My 2000 chev venture trans occasionally slips momentarily when first
started. It happens most noticeably at the cottage where it is parked on a
grade. It feels like the park brake is set for a few seconds and then
clunks into gear. The rest of the day it is fine, even pulling my 2500
pound boat. Is this a sign of expensive problems to come or can this be
something minor?

--
Denis Roy
D. Roy Woodcraft
www.ideasinwood.com

I had the same problem. It was a rear wheel cylinder leaking on the brake
drum. Boy would it clunk when I first went into reverse and step on the
brakes, but only once or twice then it would be ok the rest of the day.. I
replaced the cylinder and now it works fine.
"Denis Roy" <nospam (AT) nospam (DOT) ca> wrote

We are interested in purchasing a Venture. You said that you pull a
2500 lbs boat. How is it holding up. Did you buy the Venture new. What
are some of the problems to look for buying a use Venture 2000 and up.

Warren

Before you purchase a Venture make sure you have all the info about the
following problems:

Lower intake manifold leak
Transmission hard shift (PCS + sediment in the valve body)
Piston slap
Early rust


"wyoung" <wyoungATintrexDOTnet> wrote

Denis Roy wrote:

Dennis,

Here are a few things for you to check:

1) One cause could be the transmission fluid level.

Check the fluid level of the auto transmission. (Your
vehicle operator's manual should show the procedure for
this.)
If the level is too high or too low, your hydraulic system
won't function properly and cause the problem you are
experiencing.
Either add or remove as necessary. Alternatively, you can
have the fluid and filter changed. That often clears up many
problems.

If the fluid was low, you could have a leak. If it was to
high, someone simply added too much.

2) If the fluid level is okay, then check if the fluid is
discolored (blackish/brownish) and/or has a burned smell.
If so, your fluid is bad and has to be changed. This is from
overheating which could happen from pulling your boat. (Do
you have a trans cooler?)

3) Is the fluid milky or bubbly? If so, your fluid is
contaminated with coolant or air.
If the fluid is milky, you'll have to check the transmission
cooler for cracks.
If it is bubbly the whole transmission should be checked for
air leaks.

4) If all the above are okay, then the bands (if adjustable)
may need adjustment or the fluid pump is bad.

5) There are other things that a good technician can find.

My "gut" feeling is that the trans fluid and filter need to
be changed, seeing as you pull a boat and the vehicle is
only 4 years old.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Mario

--
"The Weekend Mechanic’s Automotive Technology Learning Series"
http://www.mwwcorp.com/cgi-bin/getpa...ch&page=glATgm

Pulling a load of that weight makes me a bit nervous because the van seems
fragile. I had the intake manifold gasket changed and the van has a
tendency to overheat when towing in traffic. It's ok on the highway. If I
were to tow this boat long distances more frequently I would buy a more
suitable tow vehicle. This one does the job but I worry about the
longevity, especially the transmission.

--
Denis Roy
D. Roy Woodcraft
www.ideasinwood.com
"wyoung" <wyoungATintrexDOTnet> wrote

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:29:26 GMT, "Denis Roy" <nospam (AT) nospam (DOT) ca>
wrote:


I have found that when towing in traffic if I left the A/C on low, the
engine fans are enough keep the engine temp the same as when driving
on open road. It's a good idea to put the A/C on though *before* you
need to so that there's no excess of heat for the fans to disperse.

Proper solution of course it to install a large capacity transmission
cooler & additional fan, BUT... I'm cheap & this seems to work for me.

Sounds like all the american made mini vans. We have a 93 caravan,
never could get the vibrations out of the front end. Both cavaliers
have front end vibrations, american manifacturers we just starting to
get the bugs out of the rearwheel drives. And they wonder why we are
all buying the foreign cars. I guess if you want to tow the suburban
looks like the car to buy. Anyone know what kind of gas milage they
get.

Warren

In article <ogPWc.11376$sO2.4255 (AT) twister (DOT) rdc-kc.rr.com>, Mario says...
Mario, Your post reminded me (and I hope I can explain this coherently): I have
a steep driveway which causes my fluids to seem under or over filled depending
whether I have parked with the front end of my van up the hill or down. I had
some temporary transmission glitches in my old Audi when I parked it front up on
my driveway and had to begin parking front down. All was fine after that. With
my Silhouette, I learned to back up my driveway. Now, I put the van in neutral
to descend the driveway instead of 'Drive.' If I shift from Park directly to
Drive on the hill, it does clunk. Now, I don't shift into Drive until I am on
the level. Hope this helps.
====
====

Gini,

A couple of things come to mind, but first, the trans fluid
has to be checked with the vehicle on flat ground. Checking
it on an incline will affect your reading.

Some things that come to mind are:

1) Fluid level is wrong, when tested on flat ground (normal
engine idle)
2) Engine idle too high
3) Hydraulic (transmission) pressure too high (can be caused
by misadjusted TV cable)
4) Bad engine mounts or driveline joints

Hope this helps.

Mario

--
"The Weekend Mechanic’s Automotive Technology Learning Series"
http://www.mwwcorp.com/cgi-bin/getpa...tech&page=glAT


Gini wrote: