89 Dodge Caravan knocking sound when de-accelerating

My 89 Dodge Caravan, (153 K miles) makes a knocking sound when I take my foot off the gas and coast. She runs rough as it is, and there is a rattle underneath when I hit a bump. I don't think she is long for this world.

Thanks!

P.S. I am a girl. Out of curiosity, which engine?

This could be a cv shaft problem. Does it accelerate smoothly? You say it runs rough. Does it feel like it's the engine that's running rough or could it be part of the drivetrain? (Like a failing inner cv joint) Does the roughness seem to be coming from somewhere in particular?

You'd be surprised how long your van will last. I believe that by '89 they got rid of the 2.6 engine. The rest are very good engines, IMO.

The rattle underneath may be the swaybar bushings. Very common for the caravans and very cheap to replace.

There’s a website with a member who has over 500,000 on his caravan (3.0 engine) with no major work done to the engine. Thank you for your prompt reply. I think we found the problem.

I hit a metal bar in the road last month with the right front tire. Ka bang! It flew up and put a big dent in my door. A couple weeks ago, we changed the brake caliper, as the rotor was totally destroyed (from the metal bar?). The brakes sounded like a dump truck.

One of the lug bolts is bent, perhaps from hitting that bar. Hubby tightened the lugs, one was loose, and I didn't hear the noise tonight when I went to work. Will keep you posted, as sometimes it comes and goes.

I am deathly afraid of mechanics, being a woman, they have lied to me, as I find out when I get a second opinion.

When we bought the van, seller said, brakes are good (ha!), but she need a tuneup. We changed the plugs, but she still idles rough. The front rear brake pads were totally gone, we replaced those also. We didn't have enough money to replace the left caliper, and the pin fell out when they did the pad. They put it back in, but I worry about it.

Sometimes my check engine light flickers when I start her also. I checked all fluids. I have no idea what else is part of a tuneup besides the spark plugs. I'll try to figure out what liter she is tomorrow, she is 4 cylinder.

Both front door windows are frozen, seems like it is easier just to throw on new used doors? There are NO Dodge Caravans in the junkyard. We were gonna put a piece of wood in to put the window up, but it won't budge.

Can I buy a jack at Walmart for her or does it have to be from a Caravan?

Thanks again so much! It sounds like you had bad brakes to begin with. I don't see how a bar can hit the rotor with the tire on.

I wouldn't think the brake problem would make a rattle when you hit a bump. Is that problem fixed?

Some of the noises could have been from loose lug nuts.

I wouldn't worry about the pin falling out of the caliper. All the pin does is hold the caliper in place and allow for movement as the brake pads wear. But it doesn't actually absorb any braking energy. As long as they put it back in it'll do it's job. But it sounds like the rubber bushing that the pin goes through could use replacing. (Not detrimental though)

You can use a Wal-Mart floor jack on your van.

Does it have power windows?

The check engine light flickering may be signaling that you have a trouble code stored in the van's computer. Use the procedure at http://www.troublecodes.net/chrysler/ to scan your computer. It may help to do a tune-up, but I can't think of a reason that lack of a tune-up would trigger the check engine light. The codes are explained at that link I gave you.

Good luck. Thanks for your prompt reply.

The metal bar was probably 1 inch by 1 inch and a foot long. I thought it was a one of those black rubber straps that hold down cargo. I swerved to avoid it in the pouring rain, but hit it and it flew up and dented my door in, BANG! Really sucks, cause the body is in great shape. Just need a new rear window wiper arm.

Also, we just moved here, travelled 600 miles with all our possessions, a very heavy load. Maybe this put extra wear and tear on the brakes?

When I first heard the knocking, I immediately pulled over and checked to see if my tires were falling off, that's what it sounded like. Then again, I am quite deaf, so I have a hard time pin-pointing sounds.

She has manual windows. We opened one door case, but it's all complicated in there, big white plastic looking gear thingy. We know it's more than just the hand crank.

I never had a vehicle that didn't have window problems. but at least she has a great radio and CD player. But it was installed wrong and if you forget to shut it off, dead battery! They warned us about that.

I the kid who did the brakes put in a new pin cause the old one was worn out. I don't think they bled the brakes properly either, my hubby mentioned this.

She seems to have an easy engine to work on, not like the nightmare engine on my 92 Olds Acheiva. They put three different engines in those cars. I loved her though, she had gauges for everything. She was weird, she would stall and buck sometimes and refuse to go certain places. I think she had ESP. I ended up junking her, her steering was gone and brake line blew. E brake was frozen and windshield washer wouldn't work, they said only dealer could fix. She never passed inspection, I drove her for a year on a fail sticker. Had exhaust leak too, and of course, frozen window. I cried when I junked her.

Thank you for being so patient with my rambling. The problem definitely is the lug bolts. My husband says two of them "spin."

When that metal bar hit the tire, it dented the tire and cracked the hub cap.

Can we buy replacement bolts or do we need the whole wheel unit thingy? Is there a jack hidden somewhere and we we can't find it? It doesn't seem to be under the donut tire underneath. I believe the lug studs are pressed in and can be pressed back out for replacment.

Wow, it dented the tire? That's one hell of a wwhack!

The jack is usually stowed under the hood on the passenger side, bolted to the fender along with the lug-wrench. If you look above the horn(s) under the hood and see an empty looong bolt sticking out... that's where it's supposed to be.
Thanks so much for your prompt reply.

We just got back from the tire shop. They messed around with it and one of the bolts slipped back and I couldn't go forward or reverse, only about 6 inches. Hubby just them completely out.

Yup, the jack and tire iron are missing. We just bought a hydraulic jack (under $20) three lug units (left tired needs one also), and tire iron.

Hubby working on it right now, I told him he should throw a new caliper on the left side, since he has to take the old one off anyhow, right? I keep worrying about the pin falling out. There is a new problem.

The bolt slipped back and cut into the thingy majiggy and it looks like there is a piece of metal caught between the plate and the whatcha macallit. I think the metal plate has to come off to get the metal out, but there is GIANT bolt there, how to get it off? My husband says the plate over the wheel bearing where the caliper sits is..."corner turned toward the lug nuts." He does not know the words, he is not from this country.

I am ready to buy a bicycle. I KNEW we should have gone to a mechanic.

"Some guy" is gonna stop by tomorrow and look at it. I'm trying to picture exactly what you are talking about. The lug studs (or at least one of them) came out far enough to catch on metal behind where the lug studs ride?

The only huge bolt I can think of is directly in the center of the wheel, held in place with a cotter pin usually.

If you are concerned about your husband's ability to work on this van, then don't have him replace a caliper. That will open up the brake system to possible contamination and it will need to be bled afterwards. I would replace what needs replaced though. If it's just a rubber grommet and a new pin that will be cheaper and easier to replace than the whole caliper.

Usually to press out a lug-stud you have to turn the hub until the stud has room to be pressed out (so it doesn't hit anything behind...like the one that worked loose). I'm not sure I understand why anything that the lug stud hit would have to be removed. (Unless it's to replace things that have been damaged)

If the bearing plate was damaged and needs replaced (I'm trying to recall exactly what's back there...), then you really should seek a mechanic. To replace the bearing the drive shaft has to come out on that side, which means popping the balljoint. The balljoint is not too difficult to pop, but a real bear to get back together (I've found).

That's it... I'm pulling out the repair manual.... OK, now it's coming back to me.. lol

The lug studs are pressed directly into the bearing assembly. If a bolt slipped out and damaged what's behind, it was still damaging part of the bearing assembly.

The drive shaft runs right through the bearing. THe shaft has teeth on the outside that meshes with teeth on the inside of the bearing assembly. So the bearing assembly actually transfers energy from the drive shaft to the wheel.

If it's not damaged too badly it may still be usable. As long as you can get the necessary lug-studs out and replaced. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow when that guy looks at it. He says he is a mechanic.

Honestly, my hubby can't even fill a salt shaker, I am scared to death! We can't afford to go to a garage, I had to sell my jewelry today to buy the jack, studs, and tire iron.

Anyhow, he can't get the studs in. Hopefully the friend will have a better time getting you back on the road.

Selling personal effects is rough. You really want this baby going.

What state do you live in?

I can see why the studs might not want to go back in. If the hole it rides in is all out of whack from being beat to death when the old stud(s) worked loose it might not go back in.

You can put some washers over the stud after putting it in the hole (OK, behave naughty mind of mine) and tighten a lugnut on the stud. That usually gets them back in well (if the stud doesn't spin in the hole).Car Repair Talk's forum.