venture transmission slipping

I have a '98 venture. Last year i took it into the dealer to have the trans. fluid changed. He told me it was too dirty and it would shock the system and it would be better to wait for a problem. I have noticed that on small hiways when I try to pass it has a hard time accellerating quickly. Other than that, it seems to run fine. Check engine light came on so I took it in and now they say the trans. is slipping, runs hot at speeds over 55 and needs to be replaced. Will draining the fluid and replacing it help or could it hurt? As I said it is runnig o.k. Any ideas about how long I can drive it like this and not have to replace the transmission?

What is the mileage?

the venture has 175,000 miles on it

Welcome to the Venture tranny problem world. Needed to have my '97 with 85K on it replaced with a rebuilt luckily for only $1100. Mine slipped in first with a hard jerking to get to second. A reputable shop quoted me $2500-$3400 to put in a rebuilt. Check out the other tranny slipping stories throughout the postings. Hey, be grateful. Yours went twice as far as they normally do before experiencing the problem. If you are in San Diego, I can give you my shop's name off line.

Hey I'm no expert but I understand basic physics. Transmission fluid has two major functions.
1) Lube
2) Desperation of heat. It is cycled up thru the radiator area so that it can be cooled.

For the life of my I can’t see how changing the fluid and filter is going to hurt the system. New fluid and filter is only going to allow better functions of #1 and #2 from above.

I would seriously question the ethics of the person that gave you this advice. Are they after a transmission replacement job or trying to get you to buy a new car from them? To me it sounds like you were bluntly lied too. Again I am not an ASE trained mech – perhaps talk to one at a different dealership/service center.

If the fluid is bad this bad fluid WILL damage your transmission. Hell it even tells you this in your manual. Fluid goes bad especially if it gets overheated and you need to change it more frequently.

Changing the trans fluid and filter in your’98 venture is really not much harder than changing the oil. I just did mine in my ’98 last week. Go down to autozone and get 8 quarts of dextrin III and a filter kit. You need no tools except a socket and a large drip pan to change the fluid yourself. (and car ramps or some other secure way to get under the car)

I don’t even have a large drip pan; I have one of these $5 suction pumps that I got from Harbor Freight. It sucks the fluid out of the dipstick, I know guys that have ones that mount on a drill. Or do like most people do just start unscrewing the screws on one corner first so all the fluid drains out one corner first.. Then just drop the pan, clean it (I use brake fluid) replace the filter (it just pops in and out), put on the new gasket and screw back in the pan.

IF it were me I would do the job myself. Then look very hard at the grime on the pan, and especially look for metal shavings on the magnet on the pan. Some metal is okay but a bunch will show signs of abnormal wear.

All and all I say you gotta change that fluid now. The bad fluid might be the cause of your problem and new fluid might fix it. Maybe go to a transmission specialty shop if you want to be safe, perhaps it is a minor fix/adjustment now that will save you from having to replace the entire trans. A properly serviced trans can go 100’s and 100’s of thousands of miles before needing rebuilt

Hey I'm no expert but I understand basic physics. Transmission fluid has two major functions.
1) Lube
2) Desperation of heat. It is cycled up thru the radiator area so that it can be cooled.

For the life of my I can’t see how changing the fluid and filter is going to hurt the system. New fluid and filter is only going to allow better functions of #1 and #2 from above.



3) Transmission fluid is also a fluid coupler between the wheels and the
engine.

I also think that a fluid change is the first logical step but.................. there are a lot who believe that you are better off leaving the fluid in high mileage transmissions alone. I've never really accepted that theory but it is not uncommon.

actualy I had that in my point 1 to be:

1) torque converting and some lube

but somehow I deleted the part about the torque when I edit it (sorry)

Here is an article about why you should change your transmission fluid from Popular Mechanics. There are also links that show how the transmission works. (the default one is a manual but click around and you can see beter ones)


http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub_care_sat/1272521.html



Dude, Go get your tranie inspected as a transmission shop or some other than a dealer that has ASE people and knows transmissions. Like I said it could be a simple thing but this simple thing will destroy your transmission if you don't fix it.

Changing the fluid and filter is a good start,,,,,problem why they don't want to ,,,,possibility of contaminating the valve body ,,,,,,Now it really don't work!!!!!........BUT if the filter is plugged and the magnet is full of gunk,,,,this will improve the situation,,,,,,,,also ===over-fill this trans by a quart,,,pan is too shallow,,,it can use the extra ATF !!!!!!!!
think green go E-85

We are having a tranny issue on our 2001 Olds Silo. The tranny was rebuilt by the dealer in 2003 at 26K miles under warranty. We are now at 56K miles and the tranny exhibits a jerk or lunge under the following condition: tranny at full operating temp., driving at low speeds, momentarily letting off the throttle and then quickly back on (but not hard enough to downshift).

Any idea if this is normal ATF lag with this tranny or maybe a problem with the pressure control solenoid? I'm not sure if this part was replaced during the rebuild as it was not listed on the receipt but a slew of other parts were including bearing, brg. assembly, gear, torq converter (reman.), carriers, dam, and tranny kit.

The fluid color is good, at the right level, and sweet smelling.

Bad rebuild or they did not replace what they needed to. When my '97's at 85k needed rebuilding, a non-dealer shop did the rebuild as well as a few parts including the pressure solenoid, but improved the first shift jerking, but was still pretty detectable. Took it back and they exchanged it for a freshly rebuilt one which has worked fine since. Forget the recommended fluid and filter change at say 30 or 50k. It s/b done every 15k per my experts to prevent problems as well. One person wrote to also add an ectra qt of tranny fluid since the pan is so flat and long and would improve lubrication and temp control. Check with someone on the last tip though.