07 Grand Caravan Shuddering

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  • #9301
    rhoadesjohn82
    Participant

    My van with 150,000 miles has been shuddering for the last year when accelerating near 35mph. I thought it would throw a code and it hasn’t. The shuddering is only slightly worse now than previous, but is starting to do it in the 40s too. I have checked the fluid and it’s nice and pink and between the lines (although on the low side).

    Could it just be worn down gears and it’s on its way out the door? I basically need to figure out if it makes sense to put money into it, get rid of it, or drive it as-is and get as much out of it as I can.

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    #9313
    Hostgator
    Member

    At this point, I suggest that you drive your Caravan until the wheels fall off, as is. You may get 1,500 miles or 15,000, it’s impossible to tell, though, I suspect it will be closer to the former than the latter.

    If your vehicle were a pickup or an SUV, I probably would have suggested getting a rebuilt transmission — or one from a similar vehicle with fewer miles in a scrapyard (you can save a bundle on the transmission) == because the pickup and SUV are two sides of the same platform.

    It’s a platform that is far more robust than a minivan, one that can easily go another 50,000 or 100,000 miles with reasonable care. A minivan, on the other hand, isn’t built to the same standards as the pickup platform (it’s a car with a van body, after all). And, while it may run nicely for another 50,000 of even 100,000 miles, it’s more than likely that the minivan will turn its wheels up well before any pickup would.

    With that said, though, you mentioned the tranny fluid looks good — it’s pink, the right color — but that it was a tad low. That could also account for your transmission slipping (it could be the gears, or bands/clutches or the torque converter, as well). It would suggest that you fill it with a quart or so of transmission fluid to see if this solves the problem. If it does, you have just saved yourself about $3,393 (a rebuilt transmission costs about $3,400). If not, then you are looking at the transmission replacement, either with one from the scrapyard, as mentioned — which could save you maybe $1,800 or so — or the rebuilt.

    Let me know what you decide.

    #9314
    rhoadesjohn82
    Participant

    Just driving it as is was where my mind was headed. I also was thinking of trying the Lucas transmission fix, just to see if it would give us a few extra miles.

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