I was on my way to school and I just in front of it at a stop light stopped when I started to move up w/o pressing the gas my car started jerking and hesitating. I then pull in to my parking lot and was backing in to a spot. I go abuot 2 feet and my car makes this loud banging noise like I hit the car on the side of me and stops backing up, this was also with out pressing the gas. When I would lightly touch the gas It makes the loud bang and really doesnt move much. My trans has been slipping lately. I check to see if it was the trans mount by putting one foot an the brake while i hit the gas hard but it acted normal. What I need to know is do I call a tow truck or would it be safe to drive home? I live 25 miles away and its about a 45 minute drive. Is my trans going?

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1987 Iroc 350
GTS headlight/tail light covers
Camaro SS Wheels w/Sumitomo HTR ZII 275 rear, 255's in front
K&N filters
Adjustable Borla cat back
Large tube runners
ported plenum
Holley afpr
Hopefully Coming Soon: Emissions legal daily diven 383,afr heads, cam??, Slp 1 3/4 headers, super ram, high flow base, strengthened 700r4. any suggestions please tell!!

Some pics of it at
http://photos.yahoo.com/john5911

 

Does it act funny at all in neutral?

Maybe your driveshaft is smacking something, like your exhaust pipe, or torque arm. My driveshaft was hitting my exhaust pipe when that bolt fell out of my panhard rod (track bar)... the whole car could sway side to side while the axle wouldn't move. I'd think something's loose on your rear suspension... wouldn't hurt to take a look.

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

I looked raelly fast but didn't see anything loose. I think my drive shaft does have a problem because when I put it in drive or reverse or nuetral from a stand still it makes a loud clanking noise. but thats not the noise i heard today.

 

It also isnt letting me revers very easily. I have to press the gas pretty hard to make it move at all and while I do this the loud bang happens and my car jerks around. If I put it in drive its fine , except for the slight jerking I had at the stop light.

 

That does not sound good. I would fill the transmission with fluid before even attempting to move it at all. That happened with a transmission i had on another car once and the transmission had burned itself up. Has the tranny been leaking? Thats what happened to mine. It leaked and started slipping and then burned itself up. Hopefully thats not the case because i had to buy a rebuilt tranny to put in there. Mine was toast after that.

 

It is full. The other day when I first checked it there were some bubbles on the dip stick I dont know if it was boiling or not. I went back out there and it sounds like it can possilbly be the drive shaft. is it at all drivable"?

 

Bubbles? Was the fluid discolored? I know on my '87 the trans cooler lines run w/ the engine coolant lines. I have never experienced a trans fluid contamination, but that's a 2 second check! Also, did you say it made the noise in neutral? The idea is locate the problem. Is it RPM based, or speed based. Speed based is the back of the trans, driveshaft, or rear end gears. RPM based is the engine, or front of the transmission. Also, neutral is used, if it makes the noise in neutral, At least I believe, that this would mean it's not the tranny (I could be wrong...vader could tell for sure . Just try this, to isolate the problem. Even if I am wrong about the placement of the problem, the info will still help a more experienced person tell where the problem is.
Corry

 

Corry,

A nice thorough explanation. Just one mistake, though. All I know about transmissions is to install a drain plug in the pan to make it easier to keep clean oil in there. The last automatic I had apart was a PowerGlide, if that tells you anything. If I have a problem, I'm talking to GM Tech. I think he dreams about rebuilding autos, and probably does two or three a night while sleeping.

BTW - Did I miss it, or didn't anyone mention the U-jionts? I'd also look at all the rear suspension links and bushings.

If you're going to drive it that way, plan ahead and tell someone at your destination when you expect to arrive and what route you're planning to take. That way they'll know where to find you when it finally lets go completely.

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Later,
Vader
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"Make Me Bad"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

[This message has been edited by Vader (edited September 21, 2000).]

 

Might not hurt to check the rear end also. Jack-up the rear wheels, put it in neutral and roll the wheels both ways. Listen carefully to the gears. One of my friends just blew the torsion differential out of his '96 SS. It did some similiar stuff before it went. Also, listen very carefully for where any noise might come from. The driveshaft can carry tranny sounds toward the rear end, and vice versa. Good luck!

 

Bubbles on the dipstick of the trans fluid can mean you have too much fluid and is very bad for the transmission. The bubbles come from the front pump I believe churning the excess fluid and it cant handle the pressure, eventually it fails and boom bye bye transmission. Sounds fishy though. Good luck.

 

Bubbles can also mean there is not enough fluid, so be careful!!!!!!!!!! Air gets sucked into pump and aerates the fluid...

 

Rob, I thought when you overfilled a trans, there wasn't additional fluid pressure. It was just bubbles from the pump churning everything that could cause the trans to suck some bubbles in (and run dry). Does it really raise pressure?

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

I had the car towed. I couldn't jack it up or anything because I was in the school parking lot. After starting it up a few more times it started to make the noise for a few seconds after I would put it in drive oe nuetral. i also had someone listen to where the sound was coming from and I also got down and listened and it seems to be the u joints I hope. I had it brought to the dealer and they still havent gotten to it as of now. But one quetion If it is the u joints, would that stop me from going in reverse? Because what happens is when I would put it in reverse the car wouldn't roll even on the slight incline I was on. Then I would give it gas Ann it would just rev and finally move back about a foot and clunk really loud and jerk around.

Also for the bubbles On the trans dip stick, there are not many and only appear after the car has been driven for about an hour. And the fluid is at the perfect level.

 

I had a similiar problem with my 94 Pontiac Sunbird. It was a bad TCC switch. I just made sure my tranny was running ok, then I disconnected the TCC cable on the front of my tranny. It ran great after that, but when I ran the car fast, I'd get the "check engine" light because the RPMS were high and the trans didn't engage the TCC.

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Zepher
'86 Pontiac Trans Am WS6, 5 Speed:
Edelbrock 1406 Carb, Edelbrock Performer RPM 7101 Intake Manifold.
Edelbrock Open Element Air Cleaner: Flowmaster Exhaust, 160* Thermostat,
Grant GT Steering Wheel, MSD HEI Coil, Taylor 8mm Wires, Recaro Seats,
Alpine CD+Changer,Rockford & Soundstream Amps, Premier TS-1040C Subs, Polk Audio highs/mids.

WS6 Trans Am