Vent/Pixie Dust Request for my car

[Dakota Rose]

So I drive a 2005 Pacifica AWD. It's been making horrible clunking noises and shuddering when I make turns, the tighter the turn the worse the noise. The noise got worse and worse.We took it in a month ago to have it diagnosed at our local mechanic. So he said it needs a new transfer unit. $2000.

He replaced the unit 2 weeks ago. And within 24 hours it was making the same noise again. :fit: We took it back to him last week and he says, "not the same noise, now it's the rear end." :nono: Of course this brings on a huge fight btw me and DH b/c he hasn't heard the same noise as before but it's my car; I drive it all the time, I heard the noise. DH then drove the car and said, "Yep, same noise." :mad:

So tomorrow it goes back to the mechanic who is going to take it to the Chrysler dealership to see if they can figure it out. :confused:

I've been reading TSBs until my eyes cross :crazy: And I think he replaced the wrong part. I think it should have only cost us $500 and something in the front end should have been replaced. I told DH this and he's not agreeing nor disagreeing with me which makes me think I might be on to something.

Sorry I just needed to vent. :rant: It's been a major source of stress around here.

I'm hoping I'm right :fingers: and that we get a refund.

So if you have any spare pixie dust :magic: send it our way tomorrow. And if you have any advice, I'm all ears.

DH says we probably shouldn't have named it "The Black Pearl." Oh well.

[Itchy]

From what you described I would think that it would be one or both of the CV joints which connect the transmission upfront to the front wheels. When they go bad they will make a clunking sound that you hear.

I am not a mechanic but I have had AWD and 4 wheel drive vehicles and a transfer case should not make a clunking sound when you turn and it is not connected to the drive wheels directly.
It transfers the power from the engine to the rear wheels when the AWD or 4 WD is needed.

It is going to be a tough sell to get a refund without the old part to prove that it may have been good. Most of those parts have core or part deposit on them and when the old part is turned in they are sent to be rebuilt and resold.

Good luck. Hope this helps:mickey:

[Dakota Rose]

Thanks Itchy. :)

[Dakota Rose]

Now I'm mad as you know where :thedolls:

DH just called. Mechanic says dealer said it's the rear-end. $625

DH asked mechanic why transfer unit was replaced if it didn't fix the problem. Mechanic says "I don't know." :rant: Mechanic said it fixed the problem for a little while. DH said, "We went 60 miles before the noise returned." Part/labor has 12 month warranty.

Mechanic does still have old unit.

We are picking up the car tonight and DH will again talk to mechanic. He replaced a part that didn't fix the problem. Mechanic says he's trying to figure out what to do. :rant:

From my perspective, it's pretty simple:
-original problem still exists, may even be worse
-dealer says it's a problem with a different part
-replaced part didn't fix problem


The perplexing thing is how could it be rear-end related if it's coming from the front? It doesn't occur in reverse.

Thank you for letting me :rant: I'd call my dad but that would just make it worse for DH. So I turn to my Disney family....

[DizNee143]

ugh..im sooo sorry you have to deal with this!!!
i hate dealing with mechanics/dealer service..they try to rip you off any way they can..
i hope your mechanic comes up with a really good solution..since what he did was totally unnessacary!!! (sp?)
goodluck..
and keep us updated!!
i know i would give them heck!!!!!! lol

[TheVBs]

Lots of :pixie: and car repair refund wishes heading your way! I would be furious too. What that mechanic should do is give you a full refund.

[Dakota Rose]

DH talked to mechanic again last night. Mechanic is offering to replace the "new" bad part for no charge.

The "new" bad part isn't really the rear end but instead a viscous coupler which I guess is part of the transfer case which we originally had replaced.

DH talked to the Chrysler dealer this morning and they were confident that replacing this coupler thingie would fix it. They also said it's hard to know if the transfer case needed replacement unless the mechanic put the old one back in. Well, he's not likely to do that as it was 7 hours of labor to replace it.

So DH has one more call in to a mechanic friend out of state to see what his thoughts are.

If there are any mechanics out there reading this, I"d love to know what your thoughts are about replacing a viscous coupler to fix the binding, popping, clunking sound coming from the front end?

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

I'm sorry you have to go through all this. If you were closer I'd send you to my friend/mechanic. He's ASA certified or something like that. And he's HONEST! We've been friends for very many years and when he opened his own place I became his customer.

[thepoats]

A 2005 Chrysler product should have had either a 5 year/100,000 mile or lifetime drivetrain warranty. Did you try to get it repaired under warranty?

[Dakota Rose]

Ours evidently had neither. We bought it used in 2007.

The Black Pearl goes back to the mechanic tomorrow, hopefully for the last time. We're having the $625 viscous coupler replaced. The mechanic, after talking to my DH, offered to replace this "new" bad part free of charge. Hopefully that will fix it once and for all.

Here's to hoping. :fingers:

[garymacd]

DH says we probably shouldn't have named it "The Black Pearl." Oh well.

Sorry, no advice for you. But I do know what you are going through. See my Trip Report to OKW.

At least we had the good sense to call the car "Christine"! Thankfully, no one got eaten.

:magic::pixie: