1998 Plymouth Grandvoyager Transmission Issue??

Who did the rebuild on your transmission? How long a warranty did they give you? Is it still under warranty?

One of the issues with these transmissions is that in order to get them as small as they are with the number of gears they have, Chrysler used some very advanced construction and hardening processes in the manufacture of the gears in the transmission. The problem is that a lot of transmission rebuilders when they get a transmission in that has a hard part break, they will rebuild it with aftermarket parts instead of getting them over the counter from Mopar at the dealership. The aftermarket is flooded with cheap Chinese knockoffs of the gear packs in these transmissions that do not have the reliability of the Mopar stuff.

For one of these transmissions rebuilt in 2003 or thereabouts, pretty much all of the design flaws in these transmissions had been corrected, and all of the rebuild kits incorporate them. You should get at least 100K miles out of a rebuild, not 54K. The only reason it would fail prematurely is if your wheelspinning, or your stuck and doing the rock forward then rock back then rock forward then rock back, etc. etc. Both of those manuevers will break these transmissions.

It sounds to me like you have either a problem with the torque converter or in the transmission gears in the transmission.

Ted

Thanks for the info. The remanufactured transmission I received at

97,000 was a chrysler remanufacturer model with a 3 year 30,000 mile warranty. (Which has since expired) I took my van to a local auto repair shop and paid $45 for diagnostics to see what was wrong. The mechanic called and said I needed a rebuilt transmission for $1,700. I asked him why he thought I needed a rebuild and he said that since there was no error code and the noise coming from the engine sounded like the torque converter locking up which indicates a mechanical failure. As well as the harsh shifting.

Sounds logical as the sound was awful when it occurs and the vehicle stalls out. I now need to decide on whether to have this place do this, get a second opinion, or look for another used vehicle. I was thinking that maybe I could get the transmission flushed and refilled with a new filter as well as a computer upgrade to see if that fixes the issue. The second thing would be to replace the solinoid.

The mechanic was reluctant to do this as he kept going back to the mechanical transmission noise that has already been experienced and that these other options may temporarily fix the issue but the failure of the transmission would probably reoccur.

I was thinking on getting a second opinion. Another option would be to buy another chrysler/dodge minivan that is 2 to 3 years old since we like these vans other than the transmissions. Any ideas???

I would get a couple of estimates. The mechanic is probably right... the noise you were hearing was the fat lady singing... show is now over. Changing the fluid at this point is a waste of money but having the electricals checked out holds a note of promise.

Realistically you are dealing with a ten year old van with a $2500 value. If it is in great shape and been well maintained I would think about repairing but if it is your typical ten year old minivan with typical kid type wear I would Craig's List it for $500 and go get a newer one.

Steve B.

I'm afraid I'd have to agree - hard part failures in these transmissions many times do not set a code, and if they do set a code it generally indicates something that isn't failed.

However, as to whether you need a rebuild or not - that's different. As long as the converter hasn't fragged internally, the trans can be separated, the converter replaced, and everything can be put back together. Of course, there is always the chance that a piece of metal may have got where it's not supposed to be - but you might run that up the flagpole with the mechanic and see if he's willing to do it. Your long term reliability is going to be a big gamble - so you might think about selling the van when you get it back.

I think that is a big waste of money.

Another thing you can do if your thinking about selling it is to call around to your local wrecking yards and see if you can find a transmission. Also, many times these yards can refer you to people who rebuild transmissions in their garage for extra money. For example I own a Ford Torino, it uses a C-4. About

15 years ago I broke the transmission and when I called around to the local wreckers, one of them was selling rebuilt C-4s I went down there to talk to them and what they said is they had a guy who came around once a month and took about 10-15 C-4 cores home and would rebuild them in his garage. Basically he would strip them all down and take the best parts from the group and create 5-10 good transmissions out of them, and bring them and the rest of the cores back. He probably got something like $150 a transmission for doing this and the yard had them marked at $250. I decided to take a chance on that deal - I did the R&R myself - and that C-4 is still running in that Torino to this day.

Here's my $0.02 on your predicament. Assuming you go the rebuild route, your likely going to get about 70,000 more miles on it before the engine is entering the period where it would be worn out. If you pay the $1700 and your driving the average 14,000 miles a year, that's 5 years more - or $340 a year. That's going to be a lot cheaper than a note on a 2-3 year old van. So what it boils down to is how clean is this van? If it has never been in an accident, and the paint is shiny and not peeling, and the interior is clean, and the underbody doesen't have rust all over it, why then I'd go for the rebuild.

Now, as for the rebuild, you should shop around. But, not for a cheaper price. What you want is a better warranty, and you want to find out if the rebuild shop does a lot of these transmissions. Your mechanic may not actually be doing the rebuild, he may only do the in-and-out and be sending the transmission out to someone else. You need to actually go visit the shop where it's going to be rebuilt and ask them if they can show you their shop and inventory. And you need to find out if they will be rebuilding yours, or if they will be swapping with one that they already rebuilt. And, ask them what warranty they offer, and ask them if they will give you the names of a few of their customers (ideally, business customers) that you can call and ask if they are happy with it.

I would not do another Chrysler "remanufactured" job. What you want to find is a transmission shop that is local, and does a lot of these transmissions. Also, one last thing is to make absolutely sure that whoever does the R&R (remove and replace) refills the transmission with ATF +4 and NOT with Dexron+Lubeguard.

Ted