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Project minivan for $200 - needs transmission

Hi All,

Well today I went and bought myself a '94 T&C for $200 that has 145k miles on it, and what appears to be a shot transmission. Other than that it appears to be OK, beyond a number of piddly things like the sliding door latch is out of adjustment, woodgrain strips on the side are peeling, etc. No rust (here in the pacific NW we don't have much snow and so don't salt the roads)

This vehicle is an AWD vehicle, with the 3.8L engine. The transmission only goes into 1 gear - 1st. No reverse gear, no nothing else. A lit of noisy buzzing when attempting to put it in reverse.

I bought this specifically as a project car to have fun with. It also helps that we already own a 1995 T&C. (not AWD and no woodgrain sides, though) With the rental on the trailer to go fetch it, and the fuel, and the registration and retitling, I think we will slide in just under $400. I can definitely afford to make some mistakes with a $400 minivan! ;-)

The previous owner gave me a raft of C&B story but I expected that. He did cough up some receipts showing that he was getting overcharged on various nickel and dime repairs by some of the local chop shops. ($100 to turn a rotor?) And he claimed that when the trans went bad that he took it to two trans shops who told him the only thing wrong was the trans computer. He also claimed to have replaced the solenoid assembly.

Anyway, I plugged in the scan too and interrogated the trans computer, it claimed no fault codes, gave me some readings for the clutch volume indexes, the readouts for the speed sensors, things like that. I have a hard time believing the trans computer is bad when it's giving me data about the trans, anyone seen this before?

My instant diagnosis is that there's been an internal failure in the trans, and it has to come out. The quick diagnostic flow charts in the manual seem to say that if reverse is gone, pull the transaxle out and disassemble and inspect. Any suggestions on this other than to run through the scan tool tests?

Now, another question - how difficult is it to pull this trans with a standard trans jack and jackstands? I've read through the archives and some people say it's impossible and a hell of a job due to inadequate clearance, others say it's easy and there's enough clearance. Any suggestions here?

Now, my last question - has anyone bought the rebuild kids by Transmission Exchange?

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Here's a picture (they sell these on Ebay)

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I wouldn't probably buy them off Ebay since I live a few miles from the company. Or, would I be better off just buying the parts as I take the trans apart and find worn out parts?

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt
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I have done it in my driveway. With two rolling floor jacks, a stack of bricks, and concrete blocks, and my nephew's help, we got one transmission out and the other one in, from under the van. But it was a

3.0 engine unlike your 3.8. To me it looks like the clearances are about the same on both engines.

It was some very difficult maneuvering, and it took about 30 minutes of strategy, tricky maneuvering, and short rest breaks for the removal and again for the installation.

Reply to
Robbie and Laura Reynolds

Funny, that's just like mine, other than the minor problems. I'd better see if my dead trans van is still outside the house! :)

Lisa

Reply to
Lisa Horton

Oops, sorry to speak prematurely. I just went back and noticed that you were talking about an all wheel drive model. I never messed with one of those.

I'd sure be interested to hear whether it is possible, so let us know. The two wheel drive model is bad enough to do with only jacks and blocks. We had to separate the engine and transmission, block everything up, and then do a lot of simultaneous rotating, moving forward and back, blocking and jacking to get it around the crossmember. Putting in the replacement was even harder. The main interference point is on the side near the wheel, in the back. Maybe the extra equipment on your transmission is in a different place that won't add to the ordeal.

I can tell you for sure that all of that rotating and jiggling would have been a lot easier if we had lifted it from the top with a hoist. If I ever do it again I'll try to find one.

Reply to
Robbie and Laura Reynolds

transmission

Must be a common failure mode - there is a clutch that all the other gears share that 1st gear doesen't, I forget what it is, though.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

I'm too old or lazy to do it that way. I did that about 15 years ago when I was younger and stupider, with my 68 Torino, I pulled the C4 out, and slid it out on a piece of cardboard. I had 4 jackstands on concrete blocks to get enough height. When I think back I realize I was lucky the things didn't collapse.

I will - I'll take a bunch of digital pictures and write it up and put it up on Allpar.

I actually have an engine hoist already, so that should help.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Fortunately for me the former owner of this house left me several giant concrete building blocks of a type that is particularly sturdy and perfect for blocking up a van 2 feet off the ground. You could hit it with another car without knocking it off. The blocks weigh about 70 pounds each.

Sometimes the small bricks get a bit precarious, but we needed it to be adjustable in small increments in certain places. The main transmission support was a hydraulic jack on wheels. Your hoist will certainly alleviate all of that nonsense.

For me it was a big hassle, but we got the hard labor done in a few hours. It would have been nice if it hadn't been 100 degrees that day. Even worse was that we had to pull the transmission out the day before at the junkyard when it was 105 degrees, and they don't allow jacks. I'll be looking forward to reading your story on the web. I'm very curious about whether the four wheel drive parts that stick out are going to cause trouble.

Reply to
Robbie and Laura Reynolds

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