A strange banging/flapping noise developed about 400 miles after getting the transmission fluid and filter replaced in my 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan SE Sport with the 3.8 V6 engine and front wheel drive. The odometer currently reads 62,544 miles (about 100,655 kilometers). The noise seems to only happen while driving at any speed and taking my foot off the accelerator, probably while the automatic transmission puts itself in neutral. The frequency of the banging/flapping noise is increased as the speed of the minivan is increased.
We are the original owners of our minivan. We've had the transmission fluid and filter replaced at roughly 15,000 mile (about 24,140 km) intervals. I've always stood in the Dodge, Chrysler, or Plymouth dealer's service garage door area to watch and make sure they do things correctly such as really drain the fluid, really replace the filter, use the ATF+3 or ATF+4 fluid when refilling, and so on. This last time I used an independent garage and everything seemed okay. The only thing I could not see was the brand of the filter as it was in a clear bag rather than in a labeled box.
Any ideas what this might be? After driving, parking on level ground, and with the engine still running I checked the transmission fluid level and it is slightly higher than halfway between the two marks - maybe short 1/3 of a US liquid quart (about 0.3 liters). My guesses are the transmission is "complaining" because the transmission fluid is not exactly at the full mark, the mechanic might not have firmly pushed the new transmission filter all the way into place and is slightly loose, an aftermarket transmission filter might have been used, or maybe something else is wrong with my minivan that is not related to this recent transmission fluid and filter replacement - such as a foreign object is stuck somewhere in the engine bay or front wheel area. For whatever it is worth there aren't any transmission fluid drip stains on the ground under the minivan. I will buy a bottle of ATF+4 transmission fluid and bring the fluid level all the way to the full mark, but I have doubts as to this being the cause of the occasional banging/flapping noise.
Although my wife and I don't drive our minivan as often as most people drive theirs, we do enjoy our minivan and want to keep it easily another 10 years. I've done the oil changes, wheel rotations, and coolant/antifreeze changes myself but left the other maintenance things to the mechanics - perhaps sooner than recommended by the maintenance schedule in the owners manual. We're concerned about this and want to get it fixed before something bad could happen to our minivan.
I joined this forum years ago and periodically read the postings. Today this is my first post to the forum. Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
We are the original owners of our minivan. We've had the transmission fluid and filter replaced at roughly 15,000 mile (about 24,140 km) intervals. I've always stood in the Dodge, Chrysler, or Plymouth dealer's service garage door area to watch and make sure they do things correctly such as really drain the fluid, really replace the filter, use the ATF+3 or ATF+4 fluid when refilling, and so on. This last time I used an independent garage and everything seemed okay. The only thing I could not see was the brand of the filter as it was in a clear bag rather than in a labeled box.
Any ideas what this might be? After driving, parking on level ground, and with the engine still running I checked the transmission fluid level and it is slightly higher than halfway between the two marks - maybe short 1/3 of a US liquid quart (about 0.3 liters). My guesses are the transmission is "complaining" because the transmission fluid is not exactly at the full mark, the mechanic might not have firmly pushed the new transmission filter all the way into place and is slightly loose, an aftermarket transmission filter might have been used, or maybe something else is wrong with my minivan that is not related to this recent transmission fluid and filter replacement - such as a foreign object is stuck somewhere in the engine bay or front wheel area. For whatever it is worth there aren't any transmission fluid drip stains on the ground under the minivan. I will buy a bottle of ATF+4 transmission fluid and bring the fluid level all the way to the full mark, but I have doubts as to this being the cause of the occasional banging/flapping noise.
Although my wife and I don't drive our minivan as often as most people drive theirs, we do enjoy our minivan and want to keep it easily another 10 years. I've done the oil changes, wheel rotations, and coolant/antifreeze changes myself but left the other maintenance things to the mechanics - perhaps sooner than recommended by the maintenance schedule in the owners manual. We're concerned about this and want to get it fixed before something bad could happen to our minivan.
I joined this forum years ago and periodically read the postings. Today this is my first post to the forum. Thanks in advance for any and all replies!