2000 Dodge Grand Caravan

First off, let me tell you a little about myself and how I have come to this type of review.
I am a 40 year old state of Michigan mechanic, certified in steering and suspension systems. I am considered an expert in the field of undercar diagnoses and repair, having rebuilt and aligned literally thousands of steering and suspension systems, ranging from vehicles as small as a Mazda Miata up to 1 ton truck chassis, and am involved in a continually ongoing cycle of training as new technology demands.

I have read many reviews on automobiles from aesthetic, interior, power, warranty, options, etc... points of view. I believe an important, but always neglected area, though is from an undercar point of view, and let me tell you, most people are missing a very important part of researching a prospective major purchase by not being well enough informed about the running gear.

There are some very well engineered and built suspensions out there, but all the same some very weak and suspect ones in my opinion, and my purpose is to help you make a more informed decision. If a decision is being made between one of a few different vehicles, I hope to help you decide based on my experience, which one will be better for you from the standpoint of strength of, and reliability of, one of the most important parts of the vehicle as a whole, the steering and suspension system.

The re-designed Caravan/Voyager chassis is quite a bit better than its predecessors. The cradle underneath where all of the front suspension is bolted is made of a far stronger construction and is much more solidly anchored to the body/subframe. Just the looks of it from underneath tells me the engineers took their time on this one. Another thing I like is the fact that the axle shafts are roughly equal in length, unlike the older models which had one very short side and a very long side, which meant at regular intervals you were replacing right side axles due to the dreaded wobble. With this design I have yet to replace either axle on a 1996 and newer van.

Chrysler corp. also must have addresses the issue of building a better strut mounting system because I have not seen any yet that needed the upper strut mounts replaced because of clunking over bumps like the 1995 and older models.

The ball joints are factory greasable and hold up very well because I have not replaced any of them yet either and I've seen a few with over 150,000 miles on them, but the outer tie rods and anti sway bar links and bushings are another story. In as little as 40,000 miles I have seen with relative consistancy the need to replace outer tie rods as well as the sway bar links and bushings because the links and bushings will start to clunk from wear-out. These are relatively inexpensive repairs and can be done in a couple of hour by a competent mechanic.

So if you are considering a new Caravan/ Voyager it is miles better than its predecessors underneath and much more reliable. Plan on replacing the non-greasable outer tie rods at 40 to 60 thousand miles, and the sway bar bushings/ links around the same time. But considering the amount of money the older models required to maintain, it's no biggie.