Whining noise when rev'ed

[98 Grand Caravan]

I am newbie here, I have a problem with my 98 Caravan. It makes a loud whining noise that can be heard when driven or rev'd in Neutral and Park. I can feel that it is not shifting like it normally does a little slippage when it shifts. I was thinking that it might not be the tranny problem since it whines when in Neutral as well. The fluid has been changed ATF+3 and the fluid and level is fine. Is this a torque converter problem? I am going to try to get under the van this weekend and see if I can hear where exactly the noise if coming from. I really want to get this fixed before my engine or tranny goes out. Thanks for your help.

Alex

[GTP Dad]

Actually the problem is the front pump in the transmission. It is going bad and will probably not last a lot longer. You don't say how many miles on your van but if you have more than 100K take it to a tranny shop to be looked at because you are driving on borrowed time. The usual cost to rebuild is about $1700 but you will find that it is worth the money if you intend to keep the van for any amount of time.

[98 Grand Caravan]

How difficult is it to change the front pump for the transmission? The van has 125k miles on it and I want to get rid of it as soon as I get rid of the whining. I was hoping that it can be a cheap fix or a temporary one but it looks like I am in trouble this time. Any suggestions?

Alex

[GTP Dad]

You have almost the same amount of labor to change the front pump that you would have to rebuild the entire transmission. You must pull the transmission out of the vehicle and then pull the entire front of the transmission off. The pump is inside the front of the transmission. It will take several hours to do this and wouldn't be worth the effort. One thing I would try to quiet it down would be to try a quart of Lucas oil transmission fluid conditioner. (Not sure that is the right name) It is available at most auto parts stores and may help the performance as well as quiet the pump.