97 Voyager won't shift outta 1st

[Lobsta]

97' Voy 3speed. Won't shift out of first. Got fluid leaking, don't know from where yet. Could this be the solenoid? Where is solenoid located? Please help...starting new job soon.

[ricebike]

too vague

don't know if the leak has anything to do with it; pull the dipstick and verify if low of special ATF fluid ( ATF+4)

checked for trouble codes from autozone? (free)

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may be right about the solenoids

http://www.allpar.com/fix/trans.html

the protective screens for the hydraulic "brain" can clog

but that's just a guess at your problem

read through and you can have others as well (like a bad ground strap)

further scrolling down on that link:

Believe it or not, this is a sign of good design. Rather than having the engine shut down completely, Chrysler designed a "limp home mode" which causes the transmission to only use first and second, as a very visible sign that something is wrong. The immediate reaction should be checking the computer for error codes and changing the transmission fluid. If that fails, it could be a sensor problem or an internal problem. Suggestion is usually to chnage the fluid and filter (maybe flush the fluid too) and make sure that you use the correct amount of the appropriate chrysler fluid - DO NOT USE ANYONE ELSE'S FLUID!

[Lobsta]

Will try this. Looking for ground straps. Found one broken from firewall to block. Kinda cold, so looking for a good day to do all this from below in the drive way. Sounds like it could be a clogged solenoid too. First couple of times this happened, I'd shut the car off, restart and problem solved. Cant find the TCM on this car. Any clues to where it is? Thanx.

[ricebike]

i dunno about you, but my google image searchskills are working for me!



were there any OBDII trouble codes? because i know you have the classic "limp mode" condition. can be a number of causes, like if the ecu/ecm/tcm can not read from the vehicle speed sensor, the transmission will protect itself.



from what it seems, it's integrated into the ECU/ECM(which is on the driver side)... from those diagrams, tcm on the passenger side

good thing you found that broken ground wire; try that first (optional: maybe add an additional ground strap from the engine/trans to the body of the vehicle)

did you also verify that you have enough trans fluid? and that fluid isn't burnt/ looks pinkish instead of brown?
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did you scroll to the top of this section? read up on the following:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=196775

GeorgeArthur started throwing parts at it, not following peliminary checks, like wire continuity and secure ground wires, and paid for it dearly... he even had lazy or sleazy shop mechanics trying to sell him a rebuilt trans instead of following the basics first

his fix after all that fiasco:

I just did not know where the ground strap was with this EATX/TCM Selenoid Pack wire issue...
I paid $1700 of my son's school money, because we do not have any, for a new ground strap...! and an Old transmission...

good luck and keep us updated so others searching for possible causes may also found your fixed problem

edit: after skimming through that other thread, if you found no engine control trouble codes, you may need to go to a trans shop for obtaining any trans codes, if any...

[fomoco1912]

Your Trany is toast so just go and see a tranny shop it will cost about $2000.00 to rebuild the tranny.