Actually, better be careful with 2004 and 2005 caravans with respect to the 3.8 timing chain and gears. There is a YouTube video by Mike Ruedinger titled Dodge Caravan Timing Chain Help. Not sure why he used chain in title because his video clearly defines this problem. Dodge changed kits half way through production and his engine wouldn't go over 2000 RPM. I think his video solved my problem.
I got a "good" engine where the previous owner had "sensor" problems. I didn't care because I found use my sensors and engine harness from my blown engine. After installation the engine wouldn't go over 2000 rpm. It ran good till then, but died until under 2000 again. It throws a P0016 code which shows crankshaft and camshaft sensors are out of sync. The engine appeared to have been worked on recently and that was encouraging.
After you search for and watch the video, you will see that the notches in the timing gear cause magnetic pulses through the camshaft sensor. Since the gear notches are wrong, at higher RPM the difference between the sensors is enough to cause the stall. I think this is my problem, especially since it looked like recent work done.
Usually the Vin number will tell you which kit to get. In my case, the gear may be wrong and I don't know the Vin of the donor van. So I will try to find some engine numbers or just buy the gear that doesn't look like mine! Wish me luck!
Sunday, June 26th, 2016 AT 8:21 PM
