'98 Grand Caravan 3.3L head gasket failing at 33,000 miles

If you mechanical expertise is as good as your knowledge of the cost of space shuttle parts, maybe they want to take their car somewhere else. The shipping costs for the o-ring would be $10 or more. This was hardly your average o-ring.

Matt

And call NASA and get the real price for this part. Hint: it is much more than $10.

Matt

Just saw this on Discovery channel, engineers said the "O" rings could become brittle at 54F or below, the morning of blast off it was in the 20's

It was as much a political breakdown as a physical one. I didn't see the Discovery channel item, but the Morton Thiokol engineers, who, as the technical experts at a primary contractor, had authority to scrub the launch, decided to scrub the launch because of the known problem with the o-ring and the existing launch site temperatures. NASA called Morton Thiokol's management and told them that if they didn't want to lose all future business with NASA, they had better get their engineers under control and allow the launch to proceed. The managers over-rode the engineers, and they launched. The rest is history.

The managers were later promoted and the engineers were fired.

Reality is a bitch.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Go to

click on Contact Us, it's the far bottom right

click on I need Customer Assistance

There's a link "send us an email"

There's a reason for this, though. If the regional Chrysler people decide to honor it as a warranty claim instead of giving you an allowance, then the repair has to be done under the Chrysler warranty schedule, which is not that profitable. In fact, for your job the dealership may just break even on it.

So in this instance they save money by making you go to another dealer. :-)

Ted

Thanks. Sent Thursday, 1/15/2004 at 0800. Pending response from D-C.

Just in case D-C come to their senses, does an "allowance" require work be done at a dealer? (I assume that warranty work does.)

Thx.

- Bob

...and no good, prescient analysis goes unheeded and unpunished.

Regardless of what the vehicle is "worth" the price of repair is STILL the same $1600.

Folks asked me why didn't i just get a newer Voyager instead of paying $1050 for a rebuilt long block 2.2. I asked them if a new Voyager would drive any better than my '84, if a newer one wouldn't need CV joints or anything else ever replaced, and if I could actually save money and have a guaranteed trouble-free (forever) vehicle by purchasing a newer Voyager. No one answered to the affirmative.

That is why I repair my '84 Voyager. I feel I am still $$ ahead as compared to buying a newer vehicle that is actually tougher to diagnose and repair.

OTOH, folks are free to spend their money in any way that they wish AND justify their spending accordingly.

By the way Dan Stern, as you stated to me before, the gear reduction 2.2 starter IS much better than the original direct drive unit that I was having so much trouble with. This morning it was close to -30C here and I forgot to plug the Voyager in. It took a couple of cranks but the Voyager did start. That gear reduction starter sure works better than the direct drive one. Tonight I will plug the beast in :-)

I don't know where you get your work done, but my head gasket job cost just over $1000 CDN$ including parts, labour AND taxes - and YES, the heads were sent out, cleaned, and planed - with 1 year warranty on P & L.

Guess you didn't have replaced the failing water pump, serpentine belt and tensioner and assorted other work that shouldn't have been required at 33,000 miles...

cloaked wrote:

Just to conclude this thread, a week to the day after contacting D-C, they form letter replied by email

"Your concerns, particularly in view of the expense and inconvenience involved in this issue, are understandable. However, your request for consideration in this matter must be declined... Although a more favorable reply could not be provided, sharing your concerns with us is appreciated."

Well, thanks for shar> Guess you didn't have replaced the failing water pump, serpentine belt

Same basic response I got from Honda when my 1984 Accord engine self-destructed. Although they chose to rub a little salt in the wound by suggesting I hadn't maintained the car properly. Haven't bought a Honda since, not even a lawn mower, and never will again. I'm amazed that manufacturers won't at least throw someone a token when something obviously fails before its time.

Matt

Don't give up that easily. Contact by phone to a warm body is still superior to an e-mail (although in the 21st century it really shouldn't be) At least from the sound of it it looks like a warm body actually looked it it, which is a step. It is just that this warm body might be a minimum wage college student that is working off a chart of standard responses.

Also, I presume that your going to have the thing repaired and keep it, rather than just selling it outright. If so, wait for another 80,000 miles and see what happens _then_ make a decision.

What after all is the difference between a vehicle with 120,000 miles on it that blows a head gasket and you drop $1600 in repairing it then drive it for another

10,000 miles, and a vehicle that blows a head gasket at 30,000 miles and you drop $1600 into repairing it then drive it another 100,000 miles?

Let me put this another way. My wife and I own a 95 T&C that we bought when it had about 70K on it. The trans had just been replaced by the prior owner. The van now has

100K on it. If tomorrow the head gasket blew (it's a 3.8L, same block as yours) I would be in the same position as you - in short, I bought the van, drove it 30K, and the head gasket blew. If that happened I would fully expect to drop money into a new head gasket then be able to drive it at least another 80,000 miles. Now, granted the head gasket has not blown, but the engine does have 100K on it, so the chances of it blowing are much higher than an engine with a few hundred miles on it. Almost certainly the engine will give out before it reaches 180K miles. (although many people have got more than that on theirs, of course)

In summary it's a matter of perspective. Your looking at it from the standpoint of having to do major engine work near the beginning of the vehicle's lifespan, whereas most people are used to looking at it from the perspective of doing major engine work near the end of the vehicles' lifespan. What does it really matter if you both hold on to your vehicles the same amount of time?

Ted

Caveat emptor, D-C buyers.

First warm body on the phone reviewed the email file and hung up before replying.

Second warm body reviewed the file and flatly stated "your claim has been turned down by the corporation, and I decline to escalate your call as requested".

So, what we have here is a Future Customer Value of zero or negative.

D-C earned it.