Just curious what you folks consider as time to pull the plug on life support and let an old friend go...
I've got a 92 Caravan with 188k miles on it. 3.0 v6 and 3-speed automatic. Bought it used 9 years ago with 84k, and it has treated me very well over the years. The last 20k miles, it has gradually gotten a worsening, resonating noise, only at moderate accelleration, and typically after it has warmed up a bit. And rarely (but increasing a bit in frequency) when you put it in drive first thing in the morning, it won't catch gear. Put it in park, rev the engine a few times, then it works just fine. I had it in the shop last week to get new brakes and state inspection. It did the trick of not wanting to catch gear first thing in the morning (cold day) and then they of course noticed the noise also. They're saying it's a bearing (bearings?) in the transmission getting warn...which can also cause some vibrations, etc. (I think the problem is yet another bad rebuilt front axle, but that's another story) The not catching gear is supposedly the hydraulic pump not working well first thing in the morning. They tell me one of these days it just won't catch gear at all. But...overall, it still seems to be doing quite well... I know about zero about transmissions...
So...not wanting to let my old friend go, I cross my fingers and call a reputable local transmission repair place. They quote me roughly $1900 for a rebuilt. :-( Not sure the old girl is worth it....
What would you do? Sell it quickly before it goes out? Wait till it dies and have someone haul it away? Put a rebuilt tranny in it? Another option I've not thought of?
I hate to see it go, but I don't want to keep throwing good money away...cost me $300 to get brakes, exhaust, and a few other things done so it would pass inspection... I'll drive it at least a while to get my money out of that. :-)
Thanks in advance,
Wesley