2002 Chrysler Voyager Transmission Problem??

13601 Views 24 Replies 6 Participants Last post by SusanFrazier, Mar 26, 2015

SusanFrazier

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2015

Either 2 or 3 years ago, I was coming up the expressway running 70-80 in my 2002 Chrysler Voyager. All of the sudden it felt like I was dragging a deer under the van. I got off at the next exit and pulled in and put the van in park. No deer or anything else under the van. Put it in drive and went on home, about 10 more miles. I pulled in the circular drive and put it in park. Put it in drive and it pulled forward. Put it in reverse and it would not back up. Put it in drive again and would not go forward. My son changed the transmission fluid to see if that would help. (It had helped on my 98 S10 to keep it running another couple of months.) So it sat for several months until I had to move it. My friend tried to tow it to the yard next door with it in neutral. That resulted in the chain flying back and hitting me in the hood. He jacked it up and shook the front drivers side tire. It freed up. He towed it and then every time we put it in gear, it freezes up again. You can put it in neutral and shake that front tire and it frees it up again until it is put in gear.

Any ideas? Several people told me CV Joints or Axels. I went to a shop today to talk to them and they said it sounds like Valve body in the transmission. The van has sat for a long time because I had the S10 to drive. Put a ton of money in the S10 lately and then on Friday March 13th, a Lexus plowed me up and totaled my truck. I really need the van to drive now. Sure can't buy a truck for what the insurance company is giving me.

Thanks in Advance,
Susan

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shipo

· #2 · Mar 24, 2015 (Edited)

SusanFrazier said:
Either 2 or 3 years ago, I was coming up the expressway running 70-80 in my 2002 Chrysler Voyager. All of the sudden it felt like I was dragging a deer under the van. I got off at the next exit and pulled in and put the van in park. No deer or anything else under the van. Put it in drive and went on home, about 10 more miles. I pulled in the circular drive and put it in park. Put it in drive and it pulled forward. Put it in reverse and it would not back up. Put it in drive again and would not go forward. My son changed the transmission fluid to see if that would help. (It had helped on my 98 S10 to keep it running another couple of months.) So it sat for several months until I had to move it. My friend tried to tow it to the yard next door with it in neutral. That resulted in the chain flying back and hitting me in the hood. He jacked it up and shook the front drivers side tire. It freed up. He towed it and then every time we put it in gear, it freezes up again. You can put it in neutral and shake that front tire and it frees it up again until it is put in gear.

Any ideas? Several people told me CV Joints or Axels. I went to a shop today to talk to them and they said it sounds like Valve body in the transmission. The van has sat for a long time because I had the S10 to drive. Put a ton of money in the S10 lately and then on Friday March 13th, a Lexus plowed me up and totaled my truck. I really need the van to drive now. Sure can't buy a truck for what the insurance company is giving me.

Thanks in Advance,
Susan

It might just be me, but it sounds like a transmission failure.

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shipo

· #11 · Mar 24, 2015

When the transmission in our 1998 DGC ate itself it A) exhibited symptoms similar to what Susan has described, and B) did not yield a CEL.

I'm still thinking this is a dead transmission.

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shipo

· #22 · Mar 25, 2015

SusanFrazier said:
Thanks ForistellDodge. My son is coming over from Augusta this weekend (3 hr drive). I was just trying to get a jump start on it before he got here. I'm mainly trying to find out if it is even worth fixing or just get rid of it and find something else.

That's the $64,000 question.

Is the van in good shape and otherwise a decent ride? If so then the money to fix it will give you a vehicle which should last many more years for the cost of the transmission. Selling it in its current condition won't net you very much money to use for a new vehicle, so odds are, the cost of replacing your van with something as nice will be significantly more expensive than the transmission repair.

FWIW, I've been through this decision matrix with two of my vans now; back in 2006 I was using our old 1998 DGC Sport as my daily driver when the transmission exhibited a very similar failure mode as your transmission. It cost me $2,600 to have a remanufactured transmission put in, resulting in a vehicle MUCH nicer than what that same amount of money would have afforded me in the used car market. Then just last fall I found a very nice 1999 Town & Country Limited with a bad transmission for $1,000. The price was a bit high for a non-running vehicle, however, the T&C was the full-tilt-boogie version with all of the trimmings, and in otherwise excellent condition. I bought the van, put a new transmission in it, and immediately drove it from the Santa Maria California area to my home in southern New Hampshire. I'm loving having a van again.

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shipo

· #24 · Mar 25, 2015

SusanFrazier said:
I love the van. I only paid $2000 for it and have driven it coast to coast with most of the grandkids right after the divorce. That was in 2009. Cons: transmission, been sitting 2.5 years, and because of the chain hitting it when trying to tow it, it will need a new hood. Also the clear coat is peeling so will need a cheap paint job. Pros: I love it and I use it like a truck. You won't believe it, but I hauled a 52 foot pontoon houseboat inside it. Had to cut it up to get it to fit in it, but I hauled it to work and "ran over it" with the van so I could get it in the dumpster at work. My boss calls it my bulldozer.

But it is really in pretty good shape and I use it like a truck when my truck isn't working. I would say that I definitely got my $2000 worth out of it. Right now I need a vehicle, so this was my first option.

Having a bad paint job doesn't bother me with a vehicle. I'm used to that.

Thanks everyone for all the hints and comments.

Some kind soul backed into the hood of our 1998 DGC Sport with a truck (or other high-slung vehicle); only the hood was damaged. I was able to find a new hood, in the exact same paint color no less, in a local bone yard; total cost was about $50.

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