We own a 2002 Dodge Caravan SE. About a month ago we had the underside oil sprayed for the coming winter here in Ontario.

Yesterday I took the vehicle into the Dodge dealership to get an oil and filter change. As usual they found an additional problem with the vehicle. They claim the Transmission Solenoid is leaking ($433CDN to replace). There evidence is the droplet in photo 1:



I asked him is the issue within the tubing in the other photos, and he said yes. I looked up what the Transmission Solenoid was and it seems to be a physical device not tubing. What gives!

As for Photo 1, to me that droplet looks to me like oil from the oil spray i did a month earlier, if thats possible. There are no stains on the garage floor. I took the liberty of checking the transmission fluid level and it shows as being very full past the hot level (the car was been parked for 4 days -- cold). The dealer did check the transmission level infront of me (hot vehicle) and it did appear much lower.

Your thoughts on the Transmission Solenoid? How can i conclusively check to see if it is OK or not?

Thanks

 

Get away from that dodge dealer. They must be despirate to steal your money. The transmission cooler hoses are directly above the solenoid pack and frequently leak... therefor making it look like the solenoid pack is leaking. It's not very common for the solenoids to start leaking. Yes they can but again rare compared to the hoses. If the solenoid is indeed leaking, it is a very easy job to replace and less than $150cdn for the parts

 

Where do you shop for your car parts? $150CDN for the transmission solenoid for my 2002 Dodge Caravan SE sounds great.

Thanks for the info

 

They are all over Ebay. But again, it's not a common failure to be sure this is EXACTLY the caus of the leak. Fell and look, very carefully, at the hoses directly above the solenoid pack, this is way more common for failure. Another CHEAP posibility is the $2 gasket between the solenoid pack and tranmission is the leak source. Don't get into a panic and just condem the part without some careful diagnosis. Of course the Dodge dealer is going to sell you a $433 part so they can make some money. Be aware that there are 2 different packs. 1999 and newer and 1989-1998. The will work on all transmissions from 1989 and up, however the first type uses 2 gaskets and a separation plate. Again, they will work on all these transmissions if you understand and accomidate the difference. I frequently install the newer pack on the older transmissions only because I have a bunch of them laying around and only one gasket vs. 2 with a plate, has ½ the chance of leaking.

 

yalls pics is hard to tell but it kinda looks like shes leaking at them hoses cuz they look wet to me and oil runs down hill so if theys leaking then stuff under will be wet

 

Thanks for the info guys. I do want to inspect the transmission solenoid, transmission cooler hoses, and gasket. Where exactly do i locate these for my vehicle? Should I be looking from underneath the car or from under the hood? What shapes am i looking for to correctly identify it?

I will post some better photos

Thanks

 

Here are some additional photos of my 2002 Dodge Caravan SE. The first 7 photos are from under-the-hood and the remaining are from beneath the car. I hope these help you help me locate the transmission solenoid, transmission cooling hoses, and transmission gasket for inspection....

 

What's with all the pictures of the engine? your first pictures covered both solenoid pack and hoses. You obviously know where the transmission is since you first posted pictures of the transmission fluid leak. You can located both the hoses and solenoid pack by finding the transmission dip stick. If you can find that part, follow it down and where it goes into the transmission case (very LARGE aluminum colored part), look for 2 black hoses (hoses are a rubber material with 5/16" inside diameter and approximately 1/2" outside diameter. There are 2 of these hoses. They go from the tranmission to the radiator. (A radiator is a heat exchange device that is full of coolant..aka antifreeze, and located in the front of the vehicle behinde the front bumper). The solenoid pack is directly below the transmission cooling hoses very near to the transmission dipstick. There is an electrical plug on the top of this item that has an 8mm bolt. 8mm refers to the head diameter inwhich one would use a wrench or socket to loosen or tighten

 

Thanks 92dak.

I added the engine photos because no one told me where the solenoid was exactly, the whole point of my original post, so figured might as well show the flip side to make it easier for everyone to say "there it is" (full panoramic scene). Recall the mechanic only told me about the droplet leak not the correct physical location of the solenoid.

Thanks for the thorough description. Unfortunately i am not a mechanic but your explanation helps a beginner like me tremendously. I'm sure you still remember what that was like, don't you.

Cheers.

 

yall didnt ask were it was. but the man said the hoses is rite above the sol. and id think yall could find 2 hoses cuz i see yall took a pic of them and i said they looked wet?