Auto Tranny Questions 3.0 V6 - 3spd

Our generally reliable 1994 Dodge Spirit (3.0L, 3spd auto, 160k miles)
decided that its bullet-proof 3spd auto was not quite so bulletproof.

Here are the symptoms/observations. Fluid level is right on the mark. Fluid
is correct red/pink color with no burnt smell. When you first start the car,
everything seems normal. Once warmed up a couple of minutes, especially
after working through the gears, you start getting a pretty good whine from
the tranny area. Sounds quite similar to the whine you get from the timing
belt and drivetrain area on the opposite end of the engine.

My daughter had problems with it yesterday, so parked it and got a ride to
work. I went to check it out today. Drove it around and the first thing I
noticed was that after the 1-2 shift, the 2-3 shift was hesitant at first,
then it acted like I had dropped it into neutral for a couple of seconds,
then shifted back down to 2. TC lockup never occurred during the drive.

After turning around to head back to our friends' house (where it was parked
originally), the car did a 1-2 shift about normal, but wouldn't shift on up
to 3rd (even running about 40mph at closed throttle).

The whining noise got worse as we drove back to the point that people with
their car windows down would stare at us as we drove by. Got back, parked
and left it running in Park. I could hear a rat-a-tat type noise underneath
and could physically feel the source of this noise via the tranny pan, about
a couple inches back from the front of the car and about middle of the pan
from side to side. Feels like something lightly tapping on the pan from the
inside.

I'd just have it towed or hauled on to my tranny guy (who I'll probably call
in the morning with this same info), but I'm always a little curious as to
possible causes and probable fixes.

I'll be honest that a tranny rebuild is probably going to be a deciding
factor on whether to keep this car any longer or not, considering it will
also soon need new tires. Another mitigating factor is that I just sent off
payment 2 of 18 on a recent tranny rebuild on my wife's Chevy van (at 75k
miles - whee!).

$1500 (assuming that's what a rebuild would cost) plus what little I could
get out of the Spirit as-is would buy another reasonable extra vehicle.
(This is the lowest vehicle in the food-chain at the moment, being car #4
out of 4, with 3 drivers in the house).

 

Well...I'd say 160k miles is well within the range of "very acceptable"
lifespan for an automatic transmission.

The problems you describe are caused by flaking in the final-drive
bearings (worn bearings are causing your whine). Due to the fluid flow
path, the flakes are carried to the governor, where they lodge between the
three parts of the governor that are meant to move relative to one
another. This causes the governor to "stick" (parts don't move properly
relative to one another), which causes your erratic shifts and dropouts
between gears.

Probable cause is above. Fix = go through the transmission (rebuild)

Don't see why it should be so. Hit www.car-part.com and dial up a
low-miles good used one from a yard near you.

Too much money for a rebuild of this trans.

DS

 

Thanks, Daniel. Good to see a familiar face in here after two or three
years. We've had this car since 1996 and this newsgroup was an ever valuable
resource whenever I had problems with it (of which there honestly haven't
been many).

We'll probably keep the car. It makes a good drivers' ed car, since my son
just turned 16. We've put a fair amount of work in it the last year or so,
might as well re-invest in it again. Buying another $1500 - $2000 car never
guarantees that you won't have to do similar or greater work on it soon.

I'll talk to the tranny guy tomorrow about maybe having one dropped in from
a somewhat lower mileage unit. I checked your link and found two or three
somewhat local likely candidates starting at $450.

Our same guy recently replaced the oil pump seal in the same tranny and
charged $350 for the whole deal (R&R of the tranny and the seal).

 

i kinda have the same slipping porblem but mine does noe whine i have a 92
acclaim and it started slipind rom 1st to 2cnd the first just locked up
and now i cant go in first the rest locked up the otherday getting rebuilt
now
i think there is something really wrong with the A607 or maybe we just got
bad luck with it