Chev Venture trans slipping

We are interested in purchasing a Venture. You said that you pull a

2500 lbs boat. How is it holding up. Did you buy the Venture new. What are some of the problems to look for buying a use Venture 2000 and up.

Warren

Before you purchase a Venture make sure you have all the info about the following problems:

Lower intake manifold leak Transmission hard shift (PCS + sediment in the valve body) Piston slap Early rust

Denis Roy wrote: > My 2000 chev venture trans occasionally slips momentarily when first > started. It happens most noticeably at the cottage where it is parked on a > grade. It feels like the park brake is set for a few seconds and then > clunks into gear. The rest of the day it is fine, even pulling my 2500 > pound boat. Is this a sign of expensive problems to come or can this be > something minor?

Dennis,

Here are a few things for you to check:

1) One cause could be the transmission fluid level.

Check the fluid level of the auto transmission. (Your vehicle operator's manual should show the procedure for this.) If the level is too high or too low, your hydraulic system won't function properly and cause the problem you are experiencing. Either add or remove as necessary. Alternatively, you can have the fluid and filter changed. That often clears up many problems.

If the fluid was low, you could have a leak. If it was to high, someone simply added too much.

2) If the fluid level is okay, then check if the fluid is discolored (blackish/brownish) and/or has a burned smell. If so, your fluid is bad and has to be changed. This is from overheating which could happen from pulling your boat. (Do you have a trans cooler?)

3) Is the fluid milky or bubbly? If so, your fluid is contaminated with coolant or air. If the fluid is milky, you'll have to check the transmission cooler for cracks. If it is bubbly the whole transmission should be checked for air leaks.

4) If all the above are okay, then the bands (if adjustable) may need adjustment or the fluid pump is bad.

5) There are other things that a good technician can find.

My "gut" feeling is that the trans fluid and filter need to be changed, seeing as you pull a boat and the vehicle is only 4 years old.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Mario

Pulling a load of that weight makes me a bit nervous because the van seems fragile. I had the intake manifold gasket changed and the van has a tendency to overheat when towing in traffic. It's ok on the highway. If I were to tow this boat long distances more frequently I would buy a more suitable tow vehicle. This one does the job but I worry about the longevity, especially the transmission.

I have found that when towing in traffic if I left the A/C on low, the engine fans are enough keep the engine temp the same as when driving on open road. It's a good idea to put the A/C on though *before* you need to so that there's no excess of heat for the fans to disperse.

Proper solution of course it to install a large capacity transmission cooler & additional fan, BUT... I'm cheap & this seems to work for me.

Sounds like all the american made mini vans. We have a 93 caravan, never could get the vibrations out of the front end. Both cavaliers have front end vibrations, american manifacturers we just starting to get the bugs out of the rearwheel drives. And they wonder why we are all buying the foreign cars. I guess if you want to tow the suburban looks like the car to buy. Anyone know what kind of gas milage they get.

Warren

==== Mario, Your post reminded me (and I hope I can explain this coherently): I have a steep driveway which causes my fluids to seem under or over filled depending whether I have parked with the front end of my van up the hill or down. I had some temporary transmission glitches in my old Audi when I parked it front up on my driveway and had to begin parking front down. All was fine after that. With my Silhouette, I learned to back up my driveway. Now, I put the van in neutral to descend the driveway instead of 'Drive.' If I shift from Park directly to Drive on the hill, it does clunk. Now, I don't shift into Drive until I am on the level. Hope this helps. ==== ====

Gini,

A couple of things come to mind, but first, the trans fluid has to be checked with the vehicle on flat ground. Checking it on an incline will affect your reading.

Some things that come to mind are:

1) Fluid level is wrong, when tested on flat ground (normal engine idle) 2) Engine idle too high 3) Hydraulic (transmission) pressure too high (can be caused by misadjusted TV cable) 4) Bad engine mounts or driveline joints

Hope this helps.

Mario

==== Mario--Might this cause a light rattle/vibration while idling in Park (as at a red light)? Rattle is gone upon acceleration. ==== ====

or driveline joints

A rattle at a certain speed usually means that part(s) involved are at their resonant frequency atr that speed. Bad motor mount can cause rattling, but so can may other things. I'd have to be there to see where the rattle are coming from.

Mario

==== Hehe--I'm guessing I couldn't afford the travel time :-). I asked the GM guy to check the vibration/rattle last oil change (before warranty expiration) but he said he couldn't hear it. I should have insisted on taking him for a ride to point it out. Maybe he'll hear it at next oil change (outside warranty). It has gotten slightly worse. Thanks for your input. ==== ====