How to identify transmission in Acclaim?

If your gear shift indicator says "P R N D 2 1", you've got the 3-speed hydromechanical automatic, 31TH.

If your gear shift indicator says "P R N D 3 L", you've got the 4-speed electronic automatic, 41TE.

DS

I have the 41TE. Does the TE refer to Transmission Electronic? And the 41 for 4 spend and 1 overdrive?

I looked in my shop manual for driving info but have not found it. Have not received the copy of the owner's manual that I just got on eBay. Was curious for the speeds and suggested purposes for 3 and L? That is, what's the top speed for 3, maybe 65 mph? L is probably first gear or close to it? It's LOW. Maybe 35 mph top speed? I was wondering what would be the snow gear if any? In the 3-speed, usually 2 might be suggested for a snow gear or using it on slippery surfaces. Generally I did not like this, because when finally on the turnpike

20 minutes later, might forget to use D, until I hear the whine of 2 getting near its maximum.

Transverse Electronic.

Nope, 4 for 4-speed and 1 for "lowest torque capacity" (9 being the highest).

Sounds like you haven't got a shop manual, then. You really, really need the FACTORY service manual, not the garbage from Haynes, Chilton, etc.

Won't tell you anything.

3 locks out the overdrive. Use it if you're towing, carrying a heavy load, or driving at speeds that have the transmission constantly hunting back and forth between 3 and 4. There's no practical maximum speed limit for 3.

L greatly delays the 1-2 shift (will shift into 2 only when the engine gets near its redline speed) and won't shift out of 2. Use it for additional engine braking effect at low speeds when descending hills. "L" should generally not be used above 40mph or so.

The original poster's symptom complaint sounds like the fairly common "bump stop" problem in the A604 / 41TE trans family.

First step (right now, today) is a fluid and filter change. DO NOT USE DEXRON OR "UNIVERSAL" FLUID! Acceptable options are Mopar ATF+3 Type

7176, or Mopar ATF+4. The +4 is more expensive but better. Use a genuine Mopar transmission pan gasket -- they are much better than anything the aftermarket offers. And since you're going to be picking up Mopar fluid and a Mopar gasket, you may as well get a Mopar filter, too.

If that doesn't adequately smooth the car's downshifting, then check the transmission control module located at the right front corner of the engine bay. If it has a smooth outer housing, hit the wrecking yards (or

, searchable used auto parts nationwide) for a'95-up module with a finned case. The finned-case modules can be reflashedby a dealer with the latest firmware to improve shifting behavior. DS

Thanks but I do have the genuine yellow Chrysler big, thick Service Manual. Really. Looking again, I found "When 3 is selected, the transmission uses only 1st,

2nd, and direct gears with 2nd-direct shift delayed to 40 mph or greater." Does this mean that with 3, Overdrive or gear lockup can occur? Is direct gear =?= overdrive? This can't be because you state below 3 locks out the overdrive, which is what I instinctively also thought. I gather I don't know what is a "direct gear."

And it also states that the EEMC engages torque converter fully at 50 mph. I gather that is the Overdrive? I was curious when to expect the lockup or Overdrive occurs. So over 50, the most fuel efficient possible gear is going for sure.

Not finding the limits for mph for the various gears either in the service manual or the owner's manual, which surprised me. I have seen other makers spell this out in a lowly owner's manual.

Okay, thanks for the info. I was having trouble finding this info in the manual. Its index is so-so. I guess here the CD manual would help out a lot with a search function.

4th gear is overdrive. In "3", 4th (overdrive) gear is locked out. Torque converter lockup, however, CAN occur.

Time for some definitions:

UNDERDRIVE gear ratio: The input shaft turns faster than the output shaft

DIRECT gear ratio: The input shaft and output shaft turn at the same speed

OVERDRIVE gear ratio: The output shaft turns faster than the input shaft

No, torque converter lockup is not the same as overdrive. The torque converter contains a clutch which locks at 50mph to eliminate slippage between the engine and the transaxle's input shaft.

"3" on a 41TE/41LE also raises the shift points for the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, as well as alters the torque convertor lockup schedule. Its really best suited for mountain driving, the 41TE/42LE trannies don't have a a mode that does nothing but lock-out overdrive like the truck transmissions have.

"Direct gear" is when the input shaft and output shaft turn at the same speed- ie. no reduction gearing between the engine and the differential. On a 41TE/42LE (and most other 4-speed transmissions) that is 3rd gear.

1 and 2 are "underdrive" gears in which the engine side spins faster than the output shaft side (reduction gearing), and 4th is the "overdrive" gear in which the input shaft (engine side) spins SLOWER than the output shaft.

NO. Lockup is when the torque convertor is bypassed by a solid mechanical connection (the TCC clutch) so that there is no "slip" in the convertor. It has nothing to do with overdrive, and lockup occurs in gears 2,3, and 4.

That's another complication with the 41TE/42LE. "Lockup" is not a singular, binary event like it is with the heavy-duty RWD transmissions like the 4xRH. With a 41TE, the torque convertor clutch engages in stages with less and less slippage allowed as engagement progresses. On the 4xRH (and similar transmissions) the TCC clutch engages all at once, and feels like an additional shift. It gets strange, because a

4xRH-equipped truck made after roughly 1996 goes through a shift pattern like this: 1st -> 2nd -> 3rd -> 3rd with lockup -> 4th -> 4th with lockup

and you can feel every one.

From day one, the 41TE/42LE has gone through a shift pattern similar to this:

1st -> 2nd -> 2nd with 20% lock -> 3rd -> 3rd with 20 % lock -> 3rd with 60% lock -> 4th ->4th with 20% lock ->4th with 60% lock -> 4th with 100% lock.

The exact percentages of lockup have varied with different software revisions and I just pulled those numbers out of my ear, but you get the picture. The 41TE *almost* feels like a continuously-variable transmission above 2nd gear, especially when you accelerate gently.

Thanks guys, great info. I feel better now if I go at turnpike speeds, which for me is around 60-65 mph because I can hear the tranny do a continuous whine, not bad. But I know that if I did 70-75, not only would I use more gas, my rather mature car won't last to 250,000 miles, less than 54,000 to go.

But my very first Chrysler car, I misread the owner's manual. And took that Dodge to 60-70 mph. The manual had said don't go over 50 the first 500 miles or so. I thought it had said go over 50. The whine started immediately. Sort of whine you also can hear when you top out the next to last gear.

I was so excited. Bummer. And that maiden cruise a large stone fell off a flatbed tractor trailer in front of me. It drifted slowly like a spaceship in a movie until it dented my car. My first dent. Solved that. Don't have to worry about dents. Loud noise too.

In any case, that car's tranny whined for 130,000 miles before I sold it to someone who took it up and back cross country. No problems. 225 /6

Thank you. I'll be going down the troubleshooting list with the next free time I get.