96 Town & Country tranny fluid issues

The latest TSB on the subject is No. 21-004-04 issued March 2004. It
> says, in part: "This bulletin applies to all transmissions manufactured by
> Chrysler except for 1999 and earlier minivans with the 41TE/AE
> transmission. This Service Bulletin DOES NOT apply to all AWD
> transmissions, Sprinter transmissions, Crossfire transmissions and WG
> bodies equipped with a W5J400 or NAGI transmission (sales code DGJ)...".
>
> That TSB supercedes No. 21-006-01. That TSB (21-006-01) no longer shows
> up on AllData since it is superceded, but what it, in part, said was: "A
> new transmission fluid (ATF+4(R) - Type 9602) has been developed and is
> being used as factory fill for all vehicles with Chrysler automatic
> transmissions. Until now, vehicles originally filled with ATF+2 or ATF+3
> were to be serviced with ATF+3. Effective immediately, it is recommended
> that all vehicles with Chrysler automatic transmissions except for 1999
> and earlier minivans be serviced with ATF+4(R). ATF+3 should continue to
> be used for 1999 and earlier minivans because of the potential for torque
> converter shudder during break in. For all other applications the ATF+4(R)
> fluid offers significant benefits as outlined below...".
>
> If you check the archives of this ng, you will see that some knowledgeable
> person/people stated that that TC shudder concern was due to torque
> converter clutch wear-in, and that I speculated at least twice that, if
> that was true, once the tranny (and clutch) had some wear on it,
> apparently it would be OK to switch to ATF+4. No-one ever challenged or
> acknowledged that theroy (so it was left ambiguous as to whether ATF+4
> would cause an actual problem with 99+% of the minivans on the road whose
> TC clutches were certainly well broken-in by now even though the TSB said
> not to use it).
>
> Bill Putney

Yes, the TSB's are confusing. That is why I called Chrysler for technical
assistance. They called me back and recommended getting rid of the +4 plus
additive and recommended +3. It sure would be nice if Chrysler had a clearer
way of communicating the care and feeding of its products. Do you kind of
get the feeling that Chrysler is not quite sure about this issue; I sure do.

Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent my
case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not let
us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.

Richard.

"Richard" wrote:

>Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent my
>case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not let
>us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.

Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has 184,500
miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles. The
Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will last??????

RP

"Richard" wrote:

>Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent my
>case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not let
>us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.

Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has 184,500
miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles. The
Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will last??????

RP

Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has
184,500
> miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles.
> The
> Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will
> last??????
>
> RP

I think you miss my point. My 96 T&C had over 120,000 miles and was still
going strong. Motor was like new on Mobil 1. But Chrysler knew cases were
cracking because the rear mounting pin was working loose somehow. They
failed to inform the dealers to do an inspection and took years to develop a
fix that would keep the pin problem from cracking the case. They have not
put in place an owner satisfaction program to get people to bring the cars
in for an inspection, and are not telling dealers to fix the pins with their
kit as a customer satisfaction program. Not a quality issue, sometimes these
things happen, but a customer relations issue. On this Chrysler has let the
customer down.

Richard.

Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has
184,500
> miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles.
> The
> Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will
> last??????
>
> RP

I think you miss my point. My 96 T&C had over 120,000 miles and was still
going strong. Motor was like new on Mobil 1. But Chrysler knew cases were
cracking because the rear mounting pin was working loose somehow. They
failed to inform the dealers to do an inspection and took years to develop a
fix that would keep the pin problem from cracking the case. They have not
put in place an owner satisfaction program to get people to bring the cars
in for an inspection, and are not telling dealers to fix the pins with their
kit as a customer satisfaction program. Not a quality issue, sometimes these
things happen, but a customer relations issue. On this Chrysler has let the
customer down.

Richard.

RPhillips47 wrote:
> "Richard" wrote:
>
>
>>Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent my
>>case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not let
>>us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.
>
>
> Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has 184,500
> miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles. The
> Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will last??????
>
> RP

Yep, same problem here. My 96 GV has 159,000 and I've had to replace
the tires, the brakes and several other things in the 8 years I've
owened it. They just don't make cars to hold up anymore.


Matt

RPhillips47 wrote:
> "Richard" wrote:
>
>
>>Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent my
>>case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not let
>>us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.
>
>
> Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has 184,500
> miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles. The
> Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will last??????
>
> RP

Yep, same problem here. My 96 GV has 159,000 and I've had to replace
the tires, the brakes and several other things in the 8 years I've
owened it. They just don't make cars to hold up anymore.


Matt

You fail to mention the pin problem is caused from excessive wheel spin! ie)
driver flooring the gas pedal while slipping on ice.
"Matt Whiting" > wrote in message
...
> RPhillips47 wrote:
> > "Richard" wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent
my
> >>case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not
let
> >>us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.
> >
> >
> > Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has
184,500
> > miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles.
The
> > Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will
last??????
> >
> > RP
>
> Yep, same problem here. My 96 GV has 159,000 and I've had to replace
> the tires, the brakes and several other things in the 8 years I've
> owened it. They just don't make cars to hold up anymore.
>
>
> Matt
>

You fail to mention the pin problem is caused from excessive wheel spin! ie)
driver flooring the gas pedal while slipping on ice.
"Matt Whiting" > wrote in message
...
> RPhillips47 wrote:
> > "Richard" wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not prevent
my
> >>case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about but did not
let
> >>us know it had a cure for. No customer quality inspection program here.
> >
> >
> > Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has
184,500
> > miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000 miles.
The
> > Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will
last??????
> >
> > RP
>
> Yep, same problem here. My 96 GV has 159,000 and I've had to replace
> the tires, the brakes and several other things in the 8 years I've
> owened it. They just don't make cars to hold up anymore.
>
>
> Matt
>

Matt Whiting wrote:
> RPhillips47 wrote:
>
>> "Richard" wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Still, my shifting did get smoother when I used +3. It did not
>>> prevent my case from cracking from that loose pin Chrysler knew about
>>> but did not let us know it had a cure for. No customer quality
>>> inspection program here.
>>
>>
>>
>> Yeah - Chrysler quality isn't worth anything. My '96 T&C LXi only has
>> 184,500
>> miles on it and my '93 Jeep GC Laredo is fast approaching 195,000
>> miles. The
>> Pacifica only has 23,700 miles on it so who knows how long it will
>> last??????
>>
>> RP
>
>
> Yep, same problem here. My 96 GV has 159,000 and I've had to replace
> the tires, the brakes and several other things in the 8 years I've
> owened it. They just don't make cars to hold up anymore.
>
>
> Matt
>

Classic YMMV.

Our GC with 3.3L had leaky head gasket at 33,000, rusted/junk rotors and
failed serpentine belt tensioner at 37,000.

Classic POS, inclusive of Chrysco's approach to "five-star customer
service".

Indeed, who knows how long it will last??????