[Jasmine Wolf di'Vine]

Hi All -- coming atcha from Arcata, CA on the beautiful redwood coast of Northern California. what do have here? Fog, Redwoods, and curvy mountain roads! I'm driving a 95 Dodge Caravan Emerald Green of which of course there are several doppelgangers of in my town! And funny, we all have the peeling paint issue in the middle of the hood! Go figure... ;-)
Anyway--- i have a question for all you readers out there... 95 Dodge Caravan.... What's the first thing you think of? Go!

 

[fjb37]

In Chicago I see many white or dark blue 2nd. gen. vans with peeling paint. My 94 GC is driftwwod in color and the paint sticks just fine.

The first thing I would think about is what engine does it have? 3.3L/3.8L---OK. 4 banger or 3.0L---POS!

My old 92 Caravan was and my 94 GC is a 3.3L. 2nd. gen. vans were the best Chrysler ever made IMHO. You couldn't give me a 3rd. gen. rust bucket and after seeing the BIL's 02 I think I'll pass on those too! Just my $0.02.

FredB

 

[chuzz]

Welcome to Allpar. The first thing I think of is what drive train does it have and if the a/c still works.

 

[saltydog]

Welcome to Allpar!

 

[Jasmine Wolf di'Vine]

Thanks for the replies guys! =)
So drive train huh?? and a/c ! HAH! I just learned how to recharge my own a/c this summer... SCORE!!!

Okay--well the first thing other caravan owners that I know ask me is "Have you had the tranny rebuilt yet?" And when I said no, they were like, WWOOOOOOWW REALLY?!?? So after 6 people this year said the same thing, I knew it was about time. Sure enough, this summer, I drove to Eugene Oregon,got about a block from my friends house, made a quick stop at the gas station for a tasty beverage and came out, started the car, put it into reverse, and .... NOTHING. just killed the engine. Engine started fine, but I was NOT going anywhere.
So long story short.. took it AAMCO and had them rebuild it---cost me just under $2400 !! man, i was NOT expecting that. I thought $1500, maybe $1800....

But right away, I noticed it shuddering a little (sometimes a lot) when I put it in reverse, and into drive and when it's shifting thru the gears...like something is just not quite right... it drives, but it's not 100%....more like 85%...

So having read on here about some other similar situations, i'm kinda rolling with the idea that maybe the TCM needs to be Flashed again.... because sometimes it doesn't quite take the first time. Anyone have a similar scenario happen to them? And what was your outcome? I figure -- doing the Flash will cost me $100 and an hour of time, versus, driving all the way back up to Eugene for 6 hours and $120-$130 in gas.... and if that doesn't fix it, THEN i'll make the trip to Eugene.

In the meantime, any other suggestions?? Does anyone else here think I'm on the right track?
=)
JasmineWolf

 

[valiant67]

TCM isn't likely to cause the shuddering, even if it was never flashed. More likely is that AAMCO put the wrong fluid in it (instead of using ATF+4) and the different fluid is causing the shuddering. Which of course leads to a shorter life but one AAMCO hopes makes it past their warranty.

 

[chuzz]

You should have checked here first before going to AAMCO. The name means All Automatics Must Come Out. And they're notorious for not using the correct fluid in Mopars, like Mark said. If it hasn't been that long ago, maybe you can save it by flushing it with ATF+4. I'm willing to bet they put Dexron with some type of additive in it. Good luck with it.

 

[Jasmine Wolf di'Vine]

You should have checked here first before going to AAMCO. The name means All Automatics Must Come Out. And they're notorious for not using the correct fluid in Mopars, like Mark said. If it hasn't been that long ago, maybe you can save it by flushing it with ATF+4. I'm willing to bet they put Dexron with some type of additive in it. Good luck with it.

TCM isn't likely to cause the shuddering, even if it was never flashed. More likely is that AAMCO put the wrong fluid in it (instead of using ATF+4) and the different fluid is causing the shuddering. Which of course leads to a shorter life but one AAMCO hopes makes it past their warranty.

I did get on here and start reading before I even took it to the shop, and specifically asked for the ATF +4, and specifically NOT Dexron. And then asked SPECIFICALLY after it was done, if they had used the ATF+4 and he said that he had. Are you thinking that he lied? I didn't get the feeling that he was lying, but i WAS so happy to have my vehicle back that maybe I ignored it on some level....
Is there a way to test it?

So ALSO-I called my local Arcata tranny shop and they said they can only do the "quick flash" and that I would have to go to the dealer and have them do the full Flash. so made an appt, got there and the desk guy says ok, and calls in the actual Tech guy to do the work and the tech says they can't Flash it because it's older than 1996. and I'm like huh??? So here's the thing, the tech guy and I drive it around for a little while...and sure OF COURSE Murphys Law, That Which is &*!$ed Up for You Will Work PERFECTLY for Someone Else while They Are in the Vicinity. Yeah--- my van showed no signs at first of there being anything wrong, except this minor shudder, which the Tech thought was an axle thing. But eventually I felt it again and he noticed, so THANK GOD. geez.
By the end, I had figured out that it happens more when it's a cold start. AND the tech said either get it FLASHED *or* replace the whole unit. He was leaning toward replacement. Called my AAMCO guy and HE said NO don't replace, find somewhere that still has --- MDB Flash capabilities, and suggested I try the Medford Dealer (he had worked there a yr and a half ago and they did that sort of thing then...). Or something MBD??? I'm not fluent in tranny lingo.
So Monday, I'm driving the 4 hrs from Arcata to Medford Oregon, where apparently at Lithia Dodge they still have this obsolete technology and I'm hoping that will fix the problem. Otherwise... back to AAMCO I go. =P
Is it possible do you think for the dealer to have a way to test the fluid?