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91 plymouth vayager transmission problem

Question:

i have a 91 4 cyl. plymouth voyager with over 100k i think with an automatic transmission. my problem is that some time ago it suddenly started going into neutral or slipping while driving. it seems that when the transmission oil heats up it starts doing this. if i let it cool down it starts working fine again. i drive it to school, which is less than 5 minutes from my house, every morning and it works fine but if i try and drive around for a while it will start acting up again. i know that it can’t be a transmission problem because all the gears engage perfectly every morning when i drive ot school.  i was thinking of buying a transmission cooler and putting it on but i don’t know if it will resolve my problem. could this be it?

Response:

Cooler will not help. Most likely the transmission oil pump is worn.  If a pressure gauge is attached to it and the car driven you will see the cold pressure normal, but after the oil gets hot and thins, the pressure will slowly drop.  After it drops enuf, the clutches and bands start slipping.  Your pump is worn out.  It requires a teardown to fix. You might look at the fluid.  If it is very dark, it might be the original fluid that came with the car.  If it has lost its visosity properties, it might thin out too much when hot and even a good pump cannot pressurize your transmission hydraulic circuits.  If the fluid is bad, change it and test drive the car to see if it can maintain its pressure.  Its a long shot, but its cheaper than an overhaul if it works. If upon teardown the pump is good, then there has to be an internal leak somewhere that bleeds off the pressure.  On startup the pump has reserve capacity to compensate for the internal leak, but when warm that excess capacity is lost and can no longer compensate. Since you are only 5 minutes from school, you might want to look around for a second hand bicycle because that transmission is going to give up the ghost soon.  I have the same kind of Torqueflite as yours with about 180 K miles and it works flawlessly.  Strange.

Response:

i have a 91 4 cyl. plymouth voyager with over 100k i think with an automatic transmission. my problem is that some time ago it suddenly started going into neutral or slipping while driving. it seems that when the transmission oil heats up it starts doing this. if i let it cool down it starts working fine again. i drive it to school, which is less than 5 minutes from my house, every morning and it works fine but if i try and drive around for a while it will start acting up again. i know that it can’t be a transmission problem because all the gears engage perfectly every morning when i drive ot school.  i was thinking of buying a transmission cooler and putting it on but i don’t know if it will resolve my problem. could this be it?

1st step, take all advice from Student Mechanic with a shaker of salt. Sometimes he is very lucid, sometimes he comes up with theories that are poppycock at best. After that, change the fluid & filter first to see if that doesn’t take care of the problem.  I’m assuming you’ve already checked the fluid level.  I’d bet that the fluid & filter change takes care of it, though. Good Luck & God Bless, Tom Heintz   "Mopar Maniac"

Response:

i have a 91 4 cyl. plymouth voyager with over 100k i think with an automatic transmission. my problem is that some time ago it suddenly started going into neutral or slipping while driving. it seems that when the transmission oil heats up it starts doing this. if i let it cool down it starts working fine again. i drive it to school, which is less than 5 minutes from my house, every morning and it works fine but if i try and drive around for a while it will start acting up again. i know that it can’t be a transmission problem because all the gears engage perfectly every morning when i drive ot school.  i was thinking of buying a transmission cooler and putting it on but i don’t know if it will resolve my problem. could this be it?

Response:

Cooler will not help. Most likely the transmission oil pump is worn.  If a pressure gauge is attached to it and the car driven you will see the cold pressure normal, but after the oil gets hot and thins, the pressure will slowly drop.  After it drops enuf, the clutches and bands start slipping.  Your pump is worn out.  It requires a teardown to fix. You might look at the fluid.  If it is very dark, it might be the original fluid that came with the car.  If it has lost its visosity properties, it might thin out too much when hot and even a good pump cannot pressurize your transmission hydraulic circuits.  If the fluid is bad, change it and test drive the car to see if it can maintain its pressure.  Its a long shot, but its cheaper than an overhaul if it works. If upon teardown the pump is good, then there has to be an internal leak somewhere that bleeds off the pressure.  On startup the pump has reserve capacity to compensate for the internal leak, but when warm that excess capacity is lost and can no longer compensate. Since you are only 5 minutes from school, you might want to look around for a second hand bicycle because that transmission is going to give up the ghost soon.  I have the same kind of Torqueflite as yours with about 180 K miles and it works flawlessly.  Strange.

Response:

i have a 91 4 cyl. plymouth voyager with over 100k i think with an automatic transmission. my problem is that some time ago it suddenly started going into neutral or slipping while driving. it seems that when the transmission oil heats up it starts doing this. if i let it cool down it starts working fine again. i drive it to school, which is less than 5 minutes from my house, every morning and it works fine but if i try and drive around for a while it will start acting up again. i know that it can’t be a transmission problem because all the gears engage perfectly every morning when i drive ot school.  i was thinking of buying a transmission cooler and putting it on but i don’t know if it will resolve my problem. could this be it?

1st step, take all advice from Student Mechanic with a shaker of salt. Sometimes he is very lucid, sometimes he comes up with theories that are poppycock at best. After that, change the fluid & filter first to see if that doesn’t take care of the problem.  I’m assuming you’ve already checked the fluid level.  I’d bet that the fluid & filter change takes care of it, though. Good Luck & God Bless, Tom Heintz   "Mopar Maniac"

Response:

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