Transmission

[Vats]

I have a 1999 Grans Caravan ES AWD. The transmission was removed to replace the torque converter seal, fix a leak on the solenoid pack. Transmission is back in, however stuck in second gear when drive is engaged. The vehicle has autostick, and anyone help!

[RexNfx400]

If the trans is in 2nd gear then its in "limp-in mode"
There should be a code stored in the computer. Or, maybe solenoid pak not plugged in, or wrong, 2nd design gasket on 1st design pak.

[Vats]

Is the first generation solenoid pack the one which has the plate attached?

[RexNfx400]

Yep...First gen has plate

[Vats]

Originally Posted by RexNfx400

If the trans is in 2nd gear then its in "limp-in mode"
There should be a code stored in the computer. Or, maybe solenoid pak not plugged in, or wrong, 2nd design gasket on 1st design pak.

I put new gaskets on the solenoid pack, drove to the end of the street, worked fine, then the check engine light came on and the transmission went back into limp mode.

I am at the point where I think I will have to get the trouble codes scanned. Any thoughts?

[gforster]

Check that the ground wire by the starter bolt is firmly attached. Hey Refnfx400 - do you think that the crank speed sensor may have been damaged during trans removal? I think they either work or they don't. Just a thought. I'm betting maybe the connectors on the solenoid pack got spread slightly.

[Vats]

Soleniod pack plug seems to be fine, as I had that off this morning. I have not checked the ground wire on the starter bolt though. Problem is I dont want to start relacing the wrong parts, $$$

[RexNfx400]

The crank speed sensor will effect engine runability. You must get to the data stream on the TCM(transmission control mudule). This is only done with a scanner that reads data. And you have to "understand" the data. Not just reading codes. Anything else and your just throwing away parts and money.

[Vats]

Originally Posted by RexNfx400

The crank speed sensor will effect engine runability. You must get to the data stream on the TCM(transmission control mudule). This is only done with a scanner that reads data. And you have to "understand" the data. Not just reading codes. Anything else and your just throwing away parts and money.

Thanks for the tips. It will drive fine for the first say 2 mins, then goes into limp mode. I am going to try attatching a new ground to the transmission, as we moved the one from the starter bolt when we had the tranny out, to the cylender head. I'm thinking thats the problem, if that fails, I'll get the transmission scanned, and go from there.