5 mo. later trans slips again, 94 caravan

[bombergp]

I thought I had it straightened out last April (120k mi.), after changinig out fluid 6 times to rid Dexron III that I used instead of atf3, the trany is sliping again but worse. Now it has a whine noise while accel. or constant speed, not during coasting/braking. Yesterday changed flt. & fluid (4qts) but not much help. Not much chips in pan mostly dust on magnet. I have to shift to N at stop lites, & drop to D at take off or it delays/slips & goes. Its a 94 reg. Caravan 3L 3sp 124k mi. You guys think its ready for trans rebuild?

[Stevo2]

Originally Posted by bombergp

I thought I had it straightened out last April (120k mi.), after changinig out fluid 6 times to rid Dexron III that I used instead of atf3, the trany is sliping again but worse. Now it has a whine noise while accel. or constant speed, not during coasting/braking. Yesterday changed flt. & fluid (4qts) but not much help. Not much chips in pan mostly dust on magnet. I have to shift to N at stop lites, & drop to D at take off or it delays/slips & goes. Its a 94 reg. Caravan 3L 3sp 124k mi. You guys think its ready for trans rebuild?

Time for a rebuild or another tranny. Check into the price and warranty of a rebuild vs buying a Chrysler rebult tranny from the parts department that has a 3year/36,000 mile warranty. If you are close to these guys you may be able to pickup a rebuilt tranny real cheap. www.makeitmopar.com

[Bernard Feltzer]

Must have been abused, the 3 speed tranny usually lasts a very, very long time.

[bombergp]

I've had it since '01 w/60k mi. I drive hard/fast at times, kickdown-shift passes and all. today morn. it wouldn't go into second gear for about 6mi. I limped around in 1st @ 20mph til it finaly shifted. Once warmed up it shifted but the whine is still there. I droped the pan this evening and didn't find any chips just fuzz on the magnet. I added a 1 1/4" dia. rare earth magnet near the original one. After refilling fluid I test drove it and had same prob. no 1-2 shift for about 4mi. Is this just junk in the shift actuator line?

[mishalah]

Dexron is a Mopar tranny killer. If you didn't flush the entire system...including the torque converter...by disconnecting one of the lines to the cooler and pumping it all out (approx 13-16 qts) the dexron will still be in there. I made that mistake on my '96 (Dexron plus the Castrol additive) and mine died within two weeks. Your hard parts should be ok if you didn't abuse it...cuts the rebuild cost to around $2K instead of $3K.

The question for you is...is a '94 worth a $2-3K tranny rebuild?