Solenoid pack on Sebring leaking

[GNRick]

I have a 2002 Sebring convertible. Mechanic said solenoid pack on transmission is leaking fluid. He wants $280 for the part and $175 labor. Advance has the part for $180 plus their usual discounts and my book shows 3 screws holding the part to the outside of the transmission case. Looks like a 30 minute job. I'm no mechanic but what am I missing here?

 

[DailyDrifter]

There might be a dowel pin on the solenoid pack that needs to be hammered in. The job is pretty easy to do and was fairly common on chryslers. Might want to get a new gasket for it instead........or wait until the tranny blows then get it taken care of, lol.

 

[INEEDAGN]

Those packs ARE rebuildable!!!! There's 2 gaskets on the assembly "sandwich" that leak, chrysler used a injected gasket that looks a lot like silicone that leaks quite often. Rubber gaskets are out there I've built HUNDREDS of them. 30_40 bucks for the rebuild kit for the pack and you can throw away everything but the two cover gaskets and the gasket that goes between the pack and the case. It might not be a job for a beginner but it can be done on the cheap. Sebrings are a bitch to get to the pack.

 

[INEEDAGN]

I have a bag at work with the correct part number on it. Transtec makes the gasket kit. You need the 2000-newer kit, 99-earlier is a whole different pack. There appears to be rebuild instructions on allpar.com but that's for a pre-99 pack. 2000-newer are different. When you look at the pack, pay no attention to the "removing cover alters calibration" warning it's bs. Take the cover off the pack, torx screws. removing the metal cover reveals three springs. pull them out. gently seperate the plastic block from the aluminum housing, the solenoids will likely stay in the body, and the plastic part will pull off of the metal connectors for the solenoids. There's three aluminum pots in there that have a rubber seal and a brass inner pot. The springs you removed earlier seat in the brass part of the pot, pressure from the aluminum housing flows through the aluminum part of the pot which pushes on that seal which pushes the brass pot against spring pressure and allows it to contact the brass part that you can see in the plastic part of the housing. These are the three pressure switches. If you get a pressure switch code in the trans that rubber seal in those pots is the problem. Kit comes with new seals, not a bad idea to replace. If you pay attention to the orientation of those pressure switch parts when you split the plastic body from the housing, the rest would be hard to screw up. Make sure to put the springs back in (new or old) before putting the cover on. I never once used a torque wrench on the torx screws, tighten them german (gudentite) . It will distort the cover a little but won't leak when installed. Keep in mind they're a small thread in aluminum when tightening though. If for some reason the solenoids come out and you get tthem mixed up there's a letter on the end of the solenoid, A or B. The orientation is "ABBA" (just like the swedish band). If they don't come out of the housing when you pop the plastic part off then don't remove them. The only thing to do is replace the orings and its time consuming to do for no gain if the trans was working and not full of seal sweller (lucus additive).

Clear as mud? if you have any issues when doing it PM me I'll respond right away.

 

[GNRick]

Wow! Thats a lotta information! Thanks! I haven't looked at it myself so I don't know exactly where the leak is, but all I do know at this point is that the transmission shifts fine and there are no codes. Should I leave the springs alone and just worry about the gaskets? Car has 53k miles on it.

 

[INEEDAGN]

You have to split the thing clear apart to get both gaskets fixed. Once you get it apart all those instructions will be clear. The only thing to pay attention to is how the pressure switch pots go together. Everything else is mostly self explanatory. I'll get you a part number tomorrow if I remember and you can ebay or amazon search it out or whatever. $30-40 bucks plus fluid (which requires atf +4 and it aint cheap). If you are smart enough to get to the pack and replace it then you are smart enough to rebuild it.

 

[INEEDAGN]

Once you get to the pack you need to waste about a can of brake cleaner cleaning around it BEFORE you pull it off the trans, there will be dirt behind/around it. There's only three bolts holding it on and they need to be torqued to 8 ft lbs or so (100 in. lbs.). Carefully remove the gasket that joins it to the case and don't let any stuff fall in the trans orifices. It's right on the front of the trans under the trans cooler lines and input speed sensor. You might need to unscrew the speed sensor to access one bolt, I don't remember anymore. Plastic threads on the speed sensor so "snug" is tight enough! There are dowel pins lining it up for you and it's usually a bitch to remove the old gasket around those pins while keeping it held so the trash don't fall into the screens. New screens for under the pack do come with the kit if you feel inclined, they can be removed with a broken bolt extractor which you will operate with a pair ofvice grips clamped on the end.

Double check that the cooler hoses arent leaking both on the radiator and the trans. And if you don't mind puddles it won't hurt a thing to just let it leak. Add a pint every now and then. My 2000 van leaks like a bitch and I'm too lazy to fix it. I add some fluid when it quits moving

 

[chopped39]

I have a 2002 Sebring convertible. Mechanic said solenoid pack on transmission is leaking fluid. He wants $280 for the part and $175 labor. Advance has the part for $180 plus their usual discounts and my book shows 3 screws holding the part to the outside of the transmission case. Looks like a 30 minute job. I'm no mechanic but what am I missing here?

Thats an easy job. Pull the trans lines and speed sensor .Then pull the three bolts and remove the pack.
Cleaning is the worst part. You will have to scrape the old gasket off and clean the crap out of it.I use the mity vac to suck the fluid down so surface is dry when reinstalling. Make sure it isnt the lines leaking. The lines leak at both ends where clamped.good luck

 

[INEEDAGN]

Transtec number is 4960. Trouble is, I can't seem to find it available online anywhere. The old style kit is out there in a couple places but the new isn't.

Got a local trans shop? They can probably get you the kit. They may also hand you a rebuilt solenoid pack for not much extra money.

If you REALLY can't come up with anything I can locate a spare pack, put a kit in it, and ship it to you. Will save you $100 or so.

 

[GNRick]

Transtec number is 4960. Trouble is, I can't seem to find it available online anywhere. The old style kit is out there in a couple places but the new isn't.

Got a local trans shop? They can probably get you the kit. They may also hand you a rebuilt solenoid pack for not much extra money.

If you REALLY can't come up with anything I can locate a spare pack, put a kit in it, and ship it to you. Will save you $100 or so.

How about one from here? Should I get a MOPAR part or are they all the same? Local Chrysler dealer wants $200. http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/20...smission/automatic_transmission_solenoid.html

 

[INEEDAGN]

I wouldn't spend the money on the mopar. The few aftermarkets I've seen seem to be the same part. One of the rare instances when I wouldn't recommend OEM parts.

 

[GNRick]

I'm getting tired of seeing pink fluid on my driveway. Added trans. fluid a couple times over the last 6 months. Now I think my belt is squealing pretty loud. Might be time to show it some love.