1996 G Caravan starts but 1st gear only
#1
1996 G Caravan starts but 1st gear only
I made a hard right turn and after that the transmission had a sound and the van stopped with engine on and transmission would not engage. Stopped engine and started again. Would only drive in first gear and when it should change to second, is not changing as the RPM is high on the instruments. Also no Reverse. Towed it home.
Appreciate your help. Tomorrow shall check engine codes. The dash codes are 12 and 21 (had them for over a month)
40K on Dodge rebuild transmission, 5+ years ago, 3.3L V6
Appreciate your help. Tomorrow shall check engine codes. The dash codes are 12 and 21 (had them for over a month)
40K on Dodge rebuild transmission, 5+ years ago, 3.3L V6
Last edited by Aditap; 07-06-2011 at 07:40 PM.
#3
IMO a broken drive axle may be a bit optimistic as the van still drives in 1st but revs freely after a gear change to 2nd. I hope for your sake that it is a drive axle, but those symptoms are exactly as mine were. If you pull the shifter down into 1st the van will continue to drive along in first. I needed a new trans. Boo!
Last edited by wtribeflyer; 07-07-2011 at 12:20 AM.
#5
hard right turn and there was a sound from the transmission....did you hit something maybe? a hard right shouldn't do anything to your transmission unless you hit something. check transmission fluid level. sounds like something physically happened outside the transmission if it was working ok before that hard right. what is a hard right? that sound has to be described more. check your motor mounts and look for something that disconnected around your transmission. you must have hit something from underneath. good luck
#6
I made a right turn in higher than usual speed (15mph?), it was a "merge" sign, 90 deg turn at a stop light with a right merging line. I think the sound was the transmission shifting to neutral. After starting the engine, shifted to all gears with the van stopped and it does not feel like before. On D, it would start the van but after first gear, it shifts on its own to neutral internally, the shifter is still in D. After that tried R and would not reverse. Lifted both sides to check the driveaxels and are OK.
Also noticed that the passanger side front brake caliper is gone, is leaking oil like I never seen one before, shall inspect it closely later today.
How can I determine if a motor or transmission mount might be the problem ?
Is there a Transmission Shift Solenoid that I can replace ?
Also noticed that the passanger side front brake caliper is gone, is leaking oil like I never seen one before, shall inspect it closely later today.
How can I determine if a motor or transmission mount might be the problem ?
Is there a Transmission Shift Solenoid that I can replace ?
Last edited by Aditap; 07-07-2011 at 11:13 AM.
#7
did you check the transmission fluid level? if transmission fluid level was way low, a hard right might send that little bit of fluid to one side and have the transmission sucking in air. would be temporary loss though. check the fluid. check if brown, dirty or burnt smell. if yes to any, drop the pan and look at what you find in the transmission pan. No other option for you at this point.
as far as the caliper, raise that side and have someone step on the brake pedal. see if it stops the wheel and see if it leaks with the person stepping on the brake. if it leaks, you'll see where and find the problem
as far as the caliper, raise that side and have someone step on the brake pedal. see if it stops the wheel and see if it leaks with the person stepping on the brake. if it leaks, you'll see where and find the problem
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#8
start up the van and check the transmission fluid level with the van running. if fluid level is low or not showing on the dipstick, you've found your problem. I'll bet that's it. unfortunately, it was running for a while at that low level before finally stranding you and may need to be overhauled. first things first though. if fluid level is way low, you're going to have to drop the pan and inspect how much junk is in the pan from the clutches being deprived of enough tranny fluid. if looks ok, then change the filter which is probably blocked by now and fill with proper trans fluid and try again. don't drive it without checking transmission fluid, not even for testing. if you're lucky you can save it.
#9
another possibility which happened to me is the transmission cooler lines in my radiator corroded and allowed a mix of coolant and transmission fluid, making a strawberry yogurt slurry in my transmission and radiator. that was interesting. that is a long shot but possible. there is a fix for that but it is a lengthy post on how I saved mine. check your fluid.