Hi All,

I have a Dodge Caravan I am thinking of buying. It has a problem with the pulley that holds the fan belt and I need to confirm if it is reasonably easy to do that kind of repair.

Most importantly if any of you guys have a Dodge and knows a good mechanic in Lagos I can talk to that would be great.

Thanks you all.

I advice you to stay away from that caravan, it is no use buying a car that the parts are not readly avaliable not to talk of specailist.

Continue to save money till you buy the popular brands.

I had on once, and it was easy to fix, parts are cheap.

Its a very cheap and simple issue expected from wear and tear.

Now you have to let me know which part of the serpentine system is worn out.

The pulleys have metal ball bearings i them, overtime they wore out just like your wheel bearing start making noise then seize.
When that happens it stops turning the your belt will burn off / be shredded.

Here are 2 common problem with system
1, the one described above, you'll know by burning rubber smell and the fix is to change a $10-15 pulley and $30 belt.
You'll know hen you take belt off and try o turn pulley by hand, or spry some water on each pulley while engine is running and see which on stops squealing.

2, the second happens when your belt keeps getting out of its groove , shredding the sides off, or totally fall out of the car.
Fix is to get a new tensioner, because the spring that keeps the belt tight is weak(happens over time). Anytime you lose a belt change tensioner too, cost $55 lastime I bought one( the Dodge Caravan is a reliable Van when serviced per schedule and one of that is to inspect/change those parts every 60k miles.

You will know you lost your belt when its difficult to steer, and temperature goes up(check gages light comes on)
On the 3.3l engine youll get to tensioner from under the van with a 15mm wrench.

Very useful information Sultan. Thanks! It's a 3.8 litre engine. I will confirm which is bad. It seems as if you are not located in Nigeria. I still need to confirm if the parts a readily available in Lagos and get a good mechanic.

Thanks again.

You've still not said what the problem is.
I am just guessing based on experience.

I do not really know what the problem is. All I know is that it has to do with the pulley but I do not know which one. I will be seeing the car today with a mechanic. I hope to be more specific after that.

Thanks bro.

One more thing please, I'm trying to gauge the impact of the 3.0 litre engine on my personal expenses especially as fuel prices will be going up in Nigeria soon. How can I calculate the fuel consumption of, say, a 1 litre engine (litres per KM) so that I can gauge the difference in consumption between a 2.0 and 3.8 litre engine?

Sorry it's a 3.8 litre engine

3.8l engine is top of line trim of Grand Caravan(ES) or in the TownandCountry, rated 17/24mpg.
If you are thinking of the cost of fuel, you should be looking at a 4cyl car.A 7-passenger van withspace for cargo will not sip gas like a 2.0l.
If you will be taveling long distance with your family this van is for you; if in Lagos traffic

Going by that diagram, tensioner is the one you have to turn to remove belt and idler pulley is the small one on the right, those are the usual culprits(very common).It could also be the one on the water pump.Its a cheap and easy fix if that is the problem, Take pics and post when you inspect.

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