Vanishing transmission fluid and reverse gear not engaging
6 replies, posted
My piece of junk car has so many problems listing them would probably set my fingers on fire. Since yesterday, it has one more and this time around it's rather major.
I basically drove 60 km around town with friends before stopping at a bar for maybe 2 hours (more than enough time to cool it down at -20). Once I came back in the parking lot to find an enormous mountain of snow on which my car was sitting under and removed it all with a tiny broom, I put it in reverse gear and nothing happened. It was like I put it in neutral gear, I didn't even feel it engaging. All the other gears were working fine though so I got someone to push me out and after driving for 10 minutes, the reverse gear engaged with a horrible grinding noise and a nice kick that nearly made me ram the car behind me.
Once I was back home, I checked the tranny fluid to find that some of it was gone (half of it actually) except that it was not leaking at any point in the day.
Today I went to Canadian Tire and bought some of that automatic transmission fixing magic liquids and put 1/3 of the bottle in it (and let me tell you this shit is like strawberry jam at subzero temperatures). After pushing the car out and driving for a while the reverse gear came back without the grinding and kick, even on a cold start a few hours later.
So FP mechanics, what the fuck happened and how to I fix it permanently?
By the way this rusty junk is a 1996 Nissan Altima with an automatic gearbox.
I'm not an expert on this stuff, but I've got a friend who had a similar problem with his car (wouldn't shift into Reverse, etc.). His was busted and needed to be replaced. That being said, I think you're gonna have to cough up a pretty penny for a new tranny.
I get this problem in my 88' when there is low transmission fluid. However, that doesnt seem to be your case.
[QUOTE=Super_Noodle;34441676]I'm not an expert on this stuff, but I've got a friend who had a similar problem with his car (wouldn't shift into Reverse, etc.). His was busted and needed to be replaced. That being said, I think you're gonna have to cough up a pretty penny for a new tranny.[/QUOTE]
Considering how much I paid for this thing, a new transmission would probably cost 3 times as much as the car :v:
Anyway, it's working right now but the next time it does this, it's going straight to the scrapyard.
[editline]29th January 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=areolop;34441725]I get this problem in my 88' when there is low transmission fluid. However, that doesnt seem to be your case.[/QUOTE]
Well, the transmission fluid was low when it stopped working, the problem is that I didn't notice a puddle of red stuff at the parking lot where it happened, and it worked just fine before parking there.
How often do you check your fluid level? If its really cold out you may have a really slow leak on a hose or a seal somewhere. If left unnoticed, it could have easily just been really low.
[QUOTE=ze beaver;34445798]
Well, the transmission fluid was low when it stopped working, the problem is that I didn't notice a puddle of red stuff at the parking lot where it happened, and it worked just fine before parking there.[/QUOTE]
That is how it is for my vehicle as well. I just assume (like above) a have a small leak.
So get under there and look for residue! If it's leaking it'll be very obvious... also check lines, where they go into the radiator, etc.
Then.... check your coolant. You could possibly have an internal leak between the radiator and the trans cooler inside of it. If that's true it'd be gooey and messy and you'll know it.
While you're under there.. drop the pan, and check it for shavings and metal pieces. If there's some in there... that trans won't last long. Slap it back on and fill it back up.
If it's clean and just has clutch residue in it.. put a new filter on and fill it back up.
Make sure that you're checking it while idling in neutral (or park.. usually neutral. The dipstick should say on it)... otherwise you'll under fill it.
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