Two cars, if trans pan gasket is same, is pan the same?

[rastoma]

Who ever reads this, try doing a search for a 2003 Town & Country 3.3L transmission pan, not the gasket, just the pan to buy. Online or Ebay. Apparently it doesn't exist!!!! Ridiculous.

But 01, 02, 04 and every other year made does and you can find EVERYWHERE. But not a 2003.

2003 Dodge Caravan, same thing. No listings anywhere for 2003.

(no I haven't called dealer but I'm getting to my point).

So WHAT is so different about a 2003?

Now, to the real question.

I did a search for a 2002 transmission pan gasket from both Caravan and T&C (just for reference I know both should be same anyway), and then looked up 2003 trans pan gasket for both vans. It's the SAME part number.

SOOOO............. if the gasket is the same, doesn't that mean that the same pan will fit? If so, WHY has a 2003 transmission pan been blacklisted from every aftermarket parts maker?

On Ebay, multiple vendors sell a pan that should be correct and it will list 50+ cars it fits on various years, and 2003 is missing every time. It's one of those little things that I would LOVE to know the answer to

But bottom line again.. if the gasket fits an 02 and 03, then I can buy a pan that's advertised to fit an 02 but not an 03?

[RahX]

You know what your pan looks like, get a pic of another year pan and see if it matches. I know that they hadn't changed much on these vans until the new bodystyle. If you get a captured o-ring/rubber type gasket clean both surfaces really well and apply a light coat of atf to the gasket and you will not have a leak They drove me nuts for about a year before I figured out that trick.

[rastoma]

Originally Posted by RahX

You know what your pan looks like, get a pic of another year pan and see if it matches. I know that they hadn't changed much on these vans until the new bodystyle. If you get a captured o-ring/rubber type gasket clean both surfaces really well and apply a light coat of atf to the gasket and you will not have a leak They drove me nuts for about a year before I figured out that trick.

The pic does look similar to mine. But before I actually buy I wanted to verify that I can go by (by not buy) the gasket itself. If the gasket is the same the pan has to be right?

The reason I'm wanting a new pan is because the new pan has a drain plug. And due to the high cost ATF +4 fluid, I want to do more frequent incremental changes. The van is way past it's service on the trans so I really want to get ALL the fluid out, but instead of doing a flush I figured a couple of changes of ATF when I do my oil changes, then I will eventually get all the fluid replaced. Plus it's easier on the wallet than doing it all at once too