#@*&$@ DODGE!!!
Thanks for all the replies on my earlier thread about the electrical problems on my wife's Caravan. When tested, it showed that the alternator was only throwing out 40 some-odd amps out of 90 that it was supposed to. I figured, no biggie. I have changed maybe 30 alterntors in my life. I can handle this. Looked around under the hood, and the alternator is WAAAY back under the dash on the left side of the engine. Of course, the engine is side-ways in the dang car! That should have been my first clue to leave it alone! Saw that, and figured I would buy a chilton's manual cause I could see no way to get it out. You know you have a problem when the first step to removing the alternator is "REMOVE WINDSHIELD WIPERS!" What in the heck is wrong with the bozo's that design newer cars that they put the alternator, a part that DOES go out, in a place where you have to totally dismantle the whole friggin front end of the car to replace it? I started what I figured to be a 1 hour job yesterday at 11:30. Finished at 8:30 last night! I know it won't help, but I am thinking of writing Chrysler LLC a letter. It might make me feel better though!
In hindsight, I should have expected this from a Chrysler product. The a/c condenser in my Cherokee has a slow leak. It is in front of the heater core, so figured I would replace both at the same time. The first step in Chilton to replacing the heater core and condenser says "REMOVE STEERING WHEEL!" So much for "fine German engineering!"
In hindsight, I should have expected this from a Chrysler product. The a/c condenser in my Cherokee has a slow leak. It is in front of the heater core, so figured I would replace both at the same time. The first step in Chilton to replacing the heater core and condenser says "REMOVE STEERING WHEEL!" So much for "fine German engineering!"
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OUCH!! Glad you got it fixed though. Always said I won't own any kind of van. Not alot of room to work on anything.
The guys who design those vehicles should at least have to work on them once in a while. That will teach them.0 -
I'll relate a story that was told to me about why engineers design automobiles so that they are nearly impossible to work on. Don't know if this is true or not, but it does make sense.
It seems that this engineer was given a half day off as a reward for an excellent design job. So he goes home early and finds his wife in bed with a mechanic. At the next engineers convention he tells the other engineers the story and as a result they all decide that they need to design automobiles so that the mechanic will be too busy trying to figure out how to get something changed he will not have time to get into mischief. As a result look at how nearly impossible it is to do anything under the hood nowdays. [}:)] [}:)]0 -
That, my friends, is why I buy the 100,000 extended warranty on my vehicles. I pay a $100 deductible, and some guy fixes it while I go fishing! [:D]
Owning a mazda RX-7 rotary back in the 80's cured me of the urge to tinker on cars any more.....
Really, I think mfgs do that to increase job time on repairs made at the dealership. At an avg of $80/hour tech time, the bill can rack up pretty quick even for an alternator replacement. [B)]0 -
Yep, the designer that does this makes the big bucks.[:(!] 0 -
I usually go with the Hanes manuals. I was looking for one for my car (2001 Grand Marquis...didn't find one, BTW), and I found one for the 97-2000 model years that was maybe 120 pages. The Hanes manual for my brother's old truck (1980 F-150) is probably somewhere around 300-400 pages. I opened up the manual for the 97-00 Grand Marquis, and most of the major repairs said, "Contact your authorized Ford mechanic." That's a fix-all answer, I guess.
A couple days ago, I bought a frost-plug heater for my car, thinking, "I can do this in a little over an hour if I have to." Well, looked over my engine, and I can't see one single frost plug on the damn thing. They're probably underneath the exhaust manifold. I'm going to have to pay somewhere around $100 to have a mechanic do it.0 -
The alternator thru out 40 amps instead of 90?....should have told your wife to only drive that in the daytime and buy something else to drive at night.
LOL! J/K.
Dodge Caravan's suck....but not all Dodges are bad.
I really liked the Dodge Charger/Turismo's. Too bad they don't make cheap little cars like those anymore.0 -
The higher they ratchet the fuel mileage requirements, the tighter they are packaging the works.
Be Glad you're not working on a Mini - they have shoehorned a lot of schtuff in a very low and small place!!!0 -
Hey they're all bad to work on nowadays. A buddie of mine works in a transmission shop. One day I walk in there and he's got a trans out of a ferd probe, he's got hemostats pinching off lines. He's a ferd guy through and through and he disowned the probes, 3-1/2-4 hours just to remove a transmission. Dave 0 -
The other night I watched a special on the making of the new Corvette ZO6 with the alumininum frame and the 500 HP engine. I don't see how anyone could even begin hope to work on it. You'd have to take it to a Chevy dealer who has the special tool setup to get anything fixed.[:(] Neat car though.[:)] 0 -
If your batt is charged your alternator won't put out the full amount. probally wasted your time replacing it. 0 -
I think you were farming that job out cause your wife is paying you in trade.[:D] 0 -
I know how you feel buddy! But it ain't just Dodge, it's all of them! I worked in probably one of the last Full-service stations in Indiana until it closed a few years ago for many years and I think I worked on everything under the sun. All the newer cars are manufactured so they need to be repaired at a OEM garage or the parts are only available from the OEM. The Automotive makers did this because they forsaw the decrease in the auto sales in years to come so they wanted security in profits so they started having engineers design them this way. It sucks I know! That is why I went to work for Cummins Research and Development, so I wouldn't have to work on the damn things in vehicles, and hopefully try and convince the engineers to design it easier for the common man, but that doesn't look like it is going to happen! Sorry Guys! 0 -
"Really, I think mfgs do that to increase job time on repairs made at the dealership. At an avg of $80/hour tech time, the bill can rack up pretty quick even for an alternator replacement. "
-hissingoose
A new car dealership's biggest profit center is the parts & service department.
Doug0 -
quote:If your batt is charged your alternator won't put out the full amount. probally wasted your time replacing it.
Battery was weak from the alternator not charging. Don't know about wasting my time replacing it, but I did spend several hours of my life doing what should have been a 1-2 hour repair! [:(!]0 -
quote:Originally posted by redneckandy
If your batt is charged your alternator won't put out the full amount. probally wasted your time replacing it.
if he took it to Autozone and they tested it, their machine loads the alternator so it would have show the amperage at full output. It is just a fancy digital load cell, The tester I have is just a load coil with a needle, nothing special, but it will tell you if a battery or alternator is junk!0 -
LOL, Sounds like working on a chrysler now days is about like working on the old(1996-2006) style maytags[:D]
When a transmission goes bad on a whirlpool(which is very rare) i can have it fixed and going in under 15 minutes flat in my shop.
When a transmission goes bad in a old style maytag(Which is a VERY common thing)it takes 3 F##### Hours to fix it.
All the new maytags use whirlpool mechanics, So i am happy now[:)]0 -
for what its worth its not just dodge, its all of them. and on front wheel drive cars and some trucks you can save alot of time removing about 6 bolts underneath and jacking up the body plum off the chassis[;)][:D] 0 -
Buy a Jeep.
They must be easy to work on.
All the Jeep boards talk about, is working on them.[:D]
AC0 -
If'n it ain't got no 318, it ain't no Real Dodge! [:)] [:D] [8D] 0 -
quote:Buy a Jeep.
Heck, my other vehicle IS a Jeep! I mentioned it in my first post. To change the freaking heater core and a/c condenser in it, you first have to pull the freaking steering wheel and then remove the dash! What a load of crock! What happened to the good old days when you laid on the floor with your head way up under the passenger-side dash? Oh for the good old days!0 -
quote:Originally posted by RugerNiner
If'n it ain't got no 318, it ain't no Real Dodge! [:)] [:D] [8D]
What about the chrysler company in general, My plymouth Cuda has a 440 in it.
Is that real enough for you[?][:D]0
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