Noisy transmission

It could be that I'm paranoid and could be nothing, but lately I've noticed that starting out in first gear there is a slight howl that increases into second gear and then disappears. but once I slow down to first gear again, It gives a howl again. It's hard to explain, but could this be a sign of the tranny crapping out on me? The van has 80,000 miles on it and around 75,000 miles, I changed the filter and fluid (ATF+3) The tranny shifts fine in all gears, but the noise is concerning me. BTW the van is a 1994 Caravan with a 3.0 Liter, 3 speed tranny.

Yes, it sounds like the front pump is going out in the transmission that is what is causing the whine you hear. It will last for a while but the ultimate solution is to replace or rebuild the transmission. This is an unfortunate problem with all front drive transmissions in Chrysler mini-vans, they only last around 90k miles before rebuild is needed.

Thanks for the reply. I was afraid of that. About how much am I looking at for a rebuild or replacement?

Probably $1200 to $1500 for starters depending on where you have the work done.

Looks like I'll be in the market for a new van. That price is more than this van is worth. Lol. Thanks for your help.

You can always check car-part.com for a used one. It will save you big bucks and you won't have the trauma of a new car payment. I checked car-part.com for transmissions in the northeast and they range from 4-700 dollars or course installation would be extra.