Time to sell or crush it? Minivan content

So 2016 rolls around and the trouble free 1998 Chrysler Town & Country rears it's ugly head since the year started. It just hit 160K

New driver side front tire (3 screws) 1/16 New brake pads (passenger side front brake pads was gone) 1/16 New rotors 1/16 New driver side window motor 2/16 New rear passenger tire (nails) 2/16 New Alternator 3/16 New driver side rear window motor 3/16 New driver front tire (tread separated) 3/16 New Starter 4/16 New water pump 4/16 New Radiator 4/16 ( damned hood is stuck closed too...still is) hood cable is still good New Ignition switch 4/16

New problems surfaced over the weekend. Friday. Brake cable broke and emergency brake locked Wife texted in a panic. Left work to fix and released emergency brake. Sunday. Transmission is slipping. Lucas transmission oil did not work. Today. Engine power seems lost to transmission. Driver side rear tire going flat

Time to get rid of this POS or keep fixing?

Fixing transmission will be out of my element.

The only thing there that sounds like a good reason to get rid of it would be the trans. I'd try to diagnose it a bit better before deciding. And worst case, a rebuild or low mileage used trans would get it going again if you decide to keep it. In theory, if a rebuild is the same quality it had from day 1, you'd have another 160k to go.

Let it die a viking death before you crush it, neutral drops or burnout until it dies.

Check trans fluid first to see if it's just low or something but yeah. Crush it

Put it on CL for 600, take 500 for it, be sure to note the new parts. Also quit driving in the gutter near construction sites.

You could donate it to some charitable cause as well and get the write off. Maybe fireman jaws of life practice, cancer etc.

Damaged tires could happen on anything. Be thankful those flat tires were cheap minivan tires and not costly "designer" tires on a new car.
Before you decide to ditch it, what would be the plan for replacing it, and what would that cost?

Sad to say but if the trans fluid is full (check the cooler lines for leaks) then the trans will need to be replaced/ overhauled, sorry . The only good thing is they are not that hard to replace and if you need to farm the job out it's a six hour job (R&R) so not that expensive when sourcing a used unit. The other stuff sounds like you are hitting the "5&10 wall" either you plow through or toss it to the curb.

Quick word of advice, I ran into this on my Gran Prix at 140K miles at one point I was making a repair every week (three in one week) and I was ready to toss in the towel. I chose to stick it out and now that I passed that point things smoothed out and with 230K just around the corner I am glad I stuck it out. Think about it this way, if you spend $400 a month fixing the van that is not even a new van/car payment.

YMMV

Paul B

Donebrokeit wrote: Quick word of advice, I ran into this on my Gran Prix at 140K miles at one point I was making a repair every week (three in one week) and I was ready to toss in the towel. I chose to stick it out and now that I passed that point things smoothed out and with 230K just around the corner I am glad I stuck it out. Think about it this way, if you spend $400 a month fixing the van that is not even a new van/car payment. YMMV Paul B

Did it take you 90k miles to get passed that, or is that just where you are after suffering through an much shorter stretch?

Don't forget the value of your time. If you are spending $400/month on parts, how much time are you losing to the repairs and te inconvenience?

Sometime the monthly payment is cheaper that the cost of parts, time, and inconvenience. Especially if it keeps you from getting to work, or prevents doing things that you may enjoy more than DD repairs.

Jstand, this was over a seven week period, as for my time (or time spent dealing with a shop) I was able to fix the car in the evening or weekends this might not be something the OP can do themselves and might not have/ want the time to deal with this van. Maybe the OP was looking for another van and this is the best time to buy a new or lightly used van, depends on the OP's goals and finances.

Paul

jstand wrote: Did it take you 90k miles to get passed that, or is that just where you are after suffering through an much shorter stretch? Don't forget the value of your time. If you are spending $400/month on parts, how much time are you losing to the repairs and te inconvenience? Sometime the monthly payment is cheaper that the cost of parts, time, and inconvenience. Especially if it keeps you from getting to work, or prevents doing things that you may enjoy more than DD repairs.

It's a Chrysler. It's only going to get worse.

That's an unusual density of problems. I've done a ton of work to those things (and still work on my cousin's semi-regularly) so I have a soft spot for them just out of familiarity.

I think it's a devil-you-know kind of thing. What would be your replacement plan? Depending on the alternative, i may or may not recommend you to jump.

In reply to Donebrokeit:

I had hoped that was the case.

I could see suffering through a period of weeks, but was thinking you are much more persistent (or stubborn) than I am if you were willing to suffer through 90k miles of frequent repairs on a DD.

Lemons???

These things are very fat and very slow. There are much better chrysler minivans for racing besides these!

On 2nd thought, unless you have some kind of hookup on a trans rebuild or plan to buy a cheap used unit and do the install yourself, i would probably jump. Especially if you have the $1500-2k budget for a retail price trans rebuild. You can get some really decent stuff on CL around here for that.

Sine_Qua_Non wrote: So 2016 rolls around and the trouble free 1998 Chrysler Town & Country rears it's ugly head since the year started. It just hit 160K New driver side front tire (3 screws) 1/16 New brake pads (passenger side front brake pads was gone) 1/16 New rotors 1/16 New driver side window motor 2/16 New rear passenger tire (nails) 2/16 New Alternator 3/16 New driver side rear window motor 3/16 New driver front tire (tread separated) 3/16 New Starter 4/16 New water pump 4/16 New Radiator 4/16 ( damned hood is stuck closed too...still is) hood cable is still good New Ignition switch 4/16 New problems surfaced over the weekend. Friday. Brake cable broke and emergency brake locked Wife texted in a panic. Left work to fix and released emergency brake. Sunday. Transmission is slipping. Lucas transmission oil did not work. Today. Engine power seems lost to transmission. Driver side rear tire going flat Time to get rid of this POS or keep fixing? Fixing transmission will be out of my element.

Reminds me reading about a guy in Iowa who was in a similar situation as you. His trans went out on his same gen Van and he wound up yanking the stock engine/trans and he installed a fwd Oldsmobile 403 between the rear wheels. He drag raced it some but It sounded like he daily drove it as that was his original intent with that set-up.

I'd put in on CL for 500-600 bucks and see what kind of response you get.