Tranny issue....

[Mike Compton]

Well in SHO #2 I am starting to have some tranny issues. I am getting a very slight slipping in the tranny. There are also time when the tranny seams to work against me. The car almost acts like the e-brake is on sometimes....but it is not. I can be at a stop light, let my foot off the brake, and the car will not move forward at all...it just sits there....

I am wondering if it is worth going to somewhere like Aamco, or Certified transmission to do thier free inspections....Or if I should do just a good total flush...or what? Any ideas?

 

[SHOGIRL1994]

Well if it's free... why not! I had an atx crap out on me but mine was having different symptoms (not downshifting correctly at stops). Has it ever been serviced?

 

[Mike Compton]

I have no real idea as to what has been done.
The guy that had this car before had 3 SHO's and kept up on servicing. The fluid is full and pink...does not look overly burnt up or anything....I dunno anythong other than that.

 

[Bizzy]

Number 1...beware of Aamco. They have as good a reputation for doing trannies as Maaco does in doing paint jobs.

Number 2...beware of "free" inspections. Read the fine print. Nothing is free. They will apply the "free" checkout toward the purchase price of parts and the labor to fix it. This experience cost me in excess of $1200 long ago on a car I would have rather junked. You might wonder why this is. It's because they have to remove the tranny and pretty much break it all down in order to tell you exactly what's wrong with it. They will charge you for the labor to do this, I don't care what they say.

You get what you pay for and nothing is free.

 

[DHMag]

if its still full and pink, its not doing its job. manual transmissions dont have clutch packs or torque convertors to operate via fluid viscosity or fluid lockup, hence lesser to no maintainance on MTXs and 30-60K (depending on application) maintainance on ATXs.

 

[Mike Compton]

so no aamco.
does the ATX have some kind of computer they can hook up to and diagnose? or is the only way to check it out to take it out?

Would it be worth doing a fluid flush? or just take it somewhere?

 

[Bizzy]

I don't really know too much about the ATX tranny but from what I understand flushing the fluid can often times cause more harm than good.

Are you sure that your brakes aren't hanging up at all? I remember when my rear brakes had their slider pin issues and it was just like having the parking brake applied. If you're not sure, take the car for drive, check for heat coming from the rotors when you park the car again. Be careful! They could be very hot if the brakes are hanging up.

If the brakes are fine then it sounds like the tranny is on it's way south. There are a few people on the forum who do ATX work, you might want to search them out and see what they think.

 

[SHOEET 1]

I would say the tranny is eventually going to kick the bucket. Don't waste the money on a fluid change if the fluid looks good. Mine slipped for two years before it exploded. I would get it rebuilt before you end up cracking the case and having to replace some of the gearing. Not to mention leaving you stranded and paying for a tow truck.

 

[92ShoOff]

I'm just seconding to Bizzy's comment about AAMCO. I just had my tranny rebuilt and clutch installed there....... I got ***** with the bill! They over-charge you for parts like you wouldn't believe! DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT go to AAMCO! If there's a Cottman Transmissions where you live, go there.

 

[Axianator]

I'm with Beth on this one, Mike.

For the "parking brake" problem, I would first check your rear calipers/slider pins for slow movement or sticking.

As for the slippage problem, it's a common problem among the AXOD family.

I assume all of this is in reference to your '93 ATX with 175k miles? Out of curiosity, do you know if the tranny is original?

 

[Mike Compton]

yes, this is the 93 atx
I do not know what has or what has not been done.
I just got it.

 

[Axianator]

yes, this is the 93 atx
I do not know what has or what has not been done.
I just got it.

Gotcha.

The only other piece of advice I could give you would be to consider the opening of and contribution to a tranny rebuild fund. Although unlikely, it is possible that your '93's tranny is a factory original, in which case you would be living on borrowed time already. On the other hand, it is possible that the previous owner had the tranny rebuilt, in which case you may have several thousand more trouble-free miles of tranny operation before it needs any kind of attention. It's really hard to say without a more detailed history of the car.

Bottom line, I'd check out your rear brakes first and see if there's anything going on there. If everything checks out in that department, then it's possible that you will need to accelerate the donation process to your tranny fund.