Hey everyone, I'm brand new to this site... I drive a 1996 Caravan that my mother-in law gave me. You'd think this would have been the first tip off... . It has 194,00 kms, and already had the tranny replaced at about 125,000 kms.
I am having a couple of problems, all of which I am pretty sure are indicative of another transmission issue: In between 70 and 80 km/h and 105-115 km/h the van seems to shift down and then back up, just for a second. Of course, since the van was a freebie, and it's still running, I still haven't had it looked at. I've been driving it for a year now and the problem only seems to happen in hot or cold weather... or, really, whenever it feels like it. It's definitely not a consistent problem though. Hmmm... Then, today I was coming home from work, and a block away from my house, it started making this weird whining and grinding noise (reminiscent of a sewing machine or a Honda Civic) when I accelerate. The noise actually reminds me of reversing in my old standard transmission Plymouth Laser (man, I loved that car. 525,000 kms, 3 women drivers; it was the car that would not die)... This whining noise does not happen in Neutral or Park or Reverse. I checked the tranny fluid and it doesn't look brown or smell burnt, but now I am afraid to drive it to anywhere but my mechanic's. Anything anyone could suggest so I sould like I have a clue and I'm not some dizzy blonde soccer mom in her minivan when I bring it in to get checked out?
Thanks!

Vanessa

 

The little "hiccup" type thing at highway speeds is something a few of us on here have been troubleshooting for a while, but none of us have come up with a definite cause. I thought I had it fixed after replacing a corroded wire between the fuse box and alternator, but it started doing it again. It seems to happen at random times, and not even every day, or even every week. The fact that for 6 weeks, I had absolutely no problem after replacing that wire leads me to believe that it's an electrical problem somewhere. I could be wrong.

As to the whining/grinding, that does sound like the tranny. You mentioned checking the fluid for color and smell, was the level normal? I have a small leak, and every now and then, mine will do that, or be hard to shift when parked on an incline, and I know it's time to top it off. Have you dropped the tranny pan and checked the magnet? That will tell you a lot. If the fluid and filter haven't been changed since the tranny was new, might be time to do it anyway.