[sheldon!]

"From small acorns........"

Jeepman, I share some of your surprise. Heck, when I took those pictures and did the little "how to" write up I thought it might help a few DIYers save a buck. I never thought there would be so many people interested in replacing the sol pack and that many of them would add even more to the knowledge base as they finished their repairs.

This is such a great site!

 

[2therock]

My S-pack replacment Experience, 2002 GCS.

She was leaking on the left side at the plastic body to the front plate and the main body.

Took 2.5 hours from start to walking back in the house.

I got the Rockauto lowest cost one @$107.79. Here is the unit description:
===============
DIRECT original equipment service replacement complete with gasket.

Externally mounted, easy to replace.
Improved “Quiet Design” replaces earlier trouble prone solenoid design.

===============
Came wrapped in plastic in a box with the gasket on it. It was kind of moist.
Formed in the casting and engraved on the front plate are the ID markings BorgWarner.
It had 3 split dowels in the bolt holes that I could tell were too long or too far out. Mine had 2 and I could tell one would not apply because there was no recess for it on my tranny so I pulled it. The other two pushed to the proper depth easily.

When I pulled the wire connector off the rubber seal was a little moist with fluid. The wire connection end was dry inside.
I have read that some leave the cooling lines on but mercy! I pulled those and the Input sensor.
The biggest pain was getting the cooling lines to let go and cleaning the trans mounting surface and it was not that much to do. The room to work, the access, and the viewing on this job is the pain. The bolts surprised me being as long and threaded all the way. They were tight and came out without incident.

She is back on and running dry.
I am going to have a re-learn done because my transmission man says "Sure they do kind-of re-learn on their own but having one done will force a look at the compensation or calibration for any wear clearances. In your case with a harsh down shift I suggest you go for it. We have seen a re-learn take care of it and sometimes not.
I have a slight downshift bump unrelated the the S-pack I guess.

I'll post back on how it went.

 

[drube]

Wow, what a great thread! I have the same leak in the same area. Tranny fluid all over the wiring bundle that's in front of the S Pack. I thought it was leaking from the pan so I changed the screen,fluid and gasket. Not the pan.. Still leaking. While driving I have a clunk from 1st to 2nd and the down shifts seem hard now. Took the van to a tranny shop and they told me I needed a rebuild which would be $1300 + tax..
Is it possible that by changing just the S pack, would solve my shifting issues?
Thanks!

 

[ratsttam]

Wow, what a great thread! I have the same leak in the same area. Tranny fluid all over the wiring bundle that's in front of the S Pack. I thought it was leaking from the pan so I changed the screen,fluid and gasket. Not the pan.. Still leaking. While driving I have a clunk from 1st to 2nd and the down shifts seem hard now. Took the van to a tranny shop and they told me I needed a rebuild which would be $1300 + tax..
Is it possible that by changing just the S pack, would solve my shifting issues?
Thanks!

If its leaking you likely don't have the correct chambers pressurized correctly. I would certainly fix that first before you let a trans shop tell you that it needs rebuilt

 

[drube]

Great, thanks!

 

[drube]

One more question, It looks like the gasket that comes with the new SP is made of paper.. Does any sealant need to be added on installation?

Thanks

 

[therock]

No sealant.

And FYI in my case, I had the down shift bump, kinda like a NASCAR buddy telling you he is drafting you.
Some say no need to get a relearn. In my case it made the van a different vehicle.

Call around to dealerships and transmission shops for prices and get one after.

G-luck

 

[ratsttam]

One more question, It looks like the gasket that comes with the new SP is made of paper.. Does any sealant need to be added on installation?

Thanks

as mentioned above, sealent isn't needed on the new gasket, but I've always dipped my finger in the fluid and just "wet" both sides of it, never had an issue with doing that.

 

[drube]

Thanks guys and thanks for the tip on the relearn.

 

[Samc]

just did this, 1 hr 40 min start to finish, and only 2 bandaids; not enough tape on the exhaust shield, I guess. The old gasket came off in 2 pieces and was glued down in one place, which makes me think that the previous guy tore the gasket and "fixed" it with a little permatex or something, evidently slowly soluble in ATF. I used a couple of dots of Mopar ATF RTV to hold the new gasket to the new solenoid pack, as otherwise I could not be sure it was going to end up in the right place; hard to see down there, my eyeball extensions aren't working. Probably how the previous guy tore the gasket, in fact, then he glued it down to the transmission case to fix it. No leaks! no real difference in shifting either, which probably means everything was fine before and I probably could have got by with just the gasket, but I'm at the end of a very long, slow supply line so $84 for a new solenoid pack (Amazon) is a reasonable expense.

By the way, if you don't remove the tape from the exhaust shield, it really, really stinks when it gets hot. Don't ask how I know this.

 

[sheldon!]

By the way, if you don't remove the tape from the exhaust shield, it really, really stinks when it gets hot. Don't ask how I know this.

Samc
Congratulations on the successful and money saving repair job!

BTW, how does that smell compare with fried chunks of knuckle flesh seasoned with human transmission fluid? :biggrin:

 

[Samc]

By the way, if you don't remove the tape from the exhaust shield, it really, really stinks when it gets hot. Don't ask how I know this.

Samc
Congratulations on the successful and money saving repair job!

BTW, how does that smell compare with fried chunks of knuckle flesh seasoned with human transmission fluid? :biggrin:

I much prefer the smell of burning tape to the smell of my burning flesh, thanks.

 

[konibat]

QUESTION from a NOVICE: When I took out my factory transmission solenoid out of a 4 speed tranny 3.3l v6 1997 dodge caravan, there was one gasket on top and the solenoid removed. Well after doing some research (pictures on the net) I noticed a thick peice of steel with holes in it still glued to the base of the tranny by another gasket and a bracket I thought was the base, So it was from top to bottom:
Solenoid
gasket
metal bracket with holes (thought it was the base and couldnt be unattached but it was unattached once I pulled it out, it had grooves on the outer sides for what was a rubber case/cover that goes over the whole OEM solenoid)
gasket
THE REAL BASE with holes...

So I was confused on what the heck to do, my replacement solenoid purchased at orielys auto parts, had one new gasket that matched the holes and grooves on new solenoid... But the issue is/was do I install the new one on the bracket I thought was the base, and then install which I did not get a 2nd of another gasket to go on the bottom of this bracket I thought was the base, and install everything like the original factory crap that was on there or do I install the new solenoid and gasket without that brace that I thought was the base and another gasket under it? What I did do because im not sure of it was install the bracket which i thought was the base without a gasket on other side so its flush against the TRUE baSE FOR mounting the solenoid, then i installed new gasket and solenoid and torqued it down. No leaks yet from that area but I also reaplced tranny gasket on the pan and filter and might of over torqued the pan on because gasket squished out sides of pan bolts and leaking very back middle..

So if you understand what I am talking about, can you please explain why the heck the original crappy solenoid on tranny has a gasket,a bracket,gasket then installs to mounting base for it on tranny?

Overall though no more check engine light, no more emergency mode 2nd and reverse only, no more wine from transmission in park idling and reving, shifting smooth and almost close to factory shift points kind of broke it in!

SO I fixed the issue just need to make sure i installed everything right or ill fix it so it is correct! Used so far 4 quarts of ATF+4 synthetic I hope that was/is safe for the tranny!!!!!

Please chime in, thank you!

 

[Jeepman]

I believe you are referring to the separator plate used with the older solenoid packs. Newer solenoid packs don't have them. The separator plate should be removed and discarded. The new solenoid pack comes with one gasket as you know, Gaskets can also be bought separately for around $6.00.

See this Post: http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/sh...t/showthread.php/12030-Common-symptoms-of-bad-solenoid-pack?p=247210#post247210

ATF+4 is the product to use as it replaces ATF+3. Being synthetic and containing special additives, it will last much longer like 100,000 miles plus under normal use. Does it say on the container that it was made in compliance with Chrysler specs?

 

[mart4005]

2002 voyager is the van. shifts very hard when downshifting into 2nd. Is this my solenoid pack?

 

[Jeepman]

2002 voyager is the van. shifts very hard when downshifting into 2nd. Is this my solenoid pack?

Did you just have a transmission fluid change?

 

[dcnjem]

Thank-you for this info,you just saved me about $400.00 for having a shop doing it

 

[dcnjem]

your procedure is execlent,but I found one more step that makes the replacement a lot simpler....Remove the battery and battery box there are only 3 13mm and 1 10mm bolt to remove and one vacuum line.This opens up the whole area so you can get at the solenoid easier..

 

[sheldon!]

Removing things that are in the way of where you want to go always makes it easier when you get there. I just would rather not disturb anything on the aging Enterprise I don't have to. Scotty isn't available (well, he sort'a is... he's my brother way up north in Ashville, NC) should I get into trouble by over-flexing a fragile wire or dropping the removed part. :jpshakehe

That's the reason I wrote the guide with as few disturbances as possible. Removing the battery and it's box definitely help out space-wise, and it is probably a good idea for the over-fed, no-longer-haired, leaping gnomes * like myself that could use a bit more room to move around in. :biggrin:

*note trendy obscure reference

 

[2therock]

your procedure is execlent,but I found one more step that makes the replacement a lot simpler....Remove the battery and battery box there are only 3 13mm and 1 10mm bolt to remove and one vacuum line.This opens up the whole area so you can get at the solenoid easier..

Thanks, good idea. Maybe if there is a next time I might.