HELLO, MY NAME IS ANTHONY GARCIA I AM WRITTING TO YOU WITH A QUESTION. MY MOTHER HAS A 1992 DODGE VAN AND IT HAS BEEN GIVING HER PROBLEMS. FOR EXAMPLE, ONE ISSUE IS THAT WHEN EVER BRAKING THE VAN TENDS TO SHAKE AND TREMBLE. ALSO THE CAR FEELS AS IF IT SGOING TO OVERHEAT, BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURE GAGE STARTS TO MOVE TOWARDS THE HIGH TEMPERATURE SIDE. I ALSO WANT TO KNOW IF IT SOMETHING EXPESIVE TO GET FIXED? I WOULD LIKE TO GET MY MOTHERS CAR FIXED BECAUSE IT IS HER ON TRANSPORTAION METHOD.
The shaking and trembling when braking might be warped brake rotors. It could also be a bunch of other things.
The overheating may be caused by a number of things:
1)Plugged radiator
2)Malfunctioning cooling fan(s)
3)Worn or damaged water pump
4)Coolant leak, and/or low coolant
5)Faulty thermostat.
6)Loose drive belts (if the water pump is drive belt driven)
7)Bent or covered radiator fins - check for bugs and debris
I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have your mom take her van to a decent independant mechanic (look under the Mechanix section of the cartalk website for good ones in your area,) have her tell the mechanic the symptoms, and let them figure it out.