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April 08, 2008, 11:33:19 PM

Well, it finally happened~My mom's caravan has bit the dust.
It was a long time coming, but it couldn't have come at a worse time.

It lasted surprisingly long with no major work for over 250k miles for an '89 Dodge Caravan (with a mitsubishi engine? lol).
But driving home today, The Tranny went out...

its front wheel drive, With a sideways engine~heh.

so we are down to 2 vehicles:
Dad's Volvo: which was recently in an accident and still being repaired.
My T-Bird: which is far from being ready for a dd.

And on top of that, Moneys tight because of taxes and mortgage.

Dad's scrambling int he dark to get his volvo fixed and ready to roll.
Bleh

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Reply #1 – April 09, 2008, 04:10:01 AM

That does suck, But your mom is sort of lucky, I dont think I've ever heard of a Caravan going over 250K before the tranny died! Hang in there. It will work out.

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Reply #2 – April 09, 2008, 02:30:21 PM

This might interest you:

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Reply #3 – April 09, 2008, 05:43:31 PM

Get out there and help fix the Volvo!

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Reply #4 – April 10, 2008, 12:40:35 AM

Sorry to hear that does not sound good but i hope things work out soon.

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Reply #5 – April 10, 2008, 01:12:56 AM

Quote from: dw43935;213253

That does suck, But your mom is sort of lucky, I dont think I've ever heard of a Caravan going over 250K before the tranny died! Hang in there. It will work out.

Actually it has 180k, I was thinking of my grandpas old 86 that had the 250k~He had to sell it because of a cracked block.
Not sure if it ever had any trans work, if it did... it was before he owned it.

But mom's '89 has been slowly falling apart for awhile, has the defective factory base/coat primer that causes anything sprayed over it to peel, Many cosmetic problems, New headers (PITA), New fuel lines, etc, etc.
It just wasnt really expected to have a major mechanical failures like this...

Quote from: gunkel04;213301

This might interest you:

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?
Craigslist search engine?

Quote from: softtouch;213328

Get out there and help fix the Volvo!

I have been.
I wouldnt leave him stranded. :-P
We got it fixed and back on the road! He made his daily commute back and forth to work today with no problems.

Quote from: Carpimp1987;213380

Sorry to hear that does not sound good but i hope things work out soon.

Thanks man, Things should pull through... Just our vehicle situation is kind of unknown right now... We just have the volvo to rely on ATM.

Anyone think we could get anything for the van? I'm thinking we could probably still get a few hundred for it... But i could be dreaming, heh.
Im reading things of like $1500-2000 for transmission work...

Mom thinks it's just junkyard destined.
And i would have to say i cant really argue now after reading about the transmission horrors on these things, as well as the defective metal coating/primer/paint peeling.
When i go to the local boneyard~Theres always at minimum of like 5 in there, and they clear the cars out monthly...

It lasted us since 1995 when we bought it, which apparently is really good for one of these.
It's never been in an accident.

I figure the engine has to be worth something to someone at least (3.8l v6 EFI), and the interior is great.

Dunno...

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Reply #6 – April 10, 2008, 11:02:56 AM

Sorry about that, bad link! Now the ad has been removed...

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Reply #7 – April 11, 2008, 05:05:00 AM

hmm...
I'm having a hard time believing this whole car is a goner just becuase the tranny is shot...
It would cost $1500-2000 at a shop to fix, so thats out of the question, And more than likely why most people just junk them.

I'm really wondering if i might be up to the task of repairing/rebuilding the tranny.
Anyone ever done this on an automatic dodge or similar transmission?

From what i've read so far, it takes about a week~10hours if your really good.

Something that might also hinder me though, was the mention of lifting up or removing the engine to reach the trans~We have a couple floor jacks, but nothing that cant lift...
But i keep hope, as i've also heard mention of doing it all from underneath the car.

Still unsure of the costs on the rebuild, but i could make the time needed.
However, This would be the first time i've done a rebuild on something major in an auto also...

Just dont know, Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
Mom has already decided its done for, And time to move on.
Pretty sure dad feels the same (Don't know that he ever really liked it anyway, lol).

Just bad timing all in all.
I'll look further into it before i do anything, They may not even let me anyway, I'm not so sure it's even worth it especially after reading so many bad things of these transmissions.

Heres a sample: (all caravan/voyager trannys 1984-98 or so)
http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-5591.html

I just have the strongest feeling its gonna be put out front for $100 or less...