2003 Dodge Caravan Transmissions

One of my old customers called me the other day and asked me if I wanted to check out his transmission in his 2003 Dodge Caravan. OK, no problem, but you gotta leave it with me so I can diagnose it. The thought of diagnosing and possibly repairing his transmission was very exciting to me. I have not really done any of this type of work since I sold my transmission shop of 26 years 4 years ago this month.

In reality, I am more in touch with what is going on in the technical side of the transmission world now, because I am not working and dealing with issues related to operating a shop. First off we talked about diagnosis and it’s importance. I told him that the TF604, which is the transmission in his vehicle was very scanner friendly and I can exact more information out of this transmission than practically any other transmission made.

The problem with his transmission is called a 1-2 shift slide /bump. A common problem with this transmission. Without going into the intimate, deep details of the process, we can figure out why the engine light is on and if it is the transmission. We can perform tests that would be the equivalent of a blood test, x-rays, MRI, cat scan on a human. The point is that when I’m done with the scanner part, I will have an intimate relationship with the transmission.

Because the van has about 85,000 miles on it, while the fluid is clean now, when it was changed last year, it was noted on the ticket that there was significant contamination in it. If this is so, there may be some internal issues to deal with. We will know if it is necessary to remove the transmission for repairs or rebuild, or whether we can install an update kit and solve this issue with the transmission in the van, at reasonable cost, soon.

Of course he is worried about the possibility of needing a rebuilt transmission. That is a reasonable concern that needs addressing. What I told him was we can’t make any decisions until my diagnosis is in. If the trans. needs to be removed to be repaired and it ends up that a replacement transmission is needed, I flat out told him that GotTransmissions.com was the place to buy it.

With that in mind, we will carry on with the diagnosis, when we have all of the evidence in, a decision can be made. I mentioned to him that he can choose from used transmissions with really low mileage or transmissions with all of the updates we discussed. What we know for sure is that the phone number to call is 866-320-1182. To be continued.