In new mexico-hoping I can talk to a mechanic...

[closeanuf]

Bryan you need to find a mechanic NOW!!!!!  When you're in over your head ask for help.  It's great that everyone is offering suggestions, but if you don't understand what they are saying seek help where you are at.  Whatever a mechanic charges you is gonna be less than a wrecker and extended motel stay.  You need to speak to a mechanic like you said, but not on the phone; you need eyeball to eyeball contact.

 

[jonsun]

Maybe they just over filled it?

 

[SternWake]

Does your radiator transmission cooler have steel lines or flexible lines with hose clamps?

Hose clamps need to be retightened after the first few heating cycles as they dig into the hose, and the hose used should be specifically for ATF, or at least rated for it. Hose clamps can also loosen, and can also be absolute junk quality. Dual hose clamps installed in opposite directions is a wise precaution.

If the Thermostat is not opening there will be no flow across radiator when the cap is off, but obviously do not remove cap when engine is hot.

Also there could be air in the block right by the thermostat, which then takes forever to open as it is bathed in hot air instead of hot coolant.

A bad radiator cap can let hot coolant flow into overflow tank but not let it draw back in the coolant as engine cools and lead to that air in the block, and while it should purge itself, I have noticed 'should' does not always equal 'does'.

Check radiator level when engine is cold. If it is low but overflow tank is not empty, replace radiator cap.

Thermostats do wear out. and I believe on that year are quite the PITA to change out.

 

[bullfrog]

Sounds like you have more than one problem or maybe had one problem that because you continued to drive created another problem. Closeanuf is correct things could get much worse if you continue to run the motor. Ask around for good places and see if they can have it towed.

 

[Wabbit]

The van is at a shop now, guy said it would be a few hours before they can look at it. He said it sounds like I need a new transmission. The van goes into every gear fine and when its cool, it works like it always has. As to the cooler lines, not sure. Its behind something. I know the cooler lines run into the bottom of the radiator.

Would the invoice for the work done on it a month or so ago be helpful to anyone? I have a pdf file of it. Maybe seeing what the original shop did might explain?

The guy I talked to hear was busy and didn't seem all that helpful. He didn't look at the work I had done and yet said it sounded like the tranny was bad. The tranny fluid leak is obviously on parts that are new.

I am so out of my element and get the feeling that I will be treated as an income source here and the warranty won't cover it because insert reason here. I hope it gets fixed and is covered by warranty. Will let you know what happens. Really sorry I wasn't able to answer most of the questions asked, its all Greek to me.

 

[29chico]

Took pictures, but laptop won't power on. Battery prob dead.

Tranny fluid = red
Oil = brown not black
Coolant=green

Tranny is leaking or sprayed from 2 places. First place is where it connects to a radiator? Is that the cooler? Second place is from a hose connection, this is where it looks like it sprayed. Fluid is at the middle of the"OK" section on trans stick with van in neutral. Used to be a lot higher, over the acceptable hot limit on stick. Figured the extra fluid was for cooler. With a transmission cooler, do you add more tranny fluid than recommended on the trans dipstick?

Coolant doesn't look like its circulating and its steaming.

In Buckeye, Az.

Trying to get warranty covered, will post back when I know more.

When you checked the tranny fluid level was the tranny fully warmed up, vehicle resting on a level surface with the engine running?  Did you then shift it thru all the gears and then leave it in neutral with the engine running?  Then you would have been ready to correctly check the tranny fluid.

No, adding a cooler does not require a higher level of tranny fluid in the transmission. 

Never drive a vehicle that has engine oil or tranny ATF higher or lower than required by the manufacturers.  Major problems may result from doing so.  

Coolant steaming?  From where?

I agree with closeanuf that an experienced mechanic needs to get eyes on your rig soonest.  Too many unanswered questions come to mind and trying to diagnose your rig's issues via the internet or phone would most likely lead to damaging your vehicle.

Please keep us in the loop on your rig's issues.  I will try to help once more info is available.

I am a trained automotive and motorcycle diagnostician.

I see that in Buckeye, Az there are both NAPA and Carquest auto parts stores.  Those stores often supply parts to the local mechanics.  If I were in your situation I would go to both stores and ask for a recommendation of a couple mechanics to diagnose your issues.  Be sure to tell them what your are driving.

 

[Wabbit]

The tranny fluid was checked in that procedure. Now it reads in the middle of the OK part of dipstick. Before, it read way over the max hot point on dipstick. The coolant was steaming from when I took the radiator cap off. A little bit of coolant overflowed when I took off cap. It was hot though so I think that's normal?

Edit: Van is at Fletchers tire and auto service in Buckeye. Guy said it would be a few hours before he could look at it. We slept in the front seats of the mini van last two nights. I am grimy, dirty, and tired. Im getting the impression that my appearance is affecting the way I am being handled here. Maybe not, just feeling kicked in the head in and I HATE feeling helpless. That and the tiredness is affecting my mental capacity...lol.

 

[29chico]

After the shop looks at your rig and gives you an estimate be sure to ask them what ATF fluid will the be putting in the tranny.   If they say anything but ATF+4 fluid do not let them work on your vehicle.  This is very important.

 

[bullfrog]

Was it a national chain that originally did the work? Maybe the mechanic who originally did the work could talk with the one doing the work now, especially if he thought he might being court ordered to pay for the repairs. Third mechanics opinion might not be a bad idea if repairs will cost a lot of money. Now what can you do to keep this from happening again. How good will this warranty be. Will you go to court to try to get repairs taken care of. Take lots of pictures and keep all receipts and consider small claims courts or lawyer. These things may just be due to wear and the fact it was driven with a problem but could be improper insulation or bad parts. Make sure you know before you go. 29chico is right on about NAPA for reference and ATF.

 

[29chico]

The tranny fluid was checked in that procedure. Now it reads in the middle of the OK part of dipstick. Before, it read way over the max hot point on dipstick. The coolant was steaming from when I took the radiator cap off. A little bit of coolant overflowed when I took off cap. It was hot though so I think that's normal?

Ok, ask the shop that you are at if your transmission could have been damaged by being overfilled by the previous shop.

If the engine coolant had been been overtemp you would have been scalded by boiling fluid when you released the pressure when you removed the radiator pressure cap.  Never remove the radiator pressure cap when the upper radiator hose has pressure in it or you can get badly scalded.  Grab the upper radiator hose sometime when the engine is cold to get a feel for what it squeezes like w/ no pressure in the cooling system.

 

[Wabbit]

As too what I will do, I don't see myself taking anyone to court. I don't have the money for repairs and am already way overwhelmed. I have PTSD and some other cute labels. I don't do well in uncomfortable situations. Almost ashamed to admit that I go into some kind of blackout and usually wake up in jail or the hospital. Not saying any of that for sympathy, just to maybe let you know that I handle things differently than the right way. I will just walk away from the van if its too much. Not proud of myself for that,but I try my best and many times its not good enough.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble right at the start of what was supposed to be a great adventure/lifestyle.

Not sure this is going to make you feel any better but the online reviews of this place wouldn't invoke much confidence in me in their ability to fix it correctly or even care to fix it correctly.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/fletchers-tire-and-auto-service-buckeye

 

[jonsun]

^ what I figured when they said new trans

 

[Gary68]

so the trans seems to be fine when it is cool but starts acting weird when warm?
if so,fix leaks obviously,drain and refill to correct level with correct fluid
dont know dodge but my chevy has,steel line from trans to bottom of rad,top of rad rubber line to bottom of cooler located in front of the rad,should be able to see it behind your grill,rubber line from top of cooler to top steel line going to trans,yours should be similar,if they bypassed the stock trans cooler in your rad that aftermarket cooler might not be enough to keep it cool,
i would make sure this is all correct and roll with it and see what happens


the engine,if you have a bunch of white smoke coming out of the tail pipe you probably popped a head gasket,if not and oil is clean,replace thermostat and gasket,on the bottom of your water pump there should be a little hole,is there any coolant there?replace water pump if no flow

here i will give you a crash course on mechanics,turn counterclockwise to loosen,clockwise to tighten
thats it,no rocket science here,no need to get upset,its life,take the mindset of you're educating yourself on your rig and basic mechanics and roll with it

haynes repair manual has all the info you will need

 

[Wabbit]

Because of the reviews on that fletcher place, (thanks for that heads up) called warranty company back and they sent me to different shop. Culverts something, rep on phone said the place had good ratings. Drove there and he said tranny was fine, even though he could see a lil dripping. Anyways long story short, no codes on engine and he said it was fine and that I was driving it to hard. He couldn't find any problems and didn't want to drive it. I asked about radiator cap, that's when he said that he noticed there wasn't any pressure in hose and I needed new radiator cap. So I went and got that and drove it, still no pressure in radiator hose.

Anyways at Ehrenburg with a beer in hand. Will try to figure out the cooling tomm if not hung over. Confused about what was up with van? Me too! 4 mechanics looked at it, all said it was fine, but none drove it and the no pressure in radiator hose didn't seem to bother them. Or the tranny drip(its not bad). Guy at Napa said tranny drips bad. It stinks when you can't trust the supposed experts.

You all are great!

 

[biggerhammer]

I'm sure others have already told you but I wouldn't drive this another inch until you have the lines repaired. Driving an automatic transmission with low fluid will lead you swiftly to replacing the transmission.

 

[bullfrog]

It is good your engine had no stored codes but is it running hot? I would either fix temp indicator or get cheap digital thermometer to keep track of engine and trans temperature. Check fluids daily or every 100 miles as a quart of engine oil every 150 is excessive. Have leaks fixed and clean off as much of surface oil as it can catch on fire or collect sand and dirt and add to overheating problems. Start saving and drive as little as possible while you build up your emergency fund. Upper hose not building up pressure after 15 to 20 minute run time means coolant will boil at a lower temperature (as pressure increases boiling point rises) so with no pressure coolant is more likely to fill over flow tank and overheat sooner. While cold, before starting, check radiator for coolant by taking off cap. If you have to add coolant it is leaking somewhere so take it to a shop and have it pressure checked to find the leak. Good luck and keep us posted! As the bible quote says "Come to terms with thy ass for it bears thee."

 

[Wabbit]

Still betting fan clutch. When they go bad it feels likes trans is going out. They can leak their fluid too and since he said trans wasn't empty.....

Not sure what this is, but with van running, the fan does spin. Will check the "back and forth" wobble you mentioned. When "something  went", coolant was the smell I smelled. Not for long, but maybe it was fan clutch.

Tranny fluid still in OK range, but how hard is it to drain tranny fluid and replace with ATF4? And where do you pour tranny fluid in? Oil is level if fine but haven't driven it much. Coolant level was way down because I cut some hoses out and lost coolant that way. Replaced it with water for now but on payday will empty coolant\water and fill with coolant. Any special type of coolant?

EDIT: just FYI, in Ehrenberg area now.

 

[ArtW]

Cry, it's not too hard, but if you can get to wifi watch some youtube videos how to do it, before you try it, so you know what you're looking at and what to mess with
On Caravans you need a torx driver to get the filter out, not sure if that's true on Ram vans or not

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Tranny fluid still in OK range, but how hard is it to drain tranny fluid and replace with ATF4? And where do you pour tranny fluid in? Oil is level if fine but haven't driven it much. Coolant level was way down because I cut some hoses out and lost coolant that way. Replaced it with water for now but on payday will empty coolant\water and fill with coolant. Any special type of coolant?

You pour the tranny fluid down the dipstick tube you use to check the level.  They make special funnels to make this easy.

As for coolant, the old days of simple, universal ethylene glycol are long gone.  Different types of antifreeze are NOT compatible, and mixing them can lead to caustic solutions.  You should really use the one your vehicle manufacturer recommends.  If you buy it at a parts store, make sure your vehicle is listed on the container.

http://blog.chiltondiy.com/2013/06/which-antifreeze-is-right-for-your-vehicle/