Introducing my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan SE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
- This is my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan SE. I call her Stringbean, thanks to my girlfriend.
I got this van for free as payment to remove it from a property. They said the transmission was bad. I drove it home in limp mode, replaced the shift solenoid pack and it was back on the road again after 5 years parked.
Since then I've done quite a bit of work including full suspension replacement, interior work, dash removal, cooling system replacement, etc. I've put just over 30k miles on her as of December 2023, with plans of plenty more.
Enjoy!
Nice! I always like to see old normal cars looking like new. Very cool van. Someday I want to get an old caravan and take the rear seats out and use it for camping, as it would a lot better than a tent.
I'm actually in the process of doing that with my 04 t&c I call her the rustbucket lol
@@marblecornet Nice! I want to get a van for camping because it is small and easy to drive and park and you can still use it as a normal car when not camping.
Leaking over and over again. That is my Intrepid's life story. It has 278,000 miles but it was a battle. I also replaced the shift solenoid and a million other things. I love it though. That is why I keep fighting with it. The engine and transmission is really reliable it's everything around it that was a pain.
Back when i was really young my relatives used to have a caravan that looked exactly like this! i dont remember much about it, but i do remember realizing the tail lights where the same as the ones on the durango. Sadly it did get scrapped, and i really dont know why it was written off (probably rust). But i cant help but have a soft spot for these, especially with the long wheel base with the roof rack in red, really one of the best looking minivans ive seen. saddens me to see them now all worn down now, good job on it!
thank you!
3rd gens are my favorite mainly because my mom had a grand caravan just like this one only hers was the sport model in silver and was a 2000 but the interior was almost identical to stringbean here. She got it brand new back in 2000 but had "mechanical issues" when she sold it back in 2010
We had a 4th gen Dodge Grand Caravan Sport. Metallic Dark Blue. The 3rd and 4th are my favourite gens. I like the round style of these vans, the stereo system and the opposed wipers. And they were part Daimler. Meaning better built quality then the 1st and 2nd gen. The 5th has some Volkswagen parts. (Headlights, wipers, interior panels, rooflines.)
Hello bud I had one of those caravans so I hope you have a nice day bud
Thanks you too!
@@MNMoparMinivan welcome
Very nice work on it : )
Thanks!
Nice, as always....i really appreciate your euphoric work💪🏻
Thanks again!
My parents had a Canadian with the dashboard converted to American 1996 Plymouth grand voyager le until 2008 when my dad realized the front strut towers were nearly rusted though
I'm going to have to check out that aluminum line to the heater core! Great video
For the 4th gen rear discs, was it required for you to make new hard lines? My lines are in good shape but I'm tempted by the mod.
Also, the headlights will clear up with a $12 bottle of Meguiars Ultimate Compound and a rag. 5-10 mins of compounding each headlight with a little bit of the compound (really don't need a lot) followed up by wax and it will last about 6 months outside. I do it twice a year at the same time as washing the van
Lines not required, but mine were getting a bit rusty so I figured I might as well. A bit I forgot to mention is for the parking brake to work, you need to grab the back secton of the parking brake cables on each side from the 4th gen donor van. The front halves are the same between 3rd & 4th gens.
I drove my 98 caravan 300k ran great except the transmission failed several times
Nice. I have a 99 Caravan that was given to me and for the same reason, they thought the trans was bad. Their mechanic told them that they needed a trans. They showed them a picture of the pan with some metal fuzz on the pan magnet. I told them that what I saw was normal wear. I dropped the pan and put a new filter and fluid in the trans then drove home a hundred miles no problems. Once in awhile it had a miss which made them think that the trans wasn't shifting correctly. I replaced the plugs and it went away for a while then came back so I replaced the wires and fixed it for good. I've had it for about five years now. I haven't replaced as many parts as you have. Did the water pump dual sided belt, and pulleys but it still squeaks. Also replaced lower hose, thermostat, and swapped out the radiator with a good used one. On that heater core aluminum pipe, where did you get it. Did you get it used from the junkyard and did you do a video when you put it in? Also any videos on the rear brake conversion? Good video and nice car. Happy Motoring.
That intermittent miss will get ya! Before I put the new rad in, I had a used one... popped the next morning lol. I got that aluminum line from U pull. Wasn't recording videos back when I did this stuff. At some point next Spring I can pop a back tire off and show the rear brakes. She's covered up for the winter right now (: