- #1267 of 1833
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Re: 2003 Transmission Problems [kendvm]
by 97xpresso
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Feb 11, 2007 (7:02 am)
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Replying to: kendvm (Feb 10, 2007 8:50 am)
I hope your paperwork says exactly what you posted, not what they told you (verbally). I would be very leary that they are avoiding a costly job (for them) until it becomes a costly job for you, when your 70/70,000 lapses.
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- #1268 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [mudra]
by 97xpresso
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Feb 11, 2007 (7:40 am)
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Replying to: mudra (Feb 10, 2007 12:47 pm)
It is not that hard, just very messy. There is no drain plug, because people would just drain and fill without removing the pan. That's where it gets messy. Remove the pan bolts around three sides and just loosen the 4th side. I proceeded to rap the pan with a rubber mallet, but had to pry it loose with a large screwdriver. Do not bend the pan or mar the aluminum surface. It does let go all of a sudden, hopefully draing into a large container placed underneath. I had a huge sheet of cardboard under the container to catch what missed the large container. After the hanging pan drains, remove the remaining bolts and pan. Clean out the bottom of the pan, there is a removable magnet that catches metal filings as your transmission wears. Ideally there should be just some "fuzz" on the magnet with no large chunks of metal. The transmission filter is a flat square object that can be pulled off downwards from the transmission. (mine was supported by the pan, was not snapped into place) Make sure when you install the new filter, the rubber O-ring is on the tube, and that the old one is no longer there. The new filter does snap nicely into place when forced upwards onto bottom of transmission. Clean off all RTV silicone from pan and mating surfaces. The new filter should come with a cork or rubber gasket, for an easier pan re-install. Upon reinstalling pan, gasket and bolts, a torque wrench should be used, when the bolts are tightened in a criss-cross fashion. I do not have a torque wrench, but used a 1/4" rachet, so excessive torque could not be applied. I was carefull not to over tighten the bolts. It is better if a drip develops, it is from being too loose, rather than a crushed gasket from over tighting. You can always go back and snug things up if necessary. It wasn't that hard, just messy, Make sure you use ATF+4 ONLY.
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- #1269 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [97xpresso]
by 97xpresso
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Feb 11, 2007 (8:08 am)
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Replying to: 97xpresso (Feb 11, 2007 7:40 am)
Just realized you were the one that had your trans serviced at pep boys  . The directions I just posted will just remove a 1/3 of your fluid, which is OK if the existing fluid is original, or has always been seviced with ATF+4. They probably used a "one size fits all" fluid. If you are certain they did NOT use ATF+4, I would have the transmission flushed at the dealer, to get all of the wrong fluid out, in the future you can do the pan-drop as described.
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- #1270 of 1833
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Re: Another hard down shifting problem [shipo]
by wannabemech
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Feb 11, 2007 (1:07 pm)
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Replying to: shipo (Jan 31, 2007 8:26 pm)
You were right on the mark. I checked with a buddy that rebuilds transmissions for a living and he said the computer has to shift between the gears 30-40 times before it smoothes out. The other option provided was having it hooked up to his computer/analyzer and resetting the codes, which I had done...it works great now. Thanks for the assist.
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- #1271 of 1833
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Re: Another hard down shifting problem [wannabemech]
by shipo
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Feb 11, 2007 (4:37 pm)
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Replying to: wannabemech (Feb 11, 2007 1:07 pm)
Cool, glad it all worked out. 
FWIW, when I put a new tranny on our 1998 3.8 liter DGC last Spring, it did shift rough at odd times for a couple of weeks, however, I kind of kept a mental log of each rough shift, and it never messed up the same way twice. I guess it just took a while to learn the weird environment in which I drive. 
Best Regards,
Shipo
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- #1272 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [97xpresso]
by mudra
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Feb 13, 2007 (6:17 pm)
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Replying to: 97xpresso (Feb 11, 2007 8:08 am)
I checked the invoice on the Pepboys service-around 3K miles ago.
Under Parts it is mentioned:
10 Oz Black HFM Fluid
1Gallon Pennzoil Dexon III
32 OZ Clear ATF Flush
Looks like they screwed up big time. I guess I will have to fight it out with them tomorrow ?
I could go to the dealer and get a flush done but then if my tranny has gone bad pepboys get away with no damages.
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- #1273 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [mudra]
by shipo
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Feb 13, 2007 (7:55 pm)
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Replying to: mudra (Feb 13, 2007 6:17 pm)
Yup, PepBoys stuck it to you. Good luck getting them to fix the situation. :-/
Best Regards,
Shipo
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- #1274 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [mudra]
by 97xpresso
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Feb 14, 2007 (8:15 am)
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Replying to: mudra (Feb 13, 2007 6:17 pm)
3,000 miles is a long time to be driving with the wrong (deathron III) transmission fluid. You should get an ATF+4 flush ASAP at the dealer, it "may" not be too late. I doubt you'll get any response from pep-boyz. They are totally clue-less, but they did not do anything with malice. I'm guessing the "10 Oz Black HFM Fluid" is an additive, and how did they flush your trans with only "32 OZ Clear ATF Flush" I doubt they even stock, or know what ATF+4 is. Places like that should just stick to parts sales only, maybe tires and shock/strut service only, like Sears was forced to do after many Federal probes into their preditory service practices.
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- #1275 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [mudra]
by masterpaul1
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Feb 16, 2007 (7:05 pm)
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Replying to: mudra (Feb 13, 2007 6:17 pm)
You can hold onto the Pepboys receipt and the dealer receipt in case you do have tranny problems. You will be able to prove that Pepboys used the wrong trans. fluid for your vechicle. You can even try to get a letter from the dealership, specifying what type of trans. fluid is only used in their transmissions. If you don't act now, the worse case scenario is the above. On the other hand, you pay for a complete trans. flush, cost about $150, and have no problems. I hope for the best for you. 
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- #1276 of 1833
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Re: 2005 Town and Country 3.8L Transmission fluid change?? [masterpaul1]
by mudra
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Feb 17, 2007 (5:43 am)
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Replying to: masterpaul1 (Feb 16, 2007 7:05 pm)
Well, I did go to Pep Boys yesterday and they said that Dexron-3 is fine. I told them that ATF-3 is the recommended one. So they checked with their Tech Support and came back and told me that the additive they had used with Dexron makes it compatible with ATF-3.
Long story short, looks like nobody did wrong except for me.
I called up the dealer to setup a tranny flush and the cost here in NJ is $230.(incl tax).
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