[4th Gen : 01-07]: ‘06 Caravan been sitting for a while
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‘06 Caravan been sitting for a while
So, a little bit of background information: I have a 2006 Dodge Caravan 3.3L v6 that has been completely immobile for 2 years, maybe a bit more. I recently have decided to try and get the thing running again, as life demands I have a vehicle now. The reason it sat for so long is that I had an issue with my radiator fan not kicking on when it was supposed to. The initial fan had seized up on one side, so I replaced the fan, only to continue to have the same issue. I’ve never really had much money, so I kinda just let it sit for a while, which was incredibly dumb, but that’s beside the point.
I just charged the battery fully at my girlfriend’s father’s garage that he works at, placed it back in the van, and the van started up without hesitation. There was some smoke and fumes coming from the exhaust, but that was all the crud and whatnot that had built up inside for sitting for so long. I let it run for a bit, knowing obviously that it was going to overheat, which it did, however there was something new that happened. There was white smoke coming from the spark plugs. I had, before now (maybe a few months back) had a friend replace the spark plugs, so I’m thinking maybe he just didn’t push them in tight enough, or something else, because I read up elsewhere that this could be from a loose connection, or bad head gasket because white smoke means it’s coolant burning, which would make sense, since I’d stupidly burst one of the hoses a long time ago and it spewed coolant over everything by leaving the car running for too long while it overheated.
So, if any brave mechanic would like to help me tackle this issue, I’m basically trying to figure out whether this thing is even worth trying to fix up (since I don’t have much money to put into it to begin with, and I’m a total amateur trying to fix his own car), or if I should cut my losses and sell it to a junk man for $100 or some crap like that. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help me out, it’s incredibly appreciated.
I just charged the battery fully at my girlfriend’s father’s garage that he works at, placed it back in the van, and the van started up without hesitation. There was some smoke and fumes coming from the exhaust, but that was all the crud and whatnot that had built up inside for sitting for so long. I let it run for a bit, knowing obviously that it was going to overheat, which it did, however there was something new that happened. There was white smoke coming from the spark plugs. I had, before now (maybe a few months back) had a friend replace the spark plugs, so I’m thinking maybe he just didn’t push them in tight enough, or something else, because I read up elsewhere that this could be from a loose connection, or bad head gasket because white smoke means it’s coolant burning, which would make sense, since I’d stupidly burst one of the hoses a long time ago and it spewed coolant over everything by leaving the car running for too long while it overheated.
So, if any brave mechanic would like to help me tackle this issue, I’m basically trying to figure out whether this thing is even worth trying to fix up (since I don’t have much money to put into it to begin with, and I’m a total amateur trying to fix his own car), or if I should cut my losses and sell it to a junk man for $100 or some crap like that. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help me out, it’s incredibly appreciated.
Captain
Joined: Sep 2018
Posts: 553
Likes: 64
What do you mean there’s white smoke coming “from” the spark plugs? As in, you can see smoke coming from around the base of the spark plugs, or it just looks like white smoke is rising from the spark plugs?
White smoke coming from the exhaust is an indicator of burning coolant, but given that the van has sat for so long, I wouldn’t be surprised by any smoke rising from the engine the first time it’s been run up to temperature. Varnish and other residues from engine oil and fuel begin to form as soon as an engine is shut off and begins to cool down, but given that most people drive multiple times a day, they are quickly burned off once the engine is run again.
When an engine sits for extended periods of time, these residues as well as moisture and other contaminants have time to build up internally and externally. When the engine is finally run again, they start burning off, but because they’ve had so much time to build up, the burning is much more noticeable.
To really know whether or not the van is worth saving, you need to take it on a thorough test drive - at least 15-20 miles with as much time cruising on the highway as possible. Put an additive such as marvels mystery oil or sea foam in the oil and the gas tank to help clean everything. If the fans won’t kick on automatically, I recommend jumping them to battery voltage to keep them running and prevent overheating.
If the test drive goes well and you don’t notice any noises that indicate internal engine or transmission damage, it’s likely going to be fine and you can proceed with changing the oil and making other needed repairs (brakes are usually a repair item after sitting).
White smoke coming from the exhaust is an indicator of burning coolant, but given that the van has sat for so long, I wouldn’t be surprised by any smoke rising from the engine the first time it’s been run up to temperature. Varnish and other residues from engine oil and fuel begin to form as soon as an engine is shut off and begins to cool down, but given that most people drive multiple times a day, they are quickly burned off once the engine is run again.
When an engine sits for extended periods of time, these residues as well as moisture and other contaminants have time to build up internally and externally. When the engine is finally run again, they start burning off, but because they’ve had so much time to build up, the burning is much more noticeable.
To really know whether or not the van is worth saving, you need to take it on a thorough test drive - at least 15-20 miles with as much time cruising on the highway as possible. Put an additive such as marvels mystery oil or sea foam in the oil and the gas tank to help clean everything. If the fans won’t kick on automatically, I recommend jumping them to battery voltage to keep them running and prevent overheating.
If the test drive goes well and you don’t notice any noises that indicate internal engine or transmission damage, it’s likely going to be fine and you can proceed with changing the oil and making other needed repairs (brakes are usually a repair item after sitting).
Professional
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 211
Likes: 25
So, a little bit of background information: I have a 2006 Dodge Caravan 3.3L v6 that has been completely immobile for 2 years, maybe a bit more. I recently have decided to try and get the thing running again, as life demands I have a vehicle now. The reason it sat for so long is that I had an issue with my radiator fan not kicking on when it was supposed to. The initial fan had seized up on one side, so I replaced the fan, only to continue to have the same issue. I’ve never really had much money, so I kinda just let it sit for a while, which was incredibly dumb, but that’s beside the point.
I just charged the battery fully at my girlfriend’s father’s garage that he works at, placed it back in the van, and the van started up without hesitation. There was some smoke and fumes coming from the exhaust, but that was all the crud and whatnot that had built up inside for sitting for so long. I let it run for a bit, knowing obviously that it was going to overheat, which it did, however there was something new that happened. There was white smoke coming from the spark plugs. I had, before now (maybe a few months back) had a friend replace the spark plugs, so I’m thinking maybe he just didn’t push them in tight enough, or something else, because I read up elsewhere that this could be from a loose connection, or bad head gasket because white smoke means it’s coolant burning, which would make sense, since I’d stupidly burst one of the hoses a long time ago and it spewed coolant over everything by leaving the car running for too long while it overheated.
So, if any brave mechanic would like to help me tackle this issue, I’m basically trying to figure out whether this thing is even worth trying to fix up (since I don’t have much money to put into it to begin with, and I’m a total amateur trying to fix his own car), or if I should cut my losses and sell it to a junk man for $100 or some crap like that. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help me out, it’s incredibly appreciated.
I just charged the battery fully at my girlfriend’s father’s garage that he works at, placed it back in the van, and the van started up without hesitation. There was some smoke and fumes coming from the exhaust, but that was all the crud and whatnot that had built up inside for sitting for so long. I let it run for a bit, knowing obviously that it was going to overheat, which it did, however there was something new that happened. There was white smoke coming from the spark plugs. I had, before now (maybe a few months back) had a friend replace the spark plugs, so I’m thinking maybe he just didn’t push them in tight enough, or something else, because I read up elsewhere that this could be from a loose connection, or bad head gasket because white smoke means it’s coolant burning, which would make sense, since I’d stupidly burst one of the hoses a long time ago and it spewed coolant over everything by leaving the car running for too long while it overheated.
So, if any brave mechanic would like to help me tackle this issue, I’m basically trying to figure out whether this thing is even worth trying to fix up (since I don’t have much money to put into it to begin with, and I’m a total amateur trying to fix his own car), or if I should cut my losses and sell it to a junk man for $100 or some crap like that. Thank you in advance to anyone willing to help me out, it’s incredibly appreciated.
See this picture (I just googled for the image of a spark plug, this specific one has nothing to do with cars, just all usual spark plugs have some manner of compression ring)
https://www.autozone.com/miscellaneo...B&gclsrc=aw.ds
Professional
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 211
Likes: 25
The second thing that comes to mind is that perhaps some fluid has been dripping into the spark plug well for the last two years and is just smoking off by the surface temperature. But you would notice that with a visual inspection. Also the smoke would clear up eventually if just old oil/gas/WD-40/coolant sitting down in the spark plug well.
