Posted: 12/10/2006 3:44:11 PM EDT
| I was looking through the paper and Chrysler has a bunch of their vans for super cheap compared to what else is out there. My wife needs a bigger car for the spawn so we've been thinking of getting a van. I remember back in the 80's my buddies parents bought a new Chrysler van and it went through like 4 transmissions all under the FACTORY warranty. I also personally owned a '91 Dodge van, which the transmission bit the dust at 90k. So are the '06's any better than the '86's? I'd imagine with 20 years time they would have improved their transmission design. Anyone here own a newer Chrysler soccer mom van? |
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Worst transmissions EVER. Still. The big killer is folks refill with Dexron. That will kill an A604 / 41TE in short order. I always added extra transmission coolers to all my vehicles just to be safe. NEVER ever NEVER put anything but ATF +3 or +4 in those transmissions. I would spend the extra 2k and get a Toyota. Chysler and Chevy load them up with all kinds of toys and gimmicks, crazy sale prices etc. They have to for a reason. They build sh*t. You get what you pay for. |
| As a life long Mopar guy, I can tell you that the 1980's were a very dark time for Chrysler in terms of quality. The new stuff is a lot better, but as mentioned they do still have some issues with some of their automatic transmissions. That's why I ordered a manual trans in my new Ram. |
| The only real trouble we have with the mini vans in our service dept. is the sway bar links and bushings. Plan on having them changed every 40,000 or so. It's about a hundred bucks after your warranty is out. Other than that, there's nothing real major. If you plan on having kids in the back, don't get the Stow-and-Go, as those seats are uncomfortable as hell. Chrysler has up to 7,000 dealer cash right now, so it's a good time for a deal on an 06 |
Yea they've got them advertised for $13k and $14k with the TV and video game crap pack. Pretty cheap for new wheels. The Chevy that we were looking into was $20k basic. |
| I've purchased 1 brand new vehicle in my lifetime, a 96 Dodge Ram. Biggest piece of crap I ever owned. Hands down, without a doubt, JUNK. Needed a new rear seal after only 200 miles and 2 transmissions in 2 years. Insult to injury, the resale value of the thing was as worthless as one of the junk transmissions. My brother didn't learn from my mistake and bought a 01 Ram. Same piece of crap. I've moved on to Toyota's and have never been happier. |
Resale on the newer Cummins Rams is pretty good. Toyota makes a good vehicle though - the only other new vehicle I've bought before now was a 1984 SR5 4x4. Other than the bed totally rusting out in 3 years (the only American made part on the truck) it was a great little truck. Current Toyotas don't have that problem. At one of my former employers we had a fleet of `94 and `95 Dodge Ram 4x4's and they held up just fine despite the abuse they took. 
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I have a 2000 Dodge dakota 4X4 w/ 4.7L V8, and I love it, no mechanical problems and its just over 58K, but I've maintained it very well. Transmission is fine, it does have the tow package with the tranny cooler. The only downside is the POS auto door locks, the passenger side shit the bed last year, $200, and the drivers door has started now, the rest of the interior and exterior is perfect. Also the oil filter is in a kinda awkward place but its not really too hard to get too, just can get a little messy if youre not careful. My dad has a 98' Jeep grand cherokee 5.2L V8 AWD, he got it used this summer, it has about 83K on it, and isn't showing any problems, the power locks on it are fine though. Transmission is also good, no problems so far, though I cant say how the maitenance schedule was. My only problem is that it gets really hard to turn sharply, I really have to fight it, though I cant say how this is on any of the others, his previous 88' Jeep Grand chereokee was really reliable, but the air conditioner quit working, and as much money as he threw at it, it never did work after that, but it was running fine when he sold it to fund the newer jeep. no mechanical problems, but the paint was horrible, it flaked and bubbled, and also the interior was in pretty bad condition too, the material on the roof was handing down right on your head, there were some linkage problems with the 4WD, but those were simple fixes. I would have no problem buying another Chrysler vehicle, but i dont have any experience with the mini vans though. |
all hemi DC products based on E class chassis IE charger, magnum, 300. The design is german but they are built in indiana. Bulletproof 5 speed. the crossfire autos are of same design. This basic tranny has been used in the AMG models of mercedes (with up to 768lb-ft of torque and 604 HP  ), but they have been beefed up with different torque converters etc... but the housing and gear material is the same.
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| The trucks are usually pretty good, but their passenger cars are big "no, no," which includes their minivans. Checkout Consumer's Reports for the survey of reliability various vehicles, and you will see that Chyrlser passenger cars get a lots of black marks, or a best a few white ones. The desireable ratings are the red ones. |
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Maybe their Jeep division is better, I, and several members of my friends and family, have terrific luck with several late model Jeeps, a 1999 Wrangler, a 1999 Cherokee, a 2001 Cherokee and three 2006 Wranglers. The 1999 Wrangler needed a clutch master cylinder at around 48K, and the '01 Cherokee needed the #4 fuel injector replaced at about 120K. Other than that, just oil changes and brake jobs. -Gator |
Ah hell I can't remember everything, but there are a number of internal changes although the operation is the same. The number of pinions in the planetaries, the number of clutches, diameter of the shafts I beleive is also different. An "average" mercedes will have a 6 bolt flex disc, while the more powerful ones are sporting an eight bolt design. I would need to look up this information because somebody stole my tranny book from me that had all that stuff in it. We *RARELY* see a blowed up 722.6 transmission. You will commonly encounter leaking electrical connectors, and once in a while a bad conductor plate, but the hard parts virtually never break. I couldn't give an average life expectancy either because we really haven't come across any that were worn out. I do know that the engines put out a max of 738 lb ft because thats all the tranny will hold and be warrantable, but some of them renntech guys have been playing around and are putting much more power through them successfully. That said, although the new 7 speed has been somewhat problematic, I do like mine far more than the the 5 speed it replaced. The V8 AMG motors are finally getting the 7 speed, and its a good match. |
| we have had no problems with my 95 grand cherokee its at 150k had no problems with my 96 cherokee it was totaled out at 170k a minivan hit the drives side door at about 45mph and now i have a 04 grand its only got 44k and no problems with it so there jeep division has done well for us. |
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A few years ago Chrysler had it together and was building a lot of good vehicles. I own an auto shop so I deal with car guys all day long. No BS just real world experiance, the early 2000's stuff was good. This infulenced me into buying 2 new Chrysler products in 06. All I can say is RUN AWAY. Something happened in 04-05-06ish Chrysler vehicles where they must have done no testing at all. They seem to be just a bunch a cost cut parts bolted together to have something to sell. I will NEVER EVER give another dime of my money to that brand. And I will go out of my way to influence anyone I can not to buy from them. And this includes JEEP. The world renowned JEEP brand has finally been run so far into the ground, I hope they never sell another vehicle. If you need something with more room for the wife and kids, get a couple year old something nicer. |
Renntech has been bumping the tq up to about 900-1000 out of a GASOLINE motor. I havent heard of any of the conversions blowing up yet...(treynor ran one for awhile with no complaints) |
And I remember nearly every mid `70's Chevy Nova on the road didn't track straight, and I remember Vegas rusting in the showroom. Therefore the new Chevy's suck, right? |
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2K Durango. Other then an O2 sensor going out, [dealer gave me another one free, [[Bosch]], recall on the ball joints, [they did a good job replacing them] and front rotors warping, [$100 they replaced the rotors and pads, original pads were 90% there they agreed that the rotor should not have warped] thats it. I make sure the tranny fluid is changed ONLY at the dealership and keep the receipts. This is on a truck 4 wheeled, and duned, 4.5 lift, larger tires, winch, locker in rear, adjustable shocks, different intake, custom exhaust and chipped. Bla Bla Bla. Can't complain at all. All electrics work fine. |