1989 Caravan~Goner?

[Aesthetikz]

My mom's vehicle is an 1989 Dodge Caravan SE, 3.0l V6 4spd Auto (180k miles).
Dad was running an errand the other night, He turned into a parking lot and heard a loud grinding clunk~The transmission just straight up died...

He rolled it into a space, checked everything out, couldnt get the thing to move, he put some tranny fluids in and kind of managed to coast a block or 2 home bleeding fluids.

Now it sits un-driveable, leaking fluids from the tranny in the driveway... With the assumption its a goner...

Any possible hope that this may be at all fixable where it sits?
I'm reading horrid things of a $2000 price tag on a repair for it... And we paid that much for it back in like 95, So it's not an option for us.
Also that you would have to lift the whole engine out to work on the tranny.

The car has served us well, But my mom seems to understand that it may be time to part with it~However it leaves us short a vehicle and at a bad time financially.
She doesnt expect to get anything for it (That it's just junkyard destined), But i had some hopes we may be able to get at least a couple hundred for it as is... Am i dreaming?
Heres a more recent pic:


If theres no hope for fixing it, It's gotta go.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions?

[dawnnewsome3]

Did it drive under its own power or coast down a hill or something ? It sounds like a blown seal if it's leaking that bad , You may be able to fill it with fluid jack it up And start it to see where it is from maybe an axle seal ( cheap ) or a torgue converter seal ( not so cheap Will the seals cheap labor not ) . Thats where I'd start by pin pointing the leak. But without fluid it could have burned the clutches in the trans , If so I'd try a low milage used unit.

[Aesthetikz]

It's leaking out the trans oil pan, I tightened up the bolts and that helped quite a bit (More of a fast drip now, instead of the pour out)~Looks like it will need a new gasket also.
Also having fluid come out from around the dipstick to the trans fluid filler.

It will not respond at all to (D)rive, And wasnt responding to (R)everse~But after playing around a bit with it, It kind of kicks and trys to go into gear or move, but wont.

N, 1, 2, all seem to work.
When i column shift into (D)rive there is no reaction. And when i step on the gas it just revs up until a brown smokes comes out of the exhaust, and fluid also tries to escape even more at this point as well i believe.

Still hoping i can fix it... Any Ideas?

*Oh, and it wasnt leaking fluids (that we noticed) before~Only after the grinding/clunk and trans fail.

[Bernard Feltzer]

Sure it can be fixed, take it to a mechanic and get an estimate.
The body looks OK.
Is it worth it?
Are you going to pay for repairs ?
We can rebuild it, we have the technology, Do you have the money?
The six million dollar minivan ?

In reality, the van has outlived it's useful life.
If it is junk, ask your Mom if you can dismantle van for educational purposes.

[Aesthetikz]

if it costs anymore than a few hundred at a mechanic (And im sure it will cost WELL over that) it's a no go on that route.

At this point weve already put more money into it than its worth if you ask me (or my dad).
And we all realise its lived longer than most...
It's just the fact that it leaves us short a vehicle at a tight financial time.

If theres any hope for me fixing it in the driveway where it sits, That would be best, And i'm willing to try.
I dont know much about transmissions (FWD Especially) But the fact that only a couple gears arent working seems like it should be pretty fixable and maybe even not as hard as you would think, but... i could be very wrong, lol.

The local boneyard also has about 5+ 84-90 Caravan/Voyagers right now if i need parts.