Generic automotive question concerning a 1992 Grand Caravan 4-speed

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:30:06 -0500, Bill Putney wrote:

> Hachiroku ãƒ�ãƒ�ãƒ*ク wrote:
>> Spreading the wealth tonight because there are knowledgable people in
>> all these groups.
>>
>> In order to try to make sure my '92 Grand Caravan has the proper ATF,
>> which is now ATF+4, I did a drain and fill and replace 5.5 qts of trans
>> fluid with Castorl ATF+4 grade ATF. It is running OK, but sometimes
>> "Bump-shifts" which in these trannies can be an indication maybe someone
>> put in the wrong fluid.
>>
>> My plan is to drive it 1-2,000 miles and then do another drain and fill
>> (which will put me right about the middle of January, and of course,
>> there's no quick and easy drain plug...)
>>
>> How many times does anyone think I need to do this to make sure there's
>> enough ATF+4 to cover my behind? I could put some extra effort into it
>> and flush it...NAH!
>>
>> I can't quickly find the fluid capacity of the tranny...
>
> I know on later vehicles, when the fluid is changed, you need to reset the
> TCM back to its defaults so it can relearn to adjust things to the new
> properties - I assume that also applies to 92's (could be wrong).
>
> But you replaced about half the fluid. Anything you do will be a dilution
> process, so you'll never get 100%, but you can certainly do better than
> 1/2. A second pan drop will probably get you in the 80% range. You could
> disconnect the cooler return line and let it run into a waste bucket while
> you put in at approximately the same rate as it comes out - that has the
> advantage of also swapping fluid in the torque converter. That will
> probably put the new fluid at 95+% if you were to
> run, say 12 or 14 quarts of new fluid into it. Probably more mess
> than you want to mess with though from the sounds of it. If you have more
> money than desire to do it thoroughly, then pay a dealer to do it - but
> make sure they tell you what you will get for your money - i.e., that they
> aren't just going to do another pan drop.

Well, I am not sure what's in the trans. I know the original owner had it
service at a Chrysler dealer, and I would assume they know what's what.

The last owner had it four years, and he seems to know a bit about cars,
so I'm hoping he knew to use ATF+3 or +4. I'm not having any real problems
with the tranny except a small amount of bump-shift at lower speeds. The
van has 239,000 on it so some bumps and groans are to be expected.

Unfortunately (er, perhaps, fortunately?) the only bottle in the van was
brake fluid, and we found the leak. No oil cans or trans fluid cans. I'm
hoping that means there weren't any problems...but it doesn't give me a
clue as to what fluids were put into the vehicle when needed...