Power Steering and other failures

in a 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager. Grrrr....

Ok, so here's the scoop....

When it is rainy and we go though a puddle, and power steering just
goes out. No warning no nothing. The other thing that happens at this
time is the heater/ac almost dies (it is dying anyhow, but when we go
through a puddle it goes to its worst as it does when it is on for a
long time)


This car has a NEW water pump, NEW front end (struts, tierods, etc),
NEW transmission casing, NEW brakes, NEW tires, NEW steering column,
and well probably something else...
and windshield wipers that have a mind of their own. LOL

I will never ever ever buy a Chrysler. oh it has 160,000 miles

 

I am guessing the the belt is slipping after going through a puddle.
This will affect the steering and the A/C. Is the spash sheild that
sits underneath the belt path intact?

As far as the wipers go, this was a known problem for the 1996 Chrysler
vans. There was a recall for the switch.

-KM

 

There is not and never has been a recall on the wiper switch on this vehicle
and as far as you problem goes with the a/c and power steering it sounds
like you need to replace the belt tensioner on this vehicle. If the
tensioner is worn out it will cause these problems and may even brake off or
cause the water pump to go bad.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Glen, the *phantom wiper* problem was was posted on this NG many times
after the vans were redesigned for 1996. Didn't you ever have any
customers report this?

-KM

 

Wasn't there a firmware update for one of the modules that fixed this?
If I recall correctly, that was how I got this problem fixed on my '97
van.

 

Absolutely, as a mater of fact I joked about it with a customer one time
telling him there was a sensor in the windshield that detected pollen and
the blades would wipe one time. I heard about it later on as the customer
took me serious.
But there was never a recall on it. The most common repair was installing a
new multifunction switch


Glenn

 

Agree. There was a TSB but no recall as I recall. I replaced the
multifunction switch on ours to cure the wiper problem. The tensioners
are also problemmatic at 160K or so miles, at least on the 3.3.

 

Okay, so I was at least partially correct. The fix was to replace the
switch, but there was no recall. Thanks for clearing that up.

-KM

 

I replaced my tensioner at 165,000 km. The bearing was starting to
squeak. This is one little piece of preventive maintenance that is
money well spent. If that puppy goes, you are stranded for sure!

 

I am on my 3rd one at 90,000 miles. The first two snapped off right at
the mounting bolt. Seems like a lot of tension for one lone bolt.

-KM

 

Wow! What year and engine size you running?

 

I have a 1993 Voyager with the 3.3L. One broke while it was being
backed out of the garage, and the other just around the corner.

-KM

 

I used to have a 1994 Grand Caravan with the 3.3

I never had any problems like that (thank GOD).

How bizarre.

 

I went through a *lot* of various accessories and tensioners before I
learned that they really didn't want the "as tight as I can get it"
tension I was subjecting it to. Going to a "if my wife is complaining
about belt squeak maybe it needs to be a bit tighter" plan has made a
huge difference on longevity.

 

And how many water pumps did the tight tensioner tear up?

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

I too have just experienced the tensioner failing, well in fact it
looks as if one of the idler pulley bearings has failed which has taken
out the other idlers and the Tensioner.

Does anyone know of a different supplier other than a Chrysler main
dealer, the prices they are asking for the idlers is extortionate.

The engine is a 2.5L Tdi earlier 1999 which has the three idlers not
the two with recent models.

Cheers
Ray

 

Replace your accessory drive belt and check the tensioner. Its getting
wet and slipping.