Well, so far on the Ram, the tires have at lease 1/2 tread, the brakes are still very thick and As soon as it hit 36K, I tossed those things that they called shocks and installed a nice set of Bilstiens. Now it doesn't want to change lanes when you hit a bump on the highway. The stock shocks had very little gas charged rebound. I was amazed at how weak they are. Those 20's are heavy and needed good shocks to stay planted to the road. I personally think that the springs are a little too soft for a truck. If i wanted a soft ride, I would have bought as 300M or something.
I don't expect the Caliber to last forever. It was a fairly cheap car with a lifetime powertrain warranty that should give my wife many years of reliable service. One of the best things about it is that the 09 still has cable actuated ductwork instead of the newer, ready to break servo powered stuff like in my Ram and 07 Grand Caravan. My GC is really low miles, it will be 3yrs on on Valentines day and only has 10K miles on it. It is a handicapped equipped Braun Companionvan so we can take my Handicapped son anywhere he wants or needs to go. It has been trouble free except for it had a rattling speaker when new.
As far as the new Rams go, they are beautiful. I wish I would have gotten an 09 because they still had the lifetime powertrain warranty. But, I am quite happy with my 08.

 

(WRONG) the motor does not need to be dropped down. once i got the battery wire off and the little plug tilted the alternator side ways came right out. OMG the BOLT removal is a tight squeez. its out replacement going in after i eat dinner OMG not for a long while the over running clutch pulley was wobbling very bad and made a squealing nosie.

 

Glad you got it figured out. Thanks for the update.

 

Folks,

The overruning clutch pulley on the Caliber is refered to as a Litens OAD. OAD stands for Overrunning Alternator Decoupler. It is a wearable item and will need replacing on every vehicle that it is on. The part is available in the aftermarket and can be replaced without replacing the entire alternator. For more info you can go to www.decouplerpulley.com. One thing to remember is to never replace with solid pulley. THe belt tensioner will go nuts and there will be major issues.

Javert.

ps. This Litens OAD has been on the Dodge Caravan (2001-2005) for many years. Mechanics are just now learning about the OAD and that it CAN be replaced by itself to $ave the vehicle owner money.

 

Why even have it? Alternators have always worked from idle to 7000rpm without them??

 

Over the past 10 years, engines have had to change considerably due to emmission standards. Higher cylinder pressure, direct injection, dual mass flywheels, lower engine idle, etc. These changes, that you don't always see, have created serious vibration problems that need to be addressed so that the end user still buys the car and has it feel smooth and powerful for them. You can always read more about this product at www.decouplerpulley.com.


JAvert

Bottom line is that this product was put on the engine for a reason, it should never be replaced with a solid pulley or any other type of device.

 

The world engine vibrates at idle even with this magic pulley

I have never seen an idler jump like the one in the video unless one of the components has a bearing seizing up.

Glad my Hemi and my 5.0 Mustang don't have one!!! Looks like my 07 3.8L GC and 09 2.0 Caliber do though.

 

I cant get the drive belt back on. the manuel said reinstall. does anyone know a better way to get it back on. the new alternator is on

 

I haven't changed mine yet, so I can't tell ya. Have you downloaded the shop manual listed earlier in the thread?

 

Yes, the alternator is in a bad place, but you do not have to remove any engine supports. Other posts tell you to remove the ac compressor, the pulley that covers the alternator bolt and then remove the alternator. it is challenging, but I did it in 6 hours. All of the plastic wheel well covering has to be removed first. Check out the other posts for better directions. Thanks to all who posted information that made this successful for me. Thanks and thanks again.