I have an 01 grand caravan wheelchair van that's started having some serious issues in the last month or so. As they're getting progressively worse, and my husband is stumped on where to begin, I was hoping someone here could help.

Problem 1:
The front wheels are vibrating like crazy. It started as a small vibrating at about 45 mph, but has progressed to pulling hard to the right and feeling like I'm driving over a gravel road at all times. He thought maybe it was a balance/alignment issue, but nothing had been done before this started (no tire changes, air adds, or anything like that) He said the whole wheel assembly moves when he wiggled the tires.

*update - he just said the front driver tire is about 1/2" out of alignment, but has no idea why. I'm sure that's related, but doesn't explain the vibrations, right?

Problem 2:
It's taking 3-5 tries to start. This began as taking an extra second to turn over, which I figured was because it's so old, but now it's taking several tries to get it to catch. He tried turning it to aux without trying to start it, remove the key and repeat a few times and it turned right over, so he's thinking it's a fuel line leak somewhere. That makes sense, because the smell of gas can be overwhelming after driving it, but my mileage is still about the same, so I'm not sure. What can be done for that?

Problem 3:
A squealing belt. We've tried everything: changing belt, adjusting tension, using belt conditioner, but the squeal always comes back within a trip to the store. Is there a defect that we're not aware of?

Any help with these issues is appreciated. The first two are recent, but quickly progressing, so we'd really like to fix those if we can. Shops around town have taken advantage of it being a wheelchair van, and charged ridiculous amounts to fix other issues, while fear mongering us about other issues (that turned out to not even be close to the actual issues) so we'd like to either fix them ourselves, or have an idea of what the issues are before taking it to a shop again. Thanks for ANY help with this.

 

How was the wheel checked? Tire on the ground, off the ground, rocking top to bottom, front to back? How did he determine the wheel was 1/2" out of alignment? How old are the tires/how many miles are on them?

There are several things that can cause speed related vibrations. Based on your description, it sounds like the tire may have belts separating, which can cause vibrations and pulling but so can a worn CV axle, wheel bearing or dragging brakes. Look for signs of weather checking (also called dry rotting) on the tire - it will have several small cracks on the tread and sidewalls and just look "aged" in appearance.

With the tires off the ground (check both sides - not just the right):

1) Feel around all the exposed surfaces of the tires (tread and sidewalls). You're trying to find any areas where there's a bulge - if you find one, the tire needs to be replaced because that's where the belts are separating. Also note the tread wear pattern - it should be relatively even from inside to outside. If you don't have a tread depth gauge, use a penny - at a minimum the tread depth should be 2/32" above the wear indicators (on a penny, you'd be able to see the top of Lincoln's head). If the tread is more worn on the inside to outside (or vice versa) you're looking for issues that affect alignment.

2) Rock the wheel top to bottom - this checks for play in the wheel bearings - there shouldn't be any.

3) Rock the wheel side to side - this checks for play in the steering linkage - there shouldn't be any.

4) Spin the tire - it should spin freely (relatively speaking - the transmission is going to create drag even in neutral, but you shouldn't have to forcefully push/pull on the tire to get it to spin) - this checks for brake drag.


Get the van up on jackstands or ramps so the under side can be accessed. The fuel delivery/return lines run along the driver side in parallel to the rear brake line(s) - inspect for leaks/heavily rusted areas - it would appear as a damp section compared to the rest of the line. If you don't see anything immediately, cycle the key on and off a few times without starting the engine to prime the fuel line, then check again. If it will help to improve visibility of the lines, thoroughly wash the lines with a garden hose and allow to dry, then check again. Don't forget to also inspect the area of the engine where the lines hook up and the fuel rail as well as the gas tank. If nothing is visibly evident externally, it indicates leaking fuel injectors.

The repair options will depend on the source of the leak, but pretty much anything can be replaced.

How were you able to adjust the tension? The 3.3 and 3.8 engines of this era have spring tensioners on them so adjustment wouldn't be possible unless you did some kind of modification.

Remove the belt and spin each pulley by hand. They should all spin freely (except for the crankshaft pulley) relative to their positions. As an example, the belt tensioner or an idler pulley should spin freely and easily whereas the power steering pump pulley should spin easily but not "free wheel" as the pump resistance prevents this. Rock the pulleys back and forth to check for bearing play. If you see any build up on the pulleys, clean it off (sometimes it requires a wire brush on a drill).