[tin23uk]

lol i have a 2000 dodge grand caravan parked in my garage at the moment, transmission has gotten real bad in the last few months to the point where it is now practically undriveable. i imagine it will only be around a year or two before the tranny in my durango starts to slip too, but if it last me two years ill be happy, pleanty of time to save up the pennys for a new one.

as for the core i believe its just blocked, no leakage or smell of coolant, water temp is right where it should be but ill prolly chang the thermostat while im at it, if it does end up needing a new core i will have a nice little weekend project, yes the entire dash has to come out but it beats paying around $800 to have someone else do it for me.

[Parm]

congrats on your new purchase. may i ask what was the reason of buying this particular durango model?

for me your money could have been well spent on other better brands of SUVs as durangos dont have a good reputation!

[randeep04]

Hey,

Congrats on the new purchase.
Do post some off roading pics too once you have taken it around.

Cheers !!!!!!

[tin23uk]

Originally Posted by Parm

congrats on your new purchase. may i ask what was the reason of buying this particular durango model?

for me your money could have been well spent on other better brands of SUVs as durangos dont have a good reputation!

the actual reason behind my choice of car wasnt really that i was in the market for a 4x4, but more that i needed something. as i mentioned in my last post my grand caravans transmission had been getting really bad and i needed a vehicle, any vehicle but preferably something i could fit my wife and 4 kids in at the same time.

we hit the car lot where we buy most of our vehicles, not the best vehicles in the world there but cheap and good runners, i was looking to spend around $3,000 and expected top come out of there with a car rather than something i could fit all the kids in. but when i saw the durango i fell in love with it, even knowing my better judgement was telling me to stay away from old dodges with high mileage i couldnt resist, he was asking $5000 for it but i managed to talk him down to $4,000, flashing $3,000 in his face and telling him i would write a check for the other $1,000 kinda helped.

the only other thing they really had at the car lot that i remotely liked was a ford focus estate and a chevy blazer but he wouldnt go below $3000 on the blazer and it looked like crap inside and out. so the descision was between the focus or the durango and he wanted the same ammount for both, so i thought well look how much metal i would get for $4,000 in the durango compaired to the focus and all the kids would safely fit in the durango.

usually when i tranny craps out on me i would just treat the vehicle like a disposable and move onto the next but i think with the durango ill end up having another put in. anyone have any tips for me that will help keep the tranny healthy and maybe last longer? other than a fluid and filter change.

[DirtyDan]

Originally Posted by tin23uk

....usually when i tranny craps out on me i would just treat the vehicle like a disposable and move onto the next but i think with the durango ill end up having another put in. anyone have any tips for me that will help keep the tranny healthy and maybe last longer? other than a fluid and filter change.

Not really. You know something about cars, sound like. If you ever have to get into the tranny you might try to research and see if there are upgrades Chrysler/Dodge added or after market stuff aimed at making it more robust. I'll bet there are. The engine is bullet proof if it has been taken care of.

Ah! One thing, look at the rear bumper and frame. If there is a hitch or holes where there was one, the vehicle was used for towing. Or, if there is a OEM hitch look and see if there is any wear indicating use. Vehicles used for towing (boats, cars on trailers etc.) will tend to have a lot more hard miles on them. Americans used to do this a lot before Mr. Bush's involvement in Iraq. If so, I would reduce considerably my expectations that this vehicle will last, especially the tranny.

[tin23uk]

its got a hitch on it but it looks clean as a whistle, no scratches or damage on it so i dont think its been used much for towing if at all.

i did look through alot of durango/dakota owners forums and couldnt find many people having transmission problems that couldnt be rapaired relatively easily or cheaply (without a replacing them) so maybe ill be okay, i know dodges are renowned for bad trannys but maybe they got one right lol, the heater cores on the other hand are well known to be a pain in the butt in durangos.