35-45 mph vibration/rattle/shutter

[fullheart5]

We have a 1995 Dodge with 171000 miles. We maintain our own car.
Replaced the transmission amoung other things. We drove from Fla. to
Austin in July and when we arrived the car started to
vibrate/rattle/shutter on acceleration between 35-45 mph. It does
not appear to affect the car performance. When we were driving home
from Austin, my daughter and I notice more problems. We made it to
Tallahassee and in desperation went to a Dodge dealership where they
diagnosed the problem of a cracked rocker arm and two cylinders needing
to be replaced. We left the car in Tallahassee, rented a car and
headed home. My husband retrieved the car the next week and repaired
the car, but now we still have the vibration/rattle/shutter problem.
Has anyone had this problem and resolved it. We have considered
driveshaft, transmission (its been replaced twice)............??????

Also, not familiar with how to work this forum, so I am hoping not to
lose any replies or responses. Thanks.

[Zcaithaca]

I dont think this is the right place to post this

[fullheart5]

Then where?????????????????????

[Zcaithaca]

maybe dodge forum

[eversio11]

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...play.php?f=734

[fullheart5]

I'm trying. We (two boys, husband, daughter) own eleven cars so I figured this forum covered everything.

[Zcaithaca]

Originally Posted by fullheart5

I'm trying. We (two boys, husband, daughter) own eleven cars so I figured this forum covered everything.

wow...this forum is for anyhitng not having to do with cars but i can see where the confusion comes from

[fullheart5]

Thanks. I'll keep looking.

[Rally Sport]

The problem is easily fixable..

Just needs to rotate the tires and get em balanced.. see simple.

[blindside.AMG]

My first instincts on a vibration @ 35-45 mph would be tires (maybe need balancing) or driveshaft/CV joints. But it seems like if your husband is replacing rocker arms and cylinders then he probably knows what he's doing. What are his thoughts??

[clawhammer]

I have a bad feeling that the dealership ripped you off. Try the balancing/rotating of tires.

[travis712]

Does the car pull to one side or another? Your front end alignment might be off; causing one tire to wear faster. This is possible, but balancing seems more logical.

[theFREAKnasty82]

Originally Posted by fullheart5

We have a 1995 Dodge with 171000 miles. We maintain our own car.
Replaced the transmission amoung other things. We drove from Fla. to
Austin in July and when we arrived the car started to
vibrate/rattle/shutter on acceleration between 35-45 mph. It does
not appear to affect the car performance. When we were driving home
from Austin, my daughter and I notice more problems. We made it to
Tallahassee and in desperation went to a Dodge dealership where they
diagnosed the problem of a cracked rocker arm and two cylinders needing
to be replaced. We left the car in Tallahassee, rented a car and
headed home. My husband retrieved the car the next week and repaired
the car, but now we still have the vibration/rattle/shutter problem.
Has anyone had this problem and resolved it. We have considered
driveshaft, transmission (its been replaced twice)............??????

Also, not familiar with how to work this forum, so I am hoping not to
lose any replies or responses. Thanks.

Here's your problem, I've dealt w/ this more times than I have fingers & toes, your transmission fluid is worn out. Go back to Chrysler and buy yourself 5 quarts of Mopar ATF +3, the ONLY transmission fluid recommended by Chrysler for minivans 1999 and earlier, Mopar ATF +4 for all others. What is happening is that the friction modifiers in your old fluid have worn out, that and you could be using that wrong fluid which causes those modifiers to wear out even more. I guarantee you, that when you change your fluid and filter to Mopar ATF +3, you'll see a significant difference in feel. The shudder (don't know if I mentioned it, getting tired) is due to the fact that your torque converter clutch which is inside of your transmission is designed to lock-up, acting like a clutch on a maual transmission. The transmission fluid is designed to cushion the feel of the clutch engaging in addition to lubricating, cooling and providing the necessary gear functions of the transmission. In addition to the fluid change-out, it wouldn't hurt to get your system flushed out, don't want to contaminate the new fluid w/ the old.