11th Mar 2009, 07:29

I have found out that the belt jumping issue has now been addressed for the 1993-95 minivans with the 3.3L and the 3.8L engines.

Gates Part number is 38398K.

Goodyear part number is 49381K.

I have only heard great things about these kits.

13th Apr 2009, 14:50

I have a 1999 Grand Caravan with the 3.3L and never have had the problems with the belt as others have stated and it has 155K miles on her. The van is located in Florida and when it rains it rains hard and can last a while. The only problem I now have is the trans cooling lines leak at the radiator and they are new and securely clamped. Radiator is also new. It is driving me nuts trying to locate the trans cooling lines leak (s) I have the original water pump and now it is showing signs of leakage. I do not think I will mess with the pulley system since this one has worked all these years.

Sky Pilot.

13th Jun 2009, 08:40

Same problem with our 1997 Dodge Caravan, 3.3 engine, with belt coming off in wet conditions, 4 times past six month; not a good situation.

I brought it to an independent mechanic who seemed very familiar with the situation and confident in the correct fix. I am told it needs a new Engine Mount Bracket, part 04612412, which will make the tensioner tighter and thus keep the belt on. I'm paying around $250 total for new belt, engine mount and labor & tax. Fingers crossed this will be the correct fix.

22nd Jun 2009, 05:56

<< 13th Jun 2009, 08:40 << I would be curious to hear the FULL explanation as to why/how an engine mount can effect the belt tensioner. Unless the tensioner is attached to the engine mount and a new engine mount changes the tensioner's position, it just can't be. This doesn't make sense to me.

The reason I am posting is my '92 3.3L G. Caravan threw a serpentine belt last winter when my wife went through a puddle. From everything I have read, the '92's aren't suppose to have the problem - mine does.

I was going to fabricate a retainer device similar to one that is made and sold by a guy in the mid-west, but I was at the wrecking yard for something else last week and found an idler pulley from a 94-95 3.3L that has a 'lip' on each edge.

I assume the lips are to retain the serpentine belt. I have measured the pulley and compared it to my tensioner and idler pulleys and they are the same. The bearings in the center of the pulleys would need to be swapped, but that's easy.

Has anyone heard of or tried this fix? Or knows anything about these lipped pulleys?

Thanks...

22nd Jun 2009, 16:57

My little woman (wife) has a 1997 Caravan with the 3.3L engine. This past winter she was pulling out of our driveway where there was a small puddle from the melting snow. Our driveway is nothing like an "off road course"... Just a typical little city driveway. You guessed it - the belt pitched off about a mile down the road. She had two 3 year olds, one 6 year old, one 7 year old and one 9 year old with her. If you adding it up in your head... That is a BUNCH of kids in an ailing automobile!

I replaced the belt and pulley that night. NOT an easy job for those of you that have done it! Problem solved right? NOT A CHANCE! Last weekend the oldest girl had a softball game - did I mention it was a play off game?? I'm sure the design team at Dodge doesn't care about this small town game but we sure did... You guessed it - a car load of kids again and a few wet roads later and the new belt flies off... We made it to the game in time and I spent the next hour getting the belt "restrung" in the rain while missing the game. I have since contacted my mechanic only to find out that this is a major design flaw that has been active for YEARS. Not like this is a family vehicle or anything right!?

Like so many other entries I have read - I too am a bit afraid to send my wife and the little ones across town in this rig let alone out of town. I never have been a fan of Dodges and this just adds merit to my feelings. The makers, designers and fellas that have worked hard to cover this problem up should be ashamed! Sure hope you don't miss YOUR daughters play off game (or worse) because of this sort of thing!

- "Warm in Montana"

25th Jun 2009, 15:39

I experienced the same issue with my 99 Caravan Sport after the original tensioner and belt were replaced by the dealer back in 2003? Maybe 70K for supposedly being at the end of its adjustment range. The belt was cracked a bit, but was okay and falls into the "while you are it" category, since the labor included. I took it back to the dealer and they did replace the idler pulley and the bracket that holds it as per http://www.youfixcars.com/chrysler-serpentine-belt.html. This resolved the issue, and was done at no cost to me.

25th Jun 2009, 16:43

I LOVED this comment. I am by no means making light of this commenters feelings, but it reminded me of some of our Dodge experiences. Several years ago my wife and her best friend took an 800 mile cross-country trip in her friend's Dodge Caravan. It had 110,000 miles on it and they DID have trouble. The van still had the original Michelins and one of them went flat. Her friend put a new set of tires on the van and continued driving it from coast to coast (she had children in Washingtom State and Maryland) until she finally traded it for another Chrysler van at 250,000 miles. She put 220,000 miles on that one before trading it for (naturally) ANOTHER Chrysler van.

I've owned three Dodges. The first (a Shelby Daytona) made 100,000+ miles with not a single repair. My 1990 Dodge Omni was sold with 240,000 miles running like brand new. It had had only two brake jobs, two timing belts and one hose in all that time. The A/C still blew cold (NEVER any freon added) and it used not a drop of oil. My last Dodge was a 2001 Dakota pickup. It was totally in 2006, but had never required a single repair.