I replaced my van battery this week, and that same day, my change oil light came on 1500km prematurely. I don't know if it's coincidence, but I noticed this week that there was a banging coming from the engine bay of my van. At first, I was certain that someone outside was working (it sounds like a hammer hitting something big). It's sounds a bit off in the distance. The van had been sitting at work all day, and after driving for about 15 minutes, and stopped at a red light, is when we first heard it. A few days later (yesterday), the van made the same noise while stopped after sitting at work all day. We turned the radio and heat down to hear it, and it stopped after a few seconds. I don't notice it when driving, but it happened again to my wife this morning when she was stopped at a drive-thru - it had sat all night. It drives normally, shifts like a cheap Caravan, but other than that, it's been drives the same as when we bought it 3,000km ago...



I brought my Jeep to the dealership today to have the mirror replaced, and I mentioned it to the techs. They asked me all sorts of questions, but said that they have never heard such a sound. Their only possible suggestion was that it could be the brakes shuddering if not pushed down hard enough, but this was for sure coming from the engine bay. My mechanic lives across the street, so I'm going to have him check it out, but I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas? It's out of warranty by date, and just hit 40,000km. Thanks!

 

Is it cyclic like something rotating and hitting something or just one sporadic bang? Does it effect engine rpm? Could it be an intake backfire? Does it always happen just when stopped?

 

have a serious question about a 2001 dodge caravan anyone chat with me real quick??

 

It seems to be sporadic. My mechanic just test drive it, but couldn't replicate it.... Nothing seems to be affected (rpms, etc are all fine). It has a echoey metal sound - like a hammer hitting a manhole cover...

 

We had something similar with our 08 sxt. it was a broken flexplate.

 

So, after a couple of months, the banging finally was diagnosed as a sticky thermostat. Being replaced tomorrow... mechanic was suprised that it was so loud, and can't believe the van hasn't overheated - it was a ticking time bomb!