Did My Transmission Blow???

[kidrock52]

I own a 1995 SHO ATX and it has never had tranny problems in the past but I was driving under normal conditions and I reached a stop sign. When I pressed on the gas it didn't move. I shut the car off and waited a minute and then restarted it. It drove fine until I turned down antother road. It then lost power and wouldn't accelerate. The RPM's increased but I didn't go anywhere. I tried shutting it down and starting it again but I didn't go faster than 20 mph. I checked the fluid level and it was full and red. Is my tranny gone or could it be something cheaper? (I hope) Thanks, Ed

 

[Dr. Tweak]

Probably the tranny went, that's exactly what happened to me when my '92 SLO went...

 

[Bizzy]

Kid, you could be my first ATX customer. It can't get any worse than it already is right?

 

[the on going reality of shopower]

Check the fliud and go from there it sounds like you are low or you have something comming apart and pluggin the filter.
Also the the direct clutch wave plate cracks and this will cause it to lose forward and reverse

 

[kidrock52]

Thanks

Hey, Bizzy! How much to rebuild? Is there a way to upgrade the tranny like replacing aluminum parts with steel? Or making it withstand a SHO with 1000hpr? (In my dreams) I can't afford anything untill spring so it is going in my garage. And thanks "the on going reality of shopower" I will check everything out. I need a pit in my garage. Well, I have a shovel. Thanks, Ed

 

[the on going reality of shopower]

start diggin you may be able to get under her by the spring LOL
don't feel to bad mine just blew on the weekend. But it iwll sitt till i have time to repair it.

 

[kidrock52]

Thats OK. It's getting ready to snow like crazy up here in Northern-Lower Michigan. I would rather have it sit than end up in a ditch or on a tree.

 

[rangerj]

Kid,

There are several possibilities. The trans could have a bad pump, worn out seals, clutch friction plates could be worn smooth, a broken snap-ring, bad valve body, etc. Usually you won't know until you get inside.

Bizzy, if you can rebuild MTXs, ATXs are a snap. Mechanically, that is the pieces/parts, are very straight forward. All you have to do is put the parts back in the same position they came from, and in the same order. You replace the ones that are worn or broken. You will need a couple of "special tools", but the rest is nuts and bolts.

By the way Biz, are you up and running? rangerj

 

[Bizzy]

Kid,

There are several possibilities. The trans could have a bad pump, worn out seals, clutch friction plates could be worn smooth, a broken snap-ring, bad valve body, etc. Usually you won't know until you get inside.

Bizzy, if you can rebuild MTXs, ATXs are a snap. Mechanically, that is the pieces/parts, are very straight forward. All you have to do is put the parts back in the same position they came from, and in the same order. You replace the ones that are worn or broken. You will need a couple of "special tools", but the rest is nuts and bolts.

By the way Biz, are you up and running? rangerj

Yessir. It was a very simple problem. I'll PM you on that.

I'm sure I can do one, just haven't cracked one open yet but it's been something I've been wanting to do for quite some time now.

Kid, I would be willing to give you a great deal on it since it'd be my first ATX. Parts won't be too bad cost wise and are readily available which is the good news. I'd personally suggest a shift kit and those run about $99 IIRC. I could be wrong on that. I'll PM you as well and we can chat about it.

 

[the on going reality of shopower]

It is not that easy guy
you have to do updates and repalce wore valves
and check for future problems, you want it to last at least 100,000k
sure putting it all back it easy
you ever tore a transmission totally apart? ther are alot of parts
but the problem is the seals and valve body componets
are right and that it will work the 1 st time
I know this really well i work at a transmission shop as a mech it takes 4-5 hours to biuld it that is a good day think you have to tare it down clean it
and check for broken or about to break parts.
So it is a bigg job for it not to work the first time.

 

[Bizzy]

It is not that easy guy
you have to do updates and repalce wore valves
and check for future problems, you want it to last at least 100,000k
sure putting it all back it easy
you ever tore a transmission totally apart? ther are alot of parts
but the problem is the seals and valve body componets
are right and that it will work the 1 st time
I know this really well i work at a transmission shop as a mech it takes 4-5 hours to biuld it that is a good day think you have to tare it down clean it
and check for broken or about to break parts.
So it is a bigg job for it not to work the first time.

I realize there are a lot of parts and details to be paid attention to. None the less I wouldn't be worried about it and it doesn't scare me in the least.

 

[the on going reality of shopower]

Oh did not mean to upset anyone just that it is a bigger job that it looks
sorry Beth.
well you gotta learn sometime i thought that way a few years ago but now i'm like holy crap.

 

[Bizzy]

No worries, you didn't upset anyone I don't think. But like you said, we all have to start somewhere just like I did way back when with the MTX. Half of the job is getting over the fear of working on it, the rest is a snap (a large snap with a lot of parts, but still). If nobody ever got over the fear of it all then nobody would have ever figured out what makes them tick. That's what drives me.....learning what makes it tick.

 

[SmyleySho]

WOW, must be tranny season......There's got to be atleast four new threads today.....What is the biggest problem with our trannies? Ive seen alot of our transmissions go bad. So there has to be a weak link and a common problem.
Are the clutches poorly made, valve body failures, accumulator springs? Ive had the hard 1-2 shift since I had the car for a year and see alot of the same problem on most ATX's. So what is the most common failure? Just curious ........

 

[somedude_001]

my tranny went out in june (04) and I put 22,000 miles on it since and I have been beating the living crap out of it, it is holding up a lot better than I thought, I guess running duel coolers paid off.

I would like to get it rebuild properly so it shifts hard, I don't like this slushy crap. maby i'll see how my funds look this spring and i'll check around.

 

[Slo-Sho]

All automatic trannies have to be rebuilt at one point in it's service life, to assume otherwise is just foolish. However, taking steps to extend the inevitable are very easy. Heat is the No. 1 killer of transmissions. The AX4S/N programming leaves much to be desired, especially torque converter lock-up functions. The slow slushy shifts produce much more heat than firm quick shifts. Raising line pressure via chip or such will alleviate that problem and possibly extend trans life. I have noticed by removing the cooler bypass valve and running the coolers in parallel resulted in an overall drop in nominal temp. and also quick cool down cycles such as after climbing a grade with the torque converter unlocked in 3rd. A bigger trans cooler will also help. For those that drive their SHO's hard, a synthetic is highly recommended b/c of it's superior thermal properties than that of regular dino atf.

 

[Cobraii976]

Hey Beth when I take apart the grand canyon ATX from that moonlight blue parts car you can help. Just tearing it down to salvage any useable parts for the full on build I'm doing to Gail's 95, Parts in hand just waiting to get her trans out and it back on the road with the replacment.

 

[SHOdownTN]

All automatic trannies have to be rebuilt at one point in it's service life, to assume otherwise is just foolish. However, taking steps to extend the inevitable are very easy. Heat is the No. 1 killer of transmissions. The AX4S/N programming leaves much to be desired, especially torque converter lock-up functions. The slow slushy shifts produce much more heat than firm quick shifts. Raising line pressure via chip or such will alleviate that problem and possibly extend trans life. I have noticed by removing the cooler bypass valve and running the coolers in parallel resulted in an overall drop in nominal temp. and also quick cool down cycles such as after climbing a grade with the torque converter unlocked in 3rd. A bigger trans cooler will also help. For those that drive their SHO's hard, a synthetic is highly recommended b/c of it's superior thermal properties than that of regular dino atf.

What bypass valve? whats it look like? and where is it? sorry, I think i know but does our cars come with lines running to the radiator then a box that has 3 lines going to it then a small cooler out front of the radiator? What We need is a diagram cause I wanna run mine in parallel. Ok so I need instructions.
Would it be simple to just follow the lines from the tranny up and remove all the extra hoses and such and run it to the radiator, out the radiator to the cooler, from the cooler back to tranny? or Is this what you mean?
I appologize it's 4:03 a.m. and couldn't sleep

 

[Bizzy]

Hey Beth when I take apart the grand canyon ATX from that moonlight blue parts car you can help. Just tearing it down to salvage any useable parts for the full on build I'm doing to Gail's 95, Parts in hand just waiting to get her trans out and it back on the road with the replacment.

 

[Slo-Sho]