Please tell me I "DID NOT" get (SHO BOOM)....

[Silver Bullet]

Guys... I really need your knowledge and opinions right now. I have a 1993 ATX... The tranny was completely rebuilt a year ago. I came to a rolling stop on a highway off ramp, and when I gave it gas to pull out it inched forward... A split second after this there was a loud tremendous slam, as if someone had rear ended me. It threw me back in my seat... There was no one around me. After this pleasant happening my engine just revs, and the car will not move at all. I moved the shifter through all the gears about 20 times, and recieved no response whatsoever!! No change in sound, no feel that it was catching something "Nothing whatsoever". The engine just revs... I had to push the damn thing into the shell station, and then get it towed to a tranny shop. I am waiting to hear the wonderful news via phone about what happened to it. I figured I'd fill you guys in on this to see what you think happened. I will keep you informed as soon as I hear anything.

Thanks in advance, and please have a better day than me madflame madflame madflame madflame


Bob

<small>[ March 15, 2004, 02:30 PM: Message edited by: Silver Bullet ]</small>

 

[Machspeed]

Prolly the tq. converter. Your prolly lookin at close to a grand alone in labor(Seeing how they are going to have to drop the tranny anyway)....sry frown

 

[Chris Benvie]

I sure hope it had a warranty. That thing is toast.


I am SURE my day has been worse

 

[sdpatt]

Is the speedometer moving? If so, it's a CV shaft. If not, warranty work.

 

[Axianator]

My prediction is that your planetary gearset is toast and you'll need a rebuild.

At the very minimum, I would recommend that you get a full rebuild with a TransGo kit, replace the stock tranny cooler (in front of the radiator) with a large stacked-plate cooler like the model MidwestSHO sells, and make sure you use a fully-synthetic ATF like Amsoil or Mobil 1. If you want something that will last you a long time (and your SHO is at a tranny shop that will work with you), check out this rebuild info here and make sure your tranny tech understands it and peruses it.

If it makes you feel any better, I went through almost the exact same thing when my 135k ('95) stock tranny took a dump last November. Turns out the torque of the 3.2L (and my tuner mods) combined with what was probably insufficient fluid lubrication to the gearset had caused a complete and total planet failure. I stripped numerous teeth off of the planet, sun and pinion gears, had a hairline fracture running up the planet case and had actually cracked the tranny casing itself.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, Bob. Keep us posted on the latest. frown

 

[RedDiabloStang96]

That happened to me too!

Hey,
Last summer, the EXACT same thing happened to me! The planetaries "blew up"! For the $2200 they were gonna charge me to fix it, I decided screw it. I would think about puttin in a 5-speed! The price is almost a wash either way (as long as you do the labor)! U'll be happier! I haven't completed mine yet, but I do have my ATX stripped, and it's not that bad, so it's very doable! Just my .02 cents!
--Brian

 

[revhardSHO]

My prediction is that your planetary gearset is toast and you'll need a rebuild.

At the very minimum, I would recommend that you get a full rebuild with a TransGo kit, replace the stock tranny cooler (in front of the radiator) with a large stacked-plate cooler like the model MidwestSHO sells, and make sure you use a fully-synthetic ATF like Amsoil or Mobil 1. If you want something that will last you a long time (and your SHO is at a tranny shop that will work with you), check out this rebuild info here and make sure your tranny tech understands it and peruses it.

If it makes you feel any better, I went through almost the exact same thing when my 135k ('95) stock tranny took a dump last November. Turns out the torque of the 3.2L (and my tuner mods) combined with what was probably insufficient fluid lubrication to the gearset had caused a complete and total planet failure. I stripped numerous teeth off of the planet, sun and pinion gears, had a hairline fracture running up the planet case and had actually cracked the tranny casing itself.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, Bob. Keep us posted on the latest. frown

What do you think about tranny coolers in the north country? Its only "warm" 4-5 months out of the year up here, and it doesnt really get blistering hot ever. You do want the fluid to warm up a bit to optimal temp, and Im just afraid in the winter its never going to get very warm with a giant cooler on the front. What do you think?
I will be changing the fluid soon in the ATX, is it okay to mix synthetic and organic ATF? (I wont be doing a complete flush, so i can only get about 1/2 the organic fluid out).
Is this a tranny (like the AXOD) that should be overfilled past the full mark on the dipstick? If so how far about "full" should I fill?

thanks!

BTW - sorry to hear about your trans! Hope I dont run into that problem anytime soon...good luck!

 

[olympic]

You still want to run a trans cooler in cold climates. I run one in all my cars even though it gets to -40 in the winter. When winter comes, just cover about 75% of it with some cardboard.

Also, be sure to run it in series with the stock cooler in the rad, meaning, the fluid passes through the rad and then through the aftermarket cooler. This ensures that the fluid will still be heated by the engine coolant during warm-up.

 

[the on going reality of shopower]

yup looks like you need a complete over haul again these trannies suck
i like to see all the gear sets replaced when rebuilding a axod. I had a 91 slo and i went through 5 trannies in 4 years. all with gear set blowing up.
Make sure they check for the lock up passage throgh the pump shaft, the sleve spins closingthe hole in the valve body andgives no lock up but gives no CE light because solinod still works.
I became a Transmission Apprentice after my 5th transmission because I could not afford the cost of rebuilding it again.
Now i own a 93 SHO ATX and had no problems with trans yet (knock on wood) Just hope you get a good rebuild this time. Good Luck

 

[Axianator]

What do you think about tranny coolers in the north country? Its only "warm" 4-5 months out of the year up here, and it doesnt really get blistering hot ever. You do want the fluid to warm up a bit to optimal temp, and Im just afraid in the winter its never going to get very warm with a giant cooler on the front. What do you think?
I will be changing the fluid soon in the ATX, is it okay to mix synthetic and organic ATF? (I wont be doing a complete flush, so i can only get about 1/2 the organic fluid out).
Is this a tranny (like the AXOD) that should be overfilled past the full mark on the dipstick? If so how far about "full" should I fill?

thanks!

BTW - sorry to hear about your trans! Hope I dont run into that problem anytime soon...good luck!

What olympic said.

If your ATX is a daily driver that sees little to no racing duty, then you should be ok with the factory cooler and line setup. Should you decide to stick with the factory setup, I'd recommend that you remove the factory bypass valve and route the lines as such (diagrams courtesy of Herman Anker from the Ontario SHO Club):

Factory cooler line setup
Bypassed cooler line setup

As for tranny fluid(s), you shouldn't experience any problems from mixing convential dino ATF with the synthetics that are out there - just make sure that you peruse the label on the synthetic fluid in question before combining the two. Overfilling a stock SHO ATX also isn't a bad idea, though I'd suggest that you keep the total overfill amount to no more than a quart.

 

[shocrates]

B&M Supercoolers have a viscosity bypass to prevent over-cooling.