How to tell if 3-speed or 4-speed
Anita O Bendickson
Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or 4-speed
transmission? I assumed that the 4-speed's had the "D" with the circle
around it. We were looking a used Caravans today (Sunday- dealers are
closed) and they had one without the "D" and circle labeled as a 4-speed.
Thanks for the help
-Joel Ertl
Robert C. Snyder
If you want confirmation of your conclusion, check the digit immediately to
the right of the circled-D. It will be a "3" on the 4-speed.
Another indicator should be the motor. Someone will probably correct me,
but I don't think the 3.3L (3.8L) ever came with a 3-speed. If you're
finding 3.0L motors, I'd bet they have a 3-speed attached. A quick look
under the hood will clear this up.
Happy hunting.
Trouter
> I assumed that the 4-speed's had the "D" with the circle
>around it.
The circled D means it is an OverDrive transmission
There is a slight gearing difference between the 3 speed with overdrive ans a
true 4 speed.
Tim
Laurie J Beck
In article <6cs5j1$8...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, RCSn...@worldnet.att.net
says...
>
>If you want confirmation of your conclusion, check the digit immediately to
>the right of the circled-D. It will be a "3" on the 4-speed.
Just to add a little confusion: on both our '89 Grand Caravan and '94 Grand
Voyager, the digit to the right of the circled D (yes, both vans had the
4-speed) was a "2". One thing I've found is that vans equipped with the
3-speed tranny NEVER have a tachometer as part of the gauge cluster in the dash
(though some 4-speed vans don't have a tach either--4 of our Grand Voyagers
at work have the tach, and 3 don't. ALL have the 4-speed tranny however).
>Another indicator should be the motor. Someone will probably correct me,
>but I don't think the 3.3L (3.8L) ever came with a 3-speed. If you're
>finding 3.0L motors, I'd bet they have a 3-speed attached. A quick look
>under the hood will clear this up.
Yep, all 3.3 & 3.8 engines come with the 4-speed tranny. The 3.0L came with
either tranny. Base models with the 3.0L are almost guaranteed to have the
3-speed unit, but SEs and LEs could have either tranny, depending on the model
year.
Sorry to muddy the waters further...
Drew
Lloyd R. Parker
Anita O Bendickson (bend...@maroon.tc.umn.edu) wrote:
: Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or 4-speed
: transmission? I assumed that the 4-speed's had the "D" with the circle
: around it. We were looking a used Caravans today (Sunday- dealers are
: closed) and they had one without the "D" and circle labeled as a 4-speed.
:
: Thanks for the help
:
: -Joel Ertl
For the new vans (1996-1998), the base models come only with 3-speeds;
the LE, ES, Sport, Rallye, and Expresso only with 4-speeds. The SE came
with a 4-speed with the 2.4 L 4 and 3.3 L V6; a 3-speed with the 3.0 L V6
in 96 and 97 and a 4-speed with the 3.0 L V6 in 98.
For older models, the 2.5 L 4 was always a 3-speed; the 3.3 L and 3.8 L
V6s always a 4-speed. The 3.0 L V6 was both; offerings changed year to
year. I believe all Grands with the 3.0 L were 4-speeds except the base
model.
jaj...@bellsouth.net
> Anita O Bendickson (bend...@maroon.tc.umn.edu) wrote:
> : Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or 4-speed
> : transmission? I assumed that the 4-speed's had the "D" with the circle
> : around it. We were looking a used Caravans today (Sunday- dealers are
> : closed) and they had one without the "D" and circle labeled as a 4-speed.
There is one easy and definitive way to be sure. Open the hood, and look
down at the embossed metal plate. This plate has a wealth of information
about the vehicle, if you know the codes. Look for code DGB, if it has
this, it's a 4-speed standard duty transmission.
--
James A. Jones
Team OS/2
Baton Rouge, LA
--------
Daniel J Stern
I'm kinda puzzled by all of the arcane methods being suggested to tell if
a car has a 3spd or 4spd automatic transaxle in a Chrysler FWD car. All
of the ones I've seen here so far are perfectly good, but there's a much
faster and easier way than trying to decode the Vehicle Identification
Number or the Vehicle Equipment Plate. Simply look at the prindle (shift
selector quadrant indicator) on the dash or on the floor.
It works this way on FWD Chrysler products:
P R N D 2 1 is always a 3-speed auto.
P R N D 3 L is always a 4-speed auto.
--Daniel
Aaron
Odd. Our 1991 Caravan SE with a 3.0L V6 & 3-spd. auto had a tachometer
(included in the optional gauge package). It also had the extended readings,
eg, oil, battery, etc. Yes, we did buy this van brand new, no modifications
were done.
Aaron
Steve Lacker
Anita O Bendickson wrote:
>
> Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or 4-speed
> transmission?
If it shifts gears twice, its a 3-speed. If it shifts 3 times, its a
4-speed :-)
If it never shifts, it means its a 4-speed in 'limp' mode.
If it never goes into gear, won't start, or otherwise malfunctions, it
means its either a Chevy Venture or a Toyota Sienna. If it catches fire,
its a Ford Windstar or an old Nissan minivan that escaped the big
buy-back. If it looks like a suppository, its an Olds Silhouette :-)
Seriously:
P-R-N-D-3-1 means 4-speed
P-R-N-D-2-1 means 3-speed
--
Steve Lacker
sglacker at texas dot net
If you can’t take the time to help fight SPAM by converting the above
address, you wouldn’t like my response to your mail anyway :-)
jaj...@spam.net
Not always. See what this guy said:
Just to add a little confusion: on both our '89 Grand Caravan and '94
Grand
Voyager, the digit to the right of the circled D (yes, both vans had the
4-speed) was a "2". One thing I've found is that vans equipped with the
3-speed tranny NEVER have a tachometer as part of the gauge cluster in
the dash
(though some 4-speed vans don't have a tach either--4 of our Grand
Voyagers
at work have the tach, and 3 don't. ALL have the 4-speed tranny
however).
Sorry to muddy the waters further...
Drew
Laurie J Beck
In article <6cueek$ft4$2...@news.doit.wisc.edu>, ljb...@facstaff.wisc.edu says...
>Just to add a little confusion: on both our '89 Grand Caravan and '94 Grand
>Voyager, the digit to the right of the circled D (yes, both vans had the
>4-speed) was a "2"...
OOOPS! What the hell was I thinking??? The transmission indicators in our '89
and '94 Grands had a "3" to the right of the circled D, not a "2". It's our '96
with the 3-speed tranny that has a 2 (shift pattern looks like: P R N D 2 1...
I just checked.)
I've GOT to stop posting to this group before I've had my first blast of
caffeine in the morning!!
Sorry about the confusion.
Stupidly,
Drew
Laurie J Beck
In article <34F399...@spam.net>, jaj...@spam.net says...
>
>Daniel J Stern wrote:
>>
>> I'm kinda puzzled by all of the arcane methods being suggested to tell if
>> a car has a 3spd or 4spd automatic transaxle in a Chrysler FWD car. All
>> of the ones I've seen here so far are perfectly good, but there's a much
>> faster and easier way than trying to decode the Vehicle Identification
>> Number or the Vehicle Equipment Plate. Simply look at the prindle (shift
>> selector quadrant indicator) on the dash or on the floor.
>>
>> It works this way on FWD Chrysler products:
>>
>> P R N D 2 1 is always a 3-speed auto.
>>
>> P R N D 3 L is always a 4-speed auto.
>
>Not always. See what this guy said:
>
>
>Grand
>Voyager, the digit to the right of the circled D (yes, both vans had the
>4-speed) was a "2"
Actually...I just posted a retraction to what I said above. Our 2 vans with the
4-speed had a "3" to the right of the circled D, not a "2" as I erroneously
reported yesterday. I think I was sleep-writing when I posted the above quoted
message. The pattern for the 4 speed in vans is P R N D 3 L; while the 3-speed
is P R N D 2 1.
Gawd, my mind is going.
Drew
Laurie J Beck
Cool! In all the years of driving these vans and poking around at the
dealerships, I've never encountered one with the 3-speed tranny AND the tach.
Of course, that doesn't mean they don't exist (you're '91 shows that they do!).
Interestingly, one can't get a '96-'98 van with the 3-speed and the tach, no
matter what. Believe me, I tried when we got our '96.
Drew
In article <34f37...@news.vphos.net>, nos...@nospam.com says...
>
> Odd. Our 1991 Caravan SE with a 3.0L V6 & 3-spd. auto had a tachometer
>(included in the optional gauge package). It also had the extended readings,
>eg, oil, battery, etc. Yes, we did buy this van brand new, no modifications
>were done.
>
>Aaron
>
Jitterbug
Wrong..I have a 89 with a 2.5 turbo, 3 speed. It has the tach.
Aaron wrote in message <34f37...@news.vphos.net>...
Aaron
Another oddity. When we first looked at the new vans in late '95, our dealer
was only getting base and SE vans in. We looked at a new '96, and tested it,
and it had the 3.0L V6, 3-spd. auto, and a tachometer. Ran nice, but I like
our '96 Voyager Rallye (late '96) better.
Aaron
Laurie J Beck wrote in message <6d12pc$ome$3...@news.doit.wisc.edu>...
davi...@canada.cdev.com
In article <bendi002....@maroon.tc.umn.edu>,
bend...@maroon.tc.umn.edu (Anita O Bendickson) wrote:
>
> Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or 4-speed
> around it. We were looking a used Caravans today (Sunday- dealers are
> closed) and they had one without the "D" and circle labeled as a 4-speed.
I can paraphrase Drew (ljb...@facstaff.wisc.edu (Laurie J Beck)) in his
response the attached posting.
If it is a later models, i.e. '95 or onward, you'd hear the 4-speed noise:
"Rachet noise = Good Thing; No Rachet Noise (& "bump shifting") = Bad Thing."
You can safely copywright the above, Drew!
Dave
--------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Re: 98 Grand Voyager Transmission
From: ljb...@facstaff.wisc.edu (Laurie J Beck)
Date: 1998/02/25
Message-ID: <6d13dt$ome$4...@news.doit.wisc.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.chrysler
<snip>
>I just bought a 98 Plymouth Grand Voyager 3.3L with the 4 speed auto
>transmission. I've noticed a "ratcheting" noise in the transmission when I
>shift from Park to Reverse or from reverse to Drive and back again. I
>contacted the dealer and they said that this was the solenoid pack and that it
>was normal. I'm ultra sensitive to any transmission abnormalities given
>chryslers history. Has anyone else experienced this ?
Yep. That noise should be music to your ears. You have to start worrying
when you no longer hear that noise (and the transmission starts BANGING into
gears)--then, things will get interesting and you will be making friends with
the folks behind the service counter at your Plymouth dealer!
Rachet noise = Good Thing; No Rachet Noise (& "bump shifting") = Bad Thing.
Drew
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
ljb...@facstaff.wisc.edu
In article <34f4b...@news.vphos.net>,
"Aaron" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>
> Another oddity. When we first looked at the new vans in late '95, our dealer
> was only getting base and SE vans in. We looked at a new '96, and tested it,
> and it had the 3.0L V6, 3-spd. auto, and a tachometer. Ran nice, but I like
> our '96 Voyager Rallye (late '96) better.
Where in the heck are you finding these oddballs??? I talked to a regional
service rep when we were looking for our '96 (in May of 1996) and he said
there was no way the 3-speed tranny and tach could go together because the
tach was hooked into the same pathway as the electronic controls for the
4-speed tranny. Made sense to me at the time.
Our '96 is a "late" '96 too. It has the "Voyager" nameplate in a sort
of cursive script, rather than block lettering as was the case with "early"
96s (and Dodge Caravans). Interestingly, I have two Voyager brochures for
1996. One was issued early in the fall of 1995 and the Voyagers in the
pictures all have block lettering. A later brochure, issued in December,
shows the vans with the cursive script nameplates.
David Brooks
>
> One thing I've found is that vans equipped with the
> >3-speed tranny NEVER have a tachometer as part of the gauge cluster in the
> dash
My 88 does have tach and 3 speed. And it's a grand LE.
4 speed was only 89 and up.
A D with circle around it indicates 4 speed in caravan/voyagers.
Aaron
Yep, ours is a late one with the nice insignias not the plain ones.
Anyways, maybe it's because I'm in Canada that I can get this tach config.?
Although I have to admit I haven't seen any of these with the 3-spd./tach
combo lately, maybe it was just early models?
Aaron
Laurie J Beck
In article <6d3qo2$h...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, dbr...@lobe.com says...
OK, I was COMPLETELY wrong--there are plenty of minivans out there with the
3-speed tranny and a tach in the dash. Sounds like it was quite prevalent in
the earlier models. Our '89 had a tach too, but it was a 4-speed tranny. Now
that you mention it, the '88 Grand Caravan I looked at recently had a tach and
the 3 speed too...
Drew
Fraser Shortt
Nissan buyback? what was this and why and when?
Steve Lacker wrote in message <34F396...@spam.thanks>...
>Anita O Bendickson wrote:
>>
>> Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or
4-speed
>> transmission?
>
Lloyd R. Parker
ljb...@facstaff.wisc.edu wrote:
: In article <34f4b...@news.vphos.net>,
: "Aaron" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote:
: >
: >
: > Another oddity. When we first looked at the new vans in late '95, our dealer
: > was only getting base and SE vans in. We looked at a new '96, and tested it,
: > and it had the 3.0L V6, 3-spd. auto, and a tachometer. Ran nice, but I like
: > our '96 Voyager Rallye (late '96) better.
: Where in the heck are you finding these oddballs??? I talked to a regional
: service rep when we were looking for our '96 (in May of 1996) and he said
: there was no way the 3-speed tranny and tach could go together because the
: tach was hooked into the same pathway as the electronic controls for the
: 4-speed tranny. Made sense to me at the time.
:
: Our '96 is a "late" '96 too. It has the "Voyager" nameplate in a sort
: of cursive script, rather than block lettering as was the case with "early"
: 96s (and Dodge Caravans). Interestingly, I have two Voyager brochures for
: 1996. One was issued early in the fall of 1995 and the Voyagers in the
: pictures all have block lettering. A later brochure, issued in December,
: shows the vans with the cursive script nameplates.
The NS bodies (96 and on) included the tach only with the 4-speed. This
means no tach on base models and no tach on 96-97 SE models with the 3.0
L V6.
The S bodies (95 and earlier) did offer the tach with the 3-speed.
Lloyd R. Parker
Fraser Shortt (canad...@sprint.ca) wrote:
: Nissan buyback? what was this and why and when?
It involved the old Nissan Van (that was its name) -- the one where the
engine was under the driver. There was a problem with fires that Nissan
couldn't solve, so they bought them all back.
DaveH USN
In article <888570862.366567@michelob>, "Fraser Shortt" <canad...@sprint.ca>
writes:
If it shifts gears twice, its a 3-speed. If it shifts 3 times, its a
>4-speed>:-)
>P-R-N-D-2-1 means 3-speed
I hope someone can explain this then: 2.5L Caravan shifts 3 times
but has P-R-N-D-2-1. I've checked and rechecked. Last shift is
usually real subtle @ 45-50. If you've got your foot in it the change
is much more obvious after 60.I don't know if this will help but this
transmission has sidegear noise.
Aaron
Then how do you explain us testing an early '96, at a local dealer, with
a 3-spd., 3.0L V6 and tach? By the way I live in Canada. Maybe this explains
something, different option packages perhaps?
Aaron
Aaron
It is the torque convertor locking up. It is like a "half a gear". Not a
true 4 speed, but about a 3 and a half speed! Depending on your engine and
speed the rpms drop about 600.
Aaron
Steve Lacker
Aaron wrote:
>
> It is the torque convertor locking up. It is like a "half a gear". Not a
> true 4 speed, but about a 3 and a half speed! Depending on your engine and
> speed the rpms drop about 600.
>
half" shifts.
jaj...@spam.net
Fraser Shortt wrote:
>
> Nissan buyback? what was this and why and when?
Here's the text on the recall of the '90 Nissan vans from the NHTSA
site:
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 94V031000
Component: ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM:HOSES
Manufacturer: NISSAN MOTORS CORPORATION
Year: 1990
Make: NISSAN TRUCK
Model: VAN
Year of Recall: '94
Type of Report: Vehicle
Potential Number of Units Affected: 33000
Summary:
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES AND OTHER THERMAL INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED ON
VEHICLES
WHICH HAD RECEIVED ALL OF THE REMEDIES PROVIDED BY A PREVIOUS
SAFETY-RELATED
RECALL (NHTSA CAMPAIGN NO. 93V036000). THE FIRES ARE ATTRIBUTED TO
ERRORS IN
INSTALLING THE REMEDY SPECIFIED IN THE RECALL.
IF THE REMEDY SPECIFIED FOR RECALL 93V036000 WAS NOT PERFORMED CORRECTLY
OR THE
VEHICLE HAS NOT RECEIVED THE REMEDY, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
NISSAN WILL OFFER TO REPURCHASE THESE VEHICLES FROM THE OWNERS. THE
VEHICLES
WILL THEN BE DESTROYED. FOR OWNERS THAT DECLINE THE REPURCHASE OFFER
NISSAN WILL
PROVIDE A REINSPECTION OF THEIR VEHICLE, FREE OF CHARGE, TO CONFIRM THE
PRIOR
RECALL WAS COMPLETED PROPERLY. ALSO, NISSAN WILL PERFORM ANY
RECALL-RELATED
REPAIRS THAT MAY BE NEEDED AT NO CHARGE TO THE OWNER.
SYSTEM: ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM; HOSES.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER, C22 VANS.
NOTE: PLEASE CONTACT NISSAN SERVICE CENTER AT 1-800-677-7822 FOR MORE
INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS RECALL. CONSUMERS CAN ALSO CONTACT THE
NATIONAL
HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT
1-800-424-9393.
jaj...@spam.net
DaveH USN wrote:
>
>
> I hope someone can explain this then: 2.5L Caravan shifts 3 times
> but has P-R-N-D-2-1. I've checked and rechecked. Last shift is
> usually real subtle @ 45-50. If you've got your foot in it the change
> is much more obvious after 60.I don't know if this will help but this
> transmission has sidegear noise.
That 3rd shift you're feeling isn't really a shift at all, it's the
torque converter locking up. This keeps it from slipping, which should
(in theory) give you the same gas mileage as a standard at highway
speed. If you have a tach you will see the RPM's drop a little when it
locks.
Laurie J Beck
In article <19980227233...@ladder02.news.aol.com>, dave...@aol.com
says...
>I hope someone can explain this then: 2.5L Caravan shifts 3 times
>but has P-R-N-D-2-1. I've checked and rechecked. Last shift is
>usually real subtle @ 45-50. If you've got your foot in it the change
>is much more obvious after 60.I don't know if this will help but this
>transmission has sidegear noise.
The third "shift" you are detecting is the torque convertor locking up to
reduce engine RPMs and provide a little better fuel economy. Both the 3-speed
and 4-speed trannies have this lock up feature.
Drew
Jitterbug
Instead of all this misery, get in van, drive van to Chrysler dealer, get
service writer, have them tell you what it is. A person that has seen them
can tell right off buy looking at the case. The easy way is look down under
the hood and the first thing one would see is the solenoid pack cover..black
rectangle box looking thing on the front side of the case.
Lloyd R. Parker wrote in message <6cum9n$c...@paladin.cc.emory.edu>...
>Anita O Bendickson (bend...@maroon.tc.umn.edu) wrote:
>: Is there a way of telling if a Caravan or Voyager has a 3-speed or
4-speed
>: around it. We were looking a used Caravans today (Sunday- dealers are
>: closed) and they had one without the "D" and circle labeled as a 4-speed.
>: Thanks for the help
>:
>: -Joel Ertl
>:
>
>For the new vans (1996-1998), the base models come only with 3-speeds;
>the LE, ES, Sport, Rallye, and Expresso only with 4-speeds. The SE came
>with a 4-speed with the 2.4 L 4 and 3.3 L V6; a 3-speed with the 3.0 L V6
>in 96 and 97 and a 4-speed with the 3.0 L V6 in 98.
>
>For older models, the 2.5 L 4 was always a 3-speed; the 3.3 L and 3.8 L
>V6s always a 4-speed. The 3.0 L V6 was both; offerings changed year to
>year. I believe all Grands with the 3.0 L were 4-speeds except the base
>model.
>
>
>
Aaron
Our '91 Caravan SE with 3.0L & 3-spd. had a tachometer, and the extended
gauge pkg.
Aaron
xbdjx...@gmail.com
xbdjx...@gmail.com
greybuck
> I have a 3.3 which is a 3 speed PRND3L
The 3.0 could come with either.