MadPSI Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Search wasn't too much help, so here's the problem... I was having the common sharp turn/neutral problem, so I dropped the pan, cleaned it, installed a new filter, and put it all back together with new fluid. I wasn't too sure about the amount of fluid I put in it, since whenever I checked it, it appeared full, but it was sudsy. This was about 4 months ago... The problem became less, but didn't go away completely, so I just didn't turn sharp and goose it any more. The tranny acted fine until recently. 2-Days Ago: Drove to work fine (5-miles) and parked for about 4 hours. Went to drive to lunch and I was getting bad slipping in 1st, I could accelerate very slowly still, but any more than 10% throttle would make it slip and studder (no whacky speedo problems like others). As soon as the car shifted into second, I could give it the beans and it wouldn't slip at all. Checked fluid and it's nice and red, but still sudsy and very hard to make out the fill level... Yesterday: Picked up a 12oz Lucas tranny fix bottle (seems like the board was 50/50 on this) and squirted it in while the car was idling (and warmed up). I only got about half the bottle in when it reached the top of the dipstick tube and overflowed. I stopped and the fluid went down some (who knows how much), but at least it wasn't overflowing... Today: I took the car for a drive for about 20 miles and it slipped pretty badly in 1st, plus I could now get it to slip in 2nd if I gave it enough gas. I returned home and checked the fluid level about 10 times think it HAD to be overfilled, but the dipstick showed exactly the same as before with the sudsy fluid that appeared to be about the right level, but I really couldn't tell. I started the car again (still warm from the drive before) and it drove way better. I could give it about 50% throttle before it would think of slipping. The drive to work went without incident. Fast-forward to lunchtime today (4 hours later) and I couldn't get the car to slip at all! It was acting great. I then parked it and called my buddy to tell him that my car magically fixed itself. Fast-forward to this evening (4 hours again) and I get in the car to go home. The car shifts firmly into reverse to back out, and then nothing. All it does in any forward gear is rev freely. I decided to back the car a couple miles down the road (that was a blast) to the tranny shop and drop it off for the morning. Why the hell would it work, then kind-of work, then work again, then not work? I'm imagining it might be a stuck valve or something, but I'm not a tranny expert... Car has 115K miles and is a 91 CSS 3.1... Thanks for the help in advance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdcutty Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I'd say it is time to say fuck that tranny and get a new one. The last tranny I blew (wait that sounds bad).....last one that crapped out on me would limp but i had no power whatsoever, and it wouldn't shift. Hope ya got some time and/or money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cutlass Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 You're supposed to put in tranny fix after you UNDERFILL the transmission, in other words, you leave a quart of fluid out, and put a quart of fix in. Overfilling the transmission will cause cavatation and create bubbles, this will damage your transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19GT92 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 i smell a rebuild comming in your future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadPSI Posted October 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 UPDATE: So Aamco took a look at the car and called me up to tell me that the fluid looked fine (duh) and they would take it out and tear it apart to see what was wrong with it. The cost for the diagnosis was $475, and that price was to include any parts that needed replacing. I say that's fine, since I figured that $475 would easily cover the price of everything needed (I've bought complete rebuild kits before and they aren't anywhere near that much, even at a 50% markup). I got a message a couple hours later from a lady saying that my price quote was ready and I could call her back for it. Instead, I took a trip back to the shop and went over everything with the mechanic that took it apart. Turns out that a band clip broke and scored a drum pretty bad, plus the clutch pack was pretty shot. I also had some excess play in one of my planetaries, but some shimming would fix it. I looked over everything and totalled up the price of the parts in my head, no way anywhere near $400, not even close. The lady had left with my quote paperwork before I got there, so I left the shop happy that it was a fairly cheap and easy fix. The lady called me about an hour later and quoted me a price of $2500 for a complete rebuild, plus an additional $500 if I wanted to also do new motor mounts and a new oil pan gasket. What The F**king S**t!?!?! I was astonished. I told her that there was no way in hell that I would pay anywhere near that, and that I could easily buy a new car with all working parts and lower miles for that money. She told me it was a nice car, and I told here that she clearly hadn't seen it then... Anyways, I'm trying to figure out what to do tomorrow when i go to the shop. I'm mega-pissed that they duped me out of $475 only to give me two hours of work and a sky-high price quote that any reasonable person with half a brain would turn down in a millisecond. I'm currently putting together an order from an online tranny parts supplier of all the parts they quoted me and I'm taking it into them to try to work something out, but who knows how that will go. I'm definitely going to get the car towed back here as-is and I'll put the tranny back together myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaloutsider Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 Moral of the story: never take your car to Aamco. Ever. Ever ever. My friend took his Grand Prix there after I told him about 20 times not to, and they charged him $100 just to drive the car around and go "yeah, it's got some problems." Every other transmission shop I've ever been to did that for free. Aamco sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted October 31, 2006 Report Share Posted October 31, 2006 You could have got a working junk yard tranny for the price you paid for your diagnosis :? ...good luck on what you decide to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.