I have a new Caravan transmission for under $100

I was one of the posters that submitted a flush info to that site, I'm glad that someone was able to make use of it!

I hope also that you read my comments regarding an external tranny cooler, if your van is fitted with an in-radiator tranny cooler only.

Great - we sing that song regularly in this forum. It's amazing that there are shops out there that will put the wrong fluid in these transmissions.

Ted

Hi Ted, yes I see your contribution on page 4. I noted your writing on pushing the filter hard to snap it in place. I did not know how hard I should push as it was willing to stay there with some friction from the O ring. Many might have left it like that. You said to push it hard so I did and it snapped into place. My Hayes manual was very vague on that. In fact they did not mention an O ring like you did. Thank you for that - as when the old filter dropped into my oil pan I had a look at it - no O ring, I looked in the hole, no O ring. The new one had an oil ring and I remember you said there was one so I looked around in the oil pan and found it confirming that I should use an O ring.

Yes I know you recommend an external tranny cooler - probably a good idea on all Chrysler products. I got the trailer towing package that comes with the factory tranny cooler so I'm ok there. 5-1/2 years and the tranny is still going.

BTW should I have found metal particles on the bottom of the tranny? I was quite surprised at how clean the pan was considering I had never changed the fluid before. Very little sticking to the magnet. BTW next edition of your tips, you might mention to remember to replace the magnet after cleaning the pan, for the odd weekend mechanic like me. I lined up the pan after putting the sealant on and ran a couple of bolts into it when I had the sinking thought that I didn't remember replacing the magnet........ added a little extra work.....sigh.

Gary

I had a 1993 caravan with a leaky transmission that I had to drive for a while until I got its replacement ready. I stopped at a small repair shop and asked for ATF+3 and they had never heard of it. All they had was Dexron, which they said you could put into anything. I'm afraid that putting the wrong fluid in a transmission is a very common practice. I have seen a lot of caravans in the junkyard with transmission fluid bottles under the seat, almost always of the wrong type. I wonder how many of them are in the junkyard because of transmission problems caused by the wrong fluid...

And...next edition, he might mention the metal sandwich pan gasket you can get from the dealer - re-useable and none of the mess of the silicone sealer - would have been less traumatic when you had to take it off again for that magnet. Much easier in taking the pan off next time, and no clean up of sealing surfaces.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

Using the wrong service manual is just as bad as using the wrong fluids and parts. Burn the Haynes (I'm assuming Hayes was a typo as I've never heard of any such manual) manual and buy a genuine Chrysler manual. If you do much of your own work, it will pay for itself in a year or two easily.

Matt

Yeah - you know - that Isaac Hayes manual on CD: "Baby baby - Change the oil - Oh baby!..." 8^)

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')

"Mah BAYbe, mah honey...can' git enough ATF+4 love ho-ney!"

I asked for the gasket too at the dealer assuming the gasket was standard in the change and they said there is no gasket for that unit, just use sealant.

Gary

Heh - I'll write these suggestions up and mail them to Allpar, good suggestions!

I think in a properly running a604/41te you really aren't going to see much in the way of metal particles on the magnet - mostly kind of a sludge of very fine particles. I think if you see large chunks or slivers the thing is toasted.

Ted

There is a gasket, but dealers do not use them ... Next time ask them to check again for the metal/silicone re-usable gasket. (They told me the same thing...) I've posted the part numbers are in previous threads if you do a Google search.

Bob

You need to use the CORRECT sealant, not just any RTV. There is a particular RTV, available from the Mopar parts counter, that has chemistry specifically compatible with ATF.

What, you mean you can't use bathtub caulk? ;-)

The Mopar sealer is called "ATF-RTV" it's part is MS-GF41 aka 05010884aa

Look on the back in the fine print where the tube says "developed specifically to retain sealing when exposed to automatic transmission fluid"

By the way, Permatex Ultra Black and Ultra Blue both claim resistance to ATF.

Ted

I hope you send a bill to the repair shop for all the work you did.

---------------- Alex

Funny thing is I told him I know Chrysler trannys are sensitive to the type of ATF they use, so when you top it up, could you write on the bill what type of tranny fluid I should be using in it. (I did not know it was ATF4+ at the time). So when I got the bill - it said Type F (FLM) for Chrysler 4 speed trannys.

Should we be using a special coolant too in that engine (3.8L)?

Yes, your van (all '98-up Chrysler products, too) requires G-05 coolant.

Four sources that I know of (there may be more):

(1) Mopar brand from the DC dealer - their long-life stuff - it is reddish-orange colored, but it is G-05 (not DexCool?, which you definitely don't want) (2) Ford Motorcraft brand at Ford dealers - bright yellow color (3) Shell aftermarket - bright yellow color (4) Zerex aftermarket - bright yellow color

It can be hard to find in the auto parts stores in the Shell and Zerex. You might try places that service trucks (it is diesel approved) or police cars. I don't hink it will be significantly cheaper at one place or another - around $12-$13 everywhere I've seen it, including dealers. If you've got a Ford dealer nearby, might as well get it there - I like the bright yellow color - looks nice in a new pressure bottle.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my adddress with the letter 'x')