Hey all,
I just picked up a 2008 Pacifica Limited AWD with a 4.0L with 130xxx miles on the clock.
It's a pretty clean car with pretty good service history. Pretty typical maintenance from what shows on CarFax. Whenever I buy a used car I try to determine what maintenance needs to be done or is questionable. So on the list I have a timing belt and driveline service.
One thing that my wife noticed was taking off from a stop sign the car seems to lag a little like the transmission is slipping. This only happens from a dead stop and only when turning a corner. Straight line it does not happen. The transmission seems solid hard or soft through the gears (autostick). No noise or slipping on the highway or fluctuating RPM. No engine light or codes when I scanned it either.
In going through the service records I found the transmission does not show it has ever been serviced so I have it at the shop for a drain fill with ATF+4 and filter to start....damn sealed trans. They are also going to see if they can duplicate the issue we noticed. It seems to be coming from the rear of the car which puzzles me because it only happens while turning. The records also do not show the PTU has been serviced but the rear differential has been. The shop is an independent transmission shop that actually knows Mopar transmissions. Has anyone had similar issues? Anyone know where to start looking? I have never dealt with a vehicle that has the PTU setup with the overrun clutch in the rear. Also...does the overrun clutch share lubrication with the rear differential on the 2007-2008 or is it separate? What fluid is in each? Gear oil or ATF+4? I know so many questions for this newbee. Thanks for your input!

 

I had a little time to real quick do a test. I did not have time after work to take the driveshaft off so I unplugged the signal connector for the overrunning clutch solenoid, since it's a 2008 it's an electronic lock up back there. I took it around the block a couple times. I do not notice the same issue Now of course the AWD warning light is now on however I'll leave it unplugged and have the wife tell me what she thinks. Now will unplugging the solenoid cause any problems with the powertrain or trans modules? A prior shop that inspected the car for a dealer said that a coupling had a tear in it however I have not found a tear in the rear rubber coupler however I am able to wiggle the first driveshaft quite a bit at the joint. Just looking for experiences with this AWD system. Thanks

 

Mikey, I don't know if it's a good idea to keep the solenoid unplugged (probably not), but if you have a lot of play in drive shaft you should have the joint replaced. The overrunning clutch and the diff do not share lubrication. The clutch has ATF+4 in it and the diff has 75/90 synthetic gear oil. Both have drain and fill plugs although it's not real easy to fill them both back up. The PTU has drain and fill plugs too buy they hard to get at. I used a piece of tubing shoved onto the tip of the oil bottle to fill the clutch and diff..

 

Problem solved...It turned out the overrunning clutch was bad. Found one at LKQ with 42000 miles on it swapped it in (45 minute job taking my time) and works perfectly.