Tranny problems and maybe other problems. P0700, P0740, P1776

I just picked up a 97 Caravan sport 3.3 from a family member. I was told that the car wouldn't shift into OD sometimes. The car was taken to a dealership before it was given to me for a tranny flush. The dealer said that there was no excess metal shavings in the pan.
Anyway, the car was fine at first but then the other day it wouldn't upshift. At 50mph the car was reving to 4-5K. I pulled over turned the car off, immedietly turned it on again and the thing shifted fine. I figured I should pull the codes since my indicator light was on.The 3 codes I got were P0700, P0740, P1776. One seems to be a tranny control code, ones a torque converter circuit failure and the other I'm not sure about. It seems like it is either a ignition retard timeout or a solenoid problem. What do you guys suggest I start with? From reading the boards it seems like I should look into the solenoid pack and the tranny ECM. Any other suggestions? Is there any way for me to pull the tranny codes myself (I use the codereader at Autozone)? Could the torque converter code be anything except a mechanical probelm with the converter?
Other problems I've experienced with the car are a slightly harsh downshift, an annoying vibration when cruising between 75-85mph and a weird scraping type sound. The sound occurs most when I turn the wheel slightly and accelerate lightly. The noise also shows up when accelerating lightly off of a light but only sometimes. Today the car also made a slightly similar but much quiter version of the noise when i put the car in gear (D and reverse). It went away when I put the car in park or nuetral. Any opinions on these problems (which may or may not be related) would be great too.
Sorry for the long first post guys. :)

Got in the car this morning and the check engine light was gone. I'm sure it will be back though so any help would be great. :)

Sounds like you are on the right track with the selonoid pak for the shifting. As for the noise I don`t have a clue.Use only ATF+3 fluid.

p0700 is a code for a internal problem with the TCM

p0740=torque converter clutch control circuit
p1776=solenoid switch latched in L-R (low-reverse) position
p0700=internal trans controller p0700 code means replaces your TCM

you should be able to find a tcm at a salvage yard for under $40.

chevy406, how do you troubleshoot/repair a code p1776 im getting this code on my caravan

p0740=torque converter clutch control circuit
p1776=solenoid switch latched in L-R (low-reverse) position
p0700=internal trans controller p0700 code means replaces your TCM

Chevy 406 - My check engine light just came on - stopped at autozone and am getting P0700 and P0740 error codes. I suspect the Solenoid pack - can probaby pick one up - any ideas other than the dealer?- is it tough to replace? I plan to replace the fluid and filter (ATF+4) - Is this fluid still only available at the dealer?

I also have a 1997 dodge caravan sport SE with the check engine light on and it will stay in downshift position and not change gears sometimes... took it to the dealer last week and to autozone and retrieved codes P0700 and P0740, bought a new solenoid pack and input and output sensors, also a new tcm, took it back to dealer because they said the computer had to be flashed and within 10 miles of driving home service engine light came back on. went back to the dealer following day, they flashed it again and said they forgot to enter the tire size in computer, and low and behold 10 miles later it came back on! too it to a different dealer today to be hooked up to the computer and they gave me a code P1799, oil temp. problem. said they flashed it and it was fixed, 12.6 miles later, the check engine light is back on. the shifting is still eratic, and I'm getting really tired of spending $70 each time I go to the dealer! does anyone have a clue what's going on? the dealer doesn't!
I'm about ready to get rid of this junk!!! help!!!

I've got a 1997 3.0 plymouth voyager with the 3spd, i've been getting a lot of the same symptoms but only the P0740 code. If I replace the torque converter clutch control circuit, will that correct the problem. Would that be the same thing as the transmission computer? On an entirely different subject, how hard it is to replace the latch/locking mechanism on the back hatch? Mine makes a terrible grinding noise and vibrates the whole car whenever its used, which is everytime the autolock kicks in. Thanks for the help! :1zhelp:

I hate to tell everyone here that already replaced their TCM this... but code P0700 doesnt mean there's an internal error in the TCM and that you should replace it. If you get code P0700 when you do a full system scan, it is coming from the PCM, and it flags in the PCM to tell you to check the TCM for transmission specific codes. That's all. It's only there because some of the cheap scan tools that they sell for $30 at local parts stores will only scan the PCM, so they put that code there to let people know there are more codes in the TCM. :shakehead

We have a 98 plymouth grand voyager (3.3L) that did the same thing last night. Wasn't shifting correctly. At 40-50 mph RPM was around 4-5k. After a while of sitting off it seemed to correct its self (temporary?). Check engine was still on but shifting somewhat normally. 1st and 2nd gears seemd to down shift kinda hard. After a while the Check Engine light also went off. It is at the shop right now I will post what they think it might be. Unfortantly because we were in BFE, I was not able to grab in codes.

A update to our situation. My wife is dealing with this so I'm going to have ad-lib the conversation. She spoke with the mechanic and they drove it around for a "while" and couldn't recreate the problems we were having. They than hooked it up to the computer and ran some codes (what-ever that means?). Still couldn't figure it out so they rented us a car till Wednesday and are rebuilding the transmission. Shouldn't the car's computer keep track of the SE light and any codes that pertain to the SE light at time of malfunction? Or does the memory get wiped when the SE light turns itself off?
Keep you all posted.
jrozanc

When to go pick up the van last night after the mechanic rebuilt the transmission.....was leaking fluid from the transmission...DOH!!!!!!!

Should have bought a Jap van.

Yes a honda van they are very nice our 97 voyager as soon as we bought it from the use car dealer gave us trouble the tranny went on it and we had it rebuild $2500 and that was a year in a half ago and know we are getting the same codes you got and they even put a new torque converter. I really hate this voyager.

Not sure if the dealership is aware not to use ATF+4 on those transmissions?! A lot of problems can be caused by using the wrong fluid (happened to me) and ATF+3 solved some of the problems.

If the mechanic has no idea what is wrong, time to find a competent mechanic. Dealerships can give you a data recorder (CoPilot) so they can evaluate intermittent problems but you might have to ask them (lazy lazy).