Five problems related to manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe have been reported for the 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The contact owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. While driving at 60 mph, the vehicle's muffler became louder and the engine stalled. The vehicle could not restart. The contact stated that the vehicle had an abnormal fuel odor prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the muffler, fuel tank, and wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 156,563.
The contact's client owns a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. After installing a new transmission and driving the vehicle, the contact's client noticed an excessive amount of fuel loss. The following day it was determined that the seam of the muffler had rotted away and was blowing hot air directly onto the plastic gas tank. The current and failure mileages were 129,580.
Exhaust became loud and you can smell it coming through to cabin. I was told it was a crack in the exhaust manifold crossover pipe. Doing research on the web, there have been several other people who had the same problem citing that they were told by dealers it was a bad design. The repair costs in excess of $900 and there is a chance if not repair for carbon monoxide to leak into cabin.
The cross over manifold was recalled. However, the dealer stated the part was on national back order consumer was waiting for eight months. As a result, fumes seeped through the passenger compartment, and the vehicle was unable to pass emissions inspection.
Consumer has notice bolt on the intake manifold separated from the vehicle causing anti freeze to leak onto the engine. Nlm.