Oil pressure warning light on '95 Voyager w/ 3.0L

Gas mileage is not this thing's strong point. It's mostly a
short-trip-mobile grocery-getter. In that sort of driving, it gets
about 15-17MPG. It has done worse. This (and horsepower-to-weight) were
my objections to getting the LWB van, but my wife wanted the extra
space, and it worked out to be the same price, so I went along with it.

I try to get it out and really get it thoroughly heated up at least once
or twice a week to stave off sludging and corrosion issues,
but mostly my wife drives it, and fairly
gently; probably most of the shifts are well below 3K RPM.

On highway trips, which are mostly through northern MI over
several-hundred-mile distances, it does 21-22MPG, which is a few MPG
worse than the '95 got on the same trip. If it was driven a bit closer
to the speed limit, there might be a 1-2MPG improvement.

Really, the thing that gets 'em is heat, from what I've read. It
destroys the transmission fluid in short order, and then you get into
wear issues quickly. So if the fluid and filter is being regularly
maintained, you should get a lot of miles out of it.

Mine was a 3-speed automatic, and I relied a bit
too much on its reputation for reliability and didn't maintain the
fluid. By the time I discovered the error of my ways (after it stopped
shifting properly), the trans pan was filled with thick, metallic sludge,
and not a lot in the way of fluid.

Needless to say, it was over with at that point.

Incidently, all of these seem to rust in the same places: starting on
the underside of the doors at the pinch-weld, especially the passenger
side and slider. They also tend to rust around the rear window,
although mine hadn't started to yet. I was going to swap the doors out
next spring if the trans hadn't gone; I was even keeping an eye out for
the forest green-colored ones to match.

Glad to hear all you had was a bad sending unit. Keep a close eye for
coolant loss/leaks, that's the telltale sign that there's headgasket
problems looming.

--Geoff

 

Yep, the 3-litre engine runs well and is very driveable. I bought a '92
Spirit ES with 60K miles on it early this year, with 3.0/A604, in North
Carolina. Got in it, pointed it West, and drove it to Ventura, CA. The
engine and trans worked perfectly on this lengthy trip, returning 29 mpg
or so and quietly producing plenty of oomph.

Nevertheless, the car is no longer equipped with either the 3.0 or the
A604. *evil grin*

DS

 

How has that Mexican-spec Spirit project been going anyway, Dan? Any
pics up?

--Geoff

 

Jeff,

Chysler only has the troublesome 4 speed electronic tranny in all 2005 minivans.

Mopar Man

 

I thought that this tranmission had been replaced in the newer models
(somtime post 2000). Am I wrong? Are they still as troublesome as
ever?