If a van alittle shocktower rust{not thru} is that ok? Neighbor said he heard that there was an issue with mopar van shocktowers. I have a dime size spot on the drivers side tower top. Is that ok?
If a van alittle shocktower rust{not thru} is that ok? Neighbor said he heard that there was an issue with mopar van shocktowers. I have a dime size spot on the drivers side tower top. Is that ok?
99' Grand Voyager, 3.3L, 97k{my current ride}
01' T/C LXi, 3.8L, 88k{wifes current ride}
That sounds treatable. I would knock the rust down and spray some rust inhibitor on it to prevent any further damage. You'll know a bad one when you see it.
1996 Chyrsler T&C
2000 Toyota Corolla
2002 Honda Odyssey EX-L
IF there is just alittle rust, get it taken care of now. Check both sides of the vehicle and check up underneath if possible.
Avatar: EconoVoyager Concept
2001 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport 3.3L
2004 Chrysler Pacifica AWD 3.5L
The neighbors old van{95?} had rust 1/3 way around the drivers side tower top when he sold it. Mine just has a dime sized spot near the outer bolt.
99' Grand Voyager, 3.3L, 97k{my current ride}
01' T/C LXi, 3.8L, 88k{wifes current ride}
Let me ask this, isn't there a seal on top of the strut to the tower?
My wife and I will be looking for a van for her soon, if I find a van with a bad tower is it fixable or not worth the effort{$$$}? Any other bad areas to look for on these vans{GEN3 or 4}?
99' Grand Voyager, 3.3L, 97k{my current ride}
01' T/C LXi, 3.8L, 88k{wifes current ride}
They are fixable I have done a few for people and myself. There is a cap I have welded them in place. It almost always happens on the driver side. If the tubes thatdrain the windshield cowl clog and the moisture sits up there mixed with the acid soup from the battery gassing you get this.
Clean out those tubes, keep the area clean it helps.
A dime size area is not a problem, but get it taken care of.
Diamler chrysler does sell a "kit" for a repair, but if it gets to bad than this is useless as well.
I just got done replacing both strut towers in my 97 minivan. Both sides were gone. It was about 10 hours worth of work but it can be done.
Here's how I proceeded:
Scoured the local salvage yards and found a 97 with good towers (no rust).
The yard cut the frame section containing the towers out for $200 a pair.
Put my van on the hoist, removed the hood and wiper box (cowling).
Removed both struts and plastic inner fenders.
Cut both towers out at about an inch above the radius (where the tower goes up from the" flat"). Then cut the top of the tower right at the frame.
All the cutting can be done from the insides of the fender wells using a straight and right angled die grinder with a 3" cutting wheel.
Removed the tower and used a unibit to drill the spotwelds out of the top brace to the frame. Throuroughly sanded all areas down to the bare steel.
The replacement towers:
Cut the towers out of the frame sections about a 1/2 inch beyond the lower radius. Drilled the spotwelds out of the main brace to frame section.
So now I have a tower with a complete top brace.
Thouroughly sanded the areas down to the steel where the old / new sections would mate for welding.
Inserted the "new" towers from the bottom up. Because of the way the old towers were cut out, and the new towers were cut out, they mated perfectly at the lower radius and the main top brace fit right back in the frame section. Also because of the "overlapping" of new to old, you do not have to worry about getting the tower to high. Once the new tower is pushed up all the way, it simply cannot go up any further.
Welded all areas with a wire welder, including the top brace that mounts to the frame.
Cleaned the areas with a wire brush and undercoated all the areas.
Is it a lot of work? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes to me it was a lest costly investment than the price of a new van.
Is it safe? Yes, since everything was welded back in solidly.
Total investment:
$200 for the yard tower sections.
$20 in cut off wheels and sanding discs.
$6 for a can of undercoating.
Would I do it again? Yes definitely.
Regards, Bart
Hello folks. I have been a lurker hear for about a year. I have save a lot of money from reading the wealth of info here.
I too have shock tower rust. Mine is getting pretty bad. Is the only way to get a repair piece to take it from a donor van? Does someone sell a repair piece? I have a nice MIG welder so that is not a problem.
John
2000 Caravan 121K miles.
I would assume so considering not everyone has access to a salvage yard, not to mention one that just happens to have a 3rd gen. DCX van in it.
1996 Chrysler Town & Country LX [My lovable Daily-Driver]
2000 Chrysler Town & Country Limited [Yes, it's still around!]
2000 Chrysler 300M [New kid on the block...]
Originally Posted by jjsound
Yes there is a replacement tower cap kit from Chrysler for each side. This is a VERY well known issue. The replacement caps are actually bonded in place with a structural adhesive. Welding is not advised because of further rust potential if not prepped and done perfect. I also need to do my drivers side as it is really bad but have been waiting for warmer weather. I already have the cap.
Here is a link for a thread here and there are more. Also go over to the allpar.com site and search those threads
http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/sho...ht=strut+tower
Skidad In MA
2000 AWD T&C Limited 58,000 miles Toshiba H1R bulbs
98 AWD GC LE 198,000 miles for sale, runs good, tranny perfect
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