hello all

i'm looking into possibly buying a T & C (05 or 06 most likely). i would appreciate your general comments about the vans, especially about reliability issues. i've run into the usual comments about chrysler quality (though not as many as i would have expected). i'm not so worried about what may happen (anything can break on any at at any given time, right?) but more about what is actually known to happen.

i also wanted to know if anyone has done any successful mods in terms of improving MPG. K&N filters help? maybe gutting out the stock airbox? pipping in colder air? headers are apparently not an option but i did find a couple of options for free flowing catalytic converters. i don't want to transform my future minivan into a noisebox and/or a big civic but i really would be interested in some of these mods for improving MPG - thanks

alfio

 

Hello,

I have an 05 T&C Touring with 3.8L engine, leather, DVD, power sliding doors and hatch. Before the van was out of warranty, I had the following done:

Water pump (leaking)
Front suspension links (clunking over bumps)
Bad Navigation/DVD unit (loud BONK when changing radio stations)

Also, tires were shot at 30K miles and the passenger sliding door power wire broke. I had to fix that on my own. Thankfully, this forum helped to identify the broken wire.

Overall, my MPG is about 17 to18 with 22 max on the highway and 14 min around town in the winter. The van rides OK and can hold alot of people or cargo. It does not handle well and IMHO sort of floats when driving. It does not feel very tight up front. Lastly, if you get the stow n go, retrieving the spare tire is a pain.

If you buya used van, you will savea lot of money. The resale sinks like a stone.

FWIW, I put a K&N in a Durango that I had and had no change in MPG. If you want better MPG, get the LX with the smaller engine (3.3L), but less HP....

Bill

 

One thing I'd have to chime in about a K&N.. sure the oiled foam filters allow a ton more air to pass through.. however it's always going to be dependent upon the amount of air coming into the breather assembly. You have to either gut the airbox, or replace it with either a FWI or a HAI (Fender Well Intake/Hot Air Intake). The stock intake assemblies are designed to lower the amount of noise the engine sucking in air makes. For some reason they think most folks want to sacrifice economy versus a quiet engine. Blah!

FWIW I just replaced the intake on my 2001 Grand Prix GT with a solid, smooth pipe and a conical K&N. Man it can be kinda loud, but the more air in the better. Now obviously you'd have to coordinate the incoming air with the exhaust, but that'll come later