I think my tranny's about to go!

[TaylorMade]

My Auto tranny on my 01 limited with 67k miles feels sloppy and just not good. When I have it in cruise control at 65 mph, it takes like 30 seconds for overdrive to kicki in, so im sitting there wasting gas at 3000 rpm. At slow speeds, it feels like my cv joints and clutch are slipping, and/or are sloppy. Is my tranny about to bite the dust? If so, what can I do to lessen the impact on my wallet?

[SRG]

Have you had the fluid changed? If you haven't I wouldn't bother with the drop-the-pan, change filter and refill. I would get the complete flush, so that the torgue converter is flushed out too. Don't believe Chrysler's maintenance schedule when it says that under normal conditions the transmission fluid doesn't need to be changed.

Make sure you don't have a leak also, I just had to have the solenoid pack on the transmission changed because of leaks. This was at 55,000 miles.

Good luck;
SRG

[Mean Green]

Doesn't sound good. When the wife's '01 auto went out at 81k there was no warning until right before it happened. If you get it checked out now maybe it won't destroy the tranny that bad and won't cost as much.

[quicksilverdon]

Agree with SRG.
Get it flushed, and ask for ATF+5 - it's synthetic & even better than ATF+4. Chrysler autos are fussy about fluid...

[hyracer]

When it goes ( sounds like it's just a question of when now) make sure you do not spend $3500 to have yours rebuilt to stock specs. Buy the upgraded one from Tommy for $2500 It's designed to handle increased HP and more abuse.

Deen

[TaylorMade]

The fluid was changed about 10,000 miles ago. Ill go to chrysler when i get money and have them check it out, and when it goes Ill buy tommy's one. Actually is it possible to buy a manual transmission? I know there are more things involved than just swappin g out the tranny, but i just wanted to know if it was possible. I really want a manual car.

[AZ_IceMan]

You should be able to, need a new PCM, the clutch pedal, the tranny itself (obviously) a new shift bezel, and I'm not sure if you'll need a new gauge cluster or not, some cars actually have a different cluster for manuals vs. autos. [:I]

[AZ_IceMan]

Just follow up, also I had my tranny just go on me and it was rebuilt at Larry Miller Dodge over in the West Valley. But basically the fluid and high temps were the culprit. No warnings either, just "blew up" on me while on the freeway, it had trouble shifting from 2nd to 3rd, felt a couple of clunks before the total failure and then I was instantly revving in neutral. [V] But my car has 32000 miles on it so it was rebuilt under warranty. You might just need a new solenoid pack and another total flush and you might be able to get away with it without too much financial setback. [B)]

[CHROMEDCRUISER]

Swapping out for a manual transmission would be a pain, but possible. You'd have to get the transmission, clutch, fly wheel, cables, pedal, cut the fire wall, get a new center console, new computer, and probably a couple other gadgets to make it work. The gauge cluster is the same for both transmissions, unless there is something behind the face that's different. You'd probably be better off going for a beefed up auto trans than try and swap out for a manual, maybe something that would give you a sort of "manumatic" ability.

[stirfry]

quote:Originally posted by AZ_IceMan

Just follow up, also I had my tranny just go on me and it was rebuilt at Larry Miller Dodge over in the West Valley. But basically the fluid and high temps were the culprit. No warnings either, just "blew up" on me while on the freeway, it had trouble shifting from 2nd to 3rd, felt a couple of clunks before the total failure and then I was instantly revving in neutral. [V] But my car has 32000 miles on it so it was rebuilt under warranty. You might just need a new solenoid pack and another total flush and you might be able to get away with it without too much financial setback. [B)]

Wow that's not good only 32,000 miles, do you do a lot of freeway driving is that why. Any clues why yours went out so soon. [:I]