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94 Caravan transmission question

Hello. First off I am sorry if I keep asking questions about this same van as I am sure you are all busy people. But my brother is very poor and he can not afford a new or different vehicle so I try to keep him running with my limited mechanical skills and junkyard obtained parts. So...I have a 94 Caravan 3.0 engine automatic with a 3-speed transmission. The old transmission went up and we got a replacement from a wrecked van at the junkyard. It seems to work ok and goes forward and backwards and gets up to a steady 50 mph. However I think it could work smoother and go full highway speed if I could fix one nagging problem which seems to be of an adjustment type I hope. On the top of this transmission is a 2 piece lever which has one part connected to the shift cable and the other to a solid metal rod which connects to the throttle. They should operate independently but these seem stuck together in some way and will only turn together (When the gears are shifted) which is affecting performance. I don't want to just force them apart and break something. Any advice on what could be a cure or is this unit replaceable with the transmission in place? Thanks in advance.

Reply to
Sara Brown
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Looks like this? (no levers, just the shafts)

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Manual THROTTLE lever shaft runs inside hollow Manual SHIFT lever shaft.

They probably rusted together while sitting in the junkyard. Soak them in penetrating oil of some kind (WD40, Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, whatever you've got). Then soak them some more. Then try turning the throttle lever, tapping lightly with a small hammer to break the rust bond, soaking some more, using a screwdriver as a lever, soaking some more...... eventually they should loosen up and turn independently (we hope).

Since the throttle lever tells the trans how hard you're stepping on the gas (and decides when to "kick down" to a lower gear), and the throttle shaft is being turned by the shifter shaft, it may think you're always on the gas, and locking you in 2nd (or even

1st) instead of allowing 3rd.
Reply to
MasterBlaster

It's a real PITA. My wife's van, before we were married, had the same problem, but opposite, no kickdown, and poor acceleration. Soak it a few days with PB-Blaster, twice daily applications, soak it good. Tap on the top of the shaft with a small hammer a few times a day. After 2 or 3 days, use whatever will work to try and twist the two levers separately, and keep working them until you get free movement of both levers. It took me about an hour of prying, wiggling, etc. to get them to move freely. Keep using PB-Blaster as you work, and after getting them freed up, spray them once weekly.

Reply to
Steve Walker

Pertaining to the other suggestions. Use Rust Buster. Comes in a squeeze bottle with an extended tube. I had a ball bearing rusted on a shaft. A 10 ton press would not budge it. Used Rust Buster and in about 5 minutes I pressed it apart with my fingers. I used a lot of this when I was in appliance repair business. At that time got it at appliance parts firm. Since I sometimes found it at WalMart. WW

Reply to
WW

Thank you for all the suggestions. I will keep blasting it and messing with it off and on over the next few days. They seem REALLY stuck together so I`m sure it will be a pain. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything mechanical that could be holding them together internally before I started trying to twist them seperately.

Reply to
Sara Brown

Thank to all. Van is now working fine!

Reply to
Sara Brown

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