1989 Dodge Caravan?

Question

Used to own one, but traded it in because it was smoking and burning oil. Have seen alot of Caravans around that year and make that smoke. Was it a common problem? And all the old Caravans that had white paint began to peel, from what I have seen.

Answer 1

They came with a crappy mitsubushi engine. Enough said.

Answer 2

Actually, in '89 3.0 liter V-6's, the oil burning problem was caused by valve guides "dropping" in the head, allowing oil to be sucked through the valve guide seals. Chrysler (and most good machine shops) have special tools that will pull the guides back into position, then cut a small groove in the guide where a snap ring can be installed to hold the guide in place. I've done many of them, and the job can be done without removing the cylinder head(s). And yes, it was a very common problem. Other than that, the 3.0 liters were pretty tough engines. As far as the paint peeling, it was just poor paint prep from the factory, like GM had in the mid 80's with blue and silver paint. If you were the original owner of the vehicle, Chrysler would usually pay for part of repainting the vehicle. Hope this answers your questions!

Answer 3

If your 1989 Caravan was equipped with a 3.0 litre V6 engine, than that will explain all your problems. The 3.0L was horrible for head gasket leaks and burning oil. When i sell a used van, i will always sell the 3.3 Litre V6 before I will show a customer the 3.0, I know i will have a happier customer in the long run. It was the same engine used in the Eclipse.
The paint was from a different formula they tried in conjuctuer with GM, all their cars had the same problem, it is nature of the beast for these types of models. We do NOT have these issues anymore.

Answer 4

I hate Caravans. I used to own one, too. Mine was a pile of shiit. It was a 95. It burned oil, too. And antifreeze, and starter motor wires, and it went through three cylinder heads, and most importantly, it consumed my hard-earned money by the metric ton. I say that it WAS a 95 because it is probably in a landfill by now. I pray every night that it is. Not even my most-hated worst enemy deserves to be stuck with it. Whenever I see one, I want to steal it and pack it full of explosives and push it off a cliff and fire at it with incendiary bullets and watch it explode into a million unidentifiable fragments. I want all Caravans destroyed by the end of July.

Answer 5

The 3.0 liter engine in those vans was a good engine, but tended to wear out the valve guides and burn oil. I had a 1989 Chrysler that had over 200,000 miles on it before it died. The transmissions are not great though

Answer 6

i own a 1996 white dodge caravan it doesnt smoke and never has but the white paint is pealing off on the top of the van