DBLR

Well Friday the trans acted up as it took more RPM's to get it moving after coming to a stop. It even had a hard time pulling its self in to the garage on level ground, so a few told me it had to be the Torque converter and one said clutch pack. Well I took it to a Chrysler dealer today ( the selling dealer was forced to close) and come to find out the Valve Body is shot with a bit more then 33500 miles on it. IIRC he said it was starting out in 3rd gear so it was a good idea I had not dive it as it would of burn the fluid up. Little does he know that the trans has been filled with more then 50+% Amsoil synthetic ATF+4 for over 20K so I wonder if that may be why the fluid was not burnt even after putting some miles on while it was acting up. Anyway when he installs the new valve body with new solenoids? the tech will also put in a new filter and said he has to adjust the bands to keep Dodge happy, so at least I will not need to service it for another 30K instead of the less then 10K it would of been do for its next service. I was surprised they gave me a 2007 Dodge grand Caravan to drive until mine truck is fixed and not some super compact clunker only a kid can fit into .

Kenny D

im not sure but i think 3rd and reverse band is the same band might wanna make sure that band isnt worn from this or you could loose those gear pre maturly Good luck man Im trying to swap mine for a 6 speed

Spooler

The issue was really only the governor transducer and solenoid pack. That can make it stick in gear. Most of the time the failure is due to dirt stopping up one or the other. Have you ever done a tranny fluid exchange or are you one who thinks it is voodoo? This is exactly why I do them.

Crude dude

Think 3rd doesnt have a band. Isnt it manual low and reverse that share a band and 2nd has its own band? Too bad you didnt smell the fluid before it went in, that would have told you about the clutch condition.

RiverRat2

My last automatic,,,,, A Chevy 3/4 ton crew cab had over 150K mi. had the tranny flush/exchanged twice and it was due again,,,,,,before I totaled it out

I beat on that truck un mercifully,,,,,,, never had an issue,,,, fluid always looked pink.. if I ever get rid of my bolt action,,,,,, and get an auto,,,,, it'll get the same treatment!!!!!!

DBLR

FYI I had it serviced the first time at 14812 miles so it still had just under 10K before it was due for its next service. BTW I did check fluid level it was still nice an red and I smelled it to see if it was burnt before I ever took it to the shop. I think one reason the fluid held up so well is because I used synthetic AFT in when it was serviced even though I put over 100 miles on it after the problems showed up. The reason for the miles on it after the problems showed up is because I live in a small town and I was not going to let the Chevy crowd let it be seen on a tow truck, but they do know that it had trans problems and I've already heard a Chevy would not of let me down with just over 33K. The only sad part is I no longer have any synthetic ATF in the trans

Spooler

Sure you have synthetic ATF in the tranny. Mopar fluid is synthetic.

al5608

ATF+4 is synthetic

DBLR

I see I need to post this info again from the Allpar web site that Mopar ATF+4 is made from group III crude oil.

The use of Group III base oils is probably the leading cause for ATF+4 being a more expensive fluid than ATF+3 (which according to the paper uses a Group II base oil).

Lubrizol developed a new shear-stable viscosity index (VI) improver
specifically for ATF+4. The initial tests of this VI improver in the
MS9602 test fluids were so remarkable that Chrysler modified the then-current ATF+2 spec (MS7176D) to include it. Thus ATF+3 (MS7176E) fluid was born; it remained the factory fill until ATF+4. [Lubrizol is still used in ATF+4 and is required in fluids licensed for compatibility.]

The paper noted that one alternative was to use synthetic Group IV base stock, which are even more expensive than the ATF+4 solution, which provided Group IV style performance from Group III stock.

About oil base group:

Group I base oils can have a mix of different hydrocarbon chains, with relatively little uniformity; these oils are the least refined. They are usually not used for autos.

Group II are the most common base oils in “dino juice,” with good performance in most areas except cold temperature viscosity.

Group III are called synthetic, and have high molecular uniformity and stability. Group III oil bases are used in most synthetic oils.

Group IV are chemically engineered stocks, arguably with the highest performance and longevity.

IMHO it should be illegal to call group III oils synthetic.