Greetings all... been quite a while since I've been on here. My '95 2wd Sportsmobile hasn't seen much camping action the last few years due to some issues, but hopefully that is all about to change soon
One of the issues the van (with < 50K miles on it) has had is with the transmission -- manifested by:
1) Didn't automatically upshift from 2nd to 3rd -- required manually forcing the upshift by letting off the gas for a second or two.
2) When cold, would not shift into reverse, necessitating always backing into a parking space to be able to leave
My mechanic suggested the transmission was shot and to purchase a rebuilt unit from Dodge. I opted to take it to a transmission specialist who diagnosed it as a problem with a couple of lip seals. They pulled the transmission, replaced the seals, and the transmission is shifting perfectly again for several thousand less $$$ than replacing the transmission.
Apparently this is a common failure mode for this particular transmission, so I thought I would give a heads-up to the other folks on the forum with similar vans -- all 3 of 'em
Eric W.