Hey, all. I've had transmission issues in the past with my TL, (installed a rebuilt one 29,000 miles ago - traded in my old core), so I've followed this board a lot. I haven't seen this problem.

I was driving along one of Orange County's wide, fast roads at 55 mph (the speed limit) on Tuesday. Without warning, my transmission just - disengaged. The engine would rev freely like I was in neutral - shifting it into the lower gears made no difference. I tried to limp it the 1/4 mile to my destination, but ended up stranded in the middle of an intersection.

Has anyone heard of a problem like this? I've never heard of a transmission failing without any warning at all.

Thanks.

 

Did it have trouble going into park with the engine running? Will park hold it still if you try and push it? Make sure it didn't break an axle.

Have you checked the fluid level and condition?

Any dash lights? I'm not sure if there's a single solenoid that could go out and stop it from moving. Usually if the transmission loses all electrical power it will mechanically default to 2nd or 3rd gear so you're not stranded. Not likely electrical.

Did it completely neutral out, no power whatsoever or did it have just a little power?

They can fail suddenly and without warning but it's usually a hardpart failure when it happens. It could be the pump, regulator, or about 50 other things internally. The good part is if it's a hardpart failure it won't have to be rebuilt unless it was already worn. They will do what we used to call a patch job. Open it up and fix only what's wrong.

 

Nope. The lever operates just like a normal car.

Yes. I'll look at the axles, but it doesn't sound like it.

Yes - good level, fluid looks brand new.

None.

Yes - it completely died. When the tow truck driver tried moving it 45 minutes later, it drove about 3 feet before failing again. The tow driver the next day was able to drive it onto the truck.


Thanks for your suggestions. I'll probably bring it to a transmission specialist for repair. Although I love the car, it's time to repair and sell it. This is the second time it's left me stranded, and I've got little kids that could have been riding with me.

 

That sucks. It looks like all of the easy, cheap fixes are out.

I know it's too late now but the shop probably didn't replace the electronics from the original trans so the replacement never had a chance of lasting. I don't blame you for getting rid of it, reliability>all when you have little kids.

 

did that rebuilt tranny come with a warranty?

 

Even if it did, probly not for more than 12k miles or 12 months

i completely understand why youre getting rid of it and its the same reason im getting rid of mine, in the past year, i put in 5k into the car and now i can feel the trans dying again, even tho it was rebuilt 4 freakin months ago.

 

Do you know if they replaced the pressure switches or just reused the old ones. If they reused them and the switches were the cause of the first failure, they will cause the replacement trans to go out even quicker. What is it doing exactly?

 

The unit came with a 12 month, (I think) 15k mile warranty.


We traded in my old core for a fresh rebuilt one - so it's possible that they reused someone else's swtiches. (Although it worked perfectly for over 2 years.) I'll ask about that. My mechanic's going to try and work a deal for me - he's not very pleased, either.

I ran out of my AAA tows getting my '65 GTO hauled around, so I got the car towed to my dad's house to save distance and $$. He started complaining about it sitting in his driveway about 8 hours later, so it moved on to my mechanic's shop. I don't think he opens up transmissions, so we'll probably need to move it on unless he gets some satisfaction from the rebuild place.

 

Wow. Replace your GTO with GN and your dad with my dad and we would have identical stories. Good luck with the transmission.

 

I had a catastrophic failure without warning on the GTO, too at 60 mph last month. That one crashed me into a hill. So I've got 2 cars in the shop now - it's been a bad summer for them.

Congrats on the GN - 10 seconds is crazy fast for a daily driver. My Goat has a '69 400 with a fairly aggressive cam and a close-ratio 4 speed. It's nowhere near as fast as yours; but too much of a handful to drive every day. (Even after I got used to no power steering.)