Changed trans fluid in 98 Grand Caravan & added Trans X fluid to help leak,is this ok

[lindseylu]

Hi, I have a 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan. We have a tranny leak. We had someone look at it and were told to get the tranny serviced and then add Trans X fluid and that that should stop the leak. We took it to Jiffy Lube and they changed out the fluid and replaced the filter and added the Trans X fluid. Our van has 110k miles. I am worried because now I am reading that your not supposed to change the trans fluid after 75k miles or it could hurt the tranny. And by the way, none of this helped the leak, it's still leaking! Help!

[UncleBob]

magic elixurs either don't work, or create severe side effects or both. Avoid them in the future.

Caravans are quite famous for their tranny leaks. Most come from the soft tranny cooler lines. quite easy to fix. Its best to verify by finding a shop that is actually willing to isolate the leak, not just note that there is a leak (that won't be jiffy lube)

As for the claim of high mileage trannies not liking their fluid changed. There is a grain of truth to that. Flushing the fluid on a high mileage tranny that has been neglected upto then, sometimes causes them to suddenly develope problems. Not changing the fluid isn't the best solution really. You're damned if you don't, its just a matter of time. I'd personally suggest maintain the fluid well regardless of the miles, and it will last longer in the long run.

[lindseylu]

Originally Posted by UncleBob

magic elixurs either don't work, or create severe side effects or both. Avoid them in the future.

Caravans are quite famous for their tranny leaks. Most come from the soft tranny cooler lines. quite easy to fix. Its best to verify by finding a shop that is actually willing to isolate the leak, not just note that there is a leak (that won't be jiffy lube)

As for the claim of high mileage trannies not liking their fluid changed. There is a grain of truth to that. Flushing the fluid on a high mileage tranny that has been neglected upto then, sometimes causes them to suddenly develope problems. Not changing the fluid isn't the best solution really. You're damned if you don't, its just a matter of time. I'd personally suggest maintain the fluid well regardless of the miles, and it will last longer in the long run.

Thank you for the advice. I will get our van in to a good shop and will mention the cooler lines, we will see what they say. I actually am not sure if Jiffy Lube "flushed" the tranny. Is it standard to flush the tranny when changing the fluid? Would you say that Jiffy Lube is not the best place to go to get my tranny serviced in the future? We decided to go there because they were quite a bit cheaper. Maybe that wasn't the best idea.

[UncleBob]

Originally Posted by lindseylu

Thank you for the advice. I will get our van in to a good shop and will mention the cooler lines, we will see what they say. I actually am not sure if Jiffy Lube "flushed" the tranny. Is it standard to flush the tranny when changing the fluid? Would you say that Jiffy Lube is not the best place to go to get my tranny serviced in the future? We decided to go there because they were quite a bit cheaper. Maybe that wasn't the best idea.

I wouldn't let jiffy lube touch one of my vehicles with a ten foot pole honestly. I've fixed too many of their screw-ups. They never admit to them either, no matter how blatent it is. They also have been known to not service things that you pay for (media has done a couple stories on that)

Granted, there will always be sleazy shops, no matter where you go...Finding a good shop is always a challenge, but find a full service shop you like/trust. Jiffy lube is mostly interested in turning a quick profit off of easy jobs. They have no knowledgable people to actually do a thorough inspection, let alone fix things they find. If you brought your caravan to my shop for an oil change, for example, not only would I note the tranny leak as part of the inspection, I'd actually tell you where it was coming from.