Hi guys,

I'm going to give rebuilding my transmission a shot..I'm strapped for cash currently and the transmission shop wants what they say will most likely end up costing $2000-2500 and could even hit $3000. I'm in Canada so we pay a bit more for labour hours and parts compared to if I got it done in the states for I'm guessing $1500-2200.

I've never done this before, I've redone a few things on my car before and not really afraid to get into technical things as long as I do my research I'm generally fine.

so far I've found out that the 2003 dodge neon SX 2.0 automatic uses a industry standard a604 41TE transmission that uses ATF+4 fluid.

I've found this rebuild PDF:
http://www.uscars.biz/uscars/extras-...Procedures.pdf

I was wondering if anyone can confirm my findings just to ensure I'll be following the right path..

I would like to be able to rebuild this within a week(that includes any parts I have to have shipped to me) so realistically a rebuild time of a few days since I'll be using my fathers garage and he doesn't want his garage taken up for too long, plus I would like to be driving again sooner rather than later. However safety and reliability come first. I'm willing to spend the money on some tools that I don't have or rent them if they're too expensive to buy.


I wanted to try to put together a tutorial/guide of some sort as I rebuild this to help out others on the forum. I find the industry tries to make transmission servicing/rebuilding sound like an impossible task for the layman mechanic. I don't doubt their complexity but know that others are able to do this job at home so I'd like to give it a try and show others to not be afraid to give it a go as well.

I would like to know more information about the rebuild kits. I don't know all the terms still yet and am not sure what a rebuild kit can consist of. I see master rebuild kits but I don't seem to see things like a planetary/solenoid pack or the gears in them. Can someone explain what a master/deluxe rebuild kit may consist of and what I should be typing on google for searching for the other parts I may need?

I have found a parts PDF which lists a604 41TE parts with part numbers however I'm sure there are kits you can buy that are kind of a all in one rebuild kit that will cost like $800?

Again I'm not sure what I'll need to rebuild my transmission. The problem and symptoms with mine are that the issue started last year when the radiator line leaked into the transmission and I had the rad replaced and the transmission flushed. Obviously there is still some rad fluid in there that you cannot get out unless you take it apart and clean everything.

The output speed sensor seems to go every few months due ultra fine metal shavings building up on the sensor and messing it up(the car will start to shift poorly and the speedometer goes haywire then will drop to 0 and the transmission will eventually go into limp mode, i'll then have to pull over, turn off the car, turn the car on again and it'll be fine for a random amount of time(but usually another 5-15 mins goes haywire again) , even if I clean the sensor it will still be all messed up I believe due to the metal shavings screwing the magnetic field in the sensors since they are magnetic. So I have for the past year replaced the output speed sensor 3 times with two different brands. It seems to do the trick for 1-4 months at a time.

Once I replace the speed sensor it seems to run pretty good, shifting quite well I would say.(not that I remember how it shifted over a year ago but it seems to shift pretty good.) The transmission shop is surprised it's lasted a year with a strawberry milkshake like transmission fluid still inside of it since the flush that I had a shop do a year ago didn't quite get all the rad fluid out.

I'm not sure what the damage is on the inside other than all the seals needing replacement. If anyone could comment that would be great. I realize there may be rust in there however the metal shavings on the speed sensor I would think would be a good indicator for rust and there is no rust on the shavings, its a pure silver color. I'm guessing that is the gears rubbing against each other since the seals have probably disintegrated a bit or altogether.

I would love to rebuild this transmission and I'm not sure what the full damage is, it may just be gears/seals need replacement and every part needs a full good cleaning then put it all back together and put the ATF+4 fluid in. Which sounds like it would cost me around 300-400 for the rebuild kit and then if I have to buy gears I don't know how much those go for but I can't imagine they're that expensive.. I can see this project costing $500-900 and that may include the additional tools I need. I think it'll be a great learning experience and strengthen my knowledge. Everyone says to junk the car but I have always just tried to fix things myself on it due to wanting to learn more about car repairs.

Would love to have your guys input on part site recommendations and anything else.

Thanks!

 

bumping the thread, anyone able to make any comments?!

 

Never rebuilt or seen anything related to it. Someone else may have. I only had to replace the hydraulic pump on my 03. Other than that, if I am recalling correctly, the 03-05s had a 40TE. The 02s had the 41TE transmission.

 

Every site I'm reading keeps stating its a 41te. I've yet to take apart a lot of the stuff on the car to really be able to take a look at the model but it seems most part searches come up with the 41te for the 03.

I've had a lot of assistance with the neon forum. I'll be posting there from now on for this issue as they've been able to provide a lot of information, I suggest anyone doing a rebuild take a look at the post:

forums.neons . org/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=411992

 

There aren't any big differences between the two, but you'll know for sure either way once you take it apart. Neons.org also says the 02 (which can include early 03s as Dodge loves to carry "old" parts over to the next MY) has the 41TE and the 03+ have the 40TE. Hope the rebuild goes well!