Automatic trans problem, 85 voyager, 2.6

Need help with diagnosis. would not start, just click, on 6 month old starter. First time tried in neutral, and it started. Second time would not start. When I went to have it towed to garage, it started. 86,000 miles on voyager, 2.6 mitsubishi engine, automatic. Garage tried new starter, but no help. tried new relay, but got defective one, and after trying to find problem discoverd it was defective replacement part. Don't know what they looked at. When I picked the car up, it started fine, but when I put into gear, no thunk, and would not go forward. Would go back just fine. checked fluid, and was low. added two quarts, and after a few minutes it started to go forward. Drove home, about two miles. Next trip, no forward. Parked on a downhill slope, could not read dipstick acurately. Added about a 1/2 quart, can see the fluid, but still no forward motion.

I have cjecked trans often, no leaks, no wet spot underneath,no plume on undercarriage. worked fine before it did not, no slippage noted. Seems to me, they may have damaged something in shop, but at as loss as to what. Suspect that it may be valve body or clogged filter, as it just seemed to come up quickly.

Where did missing fluid go? is there a vacuum line that could have sucked it out? If no leak, and no slippage, what would cause it to lose forward, in 1,2 & 4. Isn't first attached to reverse? why does reverse work?

Need some understanding here.

DIck

try this:

Look at your antifreeze. If it's cloudy or red, the cooler is leaking into the radiator. It spells DISASTER for the trans, as it can't take the anti-freeze.
Please excuse this next statement:
I doubt the shop 'messed' with you, but considering what you have ('88 with a 2.6L), I'm suprised it hasn't gotten timing chain-itis or total self-destructus yet. This motor, and the trans are both nearly legendary for their horrible reliability and poor performance.
But it's nice that you have one that runs... really!

Are you sure you didn't goof and it's really a 2.5 Litre?

Now to the transmission (no matter which one it is) Probably the front pump went bad. Not because of anything more than it was it's time to drop dead. The extra fluid "could" have gone into other parts of the transmission case and that's why you don't see any leak... or the aforementioned radiator.

I would caution you against putting a lot of money in the Van unless it's in super nice shape, or a family heirloom or something, but do as you wish...

Good luck,

Slantsixness

(sorry if I was harsh, it is friday...! :))

The van is not worth spending more than about $100 on. The tires are good, the engine always starts and doesnot burn oil, or leak. It is noisey, as in timing chain, though.

Do you know what it takes to put in a front pump? CAn I do it myself? I have access to a garage with a lift and a trans jack ( upright ). Is it possible it is in the valve body or the filter that the fluid is not going where it should? What explains the going backward fine but not forward, how is that tied to the pump? what does a pump cost?

In your opinion would it be cheaper to get a used trans? I only use this to haul junk around, rarely out of town, never over 50 miles a trip (though it did take me 300 miles last summer into the mountains for a camping vacation).

Thanks for the feedback.

Dick

You should be able to get a used trans real cheap for it.
there are two different transmissions. One has a 4 bolt flex plate and one has a five bolt, and the tourque converters are different sizes, respectfully.

Don't waste time trying to put a pump on it, although it isn't that hard. And it'll cost more than the van is worth!

The pump starts leaking and lowers the overall trans pressure, and without the right pressure, the trans will start doing all sorts of strange things. Mostly, it won't go into forward gears, or if it does, only for a second, then shifts into "neutral" or so it seems. It has something to do with the location of the shift servos and the pathways in the valve body. Reverse just seems to be the last to go.

Call around or visit your local junkyards and see if you can talk them out of the trans you need. The transmission in your van is so common that most junk yards won't even pull them out anymore. On average, if a junkyard takes a Van with a 2.6, odds are that it gets crushed before any parts are taken off it, including the trans.

If you can pull it yourself in a junkyard, you could save even more money. check with them. Don't go on "advetised" prices. The cheesier the junkyard, the better. (They'd be more likely to have one.)
Consider even your local classifieds for a whole van that's got a spent motor (certainly not hard to find...!) for 50 or 100 bucks...? Of course you'll have to tow it home and so on...

I live in VA, not terribly far away from you, but we've got yards around here that'll sell you one for $100.00, or even less if you pull it yourself, so I assume you'll have the same luck locally in PA. If not, I can recommend one pull it yourself place in Richmond...

good luck,

Slantsixness

its unlikely that it has a pump failure anyways. it is a gear pump which if it were totally worn out would still supply way more oil pressure than the trans would ever need. In reverse it applys the rear band and forward clutch. in first it applys the rear clutch and overrunning clutch. in third it applies forward and rear clutch. since it has reverse you can eliminate the forward clutch and rear band as a problem. if it pulls in L1, (lever all the way down) the overrunning clutch is the problem. if it still does not have low gear the rear clutch is faulty(common). either way its not worth fixing, time to search for a trans.