LubeLocker part 1
This may be helpful for those with the no reverse condition. The symptoms are
typically that all other gears work fine, but there is no reverse or significant
slipping in reverse. If you put the front end on secure jack stands with the wheels
free to turn, they may turn in reverse gear, but with little torque. (Obviously,
for safety when doing this, put some type of chocks on the rear wheels. On cars
where a cable-type parking brake only engages the rear wheels you can set that
also.)
PART NUMBER NOTE: Sometime after the 1st Gen Parts Catalogs were issued, Chrysler
later started adding a zero (0) to the front of the part numbers for some reason.
So in searching for parts like those listed here you've got to do it with both the
zero and without. Searches won't always get a hit if you just search without the
zero.
This repair involves removing the valve body and replacing the old low/reverse
accumulator cover (04431617 or 4431617) and O-ring with an updated one-piece cover
that has a Viton sealing lip bonded to the bottom (04431617AB or 4431617AB, "Cover,
Accumulator" part still available). You could also replace the the two sealing
rings on the accumulator piston that ride in the bore (4446544 or 04446544 still
available, Rockauto also often has them). Also inspect the piston & bore for damage
(there are a couple of types of $40 repair kits from Sonnax, if so). The
accumulator cover should be about $8 from Mopar dealers or ebay and the two sealing
rings are about $4 each (though some sellers mark them way up). Note that different
transmission mechanics and parts suppliers call this either a "cover" or a "cap,"
so in this post, I'll use both terms; they mean the same thing.
I assume that transmission mechanics know about this repair with info in their
repair databases, but there doesn't seem to be much searchable information online,
except for an obscure Chrysler "Satisfaction Notification," and a good post on a
Jeep Wrangler forum. I have not been able to find a TSB on this for the Intrepid/LH
cars, and it would have had to be released around 2005, when the problem was
finally corrected. Transmission shops that know about this defect in the old
accumulator cover also have a way to diagnose that fluid is leaking in the
low/reverse piston bore. There are other internal problems that can cause no
reverse, but this issue is quite likely, and obvioiusly much simpler to repair than
pulling and rebuilding parts of the transmission.
Important: The repair may apply to all of the Chrysler Ultradrive transmissions
before a certain date, but in particular the 42LE/A606 in the Intrepid/LH cars and
the similar A604/41TE and the 42RLE (modified for rear drive).
This repair really should be a "How-To" here and on the Jeep and other forums, but
it will show up in a Google search for the transmission numbers and "no reverse."
Please add any comments or other info. While I wasn't able to find an LH car
Technical Service Bulletin on this, there is a Chrysler "Customer Satisfaction
Notification" posted online from October 2002 for the 41TE/ A604 transmission,
which originally used the same defective low/reverse accumulator piston cover as in
the 42LE/A606.
History:
Before 2005, the 42LE, 42RLE, and similar Chrysler transmissions used a two-piece
cover/cap assembly for the low/reverse accumulator piston. It was made up of an
aluminum cap (p/n 04431617, earlier just 4431617) and an O-ring (6501549 or
06501549) that fit in a groove in the cap. These are pictured (as below) in the 1st
Gen Parts Catalog transmission section illustrations under "Accumulator Pistons &
Springs." A similar illustration with the same two-piece cover and O-ring is in the
2004 Intrepid Parts Catalog.
The low/reverse accumulator is held in its bore in the transmission case with the
cover and a snap ring shown (06501695 or 6501695), whereas the other two
accumulator pistons (overdrive and underdrive) are loose and will fall out (along
with their center springs) when the valve body is removed. (There is also another
accumulator piston that is contained in the side of valve body.)
That O-ring on the accumulator cap was prone to breakage, causing high-pressure
fluid leakage around it in reverse; so in 2002 Chysler issued "Customer
Satisfaction Notification No. B27 Transaxle Low/Reverse Accumulator Cover" (pdf
link below).
Notification quote: "Subject - The transaxle low/reverse accumulator cover O-ring
on about 14,600 of the above vehicles [with 41TE transaxle] may become dislodged.
This could cause the transaxle to slip in low and or/reverse."
However, because it could still recur after installing a new cap and O-Ring, this
notification didn't really permanently solve the problem. However, it does usefully
go through the whole processs of removing the valve body for access to the
low/reverse accumulator piston. And by the way, it also likely applied to A LOT
more than the 14,600 cars listed.
Below is a link to a page where a guy helpfully posted the Chrysler notification.
His page also has many Dodge Neon TSBs (it had the 41TE transmission). I've also
attached a copy of the pdf below. :
DaimlerChrysler
Customer Satisfaction Notification No. B27 Transaxle Low/Reverse Accumulator Cover,
October 2002
https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/neontsbs/2002/28-B27-02.pdf
Sometime around 2004-2005, a one-piece replacement cap (04431617AB) with an
integral bonded Viton lower half (with sealing lip) was released to solve the
problem. This part is still available through Mopar dealers and sometimes on ebay,
and there are also aftermarket versions from the transmission parts suppliers.
When they did this cap update, Chrysler may have issued TSBs for every car that had
the old (possibly leaking) low/reverse accumulator caps, especially as a follow-up
to the previous Customer Satisfaction Notification. However, when I checked a while
back I wasn't able to find one for the Intrepid on the Alldata database, so it may
not exist. If anyone has a TSB title/number for this fix on any Chrysler cars,
please post it. It would have been around 2005.
Below are the Mopar parts catalog Illustrations, showing the substitution.
(As I mentioned I've labeled it a "cover" but it is correctly "Cap, Accumulator" in
the Parts Catalog) Second Illustration also shows the other accumulator pistons for
comparison (no caps, and loose in the bores).
A good very good post on this repair from 2015 with photos of the old and new cap
is at the link below to the Jeep Wrangler Forum. In this case, even the snap ring
had broken, and the poster discusses the Sonnax kit available if there is any bore
damage. I've have not seen this repair covered anywhere else online. So thanks very
much to Weirdracin on the Wrangler Forum.
42RLE Slipping in Reverse sometimes - possible solution
42RLE Slipping in Reverse sometimes - possible solution
So my 03 jeep has been having a problem of slipping in reverse, but in first it
would grab fine, but every now and then when warm it would have a small shutter on
attempts to take off rapidly. Dropping the valve body and check the 1st/rev
accumulator valve that is in the main case about where...
www.wranglerforum.com
---------------------
Attachment below of the linked Dodge Neon TSB on the original problem with the cap
O-ring failing:
DaimlerChrysler
Customer Satisfaction Notification No. B27 Transaxle Low/Reverse Accumulator Cover,
October 2002
28-B27-02.pdf :
