Dodge Caravan 3.0L replacing timing belt, water pump and front seals, part 8: Re-assembly 2

This eight part video series covers a tear down of the front of the 3.0L engine found in many Chrysler products. The vehicle shown is a 2000 Dodge Caravan with a serious oil leak.The front crankshaft oil seal is replaced as well as the timing belt, the water pump gasket and a cam shaft seal. This eighth and final video covers re-assembly of the power steering pump, ac compressor, bracket and tensioner, the engine mount, idler pulley, wiring and upper radiator hose. For step-by-step text and still pictures of this procedure see:www.originalmec...

[@harryfischer6741]

Finally finished the job and everything worked!! No leaks!! bought the minivan for 125 bucks and fixed it for 125 bucks, cheapest vehicle I have had on the road in a long time...Thanks!!!

[@supernaught1963]

Just replaced the front crankshaft oil seal that was leaking really bad. Also, the timing belt. Your video was a huge help and expedited everything exponentially. THANK YOU for taking the time and bearing the cold to document this procedure.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're welcome and thanks for watching and commenting.

[@derekowen7312]

I'm about to pick one of these up for a grand. This is overdue on the car. This video will definitely help me. Thank you for taking the time to do these videos.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're welcome and good luck with this challenging repair.

[@derekowen7312]

@@TheOriginalMechanic how long did it take you start to finish?

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I did this at my leisure in a week, but I think for a DIY person a couple of days is realistic.

[@jets9244]

Thank you for the video. Ive been putting off a water pump replacement for weeks. Im no mechanic but have been building and playing with hotrods all my life. Watch all the videos and said , go for it. Got it done yesterday. Had the van for about a year, it has always backfired at hard acceleration, Did all the tune up, check this check that. Just give up and drove it like that. When I was doing the water pump. I noticed one of the cams was just a tooth off. Reset everything as to your video. Van runs great no backfire good accreditation and no water leaks, Thank you.

[@kennethnegaard7599]

I downloaded this 8 part series and wrote to you. I finished, with your calm explicitly detailed video. I can't thank you enough. The previous owner replaced the timing belt, the pump was bad. the seals were fine, they may have been replaced, not sure. but I installed a new belt and tensioner as well. Your videos gave me the confidence to tackle it myself, in the drive way. with minimum of tools. Thanks again. Kenny Sgt USARMY disabled.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

+Kenneth Negaard Well done and I'm happy these videos helped you get good results. And thank you so much for your military service.

[@440roadrunner]

Hi David Let me start by saying that I normally don't comment on videos ....I felt compelled to let you know how appreciative I am about video series on this. THANK YOU ! I've been watching all of these for the past 5 days as I'm doing this, and I will be wrapped up today. I have really good patience....but your calm demeanor (and editing) helped me get through this ordeal without a manual! Thank you again for your valuable time.

[@440roadrunner]

ALSO....your website info is top-notch as well.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

Yeah, it's all good now. I've been running it for two weeks. Thanks for having a look at the videos and taking the time to make a comment.

[@ManicMechanic007]

Well done series. I hope the oil leak has stopped. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share this with us.

[@cecilbraddy3413]

Hey man thanks for your help it was a life saver. Cecil from pintops nc

[@markdoss1832]

Excellent videos!! You show every little detail, which really helps when I am guessing at how to access hard-to-reach areas, and how to figure out where "this bolt" came from!

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

+Mark Doss You noticed! I hate guessing too, which is why I always mark every bolt and cable.

[@xyhapu]

I have to do this job soon, these videos are a godsend and makes my life a hundred percent easier. Thanks!

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

That's great to hear! Take your time and good luck with it. It isn't easy but it's worth the effort. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

[@debagain7]

David, thank you so much. I would not have been able to replace my timing belt, water pump, and oil seal in my 2000 Dodge Caravan without your help. The time you spent in loading this video is well appreciated.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

That's a tough repair. Good job. Thanks for watching and commenting. I'll be making more videos on the Caravan as new problems develop.

[@fegolem]

Thanks for the videos! I'm glad my 94 Caravan is a little more open in the engine compartment.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're welcome. Yeah I know, those pre-1996 Chrysler minivans were roomier in there.

[@denwil1926]

excellent video work and your patience with no cuss words ....amazing I would have 100 cuss words at that Chrysler! I replaced a power steer pump and had to make the holes bigger for the bolts to align up !

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

The swearing is just off camera. I too have been forced to modify engineering on these vans just to get a job done.

[@COMM114]

Very nice series of videos. Nice to see product specific problems resolved. I'm facing a similar repair decision with my 1997 Grand Caravan/3.8L engine and 250,261 miles on the car and engine I've had the car since new. I'm torn between doing the repair or installing a long-block replacement from Jasper's. It is a tough call for a car with so many miles but now I understand the challenge of the work. The trouble with doing the repair on the 3.8L engine is if the timing cover is bad, it is a $1,000+ part to replace. You can't know until the cover is off. At that level, you are on your way to a cost of a replacement engine. If it didn't have AWD, I would just end our 18 year ownership of the car. Thanks for the videos. M. Young-Sacramento, CA

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're very welcome and thanks for watching and commenting. Good luck with your vehicle.

[@acemabry1515]

I watched your part 8 and noticed your rotor was pointing at number one! What did you do? That part wasn’t shown in the video! And thank you, the video truly helped!

[@luxorbill269]

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! My father in law just asked if I thought we could do this job for him. Reading the manual makes it look bad, your video shows just how BAD it is BUT doable. I thought the BMW's water pumps were in a bad place, Plymouth beat them!

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're welcome. Take your time and I wish you success!

[@donnarichardson2888]

You sir are an awesome mechanic AND teacher! I have a 91 lebaron lx v6 i had to replace water pump and timing belt on. The fact that you even give socket sizes for each botl is fantastic. The problem im having in the put back together is i cant get the correct timing. I dont know if u will ever get this message, i pray u do, so that u can help me. Ive been working on this car for 21 days straight because ive had 3 back surgeries & a neck surgery so its been extremely hard. When i took off the timing covers the timing was already off from a quote "mechanic who replaced my rear camshaft or maybe crankshaft seal. He replaced the timing belt but DID NOT replace water pump which common sense tell you it should be done at same time. So i had antifreeze leaking down by front drivers wheel. The water pump was a completely trashed. I was so mad that i had to go through taking intake manifolds off twice because another person told ke it was inly the inlet tube o-ring. Replace them both filled up with water & it all leaked out hense water pump replacement. Im not sure how to get distrbutor to be timed correctly. I really need help as ive missed almost a month of work & am sole support of myself & my bills. HELP!

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

All the information you need should be in the video, as far as timing marks on the crank and cam gears. I hope you find success and relief from your troubles of late.

[@donnarichardson2888]

@@TheOriginalMechanic I watched all 8 of your videos. You only said you removed the distributor cap to set the rotor to the proper timing but u didn't show yourself doing it. But I appreciate u responding to me so quickly. One thing I will add is in the Hanes repair manual it states that the top of the cap shows the numbers for the spark plug wires but on the inside of the cap the routing to the inside contacts are different. So I tried to set the rotor to the mark I made from the inside contacts to the outside housing & could never get the rotor to line up with it. Even after 2 1/2 hours.

[@jimmy2642]

Sir, you are awesome thank you for your videos I did the job once before on my 95 lebaron because the waterpump was leaking I did see some oil but thought it was my valve covers. One year later a steady stream of oil leaking from I believe to be the CRANKSHAFT SEAL I got to do this again........... a lot of work but I can save a lot of money.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

+jimmy2642 You're welcome and thanks for watching and commenting. Yeah, this is a job I hope to never do again. Even making the videos was hard!

[@craigmcallister2310]

Thank you very much for this series! Really helped a lot. I appreciate the time and hard work you put in making and sharing this with us. God Bless!

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I really appreciate the comment and I'm glad it helped.

[@bigdave5810]

Great videos. Thats great u took the time to do this. I have to replace my front seal on at 97. This take all the guess work out. I useally just jump in with both feet blind folded. But this helps so much. I like how u did the screw in the seals trick. Great idea. Thanks again.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I struggled a bit with the seal till I got a screw started. Hey, thanks for the comment and good luck with it.

[@rdldowtp]

Very informative. Thanks for uploading and taking the time to do the series. Helped me alot.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I'm glad to here it helped. Thanks for taking a look.

[@acemabry1515]

Awesome video after watching video 8 I didn’t see what you did to get the rotor on number one!?

[@katiegunzz8525]

Where does the ground wire go that is on the engine mount....did the job and this and getting the seals out were my only problem....my Chrysler Lebaron is two years older than I am and going strong...thanks for the videos they were very helpful.

[@lokeycarter6679]

Big job Well done👍

[@traciesurber652]

Awesome video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! much needed and very helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!very detailed-great job!Thanks sooo much!

[@lindafowler3578]

I've been working on my wife's van it has the 3.0 motor replacing the waterpump.and time belt. Ive been using your video anywaythat is a job. Before I started putting it back together I made sure it would turn over it did I was almost ready to put the motor mount back in. I deside to crank it over again to make sure I got about a quarter of the way around it felt like it was coming up on a compression stroke then it stopped. I had all 3 marks lined up and on number one. Any idea what I did wrong. I pulled all the plugs it still wont.

[@paladinkhan]

Thank you very much, i do think i have to tear engine back down though. Im hearing a clicking that almost sounds like valve lapping after doing timing and water pump on my 95 caravan. Any ideas? Ive heard belt tensioner but honestly it sounds up top. I was careful to check timing, but ill go check and make sure everything is still in time now as well. I believe Chrysler variants are non interference but i dont want to hurt anything either. Curious if i could drive it for a month before i teardown again.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I can't answer that with any certainly.

[@lukasjmontgomery]

I did everything you showed on here and am very appreciative of the videos. My question is: Is it normal to have some smoke coming out of the timing belt area with a slight squeal?

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I would say no, smoke is not normal after this job. But if you had an oil leak and still have some oil residue on the engine or serpentine belt, it could cause smoke and squeal. If that is the cause and the engine is otherwise running OK, I would just let it burn off.

[@lukasjmontgomery]

The Original Mechanic Well, I tore everything back apart and I have found that I must have had the crankshaft pulley bolt too tight, which was causing the timing cover to rub, and that is where the smoke was coming from. Thank you for posting this series of videos. I wouldn't have done the job without them.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

Lukas Montgomery Good job getting to the cause of the problem. Sometimes you get to do the job again. I've been there too!

[@mikebarnes5470]

I don't know where exactly my oil leak is on my 97 Plymouth Voyager. I thought it was my front crank seal. I replaced it using your videos but I still have oil leaking like a faucet when my engine is running. Could I have missed a bolt or something or is there another place in the same area that can leak oil this bad??????? Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I don't know of any other seals in that area. I do know that seals can easily by miss-installed. I've done it myself. You might have to recheck your install if you can't find another cause. Good luck and thanks for watching!

[@fourteenandflying]

Took my dad and I two days to reinstall that stupid power stearing pump! This vans engine compartment is one huge design failure. I would rather have an easy to work on engine than a small hood.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I agree. Simple jobs on this engine can be very time consuming and frustrating. I hope the job turned out well for you.

[@bufordmcnairy8175]

Oh my. This is what i got to do in the next couple of days. well at least get started on. At least i know whats got to be done and not at best looking at a repair manual. Your video's are going to be a great help and i Thank you for taking the time and effort to make this video series and share advice and tips on how to complete this repair successfully. Thank you and have a nice day. ::SUBBED::.

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching and subscribing. Good luck on this challenging repair!

[@trinhnguyen6862]

Hey, my name is Trinh and your video are very useful for me.I have a question that I would like to ask you.I have a 1997 dodge caravan 3.0l v6 3speed base, well, the headlights are not working, the taillights, the brake light, the radiator fans, the wiper, air conditioning are not working.Anyway can you tell me the different between the BCM P4686671 module 23 12g3 and the P4686671 module 06 11b5? Thank You

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

that's a real toughie. You might want to try a dealership parts department.

[@PFRInc]

very good video, how long did it take. real time?

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

I fixed it in a cold Wisconsin garage over about three weeks. Gotta go in and warm up. If I had to estimate actual repair time only, I'd say 12-16 hours.

[@frederickrobinson9747]

Let me say, great videos with excellent detail. I just have one question: what about setting the timing? Is it necessary to set timing with a timing gun?

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

Thanks for watching and commenting. I've never had the need to do the ignition timing on this engine. It was running good before the repair so just made sure the engine and camshaft timing marks were all aligned and put it back together.

[@frederickrobinson9747]

You're a life saver. Runs great now without the trail of oil being left behind me. The oil leak would blow onto my exhaust, causing smoke to come bellowing out from under the hood every time I stopped. Thanks Again

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

You're welcome. Congrats on getting a tough job done!

[@rjdimonda]

can you explain what is necessary to just replace the water pump?

[@TheOriginalMechanic]

Everything in the videos except the parts on replacing the crankshaft and camshaft seals is necessary to get at the water pump on the 3.0 engine.

[@user-vv9ti7tu8q]

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