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Car Forum / Chrysler Cars / October 2006serpentine belt 2000 Caravan 3.8L
The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all appear to be OK. My wife was driving home in rain/snow and I have heard of belts coming off in wet conditions like this. The belt has never come off before and she's had this car for several years and in similar weather conditions. Is the wet condition a reasonable diagnosis for this problem and is there something I need to do to prevent this in the future? The ribs on the belt do show some cracks and I'm guessing it makes sense to replace the belt as long as I have to restring it. Thanks for any advice! John Keith kd0gd@juno.com > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > John Keith > kd0gd@juno.com Keith, unless you know exactly what to look for as far as the tensioner goes I would replace the belt and tensioner together. When the tensioner starts to wear it will tilt at an angle and may cause a squeak. When water hits the belt it will cause the belt to just slide right off without warning. You don't say what the mileage, but if it is the original tensioner I would replace it. Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech >When the tensioner starts >to wear it will tilt at an angle and may cause a squeak. >When water hits the belt it will cause the belt to just slide right off >without warning. You don't say what the mileage, but if it is the original >tensioner I would replace it. Glenn, There has been no squeaking but the mileage is over 88K. I suppose I'll do the tensioner also as long as I'm digging around this area. Thanks for the quick reply. John Keith kd0gd@juno.com And get an OEM belt and tensioner or you'll be doing this job sooner than you want! >>When the tensioner starts >>to wear it will tilt at an angle and may cause a squeak. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > John Keith > kd0gd@juno.com > > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Glenn Beasley > Chrysler Tech It seems like there was a recall for the splash shield that protects the belt path. Do you recall Glenn? -KM > > > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > > > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > -KM There was a TSB to install a shield, I have never installed one because the tensioner is what caused the belts to come off John Keith Wrote: > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > John Keith > kd0gd@juno.com Both Goodyear as well as Gates currently offer a field fix kit for the 3.0L engine. Sometime this year they will be offering a field fix kit for your 3.8L. I recommend to wait and get this kit. It is the only solution that actually works.  Signatureappstech http://www.automotiveforums.com >Both Goodyear as well as Gates currently offer a field fix kit for the >3.0L engine. Why isn't Chrysler fixing this rather than Gate and Goodyear? > Sometime this year they will be offering a field fix kit >for your 3.8L. I recommend to wait and get this kit. It is the only >solution that actually works. How do I follow-up on this, check with a Chrysler dealer? None of the replies explicitly state that water is a contributing factor but it seems that this is the case. Thanks everyone for sharing the knowledge. John Keith kd0gd@juno.com >>Why isn't Chrysler fixing this rather than Gate and Goodyear? Not sure. > Sometime this year they will be offering a field fix kit >for your 3.8L. I recommend to wait and get this kit. It is the only >solution that actually works.[/color] >>How do I follow-up on this, check with a Chrysler dealer? Don't go to the dealer. Check with Napa or an aftermarket distributor of either Goodyear or Gates belt tensioners. If you want to go online, try contacting http://midwayautosupply.com/c-261-professional-tools.aspx however I have heard that they are bad at responding to their emails. >>None of the replies explicitly state that water is a contributing factor but it seems that this is the case. Water is definetly a contributing factor to this problem. >>Thanks everyone for sharing the knowledge. Signatureappstech http://www.automotiveforums.com The spring on my tensioner broke. A 97 T&C with a 3.8. Don't know why. I started making noise, I took it in, and the guy said the spring was broke. Never had a belt fail, btw. 242k miles. Have replaced it maybe once? Was making some noise, and had a few cracks and a glaziness (new word) to it. >The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan >3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all >appear to be OK. did you actually try to rotate the tensioner? Mine locked up. looked fine but would not rotate, that is pivot along the tensioner arm. had to be replaced. >The ribs on the belt do show some cracks and I'm guessing it makes >sense to replace the belt as long as I have to restring it. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >John Keith >kd0gd@juno.com >did you actually try to rotate the tensioner? Mine locked up. looked >fine but would not rotate, that is pivot along the tensioner arm. had >to be replaced. The original tensioner arm would swing (after finding the right combination of tools and with great effort.) John Keith kd0gd@juno.com > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > John Keith > kd0gd@juno.com You're getting good advice, but I would add the water pump to the list of things to look at. I had a 3.3 engine Caravan a few years ago that threw the belt off because the water pump pulley was wobbly. Believe it or not, it didn't leak. It just threw the belt off. We also had a 96 Caravan that started throwing the belt when driving through puddles. I changed the belt and it improved the situation. > > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Caravan that started throwing the belt when driving through puddles. I > changed the belt and it improved the situation. Normally what causes the pump bearings to go bad and wobble like that is the belt tensioner has seized. the tensioner is designed to give from the torque of the belt. If the tensioner is seized the belt will transfer all the pull to the water pump and cause it to fail. Most shops don't pick that up and the vehicle returns shortly with another pump failure or the tensioner has just completely snapped off. Glenn > > > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > > > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > > Glenn Wow, I guess I got lucky on that van. I replaced the pump and continued to drive it for another 50,000 miles or so with no problems. I've learned a lot about these minivans from you guys on the group. It's just ironic that a lot of it applies to vans that I sold several years ago. I wish I had had all of this information at the time. >You're getting good advice, Yes, the discussion has been great and very helpful. Thanks everyone. >We also had a 96 >Caravan that started throwing the belt when driving through puddles. Whoa! That had to be a disturbing situation. John Keith kd0gd@juno.com > >You're getting good advice, > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > John Keith It was a 3.0 liter. Different engine, same problem. I have a friend with a 94, 3.3 liter, that threw its belt when wet. I don't think he changed the tensioner, just the belt. I'd listen to the guys on this group if I were you, though. also make sure that the drain tube for the wiper cowl/module is hooked to the drain tube on right side or water pours on belt causing it top slip off also rechack the ac compressor pulley and clutch operatiion > The serpentine belt just came off the pulleys on my wife's 200 Caravan > 3.8L. The belt is not broken and the idlers/tensioners/pulleys all [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > John Keith > kd0gd@juno.com |
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