I have a 2005 Grand Caravan with the 3.8. It is front wheel drive, stow and go.
It has about 155k miles on it.

I am planning on keeping it for awhile(its in good shape and fills our needs WELL)

However the miles are piling on and I am getting concerned about the transmission.

I purchased the van with 130k miles and as I said before it has 155k now.
The transmission seems to work great and the fluid looks fine and doesnt smell funny.

I have no idea when the fluid or filter was changed in it, however.

So I called around and every single shop REFUSES to flush and do filter change.
They claim that will loosen gunk/grit/crud/whatever that the transmission is using for friction on the clutches and stuff and then the transmission will slip/fail. Sounds kind of dumb to me, but there is the lingering doubt since they planted the seeds.
Thoughts?


Part two of this.

All of that crap aside, where is the best place(price and good product) to buy a new OR reman trans for my van? You know, just in case/ so I can start over with a piece of mind.

 

well, the truth behind their refusal to service your trans is not really because of the "loosening up the gunk". Honestly, does EVERY shop in town care? it is not their car, and they make money on the trans service.

It is because from experience, these trans have a high chance of failure at such mile, and if you are the last one that do a trans service on it, the customer will come back and say you broke his trans if it fails in the next few month.

If it shift fine now, I think you will be OK to do a Trans service with filter chance. Chrysler +4 ATF are supposedly rated at 100k mile service interval, or every 60k if you have abusive driving habit.

 

Flushing a auto transmission with that many miles is NOT a wise idea. Just a fluid and filter change will be sufficient. Flushing will loosen up grit and grime and will cause tranny failure. So trust them on that: I know people who've flushed and then lost their tranny shortly after. Only places that do that are the cheap places.

 

Liability, liability....and liability. That is the reason.

 

Better question yet, am I over concerned over towing something this small with a 450lbs of cargo on it, at 70-80mph( if it even tows nicely at that speed....)?

http://clarksville.craigslist.org/bar/3630444315.html

 

Well, I recommend you to add another Trans cooler after the OEM cooler if you are towing.
And definitely change the trans fluid and filter. Just go buy 6qts of ATF +4, filter, RTV sealer, and tell a shop to change it, and liability is on urself.

These trans are not as bad you ppl say they are.

 

1. Going over 65mph with any trailer, regardless of how light you think it is, is a very bad idea. Trailer tires are never rated for any speed over 65mph and it'll drag you off the road quite fast if it blows.

2. Towing such a small trailer does not require any extra transmission coolers, but you need to pay better attention to transmission care.

Drop the pan and change the filter. If all looks well in there, no need to replace it just yet.

 

For the sake of argument, we will assume I found car tires that fit the trailer, with a 93mph speed rating

 

I am just trying to ensure I have a margin of error with the transmission.

 

That's way too much for that dinky **** trailer. I know it's a long drive, but check here. Look how nuch nicer you can get for 6-800

http://www.trailersplus.com/Tennesse...?Category=Flt5

If you need your trans rebuilt, i'm sure we can find you someone to do it. (wink)