Hello from Oregon

[Money]

Hello,

I'm from a small town in Oregon nobody's heard of and even less people care about right next to the Idaho border. I purchased a Voyager from my Uncles fiance with the understanding the transmission was bad for $50 - engine still ran great. The transmission had never been serviced, so I took the liberty and it ran and drove for the most part just fine but I was experiencing an odd squeaking noise coming from the trans and erratic shift behavior (delayed upshifts, wouldn't downshift when coming to stops, etc).

Long story short, I pulled the engine and transmission both to have the transmission checked over and to give the engine a fresh lease by replacing all of the gaskets, etc. I'm still waiting for the transmission to get back so I can put it all back together, engine is waiting for the transmission before I put the rest of it back together and drop it in. I don't have any pictures of the van but it's your basic run-of-the-mill dark green van, but I do have some pictures of the engine.

Right after the pull:


Disassembled:


Bottom end looked to be in decent shape:


Heads:


Now on the road to re-assembly. Heads back fresh from the machinist:


And here's where I'm at currently:


Loads of new parts besides gaskets, pretty much anything made of rubber save for the tires and motor mounts is new, cap/rotor, plugs/wires, so-on and so-forth. I figure by the time I'm done, I'll have as much into it (besides time) as I would a down payment and it should be pretty solid. Once I'm done with this, I'm moving on to my Neon which will then be turned into a toy. Big plans for it .

Thanks for reading all that mess, if you did.

[greensleeves]

wow great job!!!! and welcome on board from the uk.....

[tcwagner1]

You da man. I would have suggested changing the tranny fluid a few times before pulling it, since older ones typically slam into gear and won't shift well when the fluid is worn out. I have fixed mine when it would not go at all with 3 fluid changes. But we're way past that. I want to suggest you do not use the tranny cooler in the radiator. Buy an aftermarket with large bore tubes that will not catch crud and plug, a very common reason for tranny failure. I had a newly rebuilt one completely burn up, not a tooth on a gear, because the guy did not back flush the cooler. You can bypass the radiator one and go straight to the air cooled aftermarket. You can make one from the evaporator of a 5000 BTU AC if you have an old one laying around, and just buy the hose and mounting kit at the store. Thoroughly clean it out, of course.Best wishes on your purchase.
But I would suggest, if there is any question at all, to replace all your motor mounts while you have this thing apart. The one on the drivers side wears out commonly on some models. Please post your model and other data so we can give you better advice.
Somebody help me, does this 3.0 (It looks like) have stretch head bolts that are not reusable? I am assuming you know what you are doing and have a manual, but if you have questions, please post so some of these really sharp mechanics can help you before you do whatever you are in a quandry about.

[97K15004WD]

Welcome!

[tcwagner1]

Oh, yeah, be sure to get a quality Torque converter and do not try to reuse the old one. Check to see if you can use ATF4, it is so much better than 3. If you can, be sure your rebuilder uses genuine ATF4 and not a universal fluid with additives. That is a common complaint on the forum. Tell him you will bring it, pay extra for it, but you want to be sure you have it. No additives necessary with it. You didn't mention it, but most folks replace the water pump when they are in this engine to do the timing belt.

[Money]

wow great job!!!! and welcome on board from the uk.....

Welcome!

Let me start here by saying thanks gents (or ladies?) .

You da man. I would have suggested changing the tranny fluid a few times before pulling it, since older ones typically slam into gear and won't shift well when the fluid is worn out. I have fixed mine when it would not go at all with 3 fluid changes. But we're way past that. I want to suggest you do not use the tranny cooler in the radiator. Buy an aftermarket with large bore tubes that will not catch crud and plug, a very common reason for tranny failure. I had a newly rebuilt one completely burn up, not a tooth on a gear, because the guy did not back flush the cooler. You can bypass the radiator one and go straight to the air cooled aftermarket. You can make one from the evaporator of a 5000 BTU AC if you have an old one laying around, and just buy the hose and mounting kit at the store. Thoroughly clean it out, of course.Best wishes on your purchase.
But I would suggest, if there is any question at all, to replace all your motor mounts while you have this thing apart. The one on the drivers side wears out commonly on some models. Please post your model and other data so we can give you better advice.
Somebody help me, does this 3.0 (It looks like) have stretch head bolts that are not reusable? I am assuming you know what you are doing and have a manual, but if you have questions, please post so some of these really sharp mechanics can help you before you do whatever you are in a quandry about.

I wish I would have searched for a forum for information rather than going about it the way that I did and hammering Google - would have saved me a lot of time and frustration heh. Well if you don't mind reading it I'll give you the long version of the story about the trans:

Funny you mention changing the fluid 3 times - because that is the exact amount of times I actually did change it before making the decision to pull. When I got the van it was towed into my driveway, further leading me to believe it was completely shot so I just didn't even bother with it for a couple weeks. I found out later I could get it to engage Drive consistently, and occasionally reverse but inconsistently. Somebody suggested changing the fluid/filter to see if that remedied it. The first time I used 5 quarts of Wal-Marts finest, and to my surprise it engaged reverse every time. But then I noticed a shudder whenever it shifted into 3rd gear. Resigning again to the fact that it had internal issues, I later read about the correct transmission fluid. So I dropped the pan again and used 5 quarts of it instead. That for the most part cured the shudder, but it still wasn't shifting properly (up or down) - so I then opted to flush out the whole works by disconnecting the return line from the radiator, letting it run into a bottle and filling the transmission simultaneously while it drained (with help, of course), and adjusting the kickdown band and low reverse band (I think the last one is called). This cleaned up the shifting for a time, and the shudder was gone. After about 15 miles on my test run it started misbehaving again, not shifting down at stop signs and waiting too long to upshift. At this point I resigned to the fact that it needed help. I guess I should also mention the seemingly high volume of shavings found in the transmission each time. No chunks, just shavings.

Phew, that was a lot of typing. Anyway after talking to the guy working on the transmission (has been a Dodge mechanic for 14 years I think, and yes I know it's a Mitsubishi engine) he said everything inside he'd seen (at least up to the point that I had talked to him) looked pretty good for the miles on it. It wasn't slipping at all, the only real problem was the erratic shift behavior and the ominous squeak/squeal that it emitted while sitting at idle in gear (reverse or drive). Actually if anybody has any light to shed on that it would be helpful since he didn't get a chance to hear it before I pulled it - might give him something to look for. He hadn't detected the source of the shavings at the time I talked to him.

Oh, yeah, be sure to get a quality Torque converter and do not try to reuse the old one. Check to see if you can use ATF4, it is so much better than 3. If you can, be sure your rebuilder uses genuine ATF4 and not a universal fluid with additives. That is a common complaint on the forum. Tell him you will bring it, pay extra for it, but you want to be sure you have it. No additives necessary with it. You didn't mention it, but most folks replace the water pump when they are in this engine to do the timing belt.

I'll be using (and have been using) ATF + 4, doesn't seem +3 is available anywhere I shop for supplies anyway. FWIW Wal-Mart has the Valvoline for like $5 a quart - cheapest place I've found it so far. Since I'll be the one re-installing the transmission, I get to say what kind of fluid goes back in so I don't have to worry about that .

The replacement list to date (I think):


Every gasket there is from the oil pick-up tube up. If any of them didn't get changed, well considering I had the entire thing ripped apart I don't see how that's possible. This includes the injector o-rings (which, btw, get at NAPA and not the dealership. Lot cheaper).

• Gaskets, gaskets everywhere!
• Heads were surfaced, new valve seals and cam seals.
• Water Pump
• Timing belt
• Tensioner pully (I didn't take it off the head when I took 'em in to the machinist, I think he put it in the hot tank with the heads and it didn't sound too good when I got it back).
• Serpentine belt
• Spark Plugs/wires
• Cap/rotor
• Rear main
• Upper/lower radiator hoses

Trans is getting an overhaul with new clutches and gaskets, and a new torque converter lockup solenoid. Any reason you mention replacing the torque converter? I gave it to the guy looking at the transmission to check it over (although I have no idea how one would test it, that's why I'm not doing it).

Anyway I'll be surprised if anybody reads all that. Probably filled half the page...

[NonProfit]

Nice job, that should run great for years to come!

[dun4now]

Oh, yeah, be sure to get a quality Torque converter and do not try to reuse the old one. Check to see if you can use ATF4, it is so much better than 3. If you can, be sure your rebuilder uses genuine ATF4 and not a universal fluid with additives. That is a common complaint on the forum. Tell him you will bring it, pay extra for it, but you want to be sure you have it. No additives necessary with it. You didn't mention it, but most folks replace the water pump when they are in this engine to do the timing belt.

Welcome to the forum money!!! Those head bolts are torque to yield and will stretch to braking, yikes. Before you put it back I would IMO change those stupid bloody ticky valve followers while they are still easy to get to. While your at it besides the water pump I would also do the oil pump as well. These are things that will save you lots of headaches later. You might want to change out your oxygen sensor now that you have easy access to it. Now your going to have yourself something you can be proud of. Don't forget your distributor cap and wires, by the way those distributor caps have runners underneath so #1 under the cap is not in the same place as it is on the top side. These are all suggestions from good people on this forum.
Nice job, you make me envious because that is something I enjoy doing but don't have the money.

[Money]

^^ The heads I just had serviced at a machine shop, would that have been something they could have identified and/or cured upon re-assembly? Everything as far as the engine (aside from the leaking all over the place) seemed very sound, I'm just paranoid about used cars that I don't know the history of and don't want to get stranded somewhere on a cold night is part of the reason this is all getting done - plus I had to pull the transmission for repair anyway.

Also - any specific reason for the oil pump replacement? It's always been my understanding that they aren't terribly prone to failure (at least my Neon anyway) - but now would be the time if there is a compelling reason to.

I found out about the #1 trick heh, the book didn't really explain that very well. Luckily I have access to a parts van (89 Grand) that I picked up for free and used it to figure it out. Speaking of this, if anybody in Idaho wants a free 4 speed transmission let me know. The guy I picked it up from said the engine started knocking, so he just parked it and there it sat. It's going to be hauled off to minivan heaven within the month most likely, so act fast if your interested.

If it's something you happen to enjoy doing.....for other people then come on down . This really hasn't been a bad experience like I usually have working on cars (for a change), but I can certainly think of other things I'd rather do with my time.

Anyway I'll quit bumping this thread and start a members ride thread when I get the transmission back (this weekend) and get a few more pictures of things going back together.

Thanks for the advice and the welcome everybody!

[tcwagner1]

The reason I suggested a new TC was just in case you thought of reusing it. It is the most problematic part of the transmission, in my estimation. And please flush or bypass the tranny oil cooler, or it can destroy a new transmission. Looks like you are doing a great job. By the way, someone mentioned Tractor Supply was having a sale on ATF4. I got it at O'Reillys for less than 5, Valvoline. And do replace the mounts, easy now.