Engine Noise my dad has a 2002 grand caravan and it has under 130,000kms and it ran great until just recently there is noise comng from the engine when he drves around and when he took it to Dodge they said he needs a new engine which will cost about $3000 - $4000 + labour. I heard that some mechanic places will tell you a whole bunch of things are wrong but really arent. Does anyone know what the problem could be? engine or transmission or both

Without actually hearing the noise, it is hard to help. You can try starting the engine and disconnecting one plug wire at a time to see if the noise diminishes when the plug wire is disconnected and this will help isolate the cylinder causing the noise and then diagnose from there.

if its a ticking noise then its probably a lifter noise from age and mileage or none scheduled maintenance. on your next oil change you can try running an oil system cleaner through your engine but this is not something to be overly concerned about.

Those lifters should be hydraulic self adjusting lifters. Have some one locate the exact location of the noise and go from there.

First thing I would check is the oil level. Sounds like a upper engine (valvetrain) problem. If oil level is ok then you will need to pull valve cover to inspect for proper upper oiling.

MOST LIKELY HAS A PLUGGED TRANSMISSION FILTER.
TORQUE CONVERTOR CLUTCH FAILURE COMMON.
CHANGE TRANSMISSION FILTER AND ROAD TEST.
IF NOISE IS GONE AND RUNS NORMALLY, CHANGE TORQUE CONVERTOR AND RESEAL TRANSMISSION.

Check the TIPS section for complete repair instructions. This has the 3.3 or 3.8 engine I figure

check the motor motor mounts for movement,
watch how far engine rocks forward or back with it running and foot on brake

check your belt tensioner ,or loose belt,good luck,drive safe pls dont forget to rate me,thanks.

Have your egr valvle checked, if not operating properly it can cause engine 'pinging' which sounds like what u are describing. Let me know how it goes. countrycurt0

Turns out it was the water pump. The plastic impeller on the inside had broken in half- split almost right down the middle. there was just enough of the impeller remaining to attach to the shaft and pump water. Apparently, it was pumping enough to keep the temp under control. So, I never noticed it overheating. The piece that had broken off had gotten lodged in a recessed area inside the pump housing. The ticking noise was being generated as the intact half of the impeller rotated and hit the broken off half.

I narrowed down the problem by removing the belt and cranking the engine temporarily. With the belt off and the pump not turning, the sound was gone. I could spin the pump pulley by hand and faintly hear the noise.

A new pump cost me $35 and took about two and a half hours to replace.