2000 caravan sport tranny?

[homefree]

Did this year come with a junk tranny like the older ones did? It has a 3 speed w/overdrive in it. In May i have to drive from Northern Minnesota to Colorado and i'm wondering if i can trust it? Every thing is working fine now but i'm getting second thoughts about this thing. It only has 27000 miles on it now but it sounds like that don't matter much with these trannys.

[trannyman52]

LOL///it's the same junk///Watch that you stop between shifting from
fwd to rev or rev to fwd ////try not to be agressive with it/// if you do
this ,,,,it should last as long as the rest of the JUNK on the road!!!!
These have a bad habit of loosing the pin holding the spyder gears,,,,
so watch tire pressures /// run matched sets on front of van,,,if you get stuck,,,don't spin the crap out of the van!!!

[homefree]

Is there a update kit that a person could put init before the thing blows apart? It sounds like there is quite a back order for these things.

[trannyman52]

the problem is the "stuff" they use to build these things from//// older
units tf6/tf8/thm350/thm400/c6 ect ect had heavy cast iron or steel
parts in them. Most of the "NEW GENERATION" units are made from
punched sheet-metal ,,then hardened REASON "i guess" CHEAPER,,,
LESS WEIGHT re : better gas mileage. This is not only crysler trans, but
ALL through the industry.

The window between working without a problem,,,, and a piece of shit!!!
is quite narrow on many units,, sad to say!!! BUT thats what keeps the
shops busy!!!
Everything I drive has over 100,000 mi on them //// and trust them!!
WORRY-LESS and remember,, this stuff is just like Doritoes,,,,They'll
make more!!!

[homefree]

This hole thing is kinda funny because when i bought the van i asked the dealer if the tranny are the same as the older models because i new that they had problem with them and he told me that they have changed the design and put overdrive in them and none of the new ones were having any problems. Boy did i fall for that line hay.

[conncarl]

Homefree, as long as you take reasonably good care of it, I wouldn't worry too much.

If you'd like to read the technical details of how the A-604/41TE transmission has been upgraded and improved over the years, take a look here; http://www.allpar.com/fix/trans.html

Besides the excellent tips provided by trannyman52, probably the most important things you can do as a consumer to extend your transmission life are; 1. Don't overheat your van; always make sure your belts, hoses, antifreeze, radiator cap and thermostat are in good shape, and 2. Change your ATF and filter regularly.

As far as #2 goes, be absolutely sure that whoever services your tranny uses a genuine Chrysler filter (there have been some problems reported with the clones, and the Chrysler piece is only $6, anyway) and Chrysler-approved Type 9602 ATF+4.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can use any other fluid in your 2000, or that you don't have to change it because it is "lifetime" fluid.

Good luck! Carl

[digimon]

conncarl, Thanks for a great referance sight. To see all of that info reconfirmed in black and white for all of us that are driving rolling time bombs it is so very helpful to know at least there is something that can be done to prolong or even prevent the bomb from going off. Ride On, digimon

[homefree]

Thanks for your tips (and a good peice of mind) everybody, it sure is nice to know that there are people out there that have knowledge in this area and are willing to give us all some good advice. THANKS AGAIN EVERYBODY