20 years and 386,081 miles

[DodgeGirls420]

I purchased my Grand Caravan in November of 1987. After 20 years of overuse and abuse its somehow manages to run with no major problems until now. Since mid august the idle speed has been tremendously high. It started out at 1,500rpm then up to 2,000 and now its at 3,000. The transaxle I believe is making a loud clucking noise when I shift into any gear. I was recently at the gas station and I shifted into drive and left my foot on the break while I looked at something. When I let off the breaks my van burned out and almost went flying into a busy highway. There is now snow and ice on the roads and im afraid this high idle is going to get me and my kids into an accident. Is there any way possibly free to fix this myself? or is it a more serious problem? Is the clunking noise a problem with the transaxle? This is the original transaxle its had 4 torque converters replaced and 1 rebuild. Also the clunking persists when shifting for 1st to second gear. It has the 3.0L V6 with the 3-speed auto. Ive spend all my money on Christmas and cant aford to buy a new or used car right now, I hope this is a minor problem!

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[chopper]

There is an Idle Air Control valve in the throttle body that might be dirty.This can cause the high idle and can be fixed by you.(maybe)
Get some spray carb cleaner and remove the intake tube between the air filter and the throttle body.There will be a little hole in the bottom of the T/B just in front of the throttle blade.Start the engine and spray the carb cleaner into the little hole.You should get the engine to stumble and kick but this is good.That means the cleaner is getting into the engine and past the dirt in the IAC.
Another possibility is the existence of an intake leak,and now that I think about it,with the amount of miles and the progressive nature of your problem,this is more likely.You can use carb cleaner to find the general location of the leak by spraying around the intake system and listening for the engine speed to change.
A disconnected,cracked,or leaking vacuum hose is the most likely culprit.