I have heard that Chrysler A604 transmission is not good for lasting more than 100,000. What type of transmission is used on 1999 T&C? Is my van on the very high risk list?
What is the highest mileage posted for that year here? I am not towing anything heavy and I drive mostly city traffic not much of climbing up and down road condition. What life do I expect to see? Should I change transmission oil and filter more often than other brand/model? The manual says 15,000 for severe and normal at 30,000 interval. My situation falls into the severe condition "which is more than 50% operation in stop and go traffic where vehicle is driven regularly for more than 45 minutes of continuous operation".
The dealer says my trans oil changed at 30,000, 60,000 and now at 103,000 no
3rd oil change has been done! BTW, my T&C is a AWD model. Is it the same trans as regular 2wd? Or is it better or worse?
Let me explain a bit. The A604 and 41TE are the same transmission. But years separate them. The A604 was the original designation. Later it was renamed
41TE. However during the production lifespan of the transmission there have been dozens and dozens of improvements, and 2 major redesigns. (95 & earlier transmissions aren't interchangable with 96 and later) In addition, Chrysler has redesigned the transmission fluid used in this transmission several times.
The earlier the transmission the less mileage you could expect out of it. But even then there are people who have gotten 200,000+ miles out of an original transmission.
I own a 95 and a 94 T&C. Both bought used. The 95 was immaculately cared for and we got it at around 78,000 miles, it's transmission had been rebuilt at around 70K miles. The 94 I just bought several months ago with
140K miles on it and when I bought it the transmission was shot. (I knew that before I bought it) I did the R&R on the transmission myself and had the transmission rebuilt. From my research I found out the transmission in it wasn't original, and the rebuilder said that it had been rebuilt before. So, the
94 has had the original from factory transmission in it, replaced with probably a wrecking yard find, which was itself rebuilt once before, and the replacement had blown. You might think this is indicative of a problem transmission. However it is not. It is indicative of poor owner maintainence on the 94, and there's a lot of other stuff that was wrong to collaborate that.
The fundamental problem with this setup is that there simply is not a lot of room in a FWD vehicle to design a huge big beefy transmission. To compensate for this Chrysler uses a lot of hardened and specially treated parts in the transmission. That is fine for a sedan, but a minivan is heavier. Plus that, the original Chrysler minivan design dimensions haven't changed much from 20 years ago, yet the engine sizes have increased. The minivan of today has a 3.8L engine which is a huge engine compared with what normally shipped in these vans when they were first introduced. That
3.8L is also a torque monster and you could probably use it for pulling stumps all day long. But the transmission wouldn't tolerate it.
It is the same model but the AWD version of the transmission is modified to allow room for the power transfer unit that the rear wheel driveshafts are taken off of.
If you want your transmission to last a long time then here's my $0.02. First, even though the minivan will almost lay rubber if you stomp on the gas with that torquey engine at the light, refrain from doing that. Learn to feather the gas pedal. That will save mpg as well because that engine will gobble fuel like there's no tomorrow if you leadfoot it.
Second, if you bought your minivan to use as a sort of dual use truck/people mover, you made a mistake. There is a reason why most of these vans running around that have trailer hitches on them only have a class -2 hitch. These vans are made to be the ultimate people movers. They are not made to haul plywood sheets around all day long or deliver pizzas, regardless of what Chryslers marketing people may say.
Third, change the transmission fluid regularly particularly if you have ATF
+3 as factory fill. (I don't think yours did but you should check)
Forth, fit an accessory transmission cooler if there is not already one on the vehicle.
and last, understand what you have. AWD is NOT a synonym for 4WD. If your idea is to take the T&C out into the sticks over the weekend to go 'muddin' then knock it off and go buy a jeep. AWD is only useful for keeping soccer moms who aren't paying attention out of the ditch during a rainstorm.
A604 was the first-generation '89-'91 FWD 4-speed electronic automatic. It was highly troublesome at first. The transmission in your van is a descendent of the original A604, but is not an A604 itself. This FWD/AWD transmission family's record has steadily if slowly improved to the point where it's no worse than most other comparable units from other makers (i.e., you stand a fair chance of having moderate to major repairs done before 125,000 miles -- this is not the transmission in your '70 Dart that would easily go 250K miles or more with nary a thought).
Impossible to predict.
Then by all means, change the fluid at 15,000-mile intervals (that '70 Dart transmission called for no fluid changes over the life of the vehicle, and it wasn't BS; while an occasional fluid change was a nice thing, they were happy to carry on running for decades on the original fluid.) The fluid spec in your '99 is Chrysler Mopar ATF+3. There is a newer fluid, Chrysler Mopar ATF+4, which is superior in just about every way, but there's a bit of a controversy over its use in pre-2000 minivans.
Contradictory statements have been issued by DC on the matter. People will argue until the cows come home about your question. They will brandish and declare as authoritative various versions of the Chrysler transmission fluid TSB. The +4 is significantly improved in just about every way compared to +3, and Chrysler has issued statements that +4 is acceptable in all applications originally specced for +3, including pre-2000 minivans. However, +3 is less expensive than +4, and Chrysler has issued statements that +4 might cause the torque converter lockup clutch to chatter in pre-2000 minivans.
Do you know what type of oil is used by Jiffy Lube? I was recommended to use their T-Tec process to clean out the torque converter for through cleaning. Also is it OK to let Jiffy do the fuel filter change? Do they typically have the right kind of filter for my van?
I will follow your suggestions to change more ATF often. Fortunately, I bought this for a typical soccer mom carrying nothing but kids. Never used it to buy stuffs from Home Depot either.
The transmission is still Ok to me, though it is little slow in changing gear from 2nd to 3rd. Comparing to the rental Explorer I got as a free loaner, my T&C transmission (103,000) is way better than the Ford at 23,000.
I am not sure how expensive it is to install an accessory transmission cooler. And how necessary it is to me? How do I determine (any symptom to watch) if I really need one?
Don't do it! They should be able to simply drop the pan, replace the filter, then fill it with fluid then pull the fluid lines from the cooler and let the trans pump in new fluid and pump out the old fluid. Don't ever put anything other than ATF +3 or ATF +4 in your transmission, do not use additives, friction modifiers, lubeguard, or anything of that nature.
It's OK to let them do it if it needs doing, it almost certainly does not need doing, however.
You first need to check to see if you need one. The vans that really need them are the ones where the transmission cooler is inside the radiator. The temperature of the transmission fluid needs to be warm but not excessively hot. While the in-radiator coolers are helpful for keeping the transmission fluid warm in particularly cold climates, they can only remove a limited amount of heat from the transmission fluid. I also do not believe that the optimal trans fluid temp is the 195 degrees that is the temp of the coolant - but somewhat lower. With an accessory cooler, it's plumbed in downstream of the in-radiator cooler and drops the temp of the fluid further down. It also serves as protection in the event that the engine overheats.
I believe in later van designs Chrysler abandoned the in-radiator cooler, and put a much larger air cooler for the fluid in front of the radiator. If yours is like that you don't need an accessory cooler since that cooler runs colder than the in-radiator coolers.
As for the expense, it is very cheap. You can easily get a genuine Mopar accessory transmission cooler from any wrecking yard for next to nothing, (you would make sure whomever used this would flush it out well) or a brand new aftermarket one from any place that sells towing accessories, which is most auto parts stores, or from the dealer. It's a 10 minute job to plumb it in. It's quite possible the Jiffy Lube people would plumb a cooler in for you when they did the fluid flush.
Overheating is not something that is easily visible, it takes a long time before damage is apparent. The flexible seals in a transmission are probably the most suceptable to heat damage.
Depending on the climate where you live, you may well no need one. I have 174,000 on my 96 Grand Voyager with the 3.3/4 speed combination without a hitch. I live in PA where the summer temps are typically below 95 and the winter runs as low as -20. I don't tow or otherwise abuse the van. Never had an auxiliary cooler and see no need for one. Maybe if I lived in southern AZ or TX I'd give it more consideration.
They won't do it this way. The only thing that Jiffy Lube knows about transmission service is what the machine instructions tell them. Any deviation is certain to be over their heads, and I wouldn't trust that their flush machine allows easy switching from one type of fluid to another, so the OP runs a very large risk of getting filled with what was in the machine for the previous suck.... er.. I mean customer which is most certainly to be Dexron.
Ted, at 103K miles, why do you believe that his fuel filter "does not need doing?" For the OP, a fuel filter change on a 99 T&C requires removal one fuel tank support strap and partial lowering of the fuel tank, this also is certainly beyond the capabilities of the fast food franchise rejects.
Ummmm... this is a 99, installing a transmission cooler properly requires the removal of the front fascia, while not terribly difficult, it is a little more than a 10 minute job and requires the removal (careful removal) of numerous fragile plastic fasteners which once broken and/or mangled are not likely to be replaced. You'll also want to use some of the molded hoses that Chrysler uses in order to avoid kinking, and as most after-market coolers mount with plastic 'Zip' type fasteners thru the AC condenser, the condenser likely needs to be unbolted and shifted in order to get the 'zip' fasteners thru the condenser fins.
You're joking, right? Have someone with some skill and training do it. Jiffy Lube would be hard pressed to identify which cooler hose is the return.
Nope, because its irrelevant. No way in HELL is that place touching any car of mine.
One of the reasons they won't touch my cars- scams like that. Regular normal draining of the transmission is fine, there's no need for any goofy "flushing" process.
They're more likely to have the right filter than the right fluid, but again... who cares?
He's not complaining of drivability problems. While replacing a fuel filter is probably good preventative maintainence, that doesen't mean it -needs- doing.
That's better than my 94 AWD where the fuel filter (at least, one of them) is -in- tank and changing it involves dropping the tank and pulling the pump.
Hey, I don't use them - at least, not anymore. I used to use them when they would still evacuate and charge R-12. But, I'm also the kind of customer that stands over the guy and watches what he's doing.
Matt, you probably pay better attention to nicities like the level of coolant in your radiator, stuff like that, you know, the kind of thing that the average person IGNORES.
An aux cooler will save the transmission if the water pump seizes and the driver goes 50 miles with all the coolant boiled out of his system, or until the engine seizes. And I can think of a number of people such as my wife and mother who are perfectly capabable of doing something like this.
The worst you can say about an aux cooler is it won't help. But it's not going to hurt if properly installed, and it is cheap insurance.
If the water pump seizes, it most likely will throw the belt so you'll lose PS, etc., long before your tranny notices a significant temperature rise. And I'd be amazed if an engine would run for 50 miles with no coolant.
That is true in general, but an additional cooler means additional lines and, more importantly, connections and these are prone to fail. Every extra one you add to your car reduces the overall MTBF. I prefer not to add things I don't need.
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