Need HELP '01 T&C Transmission

About a month ago my transmission died on my '01 Chrysler T&C LTD AWD mini-van, took it to the TRANSMISSION SPECIALIST....AAMCO (first mistake). The owner "personally" reviewed my situation and after a day or so, gave me the bill for a re-build. I won't mention the price unless someone wants to know (2nd mistake). After a week or so, the owner shook my hand and with a smile told me eveything is OK. He said "I want you to be HAPPY". That same day, there was a hissing noise coming from near drivers front wheel. Brought it back and they said it needed a aux trans cooler. Oh, by the way, there never put back the battery shroud, I guess they removed it to disconnect the battery, the shroud was bouncing around in the engine compartment for a full day. So, they installed the cooler in a couple of days. They gave me the van back and said everything is OK. The next day, the van was very sluggish on start-up and low MPH with a nasty vibration from 30 MPH and up. They said, it was a bad torgue converter. Few days later the torque converter was replaced and they said eveything is OK now. Well, it's not, I still have this nasty vibration, shimmy shake at around 30 MPH and it is always there even at 60-70 MPH. Brought it back and the owner said it is a tire/balance problem, not a transmission issue, he said you are hearing the vibration from the road. WOW, this guy is talented or what! HUH?. I have been to countless tire and fron-end shops and have had the tires looked at and balance and rotated, and all the shops that I have been to say it is not a tire problem, possible driveshaft/transmission problem. (third, fourth, fifth mistake, because I'm spending $ for nothin'. One other thing, the owner of AAMCO emphatically states that he uses DEXTRON fluid with an additive. (BEST IN THE LAND) and says it is the best for this van. Now, I have been doing a lot of research about my problem and many many instances, they say not to use anything other than MOPAR ATF+4. The owner disagrees and basically states to go my tires balanced. I believe that my problem is attributed to the work that AAMCO did in re-building my transmissions, because this condition was not there before they worked on it. I am trying to find some help on anyone out there that has been through this problem to give me some advice on what my problem could be. Thanks for spending a few minutes on my tread.

The first thing you need to do is call the Better business bureau and report this gentleman. The next thing you need to do is to contact the home/corporate office of AAMCO and report his business practices and demand that they allow you to take it to another shop to have it repaired for free because he used dexron instead of ATF+4 he has probably destroyed your transmission. (AAMCO international customer service 800-523-0401.)

Finally your vibration is probably being caused by a bad CV joint. The AAMCO guy should have caught this when he removed them to rebuild the transmission. Also I believe that all AAMCO transmission shops give you a 12 month warranty on any transmission they rebuild. This should give you some leverage.

Just a note, I have had two transmissions rebuilt by the AAMCO in Williamsport PA and have been completely satisified with the service and the transmissions have performed flawlessly, one on a Chrysler T&C and one on a Pontiac GTP.

Thanks for your reply and advice, I will certainly take some action with BBB and their corporate offices. In the meantime, it seems like I have a coolant leak coming from the right passenger wheel area. I;m hpoing this is not a problem that they caused. I don't trust them and will be taking my car to another shop later this week to determine cause of vibration and coolant leak as I will be out of town for a few days. I will keep you posted.

Called their corporate office and made my complaint, they were very helpful and said to go to another AAMCO shop for assistance, they will monitor the situation. This shop is looking over the problem, they are more professional than the other AAMCO, which is a great feeling. The vibration seems to be coming from either the front driveshaft, the transfer case, or the front differential. More troubleshooting needed.

I agree with GTP dad. If you allow a CV axle to hang on its own wieght,(such as while a shop has the transmission out) it can damage them. BTW, bad inner CV joints will cause shimmys and vibrations. Bad outers click and pop during turns...

Dobaas, please let us know what they find out at the second AAMCO. I am real curious to see what the final outcome is. I am very pleased that the corp. office of AAMCO was able to help out. They stand on their reputation and I have a feeling the shop you started with won't be displaying the AAMCO logo much longer.

The 2nd AAMCO shop removed the front driveshaft from the transfer case and front diff and drove the van and the vibrations went away. They rotated the driveshaft, front to back, back to front and the vibrations are still there. They want to bring the driveshaft to another shop to check the balance. Hope to find out more next week. Thanks