We bought our family minivan, our first. A 1991 Plymouth Voyager Sportmens Edition. Silver with Burgundy interior.
About 6-months ago, the van began upshifting and downshifting. It uses a little oil, okay I figured, no problem. Checked the fluid levels again. Oil was low, transmission fluid was low, and the water was low. Added fluid. No problem. The upshifting got worse, then developed a high pitch squeal. The garage mechanic said: Water pump or alternator. Okay, 2 weeks, maybe tops...we can send it in. On the way into work, there was a loud clunk under the vehicle, the rpms went from 2500 to 200 in seconds. I shifted to neutral, the engine died. Wont restart.
I never owned a fuel injected vehicle, had no clue. I called the garages, mechanics were nice, Read a few books. Okay I got this. replaced the fuel filter, (found under the van 1- to 1-1/2 feet in under the body frame. Small canister, silver. MOunts one way only. 13mm main bolt to hold it to the frame. 7.5mm small bolts to remove the 2 small retaining clamp screws on the fuel line. Wiggled a few times, it cam off. Fuel came out from the line from the gas tank. But not to the engine. Replaced the fuel filter. Happy with myself. Turned the key nothing. Strong smell of gas now. Removed the coil wire, checked for a spark. Nothing. removed the coil took it to O'reilly's they checked the coil. One attendant, asked for the make of vehicle. I told him. He said, my van was the same type, it was notorius every 150 to 200k miles, the timing chain broke.
Remove the distributor cap, (use the smallest bit-anti-tamper proof torx bits) O'Reilly's carry these $13.95 at the time of this writing. (not incl tax).Have some turn the key over, see if the rotor turns, if it doesnt and the engine cranks, then it's your timing belt.
You need alot of patience, alot of time (approx. 4 to 6 hours ) to tackle this job. As everything has to be removed from the front of the engine, including: supporting the engine, from underneath, as you disconnect the right engine mount from the engine, and remove all the componets, in your way to get too the timing belt cover underneath. (O'REilly's timing belt for our van is $19.95 not incl tax). make sure you van your number one piston at Top Dead Center. Remove all the componets, then you can remove and replace everything else. AS needed. Later today I am calling a few garages, to see what the financial damage will be. Will post again, with the garage and the fees involved.