The hood liner retainer clips are usually too narrow in diameter for older hood liners and can be modified in diameter by adding a few rows of electrical tape to the outside diameter of the head of the plastic retainer clip and by using some aluminum foil or a piece cut from an aluminum pie pan that has a narrow cut for a notch in the center. The section from the aluminum pie pan has the cut notch to slide over and across the pin tail and behind the head on the retainer clip that is mounted on the hood. The aluminum can be pressed around the head of the retainer clip to add 1, 2, 3, etc., more inches to the diameter of the head of the plastic retainer clip before completely covering the aluminum with lots of black electrical tape for insulation on the aluminum under the hood liner and above the engine compartment. The wider head on the retainer clip will hold a slightly torn hole in the hood liner behind the wider head on the plastic retainer clip. Just wanted to share an idea with everybody. The heads of the retainer clips should come in a variety of diameters to reduce the amount of weight that is on that small part of plastic on the head of a retainer clip because a hood liner will slowly deteriorate - break apart.
And, my 2004 Chrysler Town and Country is screeching with a sound from the front that went away after there was a backfire - pop sound, but then the sound came back later - after a stop and then trying to accelerate and while making a turn. The sound is only slightly partially intermittent. And, the vehicle is now only being driven to diagnose the problem - find the source of the problem. The power steering system is part of the problem but is improving after adding some seal restorer from Lucas Oil to the power steering fluid. I am lubricating anything rusty, etc. The screech, whining sound happens when the engine starts but is not the fuel pump. The whine gets louder with acceleration - getting more gas - but does not change if the steering wheel is not moved for turning. The turns from the steering wheel have been causing a whine, but there could be more than one problem - problem could be a CV joint without enough grease (constant velocity joint), some metal rubbing on metal or rubber under the vehicle, or a problem from the front axle, which is dangerous. The problem has been occasionally intermittent - after the backfire, the noise was gone. After a huge bounce on a street, the noise was gone. Something could be dragging or hanging? The fuel injectors could be starting to fail? And, I am still searching for the port on the valve cover for the PCV valve on the Town and Country Limited model (3.8 etc. engine) and for a way to disable the Illuminated Entry feature - interior lights come on when a door is opened - , but there is not a push button or anything on the door that I can find to block or to at least to add an on/off switch to the Illuminated Entry System. I prefer to have interior lights off when I open the door but also did not want to remove all of the interior light bulbs for the Illuminated Entry System.
And, after the backfire, the vehicle did have to be held in place with the brake after shifting into the drive gear, but when there is the whining noise, the vehicle will not move forward or in reverse without pressing the gas pedal to force the vehicle to move forward or backward. There could be a vacuum problem - air to fuel ratio, etc., but with a press on the gas pedal, the vehicle will move. However, uphill is a challenge, which could indicate the usual problem from the fuel injectors. I now avoid inclines. And, the older year of the vehicle has cause a shortage of information about the problems.
Thank you so very much for your advice, Scotty Kilmer.
I don't know but with that whining noise I would assume the transmission is starting to fail
I cannot identify all the parts on the 2004 Town and Country. I am going to buy more repair manuals for this vehicle. I did carefully add air to all of the tires in case the Tire Pressure Monitoring System was having a glitch. The differential for the transmission for this vehicle is actually included with the transmission fluid for the transmission. And, I will add some rejuvenating fluids from Lucas Oil to the transmission with the fluid change. And, there are two valve-like covers under the hood - one cover over the three front spark plugs and one larger cover that is behind the first one, which should be the valve cover for the PCV valve. I am going to check the balljoints, tie-rod ends, etc., for completely bald and grinding contact surfaces, which could cause a noise but actually only when moving those parts. The noise has only occasionally been intermittent and was probably not helped by the thermostat, which I am going to replace today. The upper radiator does not get hot and the heater takes 20 minutes for almost warm air from the front vents. There is an actuator for in-cabin choice for re-circulating the air. With some new spark plugs, PCV valve, etc., the vehicle may idle better, but the transmission is a different kind of problem. I will run some transmission tests/checks for operating efficiency.
The whining sound could be anything. I am going to go through a checklist of problems, which should cause that problem to be the final and only problem on the list. And, heat could be a factor because water would evaporate from a trouble spot - rust, corrosion, water in hydraulic fluid, etc.
And, one more TIP, please:
When removing a hood liner, which cannot be subjected to a huge weight load, build a mountain to support the head liner. Disconnect the battery. Protect the battery posts from contact. Put a big piece of cardboard on top of the engine. Then, stack plastic trash bags full of stuffed blankets, or crumpled newspaper, etc., to build a lightweight mountain for catching the hood liner. The bags should almost touch the hood liner. Then, by using a tool for snapping out the retainer clips, slowly put each section of the hood liner on top of the stack of bags to prevent tearing the hood liner. Then finally, grasp the cardboad, lift the stack of bags with the hood liner on top and move the hood liner aside during a repair. Then later, just put the stack of bags and hood liner back on top of the engine to carefully re-install the hood liner. Some retainer clips with heads that have a wider diameter can more securely hold a delicate hood liner in place.
I do like the videos. From a different person, I learned how to replace a tire pressure sensor on the wheel without having the tire and wheel to be spin-balanced again by marking the position of the tire and by using a SMART too to calibrate the tire pressure sensor. The video mentioned a 25% variety in pressure for setting off the sensor - 27 to 45 pounds for a 36 pressure pound setting - and that the tire sensor batteries will fail approximately every five to seven years. I replace parts before the anticipated service life of a part.
And, the screws for the headlight assemblies (headlight housing) must be lubricated to prevent rust that prevents the screws from moving out of the metal threads on the headlight clips. I used some penetrating oil to remove the rust because the screws could not be turned, then coated the screws, etc., with some petroleum jelly to stop the problem. And, I used some RTV sealant to seal the edges of the headlight assembly - seal between the clear lens and the black plastic back. The headlight assemblies are mounted strangely on the vehicle in a way that can cause cracks and vibrations to shake a glued seal apart. Then, water vapor inside the headlight assembly (headlight housing) was not a problem. The water can conduct electricity and is not an insulator for blocking a problem in a short in an electrical circuit.
Thank you for your advice.
The whining sound actually increases in volume when the accelerator is pushed for more gas when the vehicle is parked and does come from the bottom of the front of the vehicle. The sound is louder on the driver's side but can be also heard from the passenger side.
And, the vehicle is not like an SUV, which can easily accelerate uphill, but is listed as a van, which should probably be driven like a cargo truck - 2004 Chrysler Town and Country, shift into 3rd gear on extreme inclines. The fuel injectors are not difficult to remove and would probably cost $400 to $500 for all 6 fuel injectors. In contrast, a fuel pump problem is usually intermittent or has a sudden absolute failure.
The noise is only being triggered by using the accelerator for more gas or even when the engine idling. The noise is from the bottom, but a clogged vacuum line could cause a problem. The noise is loudest on the front driver side and comes from the passenger side and somewhat from the passenger side exhaust rear.
And, the fuel pumps are notorious for a whining sound.
The power steering system could have simply been a separate problem.
I am using fuel injector cleaner and will clean the fuel throttle area. Thank you for your advice.
PLEASE DELETE THIS ENTIRE POST SO THE INFORMATION CAN BE BETTER ORGANIZED. THANK YOU.
Can this entire post for this topic be deleted, please, because the information is jumbled together? I want to organize the information into a better format and will read about how to use a pressure gauge to identify a problem from a fuel pump or from the fuel injectors because one of those is probably the cause of the problem. I have read the forum rules and could post a link to pictures or to a video with the whining sound, but the after a fast idle with more gas, the whining sound had stopped on the next start of the engine, which could be caused by a sticky throttle, etc., but then the whining sound returned on the next start of the engine. Thank you for the advice.