Almost since Day One, Chrysler's offered its trademark minivan as a panel van; that means no rear seats or rear windows. This might seem pretty odd for a vehicle seemingly purpose-built to haul kids to judo practice, but there's a lesser-known side to the Caravan's personality. With their cavernous interiors, flat load floors and 1,500- to 1,800-pound load capacities, older mom-mobiles have proven every bit as versatile as work trucks as any basic Dakota or Ford F-150. Replacing the fan belt on a Caravan varies in difficulty from simple-as-they come to somewhat knuckle-busting, depending on your engine.
If you've got one of the largest two V-6 engines, as many Caravan owners do, then you're in luck: Chrysler's 3.3 and 3.8-liter engines used a single belt and a standard, spring-loaded belt tensioner. Standing on the passenger side of the engine bay, you can see the tensioner pulley near the rear of the engine, below the alternator. Slip a box-end wrench over the pulley's center nut, and pull it toward the front of the van to release tension. Pull the belt off, install the new one and save the alternator for last.
The 2.4-liter four-cylinder and 3.0-liter use two belts. These engines came in many fleet and lower-trim-level Dodges where either air conditioning or power steering were optional extras; as such, the 2.4-liter's power-steering pump belt is separate, and the 3.0-liter uses a separate AC compressor belt. These accessories, being essentially add-ons, are on the front of the engine and have to be removed before you can get to the primary belt behind them.
On the 2.4-liter, You'll need to loosen the pivot bolt on the power steering pump, then go under the van to turn the tensioning "jack bolt" counterclockwise to relieve pressure on the belt. With that off, do the same with the alternator's pivot bolt and jack bolt. The Idler pulley on the 3.0-liter's AC belt uses the same jack-bolt tensioning system; loosen the lock nut, and turn the bolt to relieve tension. The alternator belt on the 3.0-liter uses a standard spring tensioner, but you have to remove the splash shield in the right-front wheel-well to get to it.
Once you get the belts back on, tighten the jack bolts until the belts deflect no more than 3/8-inch at the longest span.
