Tom

Tom,

Q I own a ‘97 Town and Country minivan with more than 140,000 miles.

The dealer told me that I might need a new transmission, and it will be a few
thousand dollars to replace it. At this time I don’t have the money to buy a
new car, and I’m not sure if it’s worth paying that much for a transmission
for my current vehicle. I could take it to an independent person who said they
could do it cheaper than the dealer. He said he would give me a free quote. I
asked him if I should just get new transmission fluid and filter, and he said
that was not good enough. I have to go the whole nine yards. Is this true?

Thank   you,

Lydia—Escondido,    California

Lydia,

A I find it interesting that the second shop advised you that “You need the

whole nine yards“ without even looking at the transmission. Wow! What a
diagnostician! How did he do that? Frankly, Lydia, I would stay away from
that shop and find one trust worthier to have it evaluated before embarking
on such a costly repair. When transmissions have high mileage on them and
they have been neglected over their life (that is, not changing the fluid and
filter for the entire life of the transmission), there’s nothing you can do other
then rebuild or replace them.

If the vehicle has that kind of mileage on it and the transmission is
toast, and you’re on a limited budget but need the vehicle, try to find a used
low-to mid-mileage transmission for your vehicle. It will be cheaper than
rebuilding your old unit. Call your local junkyard and ask if they have a
transmission for your vehicle.

Your vehicle is built on the Chrysler minivan platform; Voyagers and
Caravans will interchange with your vehicle.