Anyone had this problem? I have an 01 Caravan, I have tried to seal the tranny pan unsucessfully 3 times. I used Permatex Super Black, let cure at least 24 hours, and tourqued to spec after letting set a few hours. And still a leak at the rear of the pan. I have never been a fan of using gasket maker for a gasket, but this what the factory recommends. Thought about using a cork gsket. Any ideas would be appreciaed. Thanks.
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Torquing to 14ft. lbs. like alldata specifies. Even let the silicone set for several hours before torquing to spec. like permatex recommends. The trans seems to drip fluid no matter how long you let it sit (overnight in my case) with the pan off. Kinda wondering if tranny fluid is getting into the silicone before it has time to set. I put a heater on the pan since it is kinda cold in my garage to help the silicone cure. Thats why i was wondering if anyone has used a cork gasket sucessfully on one of these. Don't really have a lot of time to mess with this since i was planning on taking this thing on a 1000 mi. trip tomorrow. May be stuck renting!
I feel your pain...wife's 2000 has started to leak the last two times I have serviced it. I originally scraped all that RTV from the factory off and vowed to never use that. I use the rubber gasket with the filter kit and 2-3 times it NEVER LEAKED AT ALL. Last two times it keeps seeping at the rear. Have put some RTV on the bolts and only tightened the bolts till the rubber gasket starts to squeeze out. Pan looks fine as far as deformation around holes.
I am on the other side of your issue as far as RTV vs a gasket and I am at a loss also.
Did some asking around, looks like the dealer sells a re-useable gasket. It is a little pricey, but looks like a good setup. I also found a tube of Mopar sealant called ATF-RTV. If you read the back of the tube it says it is "ATF resistant". You must have to use the Mopar RTV sealant to accutually make this work if you are going to use RTV to seal your pan. I just wanted to share this info to save anyone out there the hassle I have had.
I've used sealant and gaskets. Chrysler recomends the sealant . For $12 at Advanced Auto Parts you can get a filter kit with a gasket. I've never had a problem with these gaskets and I have with the sealant. good luck
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Caravan Fan....have owned 7 and praise their virtues, but woe their transnission flaws. I use a broken differential pin as a key chain if that's any sign. 2 1988 w/2.5l, 91 GC w/3.3, 94 GC AWD w/3.3, 2 1997's w/3.3 and 99 w/3.8
Maybe its not the pan leaking, the solenoid packs leak sometimes and it runs along the transmission pan and looks like the pan is leaking. also check the cooler lines, can see those from up top. Is it running along the engine side of the trans pan?
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Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep Technician 14 Years, ASE Master Certfied
1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 75,600 miles
1999 Dodge Dakota Sport 318ci 135000 miles
2008 Chrysler Town and Country Limited 2500 miles
Maybe its not the pan leaking, the solenoid packs leak sometimes and it runs along the transmission pan and looks like the pan is leaking. also check the cooler lines, can see those from up top. Is it running along the engine side of the trans pan?
Good call. My solenoid pack was leaking. Fixed that. Cooler lines replaced. Mine is the pan. I believe I will try the dodge reusable gasket. Probably my dealer will be clueless on this, when asked they say RTV.
The Mopar reuseable gasket seems to be the cure for my problem. After 3 tries to seal this thing, lots of fluid, and 4 helicoils later (whoever did this last time had the pan bolts way tight galling some of the threads) it appears to be sealed. I did also find that the solenoid pack looks like it is leaking a little and now it is doing that goofy harsh downshift thing once in a while. I put in Mopar ATF+4 and a new filter in again this last time. The fun just never ends with this thing[:@]!
01 Grand Caravan tranny pan leak
