at 7/32 and 1 was 10/32. Yesterday I had 4 new Firestone Affinity Touring tires installed and the 4 wheel alignment done and had them inspect all front end components. Everything is tight up front but the vibration is still there. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated, and Thanks in advance.

 

Look at the rear differential...you will notice to sepearate housing halves......

Check fluid levels in the diff...the rear half uses 80/90 gear oil, and the front half is ATF-4 trans fluid.

The front half is a combination of an Overrunning clutch assembly and a "Fluid Coupling"....

Low fluid in eithe, or worn parts in either half of the assembly , is more than capable of producing vibrations that can rattle your fillings loose, Similar to a rear wheel drive vehicle with a rear end waiting to explode.

Get on top of it.......It will only get worse.....

 

Can I get you to give me the capacities of the above ? Thanks

 

Overrun clutch assembly is 1.22pints of ATF-4 (9602 automatic transmission fluid)

Differential is 1.48 pints of 80w-90 gear oil.....Synthetic is OPTIONAL, it doesnt require it.

From experience, it will use a slight bit more than those values, since you will pump it in until it spills out...Just like filling a plain old diff

 

Ok, I took the van to the local shop (across the street from my house) and he drove it and experienced the same vibration at 40-50 mph that I had. His lift was occupied at the time so he put it up on jack stands and we ran it up to speed and at about 40 mph he said it looked like there was some movement in the carrier bearing at that time. When the lift is freed up we will get it in the air and get a closer look at the driveline for any movement. I'm thinking its something with the shaft itself or its CV joints associated with the shaft. Are these joints servicable ? Ive been looking all over the net for info regarding this and cant seem to find anything except its a common complaint with the AWD models. Cant even find a diagram of the driveline or its components. Will keep you posted once we get a better look at things.

 

Huh, no reply from the Techs ....no surprise

 

I guess I should ask, if the joints in the shaft arent servicable (I have read on the net where the shaft has to be replaced) and I dont want to spend 700-800 dollars on a new one, can I just remove the shaft and run as a FWD or is there other problems I will incur. Can I run as FWD with the AWD rear diff left in place or will other problems occur. Is it even possible or do major changes have to be made ? HELP please !

 

No the joints arent serviceable, No you cant remove the shaft, the torque transfer would leave you with no movement.

2001.......Junkyard is a fully viable option.....

As for wandering the net...If you look for a problem, you will always find one......You can hear about all Kinds of "COMMON" problems from motors to transmissions, to air conditioning, all the way down to some guy who had a loose screw in his cupholder, and instantly its a world wide panic......Dont buy the hype......Your van has NOT gone out for drinks with any of these other vehicles, so the chance of you developing one of these common issues, is much less if you had never read it.
AWD CARAVAN????I can only remember replacing one driveshaft, and that was due to a spare tire that got loose in the middle of Interstate 80
Carrier, or Hanger bearings can easily cause your symptoms,

 

Ok, if it is the carrier or hanger bearing, can that be purchased separately from the propeller shaft ? Because all the Chrysler parts sites dont list a carrier bearing for it, but they show what looks to be a carrier bearing on the propeller shaft picture but dont show it as available separately.

 

Problem solved, put on the lift this morning and the carrier bearing has elongated holes for adjustment and was shoved all the way forward putting bearing at too much of an angle....adjusted bearing and all is well again. We did remove the shaft and it CAN be driven without it though, he had a 2000 in there and its been running around 2 years without its rear shaft. Thanks for the help from the Chrysler Techs on here.