Quick fixes, troubleshooting, and common repairs
Check These First - car parts and more
- Automatic transmissions - prevent and solve problems
- Resources for owners
- Car parts sources
- Getting and decoding computer codes
- Dispute resolution
- Solving problems with dealers
- Scheduled maintenance and dealer scams
- Chrysler FAQ
- Information on the nearly-universal, long-term emissions warranty
- The stalling and non-starting page
- Technical help bulletin board
Chrysler transmissions
- Prevent or repair four-speed automatic transmission problems cheaply
- Change your transmission fluid yourself
- An inexpensive torque converter lockup modification to prevent shudder and breakdowns
- Installing a transmission fluid cooler to prevent problems
- Clutch replacement - step by step replacement (Neon shown)
- 5-speed manual transmission (cars)
- Some 3-speed FWD automatic transmissions
- Manual transmission shifter cables (rear and front wheel drive)
- Shift kits and manual valve bodies
- Lubricants for New Venture truck transmissions
Engine, fuel, and driveability for Dodge, Jeep, and other Chrysler cars, trucks, and minivans
General Troubleshooting:
- Troubleshooting fuel injected cars (all cars made in the 1990s and later; includes notes on sensors)
- Cars with electronically controlled carburetors
- Check Engine light goes on just after visiting the gas station: the cap may be loose.
- Overheating
Stalling, Starting, and Idling
- EGR system replacement on a budget
- Idling and driveability issues (also see troubleshooting fuel injected cars)
- Stalling (also see Stalling on stopping (EEK)) and idling and troubleshooting)
- What to do when your car won't start
- Cleaning the throttle body - most engines (covered in detail)
- 3.5 liter V6 - rough idle and skipping (usually after 50-75,000 miles)
- How to diagnose leaking fuel injectors
- EGR valve replacement
- Replacing the fuel pump (general) | (Cherokee)
Oil, Filters, and Oil Leaks
- Fix oil leaks of the 3.0 V6 - cheap! (see also this link)
- Other possible oil leaks from the 3.0 V6 - repair guide with photos
- Oil filters for 2.2/2.5 engines (EEK!)
- Synthetic oil and oil change intervals (EEK!)
- 2.2 / 2.5 liter engine oil leaks
- Building a PCV oil canister to prevent PCV system oil leakage
- Replacing oil gallery plugs
- Spark plug tube seal replacement
- Oil pressure sending unit (oil light) repair (minivan but many cars are very similar)
Repairs to specific engines
- 2.2 and 2.5 liter four-cylinders
- Replacing head gaskets (EEK!)
- Engine mounts | transmission mounts (EEK!)
- Rebuilding a 2.2 turbo engine with extra power
- Replacing timing belts
- Chattering noises / piston slap
- Oil filters (EEK!)
- Miscellaneous repairs and advice
- Setting cam timing
- Bleeding (purging) the Chrysler 2.2/2.5 liter cooling system - essential
- Sticking throttle: check/clean the idle air control valve in the throttle body
- Turbocharger issues
- 2.6 liter four-cylinder - made by Mitsubishi, used by Chrysler
- 3.0 liter V6 engines - made by Mitsubishi, used by Chrysler.
- 3.3 / 3.5 / 3.8 engine repair tips
- Slant Six engines
- Vintage engines: see below
Vintage cars
- Vintage car troubleshooting and common repairs: stalling, non-starting, belt noises, loss of power, wipers, speedometer, idle quality and speed, seat belts, front end height, pinging, and more
- Electronic ignition system replacement — inexpensive, complete replacements for 1970s-1980s cars and trucks; and upgrades for cars and trucks that originally had points
- Electrickery, part I: alternators and voltage regulators
- Electrickery, part II: gauges and the instrument panel
- EGR system replacement on a budget
- LED replacement bulbs tested/reviewed
- Tuning carburetors
- Starters
- Converting to disc brakes; disc brake repairs
- Upgrading seat belts on vintage cars (Valiant.org)
- Adding seat belts:
- Starters, slant six and V-8s
- Imperial Club’s transcriptions of Master Technicians Service Conference books, 1947-1973, for all Chrysler Corporation brands - extremely helpful! This includes no less than sixty movies.
Other
- Skipping and backfiring (2.2 and 3.3)
- Fuel injector diagnosis and replacement. (EEK!)
- Fuel pump diagnosis and replacement.
- Power steering pump replacement (Neon)
- Transmission slippage and speedometer failure (EEK!)
- Replacing stuck oxygen sensors (EEK!)
- Low gas mileage and low power
- Spark plug choices
- Sealing small engine cracks
- Checking optical distributors
- Turbo boost spiking and boost creep
- Neon head gasket replacement
- Starting a car that's been sitting for a long time (taking a car out of storage)
Chrysler Brakes
- Step-by-step guide to replacing disk brake pads, with pictures, by Roger Lister
- Step-by-step guide to fixing drum brakes / replacing shoes , with pictures, by John T. Blair
- Fixing brakes
- Antilock brakes - a general guide
- Brake noises and what they mean
- Brake upgrades to heavy duty (FWD) (EEK!)
- Brake rotor problems
- Vintage: Restoring and tweaking 4-piston disc brakes (1965-1970s)
Body (Dodge, Plymouth, Eagle, Jeep, Chrysler, AMC, etc)
Suspension
- Roger Lister's guide to replacing ball joints (step by step, with photos) - EEK
- Do-it-yourself alignment
- Sway bar upgrades for better handling
- Coil spring clamps for lower height and better handling
- Repair for loud rattle from rear shock absorbers
- Which shocks and struts to use?
- Load levelling suspensions (air shocks): replace them | fix them
- Minivan bushing replacement
- Suspension tightening through bushing replacement (with photos)
- Tony Lewis' guide to fixing steering (step by step, with photos) - LH series
- Loose tilt wheel (works on many cars but take precautions to avoid setting off the airbag): Pull the wheel, the turn signal switch and the lock ring. Tighten the three, somewhat-hidden Torx bolts inside the wheel, below the lock ring. (Bob O’Neill).
- WARNING: Nearly all Chrysler and Dodge 2004-05 vehicles can be severely damaged if the wrong power steering fluid is used. Fluids or supplements containing Teflon have a special danger of clogging or restricting the mesh filter in the pump reservoir, which can actually result in the loss of the steering rack (thanks, Richard Benner. Based on a Service Slants article.)
Other (except electrical - see below)
- Interior restoration / trim repairs / carpet cleaning / plastic touchup
- Paint issues
- Repairing a sagging headliner (EEK!)
- Minivan (and probably other vehicles) window repairs
- Repairing holes or heavy rust in the floor (also see: rusty floor repair for more minor work)
- Fixing squeaky doors
- Replacing the airbag clockspring
- If you need frame or body specs for major repairs, try autorust.com! (thanks, Juliana Licher)
- Replacing the Hub and Bearing on an LH car (Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, Chrysler Concorde, etc.)
Electrical
- Making cloudy, dim, yellow headlights like new
- Stereo speaker repair and a guide to Chrysler/Infinity systems
- Pre-1980:
- Upgrading alternators on older Mopars
- Fighting wiring harness corrosion and upgrading alternators and generators (through 1980s)
- Fixing and getting more accurate and reliable gauges
- Electrical diagrams (1969, 1970s, 1980)
- Replacing points with electronic ignition (good!)
- Replacing and gapping points
- Adding a new stereo to an old car
- Electronic ignition system replacement — inexpensive, complete replacements for 1970s-1980s cars.
- A relatively cheap instrument panel/gauge cluster repair
- How to check battery codes
- A guide to 2.2 and 2.5 liter engine alternators (EEK) (also see our guide to alternators and generators)
- Headlight repairs (EEK)
- Aries and Reliant A/C Panel Lamp Replacement
- Antitheft systems
- Stereo fixes, tips, and tweaks (e.g. to read CD-Rs)
- Radio repairs (external link)
- Instrument cluster failure: Joseph Kan wrote, "After checking fuses, I removed the IOD fuse from the fuse box under the hood (to remove power from the components that stay on when the key is removed, and to reset these components). I waited twenty minutes and replaced the fuse. When I tried the ignition, everything worked!" (At a $500 savings over the dealer estimate) - confirmed by Fritz and Laurelyn Schrom (also saving $500) and by Gary A.
Jeremy Zumwalt noted a fix for breaking C/V joints (2.2/2.5 liter): changing the motor mounts. The motor mounts on the 2.2/2.5 liter engines are often a weak spot.
Heating and A/C
- Air conditioners
- Troubleshooting
- Fixing air conditioner clutches yourself - an illustrated guide! (requires Acrobat Reader)
- Fix that air conditioning smell!
- Air conditioning repairs and upgrades from older systems
- Chrysler has a secret warranty of 7 years on some A/C evaporators. See lemonaidcars.com for details.
- Heat
- Fixing heat issues - includes proper radiator flushing method
- Bleeding (purging) the Chrysler 2.2/2.5 liter cooling system - essential
- Overheating
- Replacing heater cores, fixing vents, and other info (1960s A-bodies but may apply to others; link to Valiant.org)
- Radiator hose and radiator replacement (Neon)
EEK! denotes a page from the Everyday Extended K-Car Mailing List archives, which are maintained on this site.
Other resources, car parts, and repairs
- More vintage car repair tips — also see the valiant.org repairs site
- Some Allpar pages include repairs for specific vehicles. Performance modifications are listed separately, but and can be mentioned in the engines pages.
- Minivan repairs
- Neon repairs
- PT Cruiser repairs
- Secret warranties (a tad out of date)
- Provide feedback on dealers or repair shops.
- Fixing the GE WBVH6240 front-loading washing machine
Note: To remove rusty or stubborn screws, try Kroil as a penetrant, or B’Laster; Liquid Wrench is “okay.” Dan Stern sometimes uses Diet Coke; the phosphoric acid eats away corrosion and rust, there is no sugar to act as a glue.) Stephen Thurber wrote: “First apply a penetrant and give it a couple of hours. Then get a reverse (left hand) bit about 1/2 the diameter of the screws. Use a drill running reverse. The bit will dig in and catch the screw and back it out.”
