[KManiac]

The only reason a 3-speed (P-R-N-D-2-1) automatic sticks in high range (3rd gear) at a stop light is a sticking governor valve.

The governor valve is a centrifugally actuated valve attached to the tailshaft of the transmission. It is spring loaded. As car speed increases, this valve will move outward under centrifugal force, causing the transmission to upshift. When the car slows down and comes to a stop, the spring pulls the valve back, causing the transmission to downshift automatically. These valves will stick when a fragment of metal is shed from somewhere inside the transmission and lodges between the valve and the valve bore. When the governor valve sticks out, the transmission will remain in high range until manually shifted.

You can work around this condition temporarily by either shifting to manual low then back to drive, or shifting to neutral then back to drive. Shifting the transmission either way will cause a reverse flow of hydraulic pressure on the governor valve, forcing it to retract.

The cure for this condition is a transmission rebuild. The rebuilt should include replacing this valve and also replacing the component that shed the metal to begin with. Now, you could continue to drive the car with this condition, using the work around with the shifter. But you never know whether or not something else may break inside causing further problems, which cannot be overcome.

Now, I have a 1964 Chrysler that suffers from this same condition. This condition has existed with this car for over 26 years and has never gotten worse. But then again, I don't drive this car often and it is strickly a pleasure car, not a daily driver.

I also experienced the same problem with my 1991 Dodge Shadow four years ago. I chose to rebuild the transmission in this car. The tranny shop discovered that a clutch disc in the front clutch pack had fragmented, causing the sticky governor. The rebuild cost me $1,900 and I got a three year guarantee. One year and 8,000 miles later, the valve began to stick again. The tranny shop disassemble the transmission and could find nothing visually wrong. 150 miles later, something broke loose inside the transmission, jammed up a gear set at 65 miles per hour, and stripped out the splines in the rear gear hub. After a second rebuild (free of charge) the transmission has been flawless ever since.

So you have the chance to buy a 10-year-old Voyager with 70,000 miles for $500. If everything else about this car is flawless, you buy it for $500 and immediately have the transmission rebuilt, then you will end up with a decent, low-mileage van for approximately $3,000. Sounds like a good deal to me, given my assumptions. But the final decision is yours.