1996 Chrysler Town and Country nivomat suspension

Tiny
JAKEJR15
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 CHRYSLER TOWN AND COUNTRY
Suspension problem
1996 Chrysler Town and Country 6 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic

How do I determine if my 1996 Town & Country LXi has the nivomat suspension?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 AT 1:30 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
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Never heard of such a thing. What are you trying to determine?
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Sunday, November 29th, 2009 AT 2:44 AM
Tiny
JAKEJR15
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Nivomat is an auto leveling suspension. I believe it was designed by Sachs. It turns out my van does have the Nivomat rear shocks. It takes the price of rear shocks from $30 to $200. I wasn't expecting to pay more for the shocks than the struts!
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Monday, November 30th, 2009 AT 1:33 AM
Tiny
JAKEJR15
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Caradiodoc... You may be able to help me. The same minivan has a tempremental radio. It will play am, but only fm when it feels like it. The cd player also has no problem playing. It is quite odd to me that all works but the fm.... Which will work at times.
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Monday, November 30th, 2009 AT 1:37 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Interesting. I was the suspension and alignment tech at a Chrysler dealership until '99, and never heard of this system, but remember, I only dealt with factory original parts. The best I can tell you in that department is if you have an auto-leveling system, it will have small hard plastic air lines going to each rear shock. The original rear shock absorbers were some really huge units starting in '96.

I don't remember ever seeing air shocks from the factory, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist.

Caradiodoc
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Monday, November 30th, 2009 AT 1:48 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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I know you have a cd / cassette combo radio because I'm psychic! :)

Actually, the cd-only radio is built by Alpine and will develop intermittent am and fm at the same time. It's related to a power supply regulator issue that affects the entire radio.

The cd / cassette combo radio is built by Mitsubishi and is a very high quality unit. It can develop an intermittent problem in the fm tuner module. I have a bunch of new tuners, but I know how to repair them now instead of replacing them. The Alpine radios also develop intermittent display. All of these problems are related to automated manufacturing techniques, and once repaired, they're repaired for life.

In addition, when a dealer sends me a radio for repair, I also address sloppy operation of the volume control and improper operation of the front panel switches even if those things haven't acted up yet.

Woops, I just remembered, the Alpine cd radios CAN also develop just intermittent fm, but it's rather uncommon. So much for my psychic abilities! There are only a couple of model numbers that this pertains to.

Repairs are $75.00 including return shipping. If you'd like to ship it to me, there are a few simple, but important things to do to prevent damage during shipping. Holler back for more information.

Caradiodoc
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Monday, November 30th, 2009 AT 2:16 AM

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