Symptom of using wrong Tranny Fluid?

[mnwild14]

I am wondering if this is a possible symptom of using the wrong tranny fluid?
It is in a 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan, 3.3L. The vehicle has had 4 transmissions in it, the last one less than 4 years ago. A shop looked at it recently and flushed the transmission fluid. It worked fine for a while, but now it basically sits in neutral. It will go a little ways and then it then just starts slipping or sitting in neutral. You let it cool down, it starts going again for aways. I brought it in to a tranny shop and he said I need a new transmission. All he did was run a scan, and take it for a test drive. I asked him if he thought using Dexron instead of ATF+3 would cause this, and he said that they are the same. Which scared me. I am trying to decide if it would be worth flushing the transmission out and putting aTF+3 in or not. Any thoughts??

[GTP Dad]

It is extremely critical that you do not substitute Dexron for ATF+3 or 4 in Chrysler transmissions. They do not do well with this fluid. I would say that the tranny is toast since all it will do is sit and slip. Recently had a GM transmission that did exactly the same thing. Cost of repairs $2400, luckily some was covered by and extended warranty. One suggestion, find a different shop.

[who fan]

I would try flushing it and replace the relay pack. Go to (allpar.com) for info on this transmission. You got nothing to loose in the face of a $2000 repair bill

[conncarl]

Wild, I would shop around for a good deal on a rebuild from a reputable shop. If you wait for the transaxle to fail completely, you will pay more.

It is a simple fact that when a shop sees your van come in on a wrecker, they know you are out of options. Stopping in or phoning for a price will almost always get you a better value.

You can certainly spend some more money on the old transmission if you like. I don't know what replacing the relay pack costs in other parts of the country, but here in the Northeast, its about a $200 job, and the problem you describe is not symptomatic of a clogged or failed relay pack.

I do not ever suggest power flushing, I have seen too many transmissions fail within days of such a service. I think that most of the dirt in an 8 or 9 year old transaxle is static, it more or less stays in place and isn't likely to do any harm - that is, unless you disturb it and cause it to start circulating, which is almost certainly what happened in your case, destroying your transaxle.

A much better option on an A604 or 41TE D/C transaxle would be a "passive flush". You can perform one yourself by disconnecting your fluid lines, placing the suction line in a bucket of clean, fresh ATF+3, and the other in an empty bucket. Start the van and allow it to idle, and once the output fluid is clean and bright red, you've purged all or most of the contaminated fluid.

I would just go for a quality rebuild myself, there is no simple repair that is going to restore this transmission to health. Avoid overheating your van, replace your fluid and filter every 2 years or 30,000 miles, avoid powerflushing, and this transmission should be your last in that van.

Incidentally, you can now buy ATF+3 compatible fluid in Wal-Mart. You should use genuine D/C filters, they're cheap and they fit properly. Chrysler does not sell pan gaskets though, you'll need to buy a good quality one at a local auto parts store.

Good luck! Carl