[andyg]

You can try replacing just the gasket. Its less than $5 so no big deal.

Don't jack the van up, as Jeepman said, its all done from the top so its harder to work on if you raised it.

 

[Mazda626awd]

Great write up and pictures Sheldon, and thanks for the good info everybody. My 97 T&C has a trans leak which is mostly from the axle seals. Its also long over due for a fluid and filter change. I was going to get them at the same time, but I did notice some fluid from around the pack. I'm going to replace the gasket there as well. It'll have to wait for better WX since the van is down for other reasons. I hope that will help the shudder problem it has too. I've worked on this van since my daughter bought it with 75K miles, and she never gave it to me long enough to do the trans. Now it mine and I'm slowly refurbishing it and giving it the TLC it deserves. Its now got 192K mile. Other than the leak and occasional shudder, the trans seems to be good. Time will tell.
Dave :wall:

97 T&C 192K miles origional trans
5 mazda 626s

 

[BickUW89]

Awesome write up, and really helpful pics! Thank you!

My stelership wanted $235 for the part and $565 for labor to replace this part on my 3rd Gen van (2004). Using your guide, I was able to buy the part online for $153 plus shipping, and replaced it myself with absolutely no problems. I took my time, and had to deal with my fat hands in small quarters, but once I figured out what I was doing it only took me about 45 mins to do the actual replacement.

Thanks for taking the time to write this guide up!

BickUW89

 

[Jeepman]

Awesome write up, and really helpful pics! Thank you!

My stelership wanted $235 for the part and $565 for labor to replace this part on my 3rd Gen van (2004). Using your guide, I was able to buy the part online for $153 plus shipping, and replaced it myself with absolutely no problems. I took my time, and had to deal with my fat hands in small quarters, but once I figured out what I was doing it only took me about 45 mins to do the actual replacement.

Thanks for taking the time to write this guide up!

BickUW89

Good to see the appreciation expressed in actual savings even. Sheldon did an awesome job of writing it up, as you say.
I purchased a solenoid pack from the Dealer here at wholesale price, around $240.00 tax in. I returned it as I got another price of $200.00, tax in, for "supply and installation". A local transmission Mechanic installed it in about an hour. That was a win-win for me. Saved $ and didn't even get my hands banged up.

 

[sheldon!]

Ya' know, its amazing to me how many people have read, and some have saved money, because I took a few minutes during the installation to record the work. One guy's digital camera pictures can make someone else's day go so right he smiles. That's what I like about this place, we all help and we all learn....and maybe save a few dollars, too.

BTW, BickUW89 reported a $565 labor charge he was quoted. That's something that would have embarrassed Bernie Madoff! Good job, guy! :headbange

 

[388vos]

Thanks for the instructions,

I replaced the shift pack today using the guidance of the author. No problems, just scraped up my hands on the heat shield.:Wow1:

 

[rsidersfixit]

Worked just like you said. One test drive done. Will drive again and check fluid level.

 

[Consultant]

I'm changing my solenoid pack today. I got the old one out, but the gasket was in pieces. I carefully removed it, but some gasket material is stuck on the back edges. I covered all the openings with tape and tried to scrape the gasket material off with a razor blade, but I can't get some of it off. I'm afraid to use gasket remover, because even though I have things taped up, it might get into the transmission.

Any suggestions?

 

[ratsttam]

First of all, thank you Sheldon! This is a great write up, and right on time. I just discovered the same leak on my 01 T&C this weekend.

My question is, does anyone ever seem to have success just changing the gasket? My van seems to shift just fine right now, so I hate to throw away good money on the pack if it is just the gasket. That being said, I also don't want to go in and do the job twice if I don't have to.

Thanks for any help,

My Dodge Stratus had just a leaking gasket. Changing it solved all the issues I was having at the time. I had called about 100 parts stores, and 15 different dealerships, and finally found just the gasket out in the midwest somewhere. Nothing within 500mi of me! And that dealer said it was the last one they had and cannot order anymore (i asked for 2 just incase I messed up).

 

[cruisin-family]

I'm a knuckle buster and do a lot of my own wrench work, but it doesn't look as simple as you make it sound. It looks like I might need adult supervision to take this one on....

 

[sheldon!]

I'm changing my solenoid pack today. I got the old one out, but the gasket was in pieces. I carefully removed it, but some gasket material is stuck on the back edges. I covered all the openings with tape and tried to scrape the gasket material off with a razor blade, but I can't get some of it off. I'm afraid to use gasket remover, because even though I have things taped up, it might get into the transmission.
Any suggestions?

You want to be very careful with any scraping tool you might use on the old gasket as gouges in the mating surfaces could lead to their own leaks.
Given that you are using great care with the tape to cover the openings you could try the gasket remover in small quantities, using a small brush, just running a "line" of the stuff along the top edge of the remaining gasket material, and let it soak in for a bit. Patience is your best virtue in this situation... so don't rush it.
You also could push a wad of clean, lint free rag tightly into the top 1 inch of the open holes to block and "seal" them. They will absorb some of the Transmission fluid and ,when saturated, will not absorb any spilled gasket remover thereby keeping the stuff from contaminating the fluid. This method should also block any other nastiness from entering the openings, too.

 

[sheldon!]

I'm a knuckle buster and do a lot of my own wrench work, but it doesn't look as simple as you make it sound. It looks like I might need adult supervision to take this one on....
Cruisin-family

That's just what the big Vehicle-Industrial Complex wants you to beleive. It really is as easy as stated.:thumb:

 

[Consultant]

I'm changing my solenoid pack today. I got the old one out, but the gasket was in pieces. I carefully removed it, but some gasket material is stuck on the back edges. I covered all the openings with tape and tried to scrape the gasket material off with a razor blade, but I can't get some of it off. I'm afraid to use gasket remover, because even though I have things taped up, it might get into the transmission.
Any suggestions?

You want to be very careful with any scraping tool you might use on the old gasket as gouges in the mating surfaces could lead to their own leaks.
Given that you are using great care with the tape to cover the openings you could try the gasket remover in small quantities, using a small brush, just running a "line" of the stuff along the top edge of the remaining gasket material, and let it soak in for a bit. Patience is your best virtue in this situation... so don't rush it.
You also could push a wad of clean, lint free rag tightly into the top 1 inch of the open holes to block and "seal" them. They will absorb some of the Transmission fluid and ,when saturated, will not absorb any spilled gasket remover thereby keeping the stuff from contaminating the fluid. This method should also block any other nastiness from entering the openings, too.

I ended up using gasket remover and a long handled scraper with a razor blade on the end. That combination worked, although it did take a long time. I figured the razor blade scrapper was a lot safer than a regular one. I'm pretty sure that no gasket removing fluid got into the transmission. I'm going to change the fluid and filter anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[CaraSch]

I received the gasket bought from ebay today.
It is a PAPER gasket. I thought it should be a rubber one.

Should it be paper or rubber?

Thanks a lot

 

[CaraSch]

BTW, the material is Thermo-Tork®/Nonasbestos Gasket Material TN-9015, made by Interface Solutions, Inc.

 

[superdives]

Thank you Sheldon!!!!

We have a 2002 Chrysler T&C with 175,000 miles on it, and trying to make it last for one more year. Yesterday, the transmission light inside illuminated, and the van got locked into what we believe is 2nd gear, and we could not drive over 35 mph without the tach exceeding 3,500 rpm. We took the van to AutoZone for the engine diagnostics - and the P code readings were P0700 and P0755. (One error indicated replacing the TCM and the other error message indicated to replace the Transmission Solenoid Pack.) The guy at AutoZone was sure it was the TCM, however we couldn't find anywhere locally that stocked the part. O'Reiley Auto Parts carried the Solenoid Pack, and he swore replacing it woudl fix the problem. After hours of research, and to make a long story short ... the Solenoid Pack fixed my problem. Thanks to Sheldon's 'how-to' replacement of the solenoid made this a quick repair. It took me about an hour and a half to repair the solenoid pack, with a new part costing $202 from O'Reliey Auto Parts. I had to scrape a little bit of the old gasket off with a dull scraper (a sharp one dug into the aluminum housing), but it cleaned up pretty nice. Thanks again Sheldon for your accurate explaination of repairing the solenoid pack.

 

[ELADRAMOB]

Great info, helped greatly.
Thanks
joe

 

[Nails1]

Replaced the solenoid pack with a Borg Warner brand after market unit. Couple of comments and suggestions. Shop vac worked great to suction up grit and debris around the mounting surface after old pack is removed. A brand new razor blade worked great to scape off the remnants of the old gasket. New pack came with 3 dowels, old one had two. The mounting plate for the solenoid pack on the transmission has a recess for just the two dowels on my 2003 GC. The metal dowels are just pressed into the new pack. Using a twisting motion, I used a pair of pliers to pull out the unneeded metal dowel from the new pack. I desired to have plenty of room to work with my tools, so I removed the plastic coolant fill tank. This added 10 minutes to the job but was worth it to me for the extra work space. This repair is not that tough for the DIYer.

 

[sselander]

I quit using the razor blade or putty knife to remove the gaskets on the aluminum stuff and went with the nylon ones.

Highly recommended.

I have this set:
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-nonmarring-scraper-set-95832.html

 

[gregs238]

could this be a fix to a trrany problem.....The 2001 dodge grand caravan 3.3 shift great start to cruising and shift dwon ok till youre stopping and the RPM gets about 900 and it feels like a hard shift, and RPM drop for just a sec. and then drives fine again untill time to stopp again and it doesn't metter if your in "3" or "D" acts the same way PLEASE HELP