Tranny Fluid replacement in 92 Caravan

I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and off
when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic that
I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than good?
The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that everyone
seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and I've
only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)

Thanks in advance,

Wesley

"Wesley" > wrote in message
...
> I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and
off
> when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic
that
> I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
> additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
> Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than
good?
> The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that
everyone
> seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
> 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and
I've
> only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Wesley

I tend to shy away from 'additives' - especially not knowing any detials.
More importantly make sure the right fluid gets put in. I've seen more
failures of these transmissions due to incorrect fluid being used. I
believe in the '92 it is the Mopar Type 7176 - but check your stick to be
sure, and be absolutly certain the mechanic uses that type fluid. Accept no
'substitutes'.

>
>
>

"Wesley" > wrote in message
...
> I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and
off
> when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic
that
> I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
> additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
> Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than
good?
> The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that
everyone
> seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
> 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and
I've
> only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Wesley

I tend to shy away from 'additives' - especially not knowing any detials.
More importantly make sure the right fluid gets put in. I've seen more
failures of these transmissions due to incorrect fluid being used. I
believe in the '92 it is the Mopar Type 7176 - but check your stick to be
sure, and be absolutly certain the mechanic uses that type fluid. Accept no
'substitutes'.

>
>
>

Wesley wrote:

> I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and off
> when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic that
> I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
> additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
> Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than good?
> The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that everyone
> seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
> 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and I've
> only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)


That transmission is essentially the good old mechanical Torqueflite,
and the additive probably is designed to soften the old rubber seals in
the clutches, etc., so they will seal better under hydraulic pressure.
The Torqueflite's clutches are not as critical with regards to friction
characteristics because it does not "measure" the grip of the clutches
as an input to the computer which modulates the shifts. I'd say it
won't do any harm but at 173K with no transmission work, I would also
recommend saving up some money.

In that transmission you could even use Dexron fluid.

-GP

Wesley wrote:

> I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and off
> when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic that
> I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
> additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
> Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than good?
> The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that everyone
> seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
> 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and I've
> only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)


That transmission is essentially the good old mechanical Torqueflite,
and the additive probably is designed to soften the old rubber seals in
the clutches, etc., so they will seal better under hydraulic pressure.
The Torqueflite's clutches are not as critical with regards to friction
characteristics because it does not "measure" the grip of the clutches
as an input to the computer which modulates the shifts. I'd say it
won't do any harm but at 173K with no transmission work, I would also
recommend saving up some money.

In that transmission you could even use Dexron fluid.

-GP

Wesley wrote:

> I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and off
> when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic that
> I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
> additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
> Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than good?
> The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that everyone
> seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
> 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and I've
> only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)

Revised response:

That transmission is essentially the good old mechanical Torqueflite,
and the additive probably is designed to soften the old rubber seals in
the clutches, etc., so they will seal better under hydraulic pressure.
The Torqueflite's clutches are not as critical with regards to friction
characteristics because it does not "measure" the grip of the clutches
as an input to the computer which modulates the shifts; because the
three-speed doesn't have a computer controlling the shifts; it's all
mechanical controlled by throttle valve and governor. I'd say it won't
do any harm but at 173K with no transmission work, I would also
recommend saving up some money.

In that transmission you could probably can even use Dexron fluid, but
do what the manufacturer says for your particular year/model because it
still does have a lockup torque converter, where the friction
characteristics are more important than in the clutches (to prevent
chattering).

-GP

Wesley wrote:

> I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and off
> when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic that
> I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort of
> additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older transmissions.
> Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than good?
> The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that everyone
> seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now has
> 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and I've
> only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)

Revised response:

That transmission is essentially the good old mechanical Torqueflite,
and the additive probably is designed to soften the old rubber seals in
the clutches, etc., so they will seal better under hydraulic pressure.
The Torqueflite's clutches are not as critical with regards to friction
characteristics because it does not "measure" the grip of the clutches
as an input to the computer which modulates the shifts; because the
three-speed doesn't have a computer controlling the shifts; it's all
mechanical controlled by throttle valve and governor. I'd say it won't
do any harm but at 173K with no transmission work, I would also
recommend saving up some money.

In that transmission you could probably can even use Dexron fluid, but
do what the manufacturer says for your particular year/model because it
still does have a lockup torque converter, where the friction
characteristics are more important than in the clutches (to prevent
chattering).

-GP

I think the lockup torque converter has been gone for some time now - the
engine used to drop a few rpm's at about 45mph or so, but doesn't do that
any more...an easy fix? Worth fixing? And would that cause me to lose in
the neighborhood of 5mpg on my gas mileage?

Thanks for the advice, I'll probably just let him put the additive in...and
will keep some extra $$ in the bank for repair work whenever it comes...
:-) Anybody have estimates on what repairs may cost (I guess depending on
what goes wrong).

Wesley


"Gene Poon" > wrote in message
...
> Wesley wrote:
>
> > I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> > fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and
off
> > when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> > going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic
that
> > I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort
of
> > additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older
transmissions.
> > Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than
good?
> > The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that
everyone
> > seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now
has
> > 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and
I've
> > only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)
>
> Revised response:
>
> That transmission is essentially the good old mechanical Torqueflite,
> and the additive probably is designed to soften the old rubber seals in
> the clutches, etc., so they will seal better under hydraulic pressure.
> The Torqueflite's clutches are not as critical with regards to friction
> characteristics because it does not "measure" the grip of the clutches
> as an input to the computer which modulates the shifts; because the
> three-speed doesn't have a computer controlling the shifts; it's all
> mechanical controlled by throttle valve and governor. I'd say it won't
> do any harm but at 173K with no transmission work, I would also
> recommend saving up some money.
>
> In that transmission you could probably can even use Dexron fluid, but
> do what the manufacturer says for your particular year/model because it
> still does have a lockup torque converter, where the friction
> characteristics are more important than in the clutches (to prevent
> chattering).
>
> -GP

I think the lockup torque converter has been gone for some time now - the
engine used to drop a few rpm's at about 45mph or so, but doesn't do that
any more...an easy fix? Worth fixing? And would that cause me to lose in
the neighborhood of 5mpg on my gas mileage?

Thanks for the advice, I'll probably just let him put the additive in...and
will keep some extra $$ in the bank for repair work whenever it comes...
:-) Anybody have estimates on what repairs may cost (I guess depending on
what goes wrong).

Wesley


"Gene Poon" > wrote in message
...
> Wesley wrote:
>
> > I've got a 92 Caravan which is probably well overdue for a transmission
> > fluid change and has been making weird resonating sort of noises on and
off
> > when I'm accelerating (and occasionally even in park at idle)...so, I'm
> > going to get the fluid changed and see if that helps any. The mechanic
that
> > I trust for working on our vehicles is recomending a quart of some sort
of
> > additive that's supposed to help out and be good for older
transmissions.
> > Would this be an ok thing to add, or is it likely to do more harm than
good?
> > The transmission I have is the 3-speed, not the overdrive one that
everyone
> > seems to have problems with. I bought the van at 84k miles and it now
has
> > 173k, so I'm guessing it's probably never had any work done on it, and
I've
> > only changed the fluid once (yes, bad I know...)
>
> Revised response:
>
> That transmission is essentially the good old mechanical Torqueflite,
> and the additive probably is designed to soften the old rubber seals in
> the clutches, etc., so they will seal better under hydraulic pressure.
> The Torqueflite's clutches are not as critical with regards to friction
> characteristics because it does not "measure" the grip of the clutches
> as an input to the computer which modulates the shifts; because the
> three-speed doesn't have a computer controlling the shifts; it's all
> mechanical controlled by throttle valve and governor. I'd say it won't
> do any harm but at 173K with no transmission work, I would also
> recommend saving up some money.
>
> In that transmission you could probably can even use Dexron fluid, but
> do what the manufacturer says for your particular year/model because it
> still does have a lockup torque converter, where the friction
> characteristics are more important than in the clutches (to prevent
> chattering).
>
> -GP