Mailman818

so today after i went to pick up my lil bro from school i was driving down the freeway stuck behind a semi and i needed to pass him so i semi punched the gas and the car revved pretty high at around 5k then to 6k and it didnt shift after. i let off the gas and then gradually gave it gas and with the slightest touch it acted as it was in neutral but worse, stayed at reving high but car didnt move at all. after it wouldnt go over 30 mph so i switched to over drive and it worked fine. later in the day i went to my friends house and in drive the car would struggle shifting into 2nd and mid way into second it would give up and it would rev high at 4k suddenly from 2k. i switched to over drive and from there it would reach around 40 mph midway into 3rd and same problem happened. i came home and pulled the dib stick and smelled the fluid and it seamed like it was burning something inside. i had my trans oil swapped out about like 5or6 months ago
could this be slipping? is it time for a new/old tranny from a junker? should i take it to a shop and see what it might be?
any input would be greatly appreciated.
thanks alot guys - Aaron

Guest

Why aren't you just driving in OD? Let it kick down for itself when you give it gas, like when you want to pass a semi. Only teenagers shift an automatic in traffic.

torque_is_good

ahhh

the wonderful smell of burnt transmission fluid. The tranny is shot and needs to be rebuilt. Since you have a sixer, you don't need a performance rebuild. If you can drop/reinstall the tranny yourself you should be able to get a bench rebuild for $700 incl a rebuilt t/c. You'll need 12 quarts of fluid when you reinstall it. If you can't drop/re-install then add $500-$700 labor plus fluid and supplies.

Personally, I don't believe in junker engines or junker transmissions. Either do it correctly or don't do it at all. You are at a crossroad where you must decide if your sixer is worth the cost of the repair.

Mailman818

my father told me its worse/bad to drive in OD.... he said something about too much strain on the tranny and im using un needed power for a normal drive.. is he wrong? cuz i trust someone that knows these cars like us enthusiasts better than my father sometimes. yes he does know better than me but he dont know the car better than some.

also i didnt shift in traffic. i was in regular drive when it hapened and when i tried OD i had stopped to shift it and saw where that got me.

Mailman818

yea i know haha it actually isnt the first time smelling burnt tranny oil for me. my friend blew his tranny housing awhile back ago and the smell of burnt oil lingered around my house for awhile.
well i know my sixer is worth the money. i could have sold her awhile ago but i didnt want to since it would have been my first car and i pretty much rose her back from the dead

i really just want something to keep it running until i can get enough money for a ls swap. which might be awhile. i also heard about slipping additive?? does that actually work? or is it like bs?
thanks

torque_is_good

first, it does no harm driving in OD. These are automatic transmissions.

With respect to your situation, first, bottles of transmission miracle don't work. You can spend your money if you wish but give it about 1% chance of helping.

Here is where you need to toss out your emotions and step back and get a reality based perspective.

You tossed out that you want a LS swap some day; why? Is it because it sounds cools and people on web sites and forums talk about it?

By the looks of your photo, your car needs paint and maybe even some body work. How is the interior? I never suggest dropping in a junk engine into a car when doing it for performance reasons. So, you would need to shell out almost $3k to get the LS rebuilt so you would be starting a good point and with a known commodity. That is above and beyond the aquisition cost of the engine. Why spend $thousands on a vehilce that needs paint and perhaps interior work too?

Next, your transmission is shot today. Do you really and honestly plan on an LS swap or is that sort of a pipe dream and you hope to be able to do it? Why, because I would not suggest a stock rebuild because if an LS goes into your car, you'll be doing a performance rebuild on your tranny to handle the torque. So, it's time to be honest with yourself.

The cheapest route right now is to yank the tranny, bring it to a shop and get a stock bench rebuild and also a rebuilt t/c. The next is to pay a shop to remove and rebuild the tranny. The first will be about $700 the 2nd about $1300-$1500.

A performance rebuild would add at least $500-700 to the cost.

If you really want more performance, get your daily driver back on the road and start saving your pennies. Then, when you are ready, go find a vehicle with a good body/paint/interior which if you have the $$$, also has a good engine or at least a good base from which to begin, namely a V8 and not a TPI based either. I'm talking a 4th gen vehicle

Mailman818

alright over drive is good to drive with. thanks

yea i see where your coming from, and yea your right about finding a v8 based car if i wanna have more power. well the ls swap was just sort of a dream if i ever came up on a deal i wouldnt be able to give up. and as far as body, paint and interior my body is in need if small work, my paint yea thats a must but when money comes in and i dnt need the car for alittle ill be sure to take care of that, and lastly my interior is decent. needs little work because its mainly sun burnt and lets off alot of the fiber of the fabric.

ok fluid fix for sure dont have high chances so that goes out the window then. do you think i should get the cable adjusted? that is one major thing that has been on my mind and when i lifted my dibstick it reads pretty high up. that probably wouldnt help either right? i read somewhere about not over flowing the tranny since it could put too much pressure on the internals?? thanks alot -Aaron

torque_is_good

the first stage is denial, you are still there.

When you can move to stage 2 which is acceptance is when you can move ahead and resolve the problem. I understand that nobody wants to shell out money for a rebuild.

Mailman818

its really not being in denial because i knew it was going to happen soon. i dont mind giving up money to fix it if i know its needed. i just want to exclude all other possibilities and ask other stuff so i know what it would be just in case for future references or if it happens to someone else i might know what theyre deadlin with and i could take the out of the guessing game. i ask because i want to know because i want to work with cars in the future. you get me now?

19camaro83

If the fluid smelled burnt, your tranny is toast. NEVER over-fill a transmission! That is why yours burned up, more than likely. When they are overfilled the fluid will foam up when you are driving and that is what causes it to burn up, because instead of nice oil you have a frothy red foam for lubrication. You are going to need a rebuild, or find a j/y tranny for a couple hundred $$ and get your car back on the road.

torque_is_good

I won't get into your true motivation for the questions because this is an auto forum but I too hate parting with money. I work too darn hard for it and would rather spend it on my wife or kids. That even goes for my project vehicles.

The tranny needs to come out. There is no harm in trying to hope there is an alternative but many many many people before you have experienced failed 700r's/4L60's. It's never what you want to hear.

Look at it from a positive perpsective. It's a great time to replace the rear main seal, u joints and even check your pinion seal. I do strongly encourage you to replace the rear main seal on the engine while the tranny is out.

If you have any drips from the oil pan, or it's damaged, then it's also a good time to take care of that. With no flex plate in the way the oil pan comes off so much easier. You don't need to hoist the engine up 9 inches.

So, with the tranny out, you can perform preventive maintenance that would cost over $500 if the tranny was still in


This is where you benefit from the experience of others

cheers

Mailman818

well thanks alot i greatly appreciate it.

torque_is_good

that's why we're here. You'll find that you'll be telling others the same thing in the future and their first reaction will be anger too.

Be sure to have an impact wrench available, even if it's electric (borrow or rent one) because the bolts on the flexplate can be very stubborn. You really do want to replace the rear main. I was lazy once when i had a tranny out and guess what started leaking about 3 months later??

If I could reach my leg that high I would have kicked myself in the butt.