2001 Caravan service questions...

I have a 2001 Caravan with 65,000 miles. I am not experiencing any issues right now, but wondering if I need to do a transmission fluid and coolant change based on the maintenance schedule.

1. My trans fluid looks clean, do I just do a flush or change the filter or just wait and leave well enough alone (I have read that Chrysler trans are very "touchy")? I have also read stories both ways either DO NOT flush and just drop the pan or all you need is a flush... anyone with experience would help a lot in making this decision.

2. On the coolant, I have not reached the 100,000 mile mark, but have reached 5 years... do I flush it also or wait?


Thanks

Regarding your transmission, I presume you have the 4-speed ultradrive (P-R-N-D-3-L). The fluid and filter should be changed every 30,000 miles! Use only ATF+4 fluid! If your fluid was changed previously at 30,000 miles, you are due again. Neglecting this could lead to problems down the road.

Now, about half of your transmission fluid sits in the pan. The other half is either in the torque converter or the transmission cooler and lines. So if all you do is drop the pan and refill, your only changing half the fluid. Some torque converters have a drain plug that will allow you to drain them. My old Chryslers have these drain plugs, but my father's Lincoln Town Car does not. I just dropped the pan and replaced only the spent fluid when I service his Town Car last winter. Now flushing the system is always better because you change all the fluid. But I have seen this done in a transmission shop and takes almost twice the fluid capacity of your transmisson to accomplish. This requires some way of continuously adding fluid to the transmission while it is running and having the old fluid run out of a disconnected cooling line into some type of collection container. This can get very messy for the DIY'er if you are not careful. Changing just the fluid in the pan is better than not changing it at all. But if you really want to change more than half the fluid, I suggest you dump and replace the fluid in the pan at least three times over succeeding weekends. This will result in replacing over 75% of the fluid. Then just do this again in another 30,000 miles. I think the dealer service departments just drop the pan and refill.

Now regarding your coolant, the rust inhibitors and lubricants in the antifreeze degrade over time. I recommend flushing the cooling system every 30,000 miles or two years. It wouldn't hurt for you to change your coolant now, as well.

Right now, my 1998 Town & Country is due for a 90,000 mile service. I refuse to pay another mechanic to do this again. I will be changing the transmission fluid and filter, as well as flushing the cooling system as part of this service. Now, I just got to pry the keys out of my wife's hand long enough to get it done.

So, as far as the transmission, would you recommend changing the filter/fluid or just flushing the entire system (with a machine) and replacing with new fluid and leaving the filter. Does the filter really need to be changed?



Any other opinions?

Thanks