Messages

joe,

napa sells a universal kit.... part number 704-1914   sells for $6.60    
http://www.napaprolink.com/Detail.aspx?R=BK_7041914_0006380195

Features & Benefits    
   Drain Plug Kit Adapts Drain Pan To Allow Easier Periodic Transmission Fluid Changes, Easy To Follow Instructions    

   Attributes    
   Contents : Drain Plug, Nut, Gasket, Drain Fitting
Oil Drain Plug Hex Size : 3/4"
Oil Drain Plug Material : Nylon
Oil Drain Plug Thread Size : 1/2"-20

wayne,

I have jumped from electrical troubleshooting to mechanical.....

i pulled the pan, grabbed a pint jar to catch the fluid to take a look at it...

it looked sparkley,  so i finished pulling the pan, it looks like the magic dust has leaked out  and some big chunks inside....


I did a filter and oil change on this transmission in december, and nothing looked out of the ordinary then...

code scan...

700 and 740     transmission controller, and tcc seleniod

the van has no gears. you can feel it trying to engage, the motor has a definite rpm change and if you give to gas, you can feel a load on it (in forward or reverse), if you give it enough gas it will move, but it has one lleh  of a * and nasty cluck sound.

fluid is +4, and no odor, and between the hash marks...

going to hook up scan tool.

well i finally got the cab from the orginal post over here to the shop, had it towed, they dropped it out front so we were going to push it in the shop by hand. this is where i  have some new clues,...

i started the van so i could use the power steering, put the selector into neutral with the motor running, and it acted like it was still in park. Shut the van off, and it free wheels (in neutral).

ideas?

gotta try to fix the rope pull thing on my leaf blower... 7 yrs old and it takes a crap

What do you do with a leaf blower in Arizona?  

:ha)



Sand blower?  :-}

i lead a way to exciting life.

3 weeks ago, a shop in mcminnville, replaced the torque converter, and repaired the transmission in this van. 2 weeks later the driver called me at 10pm saying when they started the van the starter was making a funny noise, so i had them bring it over to look at it, i pulled the starter, and found the shim all bent up. WTF?.the inspection plate was bent up also, put it on the anvil, and beat it back into shape, but it broke, so i installed the starter and all was good, van left, i left the tools on the floor and shut the lights off and went to bed.... about 2 hours later driver called up and said the oil light came on, and the oil level was off the stick, put in 3 quarts and all was good...

I went out and cleaned the shop up, swept up the floor and found a bolt on the floor, 18mm hex head, about 3/4" long, all beat to hell? where the hell did this come from??? well put it up on the bench....

the driver called and said the van was using a lot of oil, and he took it to Jiffy Lube, (those * couldn't lube their own asses), and they said the oil pan was cracked and leaking oil...

so i said bring it over tomorrow nite, i went to the wrecking yard and pulled another pan, starter shim, and inspection cover, and that night went to work replacing parts.

the pan had a dent, but i could not see any "cracks", but wth, i already had a replacment pan, so i replaced it with a new gasket, i noticed that the rear main seal housing was up on one side higher than the other, but didn't think much of it, at the time. put a dab of rtv at the seam where the block and the seal housing met, and all was good. went on to replace the starter shim, and the inspection cover, and noticed the fly wheel was gouged and scratched??

then it dawned on me... the bolt i found on the floor... was a flywheel to torque converter bolt.... spun the engine over by hand, and sure enuff, there was a bolt missing. They didnt lock tite the bolts and one of them backed off, and hit the rear lip on the pan ( I didn't notice that until looking at it later). put it back together, and contacted the shop who did the work, they said that was not possible, but would look at it on wensday, the day i had the mri.

well the van was still using oil, i couldn't go in to watch them, and the driver dropped it off and went to lunch, when he came back they said everything looked fine to them.

so i was instructed to find the oil leak, which the transmission shop said it was the front seal, which was dry, but oil was dripping out of the inspection plate when it got here.

so tonite i pulled the tranny, and found the source of the oil leak, the "bolt" had came loose, and as it loosened up it hit the hosing holding the rear main seal, and the gasket between the block and housing split when the housing was hammered from the bolt which in turn was leaking oil, along with the housing sitting at weird angle the left side was lower that the right side, bending the oil pan, allowing more oil to leak.

closer inspection of the flywheel, it appears the bolt must have wedged between the transmission housing and the teeth cause they were wore in parts of the ring, and multiple dents/gouges in the flywheel, and funny thing, but their was 4 bolts holding the converter on. but what was even funnier, was 3 of them had matching heads, and the weird one the 18mm wrench would not fit it and the markings on this bolt are different. But the beat up bolt i have matchs the markings on the other 3 bolts???

so i need to locate a new flywheel tomorrow.


btw, I have always been imtiminated by these front wheel drive transmissions, and have always paid someone else to pull them, they are really not all that hard (this was the first one i have ever pulled).

and this is why i hate working after someone else

thank you for sharing... all the dots lined up. congrads

question...  do you have something like this... so you can support the engine on the inner fender mounting flanges..while you drop the transmission???.

no, but i was pondering building something very simalar, earlier today

oh... please.. blow out the dirt behind the valve body before loosening the valve body...    so you don't introduce any  dirt...

thank you

you can get the diff cover off... as that really sounds like you have lost the cross shaft...

after studying the manuals and diagrams, this was where i was going to start looking...

drop the rear engine crossmember.. or swing the engine forward to inspect it... there are retainer clips available...

before pulling the axles.. check for vertical play where they slide into the transmission...

it looks like a smaller version of a submarine power plant...

i am hoping to pull the transmission this weekend, pending no other disasters come my way....

it will free wheel, but locks up solid when placed in any gear(forward or reverse), and as you give it gas, you can feel/hear the load on the motor... then it will "leap" forward, and make a god awful clunk noise as it moves.

i have only done this twice, as i dont wanna break it any worse than it already is....


and wayne, thank you again for all the manuals you have located for me...  how you find all this info, so quickly is beyond me.

just curious...   this is almost off thread...

but how many voyager type vans do you have...

i have 8

when one gets totaled..  in a collision.. do you strip if of useable parts..

like removing the engine , transmission.. drive axles...  computers... wiring harness for the engine and transmission..

so .. when you have some failure.. you can just swap in a known good unit..    so the car is not just sitting on the rack..?

totaled, what is that    if they get hit, i rebuild them, but i do keep lots of spare parts on hand, but no transmissions or motors :cry:

if you have more than just one or two of these with the electronic transmission.. you might want to get the boss to invest in the 2 ATSG A604 manuals...  the original and the update...

there are a bunch of things that can do wrong

i do mostly the 3 speed non electronic versions as a rebuild...  and the electronics on the 4 speed units...    the electronic units will set trouble codes... but on the 2000 models.. i would think they are accessed via the OBD2 port transmission data stream that can be selected during scan tool set up...

there are so few electronic items...

the valve body..
the input sensor
the output sensor
the manual lever position sensor

all but the last are easy to change on the outside...

these units will default to second gear if there is any problem at all..

drivers will continue driving when they are defaulted to second gear...  just speeding along winding the rubber band  tighter and tighter... until the mouse falls out of the squirrel cage....

this one is not in limp mode.

converters can fail...

clutches can fail...

the differential cross pins can fall out.. if the car is almost parked.. it may not break the case... if it comes out while driving.. the case will be damaged... there is a retainer kit for to prevent the cross shaft from self extracting...

hmmmm maybe... find out later...

2000 dodge caravan, it has been shifting rough, and last night, when the driver stopped to pick up a fare, it quit.

driver states he went in and found the person, it was running good, but know it wont go.

i hopped in it this morning, put it in neutral, and it free wheels. start and put in reverse, the engine changes pitch, give it some gas, it acts like it is laboring and wants to go, give it some more and it reverses, but acts like it is in park, huge clunks. try drive and it feels as if you were going forward and shifted into park...  i dunno if this makes sense...

i still think the guys bought a 4500 dollar mistake.  Time will tell if they get it running and enter the Lemon race

my bet is on team Police Brutality.

Jeff (speedcop), has some amazing fab skills, and his crew, works really great, (they look like a total bunch of geeks and misfits, which they are, but as a team they come together and pull some amazing and awesome crap off).
if yall are really interested, ill keep you posted on it.

http://jalopnik.com/5694503/eight+wheeler-runs-from-ebay-to-lemons

jeff (speedycop) and his band of misfits(crew), are down in la. running a 24 hr lemons race right now,  the plan is to run the 8 wheeled wonder in a lemons race in june....

his web site is http://speedycop.com/

if any team can pull this off, team police brutality can.