D I R T Y I 3 0

I notice this only occurs when it is quite cold outside: I started the car and put the gear shift in reverse to back out but then it stalled. I start it again and put it in the same gear and the transmission engages harshly shaking the car as it gets in but doesnt stall. As I am rolling down the driveway and hit the brakes the revs drop from 1100 to 400 and the car starts shaking like anything, almost stalling. Same thing happens when I pull up to a stop sign. I roll around for a little bit and I realize the gears will not change, the more I give gas nothing happens; The cold air sucks in in "short gasps" whenever I give it gas. When I floor it, it takes 5 seconds for it to get up to the appropraite rpm, otherwise it does not do anything ( I am rolling around at 1200rpm). After 5 minutes the car runs fine, but when I pull up into the driveway, i find this where the car was
parked



If you all could help me diagnose the problem, I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Darkstonian

If it only happens when it's cold, you may just need a tranny flush. Though if your miles are over say 120k, then I wouldn't recommend a flush, just a drain and fill. Cause if you have sludgey fluid, that can be messing with your gears when it's cold since when it gets warm, it will liquefy. And I guess check for a leak too, cause that can also be cause from you being low on fluid. When it gets warm, check your fluid level. And make sure it's bright to black cherry red, and not burnt smelling. But I would say drain and fill it first, or go somewhere that has the machine that can pull all of the fluid out. Not a flush though if you have high miles, cause that will do more harm than good.

D I R T Y I 3 0

Oh so a transmission fluid change? I dont think we have changed that in years

din9lebeRrY

iTrader: (2)

Check your tranny pan for leaks..if you're losing ATF eventually you'll lose the tranny from no ATF.

Darkstonian

Yeah, and like he said ^^ make sure you check for a leak also, may be a worn pan gasket unless you have some underbody damage and caused a hole in the pan, cause that driveway slick in your pic is definitely a leak from somewhere. If you catch it when you first pull out, grab a rag and swipe some up and take a sniff just to make sure what it is. Or if you gonna take it to a shop, have them check it when they throw it on the lift.

D I R T Y I 3 0

Its odd because this happend before, but there were no apparent leaks until now. I was checking when it last went for maintenance, and apparently it did get a transmission fluid change a year ago. Ill check for any physical damage then

Darkstonian

Well do you remember if they dropped the pan and cleaned it. Cause if so, did they give you a new gasket. If not, that could be the first suspect....

D I R T Y I 3 0

^Not sure. Its weird, when I got back home later i th day and started it up, the car was running fine-it was about 55ish degrees fahrenheit, but my mother was saying that it was stalling out in the morning. Well I checked the oil level and tranny fluid lever today. theres enough oil, but tranny oil is under required amount, so im guessing that was the tranny fluid on the ground. I guess there's a leak then, but for now since I dont have the time to take it to a mechanic Ill jsut put some mroe fluid in and ittheres more on the ground, then itll be obvious whats wrong. -Still doesn't resolve how it acts up in the cold

D I R T Y I 3 0

Yep Transmission Oil is way below required amount; there must be a leak then. I dont think its the pan thats leaking for there haven't been anymore evident spots or trails where the car is parked or driven

Darkstonian

Well if it isn't coming from the pan or the gasket, then the only other thing I can thing of is that it's buring the oil. How does the oil look when you pull the dipstick? It should be bright to like black cherry red. And does it have a burnt smell to it? Because unless there's another place the tranny could leak from besides the pan and gasket, that's what I would look into next

D I R T Y I 3 0

Its more like a maroon, didn't bother to smell it. And since this occurs once in a blue moon, maybe it could be the transmission itself instad of the lack of oil? Anyways, Ill check what you said to check while Im putting in some more later today. I cant believe Ive been driving for 3-4 weeks, at least 25 miles a day on such an amount lol

jglaw

Just out of curiousity, how does a trans fluid flush harm transmissions w/ high miles?

Darkstonian

Given that the trans is older, the gears and solenoid valves are more worn. When you flush the trans, the pressure that it creates dislodges the grit that's been created from the wearing gears, which actually helps them catch and shift, and also aggitates the valves, so then they need more pressure to up shift, and have a hard time down shifting. So it creates hard shifts, gear locks, slipping, all that bad stuff

briansped

ques when changing tranny oil wat should we use?

D I R T Y I 3 0

I just used the required transmission fluid, Advance Auto Parts brand I think.

D I R T Y I 3 0

Well this somewhat deviates from the topic of the transmission, but I was driving home from school in the snow and I wasn't getting much traction on my bald tires (I wonder why) so I was giving gas in short "vibes" and suddenly I hear something like metal being dragged underneath of the car. Low and behold this was what was being dragged. It seems like the edges snapped off due to the amount of rust on them. The car has 180k miles and is now showing it. Can anyone PLEASE tell me if this is an important part to have on the car? I assume it is some sort of cover

Darkstonian

Check underneath your car and see if you can see your main cat. If so, then that's your cat cover. I lost mines too. It also kinda holds your exhaust in place, so you may soon began to notice a tapping sound when you hit some rough road. There's a small crossbar right before the muffler that the pipe will hit if it's sagging. I had to have mines ghetto wielded so that it wouldn't bang. That rusted out, and now it does, but I hardly drive my '98, so I don't care anymore, lol

D I R T Y I 3 0

My initial thought was it had to do with the cat and now I guess I was right. Thanks man, Ill check to see if that is it.

Ghetto welded? lol

AND ON BACK TO THE TOPIC OF THE TRANNY. I was waiting in a line in the school parking lot today when 1) The car didn't seem "engaged" as it usually seems to be, like when I put it in drive the car was barely moving. It physically would engage if I only gave it gas, other than that it was trudging along and 2) the car stalled out FOUR times. When I pulled out of the parking space it was running fine but when I was braking to a stop it stalled out completely. After that Started and stalled the car when I put it in drive three more times, then it seemed to idle fine, but I had to engage gear as if it were a manual; giving a bit of gas, putting it in drive, and maintaining a steady throttle position so it wouldn't stall. I should also mention it was 30 degrees outside

I think I'm going to need a new transmission (?)