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01 Lesabre won't start after tranny issue


leo7inus
11-06-2013, 09:17 PM
My father has an 01 Lesabre that had a broken transmission line and lost all the fluid while driving . It began to shift erratically then the engine died . Car was towed home and the line was repaired and new fluid added . Now the engine won't start . He told me it seems to turn over slowly and acts like it is flooded but won't start . Any thoughts ?

enslow
11-06-2013, 10:10 PM
Check the charge on the battery.

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Blue Bowtie
11-07-2013, 07:27 AM
It is possible that transmission oil was sprayed or leaked onto something which it affected, such as into a MAF or TPS or onto the coil packs or other electrical connections. Verify that the oil has been effectively cleaned out of any sensitive areas.

It is also possible that the loss of trans oil damaged the torque converter support bushing, trans oil pump, or converter itself and this is placing a drag on the engine. A possible method of isolating this would be to remove the torque converter bolts and slide the converter back slightly for clearance, then attempt starting. If the engine runs this way, don't run it for long since the engine relies upon the mass of the TC for flywheel effect and thus may seem to run a bit rough.

imidazol97
11-07-2013, 11:54 AM
seems to turn over slowly and acts like it is flooded but won't start . Any thoughts ?

Have they tried using good jumper cables to see what happens with stronger power to the starter?

Otherwise, you're back to checking for spark, air, and fuel.

I'm with BowTie to look for effects of the sprayed oil. Is the air intake where the oil could have been sucked into the air filter? That wouldn't explain the slow crank, in my mind, but you're going to have to analyze.

I'm not a transmission mechanic, but my Cobalt hit a piece of road detritus and opened a hole in the aluminum trans pan. My son stopped after 1.5 miles and saw red liquid running out. He drove another 2 miles almost to a service station where he had good cell access.

The Chevy dealer said that they have seen damage to the trans from driving too long on low/no fluid. I specifically asked them to check even though the car was still driving fine and continued to dribble for another 35 minutes until I got there. So it had quite a bit of the fluid in the 4T35E (I think that's the right number).

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