Transmission Failure on the way home tonight....

[Subix]

208k miles... and being that I've been doing so good with this car for the past year, Friday the 13th sure enough snuck up behind me and kicked me in the ass with a royal good one sucks too because I've been thoroughly enjoying the living **** out of it lately!

Was out driving for about 30 minutes or so and then parked it for about 40 minutes. Came back and after about 20 minutes of driving I could feel the lack of power.... which I thought could have been due to the ground getting icy as it has been snowing but just knew this wasn't right. Dropped a friend off and got a few miles away then after stopping at a stop sign, the car wouldn't budge. Just revs and doesn't move.

I checked the fluids and they appeared fine but maybe in my haste and 14 degree weather at 1 in the morning, I didn't read/see it correctly. I guess it did appear a little thin but I'll have to wait until daylight to check it again. *Thank you hood struts for making a one man show difficult!* After it sat for 10 minutes it would move but then do the same thing as if it would be entering a limp mode so to speak... or losing pressure I guess as I've read up a little bit ultimately not moving again, at all. Just revving.

Thankfully I signed up for roadside assistance with my insurance company (best 99 cents a month extra ever!) and had the towing company come haul it home for me. It did reverse off the truck bed and drove back into the usual parking spot but not without a slight humming/whining noise that wasn't there before. No clunking or unusual grinding so I'm hopeful it is nothing major, maybe just a hose busted and needs replaced. I hope. It does, I've noticed... take a little longer than normal for gear to engage in D than I remember... though it has been doing that for a short while now, perhaps that was the tale tale warning sign I should have taken into consideration that something is about to follow. I would say a solid 2 to 2.5 seconds once you put it into D before it actually "catches" on I would say.

I'm looking at the diagram now to see where the hose is and hopefully I can locate it myself tomorrow to see if it has busted and or popped off. If all looks fine I'll proceed to pull the transmission codes to see if it provides any feedback. Really hope the transmission didn't bite the big one though...

[jeffs92svx]

Sorry to hear that man. Hope you find its something very easy and cheap to fix. I know nothing about trannies so i couldnt help. Good luck.

[Subix]

Thanks Jeff.

I couldn't wait, it's eating me alive now thinking about it.
Went out and checked the fluids several times and all appear to be full.
The diff fluid is definitely in need of changing, it's disgusting... but maybe it's supposed to be rustic looking? I don't see any leaks or busted hoses but maybe I'm missing something that I can't see from top. (Is there other hoses underneath the car?)

Either way, I seen no fluids on the ground that could have came from the car... at least, recently. It started up fine, as normal... and I put it in reverse, moved just fine. As I went to go forward I could hear the whining again coming from the front. Almost as if it is the power steering pump but I know it's not that.

So, I'm safe to bet that some sort of pump is going out and needs replaced that ties in with the transmission, yes? Back to the diagrams I dive....

[dragoontwo]

sounds like the transmission oil pump to me.

[Subix]

If that is indeed the case, I imagine complete removal of the transmission would be required to change out the oil pump?

[Subix]

Again today. If I start it right up and go in R or D, it'll take off just fine. After letting it sit in place and then if you try to move it to R or D it just sits as if in Neutral. One thing I did notice is the ATF appeared to be bubbly (not hot) but like tons of mini air pockets. It didn't look like metal bits or anything just like tons of mini air pockets you would see in syrup or something. Admittingly the fluid does appear to be in need of change however.

Is there a hose that may have such a small leak but allow air to get into the system causing loss of pressure/driveability? After about 10 minutes of so-called warming up, the fluid seemed to be over the Full mark but like I said, lot of tiny air pockets so something seems amiss.

[Subix]

Video : you can hear the wine ,... ugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZEIFgW09RY

[oab_au]

Originally Posted by Subix

Again today. If I start it right up and go in R or D, it'll take off just fine. After letting it sit in place and then if you try to move it to R or D it just sits as if in Neutral. One thing I did notice is the ATF appeared to be bubbly (not hot) but like tons of mini air pockets. It didn't look like metal bits or anything just like tons of mini air pockets you would see in syrup or something. Admittingly the fluid does appear to be in need of change however.

Is there a hose that may have such a small leak but allow air to get into the system causing loss of pressure/driveability? After about 10 minutes of so-called warming up, the fluid seemed to be over the Full mark but like I said, lot of tiny air pockets so something seems amiss.

Has that box got any history, overhauled, etc?
To get air into the system, it would have to have a leak in the pump pick-up. That would be either at the pump itself, which I doubt, or at the pump pick-u screen.
If the screen is partly blocked, it will cause it pull air in. This will cause the foaming, the lack of pressure, and the pump noise.

In reverse the pump pressure is higher so it will not be so bad in R. If you can pull the pan and check the screen, you may find the trouble.

Harvey.

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by Subix

*Thank you hood struts for making a one man show difficult!*

Vice grips.

I've kept one in my car ever since my struts failed. Clamp them down on the shiny part of the strut so the black part rests on them, good to go.

[THE NEW GUY]

Are you sure you are reading the fluid level correctly?
You need to put the car in D (with the hand brake fully applied) and read the tranny level on the cool side if the car is cold.
I believe your fluid is too low.

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by THE NEW GUY

Are you sure you are reading the fluid level correctly?
You need to put the car in D (with the hand brake fully applied) and read the tranny level on the cool side if the car is cold.
I believe your fluid is too low.

You don't need to check it in "D".
You need to cycle it through all gear positions and then back to Park. This is the same procedure for any automatic transmission.

[Subix]

I didn't cycle through every single gear but I did go back and forth between R and D several times allowing it to warm up fully. I havent added any fluid as it never needed it and the stick reads full, actually over... Which doesn't add up since none has been added unless Car-X took the liberty to top it off several months ago during the last oil change but I highly doubt that.

When weather permits I'll attempt draining the fluids completely and see if I find any foul play in the fluid but I'm fairly confident it's either clogged somewhere or an actual failure within. I would place my bets on the pump itself though, however that works.

[Mike621]

Based upon you saying the ATF looked "overfilled" and the diff fluid looked quite poor, I'd say that the pinion shaft seal that separates the diff and ATF could be suspect, allowing cross contamination of the fluids and eventual breakdown of transmission components.

IMO, the transmission has to come out.

[Subix]

Well I drained the mud today and put in new ATF fluid... the whining is gone but I took a video to see if anyone can hear this slight noise that is coming from the tranny dipstick opening to see what you think:

http://youtu.be/-K3p0ifQFPE

So now with the new fluid in it seems like it takes about 4-5 seconds before it will go into gear.... and really slowly. It does go from first to second at higher rpm but I haven't tried third because I'm afraid to really push it as it is already stressing the engine I imagine. Same thing with reverse... it'll take about 3-4 seconds before it finally 'catches' so to speak and start moving.

It doesn't seem the transmission is completely shot but that I have no way of really determining but I guess there will be multiple remarks rather or not it is indeed fully toast. With the info and video I have here... what could be the problem at this point?

Is it possible it is the TC and/or front diff related?
I did not remove the screen/pan to see if there is gunk but that may be my next move though the whining is gone with the new fluid so... I find it difficult to believe that would cause severe delay in shifting into gear but I really don't know, I'm an amateur when it comes to transmissions.

[Subix]

Ok... I'm picking up a new filter and seal kit and we'll see how that goes .
Nothing a little ATF on the hands for a few hours and $25 can't hurt....

I'm being overly optimistic aren't I. lol