My dad called me less than a mile from the house tonight and said he was on the side of the road and the car wouldn't go anymore. He told me that on the way home today running at 2000 rpm's, it was dropping down to 18-19 and back up and I thought to myself that maybe it was the tranny but he thought it was losing fire or something somewhere. He felt it slip so he made a u-turn to head back to the house but didn't make it far.

Not really sure what happened, but all the gears are gone. If you put it in reverse or say into drive, it acts as if you are putting it in gear because it seems to load the car and maybe drop the rpm's a little but doesn't go anywhere. It seems to have fluid in it and not black or smell all burnt. The check engine light also came when it quit going so I am not sure what that means other than getting it scanned but I imagine it is saying the tranny isn't working?

Either way though, after almost 212k miles, it has decided to quit working but in my opinion, it lasted longer than I thought it would.

Normally when they quit, do all the qears go out and could it be anything else other than the transmission keeping it from going or is it just shot? Also, should I try to bother to borrow a scanner and see what code it is throwing?

im guessin automatic - could be many things
bast idea is to bring it to a tranny shop, and they can diagnose.

Went out this morning and it worked, but I sure as hell wouldn't trust it. Guess maybe it cooled off or something?

ya could be the clutches got overheated - and that could happen if the clutch discs are worn out.

But if you can goto a tranny shop like i said - it could be something else, just hard to diagnose without being there.

Since you say that the oil doesnt smell burnt, it could be something simple, or something masive.

I had a olds that would shift so bad that i thought the engine was about to blow, it was a cloged filter and a solenoid was stuck.

Just hard to say whats wrong.

Only real way to find out is to have a transmission shop that can scan the tranny while driving to take a look at it. The only way all the gears go out is if a main part breaks that affects everything... say an input shaft, torque convertor, etc. Each gear has its own solenoids and clutch packs/bands. So you can't burn them all out at once.

Don't put a rebuilt in, re-manufactured is the only way to go.

if its worth it to you. about 1200 to 2000 for a new tranny

Rook, that was what I was thinking, I always thought that you normally didn't lose everything at once but it sounds like something else has gone! I would like to know exactly what has gone because normally you hear of people losing high gear and driving around in 4th but not us. It just quit after slipping and revving up I believe.

Bobby I know you went the remanufactured route and I think I've asked you before, but where did you get yours and what was the cost?

Well, my dad called a guy that has done transmissions all his life(done a few for us in the past) and he said a rebuilt would be 1200 so Macus was in the range! He also mentioned that the SES light came on because it detected a slippage in the tranny and whatever code that is probably made the light come on.

Contacted Ed Morad and they have one out of a 98 GTP that they just dismantled for 500 plus 140 to ship it so basically half the cost and it is coming out of a car with 98k on it.

I believe that is the way to go for us since it will have a warranty and we can at least get the car going again and decide what we'll do with it after that.

Just wondering though, has anybody changed one out on their own or are there any tutorials on doing one. I'm sure if there is one, blackarrow will chime in shortly and hook me up, lol I'm hoping there is not a lot to it and we could take the old one out and install it.

Is there anything I need to buy for doing the job. I'm assuming a smart thing to do would be get some fluid and overhaul kit(filter and gasket) but wasn't sure if there is anything else to look into.

Thanks.

I've swapped the whole engine and transmission at once through the top. Easiest way it to take it out through the bottom. Raise it high enough to drop the sub-frame.

Off the top of my head: You'll need to undo the harness, shift cable, axles, and of course engine to tranny bolts. One is in a bad place and has to be taken out from the passenger side, a 2ft extension comes in handy. Suspend the engine with 2x4s and turn buckles across the strut towers. Remember to unbolt you rack and pinion and suspend it with something so you don't yank the shaft loose from your steering column.

If you take it out the top with the engine you can remove them assembled, might require removing the hood... but you'll also need to take off the master cylinder, exhaust manifolds, and the a/c compressor. Been a few years since I did that.

Master cylinder doesn't need to come off to come out the top. It's a tight fit, but can be done with a load leveler.

If you're going to stay mostly stock, you can try the stock trans from Ed. If you plan on adding any more power, you might consider spending for a built trans now. Tim King trans is about $1400 shipped.

I didn't have a load leveler, so it had to come off. It was still a tight fit. Besides, gave me a chance to clean out the reservoir and now it looks new and all my brake fluid is new.

Snowcrash,
My trans is GM remanufactured and it cost $3,000 installed with 3 year 100,000 mile warranty. The swap was done by a local automotive shop here in Austin.