I've got a 2000 Caravan that has over 174k miles! Nothing major has been done to it as far as I know and can tell other than transmission service, brake work, radiator..basic maintenance items.

Anyone got anything with more that hasn't had to have something internally replaced?

 

We have 2 GCs.

The '96 has 188K miles, the trans was rebuild at 70K before I bought it in 2005.
The '97 has 192K miles, and the trans has been rebuilt on it as well. We bought it last year off CraigsList for $400 and I drove it home.
We just bought another $400 GC to use as a parts van. It had 150K with a fresh rebuild on the trans. It ran great as I drove it home, even with the 2 year old gas in the tank.

A good friend of mine has a 96 GC with 266K miles on it and still running strong.

All of the above mentioned have the 3.3 engine.


PinCup

 

Nice.
Well I got the crappy 3.0 engine and just found out it has a timing belt. Not sure how to tell if the timing belt has been changed? Paid $1600 for this van and am just going to drive it till it dies, then junk it. So far it runs and sounds like a purring kitten. I'm very surprised at how well it does, though it does burn a bit of oil, though not enough to see the white smoke.

So far I did have to put new spark plug wires, air filter, radiator, fuel pump and a few more odds and ends. Normal mainten. for a high mileage van. Best of all it still looks pretty good and it's a vehicle my wife can have for all her messy junk and the two kids. This, instead of trashing my Avalanche.

 

I had owned a 1985 2.6L with the notorious timing chain problem that blows the Mitsubishi engine. Surprisingly, that engine made 210,000 miles before it blew. Usually, it's rare for that engine to last that long without blowing up past 130,000.

 

Highest mileage.....

My 1993 Grand Caravan LE has almost 214k miles.
The 2003 Canadian version caravan I also have currently has just about 230k in kilometers. (around 140 something k miles)

Both are on their original engine, the 93 has had the tranny rebuilt at 112k though, when I bought it 5 years ago.

 

1999 3.0 with 164,000 miles. I have to turn the AC off when I leave a red light and then turn it on when I get back up to speed because it effects acceleration very badly. Other than that it runs fine.

 

Just bought 3.0l 1999 Caravan with 263k km. Runs well and quiet. AC blower not working much. Yikes sounds like a timing belt is good to change ??!! Any other gotchas that I should look for ?? Trans is good so far. Fan belt is frayed -- cut a strip off it and bought a new one. Van shutdown because the battery cables were loose ... so far so good !!

thanks

 

I have a '93 with a 3.3 and it has 350K miles on it. My last van was a '94 and it had 325K miles when I sold it and I think the people that bought it are still adding to it. Both are rusty as all get out but I don't care. Had to replace the front cover on the '94 but no work on the current ride.

 

Photo says is all. Well not really. This is a 98 T&C LXi with the 3.8. I bought it on Craigslist for $700 bucks about a year ago, it needed pads and rotors and a new tailgate (got one for a caravan in the right color for 50 bucks, swapped out glass and locks so everything is perfect except the caravan badges) at the time. So far, I have replaced the water pump, starter, radiator, changed the oil (literally like three times in the 30k I have driven it---YIKES). It uses less than a quart between oil changes, but I think that is just a leaky pan gasket. And the air is cold as ice (front and rear units) since I recharged it and installed a water cutoff valve on the heater hose under the hood. The compressor is noisy as hell but hasn't ate itself for lunch just yet.

Biggest problem that I can't get figured out is the transmission leak. It marks it's territory pretty fast. I just keep a few quarts of atf4 handy and throw one in when it slips cold, but would love to get that fixed somehow. Check out my other thread for more on that.

And my gas mileage sucks. On the interstate with the air running is usually 16 or 17, but I had a tank when I drove from south alabama to florida panhandle on 55 mph roads that got 23 mpg. This thing likes flat roads and lower highway speeds. It's really not terrible, but it's got what, 150 hp?

 

You may be getting bad mileage because of the same reason I am. When the AC comes on it loses power badly. It didn't use too. I found that with curise control set that the slightest incline causes it to downshift and stay that way until curise speed is achieved again. I posted this in its own thread about the ac robbing an unusual amount of power, that you have to turn it off to get up on the freeway. still can't figure it out.