where to begin...
we purchased a 2000 odyssey at a great price and in great shape for its age, drove it 2 1/2 hours home and was very pleased with the deal. ( and still am )
that was on a saturday, on sunday i changed the oil filter, air filter and drained and topped off the ATF. that following monday our lives changed forever,
my wife went into premature labor and had to be lifeflighted to OSU medical center, which is 2 hours 1 way from our hometown. colin james was born at 1 pound 3 ounces and 12 inches long. at 4 weeks old he is doing as well as can be expected although it will be a long hard road.
i had to drive there and back daily as we have children at home, on the last trip back 3 days ago i was introduced to the odyssey tranny issues as our odyssey started shifting hard then not finding 2nd gear.
when we got back in town it was gear hunting and neutrilizing after 1st gear, although once in a gear it does NOT slip at all.
what i have done..
thanks to the excellent articles on here i drained and topped off the atf and was able to pull the shift solenoid and the lockup solenoid. on the bigger solenoid with the 4 tubes and small bowl strainers the 2nd strainer from the bottom was completely plugged also the other solenoid with the rubber o-ring type gasket and strainers, the smaller round strainer was completely plugged and the oval strainer was partially plugged.
after reassembly i did take it around the block 3 times, it did not gear hunt although shifting into 2nd was noticeable but nowhere near as hard as before cleaning. it is finding all gears now. it is now parked and not being driven.
i need to get this vehicle trustworthy ASAP, our other vehicle is an econoline van with its own issues and we simply cannot afford to drive this back and forth. with 10s of thousands of dollars and climbing in medical bills weekly and the amount of cash we are hemorrahaging it makes it hard. we are your average american family doing our best in this economy.
my question is what should my next step be? im positive there is still debris inside that can break free anytime, im thinking i should immediately put an inline or remote atf filter in place to help catch this.
and be prepared to perhaps have to clean these strainers again.
i have called locally for a jasper reman but the $3500 is just unafforable at this time. IF i would have to replace it i would first check with gator as ive read there price is good and quality/workmanship and warranty is outstanding. and beings they are only 5 hours from me i would do all i could to take it there myself.
ANY advice or tips would be appreciated, even if its brutally honest and your advice is to just throw in the towel and save for a reman.
ill thank you in advance and look forward to any and all tips/suggestions/advice.
Tim