Drive A Dodge Caravan? Check This Out! 

Sounds good Gina being from Massachusetts I can tell you I know what you’re living with the rust belt if you’re going to check the fronts check the rears also at 10 years they may surprise you Better to be safe than sorry have a good new year

Same here!!!

In Wisconsin also. My parents have one. Will be checking that out.

im in wisconsin to

How's the van gina? Was it rusting?

Good point! That what I was thinking about.

But ummmm did he check the backs?

You can be sure of that, at least he gave them a look-over. But that particular flaw should be isolated to the front brakes.

Pfft….They had at least a good couple of weeks on the other hose. Eric was just doing the old up-sell.

"stuff"originally installed in pairs wears out in pairs.....

After years of doing that I got a one man suction bleeder. Just slide on the bleeder and it sucks it down. Also have a pressure bleeder for aircraft since they have to bleed up.

good time to wear gloves?

@@robertgary3561 Yeah, I got one too, but more often than not it's more trouble than it's worth. Time I get it out and get it set up, I could have it done. Guarantee you he has one too.

I've done it 3 different times using a vacuum pump, and works better from close to far, instead of far to close bleeding.

@@DistinctOgre it depends on how accessible you have a mrs O around to grab and who doesn’t squawk there whole time complaining.

I have the exact same van in white as a Ram C/V with 270,000 miles...in Ohio and it looks way better than that one.

@My Pronoun is WTF of course it does

Brakes totally giving out at any age without signs of failure like this Dodge is good lawsuit material…

I just ran new fuel lines on my truck using NiCopp...I had a complete front-to-back fuel system in 10 minutes. It doesn't look as pretty as the stock stuff because I bent it all by hand, but I had it on/off the lift quicker than doing an oil change. Awesome stuff.

I can't understand why anyone would willingly replace brake lines with steel when NiCop is available.

@@JohnnyTalia if you are in a state that might fail you a sticker for using nicopp then you will understand

@@danlevesque5437 Yeah, that would be a deal breaker. I'm lucky to not live in a sticker state.

@@JohnnyTalia NiCop has it's cons, but I solved the biggest one shrouding mine in stainless steel spring guards along the entire length of the runs.

Knew someone 40 years ago who had their Mini (not MINI) stuffed into the side of another car by a mechanic when in for total brake failure.

Young mechanic did a brake job and tie rods on the four post alignment rack. When done opened up the drivers door and used his foot to push off the bearing plates to avoid damaging them by putting the car in gear while on them. He had forgot to pump the brakes up and could not stop the car from rolling, door caught on the rack post and folded all the way forward.

@@ulbuilder RUH-ROH!

Ive rolled out of my garage and panicked when I hit the brakes. Quick pull on the parking parked stopped me though.

I Like The Japanese System Setup . On Start Up ... You Have To Depress The Foot Brake Before You Can Change The Vehicle Shift Lever Into Drive , Reverse From Park . No Run Aways No Jump Aways ... No Key Left In Ignition , Brake Release , Run Aways .. Etc .

Huh, what ?

That was me. So I replaced the pedal guy with a brake bleeding machine 🤣🤣🤣

I don't have any "other", significant, deaf or otherwise, to help me bleed my brakes. However, I did, at one time, find a RU-vid video on doing it by myself. Get an empty drink bottle, I prefer Gatorade as they have a more stable bottom, and a length of clear tubing that tightly fits the end of the bleeder. Drill a hole in the cap of the Gatorade bottle that is a snug fit to the outer dimension of the hose so the hose doesn't fall out or move in or out easily and then also drill a small vent hole in the cap. Keep the hose to a length that isn't very long but is long enough to easily go between the bleeder and close to the bottom of the bottle, where ever it its that you set the bottle. Take the bleeder out and put some grease on it's threads and put it back in. The grease seals up the threads to prevent air from sucking in around them. Fill the bottle about a quarter to a third full then put the cap on with the hose submerged in the fluid and close to but not touching the bottom. Then connect the other end of the hose to the bleeder. Now go pump the brakes yourself. The brake system will mostly fill itself up from the brake fluid reservoir and at the bottle end the air bubbles go down the tube and escape out the fluid at the bottom of the bottle. Any fluid sucked back up into the system from the bottom of the bottle is air free. Pump the breaks until you see clear fresh bubble free fluid in the hose and then tighten the bleeder. No spills, not much mess. REMEMBER TO KEEP FREQUENTLY REFILLING THE RESERVOIR That is how I bleed the brakes and flush the break system and I can do it by myself. OH!! You might want to start the flushing process by sucking all the current brake fluid out of the brake fluid reservoir and putting in fresh fluid from a newly opened container. I use a larger Gatorade bottle for this and this time I put two hoses into the cap of the bottle. One hose goes to a vacuum via a modified keyboard cleaning attachment of the vacuum. (I never used it to clean keyboards anyway.) In the bottle the hose that goes to the vacuum is much higher than the hose I stick into the fluid reservoir, I don't want to suck any of that fluid into the actual vacuum. The lower hose deposits the fluid I suck out of the reservoir nicely into the bottom of the bottle, nothing into the vacuum. Or, you can use a small turkey baster to suck out the old fluid. Whatever works.

@@InquisitiveSearcher I do some thing similar with two people. I try to prevent dirty fluid and air by closing the bleeder between strokes. Medical oxygen line is a perfect fit. The end that attaches to equipment is the right size. As for the reservoir I use a bulb to remove the old fluid. Add some fresh and remove it to pick up any residue. I just got a 3D printer and I'm thinking about making a system that would combine a reservoir brake fluid a air compressor line, low pressure, and a new cap to take fresh fluid from the pressurized bottle. You run the fluid at pressure into the reservoir and then put your clear line on the bleeder valve. Open the valve and you can flush the entire system without ever having to manually add fluid. Essentially you use the pressurized reservoir to force clean fluid into the system and out each bleeder valve. I can picture it in my mind exactly how to do it and if the car is completely on stands you can probably flush the entire system in about 5 to 10 minutes. You just need to take the pressure off when you're done before you try to remove the cap I'm thinking a small vacuum pump added to the pressure valve can draw off any excess fluid from the reservoir. I'm just not sure what kind of filament to use that might be resistant to brake fluid.

@@JohnRodriguesPhotographer : interesting idea, but I was trying to use the simplest thing I could from materials at hand. I use a nearly clear yellow fuel line for small engines that fit really snug on the bleeder. And again, because I didn't have to keep tightening and loosening the bleeder between brake peddle strokes I could do it all by myself.

Years ago we had a 5-year old foster boy in our care. We all got in the car, .Tommy went into the backseat, I said Tommy is your seatbelt on? He says “click”.

Carry a hose clamp with ya :) Or at least vice grips to pinch the line off haha

LOL! Plumbers: Not a leaky tap in the house. Chippies: Either a very flash deck, or it's in the process of being built. Painters: Shiny walls. Mechanics: rust holes, minor oil leaks, odd noises, front end like my x girlfriend. Bit loose in the front, tends to wander.

@@SouthMainAuto Lol What a guy!!

@@SouthMainAuto Ivan will just fix it on the side of route 80, the Russian way

@@FixIt1975 No Parts Required!

We have an '05 Town & Country LXi just about to hit 226k. (3.3L) In six years that we've owned it (bought from original owner, in her 70s, always dealer-maintained except for me changing her gauge cluster bulbs - her late husband was not spending $600 on that, and told her to "deal with it."). She and I made a special deal that I would replace those bulbs while she and her husband were out of town - it cost me under $20 for a box of bulbs and sockets, and less than ten minutes' time. During our ownership, we've replaced one alternator, one starter, one blower motor, one EGR valve, two front struts. Two deer hits resulted in two new radiators/headlamp assemblies, and a few weeks into ownership we were rear-ended by a Focus at 50 mph. She still cruises nice and smoothly, tracks straight, keeps perfect wheel alignment across the lifespan of tires, and it's the long-wheelbase version (Dakota frame, Stow 'n' Go seats). Seats have always had covers on them, floors always had WeatherTech floor mats, so the interior looks showroom-fresh (aside from the drooping headliner and a broken defroster grille). At the time she sold it, there was a P0300 "Random Misfire" code. All she wanted was the price of the two brand new rear tires she just got - so we bought it at 155k for a whopping $250! This van spent most of its life running on BJ's Wholesale Club gas, after we got it we've been running Shell and the misfire code has not returned since. She may be "rusty and crusty," but she's comfortable and pretty darn impressive in the snow. We love this van so much in the family that my mother just bought another one a few weeks ago, '07 Grand Caravan SXT with the 3.8L. Also original owner, no accidents, long-wheelbase, 226k on it presently, mostly CT to FL miles (not a typo, the '05 is almost at the '07's mileage). Also runs like a top, shifts smoothly, interior almost mint, got the premium stereo (6-disc in-dash changer/DVD player with the video screen) and the only thing that doesn't work on this van is the cassette deck. Haven't gotten it registered yet, but I did drive it home after purchase and rides even nicer than the Town & Country. Was it worth the $3,300 she paid? Time will tell. But the power sliders work smoothly, the power liftgate is flawless, and it was always garaged so there's minimal "Chrysler Cancer."

@@dashcamandy2242 mines had the 3.8 V6 235hp , I suspect my teenage son dropped the hammer on it causing the chain to let go. Those things are just flat out tanks take a beating(kids) And keep going between a 2000/2010caravan or scion those two cars will make 300k easily every time

Just 254k on my 96 with 3.3L!

Yep. Wrapping a little teflon tape around those bleeder threads will help stop air from being drawn back thru those threads.

Like myself also, it's satisfying to watch a professional at his trade, i work on small engines because like in NY, IL is in the salt bucket, and I usually get to feel like I'm working in the south as I don't have to deal with road salt rust 🤪

LOL! Guaranteed, most ALL of US were doing it TOO!

@@BYENZER I'm so sorry! My foot slipped off the pedal.

Now that was funny! :)

I'll bet you're one of those 'passenger side brakers' too, lol. Drives me crazy when I'm driving "Hey, we don't need brakes yet!" ;)

I looked at the caravan in 84 but wisely choose the crown Victoria wagon which still lives.

@@stevemurray710 Problem being is if you drive a crown vic, everybody knows you're a knob. Drive an old minivan and the assumption is you are an astute consumer.

@@shith00k don't know what a knob is but my country squire has required few repairs in it's 37 years and body on frame v8 wagons are starting to become collectable.

We got our 10/84 Caravan second hand with about 70,000 Km on it. 2.2 Li 5 on the floor. Head gasket leak about 300.000 Km. No complaints. Even towed 2000 lb of tent trailer quite a lot.

@@stevemurray710Let me try to clarify what we mean by knob, at least on this side of the pond. For us older folk, knob is an abbreviation of noble meaning you would look classy. However, younger people may use knob to mean dick, so that would imply that you'd look a bit of, well you get the idea. As we do not not know the age of your correspondent and you're talking a classy make of vehicle, let's go with the former.

You have to give it the classic "pump and pray" a move most rust belt drivers are familiar with haha

I'll take your word for it. Had enough of that when my neon lost rear hydraulics. Glad it was a standard and the road was near empty!

I wouldn't jump out of a moving vehicle but every time I hear someone talk about the brakes going out while they're driving the first thing that comes to mind is "all hands abandon ship"

Try it on a c-60 Chevy with 500 bushels of corn on a down hill with a sharp turn at the bottom.

Yup, happened to me a couple of months back. No rust on the car or the visible hard lines (and I mean NO rust, not even surface)... And then lost brake fluid. The lines along the rails which you can't see because of the plastic cover were completely rusted through.

gas lines on my GMC pickup did the same, rusted along the frame and started leaking

I install speed bleaders on all my cars. Saves the trouble of tightening and loosening

Brake fluid is carcinogenic, it should be never in contact with your skin. Not a problem if you do it once in few years, but I would avoid doing it often.

@@petrnemecek4379 Everything is carcinogenic. I mean, look at all the labels in California...even their tomatoes cause cancer.

I, perhaps like you, don't have any "other", significant or otherwise, to help me bleed my brakes. However, I did, at one time, find a RU-vid video on doing it by myself. Get an empty drink bottle, I prefer Gatorade as they have a more stable bottom, and a length of clear tubing that tightly fits the end of the bleeder. Drill a hole in the cap of the Gatorade bottle that is a snug fit to the outer dimension of the hose so the hose doesn't fall out or move in or out easily and then also drill a small vent hole in the cap. Keep the hose to a length that isn't very long but is long enough to easily go between the bleeder and close to the bottom of the bottle, where ever it its that you set the bottle. Take the bleeder out and put some grease on it's threads and put it back in. The grease seals up the threads to prevent air from sucking in around them. Fill the bottle about a quarter to a third full then put the cap on with the hose submerged in the fluid and close to but not touching the bottom. Then connect the other end of the hose to the bleeder. Now go pump the brakes yourself. The brake system will mostly fill itself up from the brake fluid reservoir and at the bottle end the air bubbles go down the tube and escape out the fluid at the bottom of the bottle. Any fluid sucked back up into the system from the bottom of the bottle is air free. Pump the breaks until you see clear fresh bubble free fluid in the hose and then tighten the bleeder. No spills, not much mess. REMEMBER TO KEEP FREQUENTLY REFILLING THE RESERVOIR That is how I bleed the brakes and flush the break system and I can do it by myself. OH!! You might want to start the flushing process by sucking all the current brake fluid out of the brake fluid reservoir and putting in fresh fluid from a newly opened container. I use a larger Gatorade bottle for this and this time I put two hoses into the cap of the bottle. One hose goes to a vacuum via a modified keyboard cleaning attachment of the vacuum. (I never used it to clean keyboards anyway.) In the bottle the hose that goes to the vacuum is much higher than the hose I stick into the fluid reservoir, I don't want to suck any of that fluid into the actual vacuum. The lower hose deposits the fluid I suck out of the reservoir nicely into the bottom of the bottle, nothing into the vacuum. Or, you can use a small turkey baster to suck out the old fluid. Whatever works.

Wouldn’t want your guardian angle to think your getting greedy with the lotto tickets.

I was wondering about that: with the dual braking system there should still be _some_ braking. That is the point of it. But then I remembered it was Mopar....

Does taking regular trips to a car wash with an underbody spray or hosing it down at home help with that?

Can’t fix stupid

That's why they are called TECHS. Get paid for being a TECH.

I bet the parking brake worked, though.

What year is the van?

@@mattbartolovich8228 2015

@@joncooper9966 thank you

Enjoy your going to learn a lot

And then there is all these freeway crashes in snowy weather that never existed 50 years ago. Lack of driver training and mostly due to all these safety systems that conflict with each other and keep cars from being properly driven in inclement weather.

@@jayjaynella4539 I agree ,What ever happened to SNOW tires?? All weather ties,My big 'ol butt !!!

I work at a tire warehouse in Missouri and 2 weeks ago we got our first snow storm and everyone was flat panic buying tires. But sadly they was buying just highway treads. No snow tires. It was just sad. Sorry but in 5-8 inches of snow them highway treads aren't getting your Hyundai or Ford focus around in the snow. If anything itll get you farther in the ditch

In the north they brine the roads as a pre treat then blast them with salt when the snow starts.

@@halbud The new Michelin CrossClimate2's are all-weather tires that have the 3PMSF, so they can handle light to moderate snow conditions, though dedicated snow tires would be better obviously. Most all-seasons or weathers probably don't perform as well as the Michelins though!

Eric failed to consult the shop manual to find out the correct number of Potzrebie-Fahrshimmilts to tighten the fastener to.

Kamala, that you?

GOOD ONE! And extremely accurate. And to think, the Dodge Brothers made parts for Henry Ford way back when. Now it's owned by FIAT ( FIX IT AGAIN, TONY!)

Where is the government with their regulation that requires brake lines and all related parts to be stainless steel?

Anybody wonder why Mopar makes the best rust penetrant? I bet I know!