Noise after spark plug cable replaced/ shaking at high speed

Tiny
MUMMYBEE
  • MEMBER
  • DODGE CARAVAN
I have a 2002 Dodge Caravan SE with 66,650 miles on it. A few weeks ago I had it at the dealership for misfiring/power loss issues. They said it had a bad spark plug wire and replaced the cable, and that took care of that. The problem is that right after that, within a few days, it suddenly started to make a loud jingling noise that it never made before. At first I thought it was the air conditioning. I noticed that it only makes the sound when it's in gear; when it's in park, the noise goes away. This has coincided with another new development: the steering wheel begins to shake at high speeds, usually as soon as I hit 65. When I go faster than that (just checking it out, you know :lol: ) the car starts to feel like the wind is blowing it off the road, even though there is absolutely no wind! It scared me, I thought I'd lose control of the vehicle. This never happened before, and goes away when I drop down in speed to the low 60s/high 50s. A friend with a similar aged Town & Country had similar symptoms that ended up being a problem with the axel :shock:. Another friend who is pretty car savvy heard the noise and said it sounded like my water pump is going bad, but I don't have any leaks at all. My questions are: A. What is that noise, is it a water pump or something else? B. Is the noise related to the shaking and control issues? C. Would it be the water pump if the noise goes away when it's in park? D. Could the new noise be related to the recent repair---like if something got knocked loose? Sorry.I'm not as engine savvy as I'd like to be.

Thanks in advance for any help at all. :)
Thursday, August 17th, 2006 AT 8:24 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
GREGIND
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
I would have the tire balance and axles checked imediatly! Normally the steering wheel shake could be a tire out of balence but you say you hear rattling when driving and that scares me a little as for problems with the engine I don't know steering and control is not part of the engine it is the transmission and drive train and I would defienatly have thos checked soon. You should not have rattling when you drive and it definatly shouldn't be associated with steering and/or control problems!

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
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Monday, August 21st, 2006 AT 12:05 PM
Tiny
MUMMYBEE
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  • 2 POSTS
Hey, thanks for the great suggestions! Will do! I appreciate the feedback. :)
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Monday, August 21st, 2006 AT 12:13 PM

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