I just recently bought a 99 dodge caravan platinum anniverssary editon with the 3.0 that has 134,000 km's on her. My question is, should i replace the tranny fluid in the van?. I have not experienced any problems with the tranny but not knowing what the van has been through for the past 134,000 km's makes me want to change the fluid. I have heard that by changing the fluid in these vans it can actually make things worse. Should i just leave the fluid or should i replace it?. I am also noticing that i have a chirping sound under the hood of the van on the passenger side, sounds like a pulley. I am thinking it is maybe a pulley on the alternator. Has anyone else had this similar problem?
six pack
11-06-2004, 10:26 PM
Time for a trans flush, chirp could be belt tensioner.
MiDnIgHtRuMbLeR
11-06-2004, 10:54 PM
By draining the trans fluid will i have to reset the computer in anyway or is this just a pour in and drive type deal, i would be changing the filter as well. I am not very familiar with these vans and their tranny's but i am reading about some horror stories and DO NOT want to experience any of them by chnaging the tranny fluid as i see these are very sensitive transmissions. Also with the chirping, is there anyway to tell if it is coming directly from the belt tensioner?. I have heard that the tensioner has been a problem on the caravans/voyagers but it does sound like the alternator pulley.
six pack
11-06-2004, 11:16 PM
Just doing a pan drop and filter change will only be replacing about 4 of the trannies 10 litre capacity. Do it and drive away. Still recommend a flush to replace all of the fluid and changing up to Mopars ATF+4 would be a good idea as it is a Semi-synthetic fluid.
The best way to check your belt is with a stethascope, or remove the A/C belt first and see if the noise is still there, if so, spray some belt dressing or WD-40 on the serp belt while the engine is running and see if the chirping stops. If it does all you need is a new belt.
MiDnIgHtRuMbLeR
11-07-2004, 08:20 AM
OK, now by draining and flushing the tranny, wil i need to reset the computer in anyway. I just don't wanna screw up my tranny in anyway that will make costly repairs in the future. I have heard many horror stories about guys taking the vans in to get the tranny flushed and then their van does not run the same. I like to keep up on the maintenance perspective of my vehicles but before doing so i make a search to see what drastic chnages a specific item can cause on the vehicles performance and i was sad to see that the tranny was a MAJOR issue :huh:
six pack
11-07-2004, 02:12 PM
Do it and drive away.
You won't mess anything up. If you are very concerned, after you get all the air pockets out from a pan drop, drive it around the block and go through the gears and then disconnect the battery and go for a long road test going up and down through the gears under all driving conditions.
