Transmission Issue.... need advice

[ninefourteener]

This morning..... the wife called me.... frantic.

The car was in drive.... engine revving.... it won't go anywhere... she's stuck in the center lane with the hazard lights on.

I drive down.... get there..... car is "running" fine..... but won't engage when I put it in "D"

Won't engage when I put it in "3".

I put it in "2" and I feel it engage..... so I proceed to "limp" home with the hazard lights one.

1st seems to work fine.... going into 2nd, the car badly "surges" and feels like it falls on its face in 2nd gear. So I put it into "1"... keep it there;... and limp all the way home.

I can smell transmission fluid.

I have not had a chance to even pop the hood. I haven't looked at ANYTHING yet.. I had to go straight to work.

So....... Did my wife just blow the transmission?

Or is there something else I should look for first?

Advice? Help?? Recommendations?

[Wikedjuggalo]

Well check the fluid first and I wouldn't really blame your wife for the trans going (unless she is street racing ).

[ninefourteener]

No.. I'm not blaming her. LOL

Could it just be a bad fluid leak??

Does my description of the circumstances sound like it could just be fluid loss?

[Wikedjuggalo]

Originally Posted by ninefourteener

No.. I'm not blaming her. LOL

Could it just be a bad fluid leak??

Does my description of the circumstances sound like it could just be fluid loss?

It could be, I remember someone on her had a bad leak and it wouldn't engage but it also could be something worse. Just go home start checking it over for leaks.

[LarryIII]

If the AT fluid is low, check the front differential fluid. If that is high dont run the car. Sometimes the seal between the tranny and front diffy leaks allowing ATF to contaminate the front diffy.
This is a major (big $$) repair.

Good Luck.

[ninefourteener]

Transmission fluid is full. In fact, a little over full, but not significantly.

No leaks anywhere.

Front diff is reading full as well..... and it's pink.

What happened? is my tranny toast?

[Wikedjuggalo]

Originally Posted by ninefourteener

Transmission fluid is full. In fact, a little over full, but not significantly.

No leaks anywhere.

Front diff is reading full as well..... and it's pink.

What happened? is my tranny toast?

Hold on... Front diff is pink?

[ninefourteener]

Not completely... but yes.

When I wiped off the front diff dipstick on a white towel..... there was pink.

[Hocrest]

Some shops use a reddish gear fluid.

But most likely it's as Larry described, one of the seals is gone and the trans is pumping ATF into the Front Diff.

Is it thick like gear oil? or is it runny like gear oil mixed with ATF?

I'm assuming you tested the ATF level properly? Level ground, engine running, car in "P"??

[ninefourteener]

Kinda hard to tell on just the little tiny black dipstick.

I'm going to drain the front diff this afternoon... see what comes out.

Worst case scenario..... what am I looking at here in the way of repairs?

Best case scenario?

It seems weird that 1st gear works properly... but only if I put the gearshift in "1". If I put it in D (even at a stop), the car does nothing.

I checked the AT fluid, car running..... in "N".

Would it make a significant difference?




EDIT: I checked the front diff again..... this time there was no pink.

So if there is any ATF fluid in there... it isn't much.

Plus, all the levels are full.

This gave me ZERO warning whatsoever. Wouldn't I have seen something like this coming?

Would just a tiny bit of ATF in the front diff render the tranny completely inop??

Except for 1st gear... which works perfectly??? But only if I put the gearshift in "1"??

This is weird.

[Hocrest]

N or P are fine for checking ATF.

Mine acted similar to that shortly after I got my car. It would work fine for a short time, then no movement in D. If I turned the car off and restarted, D would again work normally. I knew very little about cars then, had the trans replaced with a SOA rebuilt and they also had to get a new TCU. I've always wondered if my problem was a bad TCU???

Have any TCU's avail that you could swap out to see?

[ninefourteener]

Shouldn't there have been a CEL if the problem was electrical??

Should I try to reset the ECU??

[Wikedjuggalo]

If there is AT fluid getting in the diff you have a future problem on your hand. I don't mean to be a downer, I really hope it is something simple easy and cheap that fixes this.

[ninefourteener]

Someone on another forum suggested "clutches".... and a rebuild or new tranny.

Still waiting on other ideas.

I'm all ears if anyone has any.

[ninefourteener]

5pm.... it's been sitting all day, except the 2 minutes I had it running to check the ATF fluid at 11:30 am.

Starts right up..... pops right into reverse... no prob.

I took it out for a drive. It kinda seems like it takes a bit more RPMs than normal to get it to "go"... but for the most part, it seems ok.

10 minutes later... the car is fully warmed up.... it took 4000rpms just to get it into the driveway.... slipping BADLY.

Any new suggestions???

The wife and I were talking... I really don't want to dump $1000 into this car for a (used) tranny... only to have this happen again a year later.... we'll probably just junk the car on eBay to the highest bidder.

Unless someone has some good news for me. Thoughts???