Lifter Noise??

[beachbummm]

Great site! ...I have a 1996 Caravan with a 3.0 V6 liter in it, it just turned 146000 miles and I have been having a few problems for about 500 miles..*1* It has been giving me a loud ticking sound (like a desiel engine) at speed, idle is has almost no sound..when i place my hand on top of the motor i can feel it "kicking" *2* it will stall at stop lights with the AC on (im in Florida, i needs my AC) *3* it has a bad oil leak, im thinking valuve cover gaskets on the back of the motor,,is there an easy way to change it ? *4* the horn, cruise and turn sigs stopped working, i understand there is a recall for this, before i get ripped off by the dealer. it there a time limit on the recall?????I really enjoyed this van but if its going to cost me an arm and a leg to fix her..ill have to go for something else.
Any info will be helpfull...thanks have a cold one on me!

[DSMLVR]

<<Great site! ...I have a 1996 Caravan with a 3.0 V6 liter in it, it just turned 146000 miles and I have been having a few problems for about 500 miles..*1* It has been giving me a loud ticking sound (like a desiel engine) at speed, idle is has almost no sound..when i place my hand on top of the motor i can feel it "kicking" *2* it will stall at stop lights with the AC on (im in Florida, i needs my AC) *3* it has a bad oil leak, im thinking valuve cover gaskets on the back of the motor,,is there an easy way to change it ? *4* the horn, cruise and turn sigs stopped working, i understand there is a recall for this, before i get ripped off by the dealer. it there a time limit on the recall?????I really enjoyed this van but if its going to cost me an arm and a leg to fix her..ill have to go for something else. >>

Welcome Beachbummm
Hard to say with the first one without hearing it. Is your oil level low? Have you changed oil recently and are you using the correct viscosity (5w-30 or 10w-30)? Is your oil level TOO HIGH? This can do it also.
Stalling with a/c on and when stopped could mean a dirty throttle body. Take the rubber tube off from the air box and with the engine off, open the throttle with your hand and look down the throttle body. It is probably all black inside. It needs to be cleaned because it is blocking the little air that is supposed to get thru when the throttle plate is closed.
The valve covers on the 3.0 only have 2 fasterners holding them on. Try "snugging" the bolts down. If already tight, remove and replace the gaskets. Not a hard job, just a little time consuming. I would also check the PCV and hose to see if they are blocked up and causing an increase in pressure in the engine and helping to blow oil out the valve covers.
There is no time limit on a recall. Check with your dealer about having it fixed and make sure yours IS covered by the recall.
I hope this helps. Keep us informed on how it goes.

[beachbummm]

I will try everything you mentioned, where is the PCV valve? just looking around i didnt see it, is it on the back of the motor? If the throt body is black will a can of spray carb cleaner down the neck do the trick?..best way to describe the sound would be like a spark knock on the old 350 gm motors...almost like theres no oil getting to the top end, but there is because thats where the leak seems to be...will take her apart tomorrow...thanks again!

[DSMLVR]

To find the PCV , open the hood and look at the front valve cover. There should be a rubber hose running from the passenger side to the driverside, on or above the valve cover. It runs to a nipple sticking out of the intake manifold on the driver side, pointing to the front. pull this hose off and check to see if the hose is clogged or bad. Then look at the nipple it came off of. It has a hex area on it and will accept a deep socket ( 13mm or 15mm - I can't remember which) over it to remove it. When you buy the new one, you will see what it will look like. Replace the PCV.
You can clean the throttle body on the engine. With the engine OFF and the air tube removed, hold the throttle plate open BY HAND. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN IT TO HOLD IT OPEN. Spray the area and the back of the throttle plate with carb cleaner. Use an old toothbrush (nothing having harder bristles then a toothbrush) and clean the whole area, as deep as you can and the back of the throttle plate. Spray and clean again. All of the black gook should come off with a little cleaning. Give another spray and then put the air hose back on. Start the engine. It may crank abit because of all the spray in the engine. When it does start, pull the air hose back off and spray alittle inside the throttle body to help finish cleaning it out. MAKE SURE you put the air tube back on before you start the engine to prevent any problems if there should be a backfire. That should take care of the cleaning. It is better if it is real bad to remove the throttle body and do a better cleaning, however this will work.
If you are replacing the valve cover gaskets, check to see if the top end IS getting oil. Also clean the oil/dirt off of the top of the exhaust manifold shields on both sides when you are doing the job.
Good luck.

[beachbummm]

desided to do it tonight, installed the new PVC (still knocking),Cleaned the T Body.(still stalling)..tightened the covers,hard to reach the bolt under the ALT.

oil leak seems to be coming from the right side? lower seal maybe?

stalling ..can it be a vacumme leak somewhere? or a weak Alt??

that back cover looks like a tough one to do, dont think im going to tackle it...but thanks you very much for your time!!

[DSMLVR]

I hope you find your problems. Without being there, it is hard to help any farther. Good Luck.

[mmahamm]

To find the PCV , open the hood and look at the front valve cover. There should be a rubber hose running from the passenger side to the driverside, on or above the valve cover. It runs to a nipple sticking out of the intake manifold on the driver side, pointing to the front. pull this hose off and check to see if the hose is clogged or bad. Then look at the nipple it came off of. It has a hex area on it and will accept a deep socket ( 13mm or 15mm - I can't remember which) over it to remove it. When you buy the new one, you will see what it will look like. Replace the PCV.
You can clean the throttle body on the engine. With the engine OFF and the air tube removed, hold the throttle plate open BY HAND. DO NOT PUT ANYTHING IN IT TO HOLD IT OPEN. Spray the area and the back of the throttle plate with carb cleaner. Use an old toothbrush (nothing having harder bristles then a toothbrush) and clean the whole area, as deep as you can and the back of the throttle plate. Spray and clean again. All of the black gook should come off with a little cleaning. Give another spray and then put the air hose back on. Start the engine. It may crank abit because of all the spray in the engine. When it does start, pull the air hose back off and spray alittle inside the throttle body to help finish cleaning it out. MAKE SURE you put the air tube back on before you start the engine to prevent any problems if there should be a backfire. That should take care of the cleaning. It is better if it is real bad to remove the throttle body and do a better cleaning, however this will work.
If you are replacing the valve cover gaskets, check to see if the top end IS getting oil. Also clean the oil/dirt off of the top of the exhaust manifold shields on both sides when you are doing the job.
Good luck.

Does this throttle-body cleaning process apply to Gen 4's also? The dealer keeps trying to get me to pay them to clean the throttle body. Other than a slightly rough idle, I don't see a problem. Since the idle was rough when I bought it, I am a little resentful of the idea of having to pay to fix it.

Another question - it seems to me that as a result of your process, the gunk that gets cleaned out gets pulled into the combustion chambers and burned. Is this right? I would think you would want to get it out without pushing it through the combustion chambers and out the exhaust.

[DSMLVR]

The throttle body cleaning method works on all throttle bodies. HOWEVER, if you have a vehicle (no Chrysler products apply) with a MAF (Mass Airflow Sensor - looks like a screen in the airflow) , do NOT SPRAY ANY CLEANER INTO THAT SCREEN AREA.
Yes, the gunk is washed into the intake manifold and thru the engine. That is why you start the engine and then spray some more cleaner into the throttle body, to finish the clean up.
If your throttle body has gone along time without any cleanup and is FILTHY, it would help more to remove it and do a deep cleaning. However, if you clean the Throttle Body at a regular interval, this cleaning will do.

[davidhegg]

try to pull the codes and see what you get. If you are stalling, the problem is most likely a fuel delivery problem. Your On Board Diagnostics (OBD) can do a great deal of the troubleshooting for you. The instructions for getting the codes yourself can be found in the Haynes Manual for your van, along with a list of the appropriate codes.

Typical problems that cause stalling:
vac leak
dirty throttle body
bad pvc valve
bad egr valve
bad O2 sensor
low or incorrect fuel pressure

there are a few other ancillary problems that can cause poor driveability/stalling. In my 96 with 3.8L it was the EGR valve. I too was having oil leaks and other problems, so I took the opportunity to do a major tune up. Not that you need all of this, but this///

is what I did:
valve cover gaskets (significant leaking)
intake manifold gasket (manifold came off because of complication w/egr)
spark plugs (120K on original)
spark plug wires
new Tstat (120K on original)
new O2 sensor (120K on original)
new water pump (evidence of weeping)
new tensioner
new belt
new EGR valve (original stalling culprit)
new intake plenum gasket
drained and refilled transmission
new transmission filter
new oil pan gasket

The engine runs like a swiss watch now....although swiss watches typically don't tick. One thing worth noting is the fuel injectors will make a ticking noise when they open/close as they get older. Somtimes mistaken for lifter noise. It may pay to listen with a stethescope (length of vac hose works) to see where the noise is coming from.

I dropped about $500 on new parts, but this work at the dealer would have cost me nearly 2K. My father in law was baffled that I wanted to put $500 in parts in the old T&C, yet he made that much in car payments at the end of that month...and every subsequent month since then. I have had no significant repairs since then.

Cheers