95 Olds Cutlass Supreme Automatic Trans Problems. DOES NOT MOVE!!!

A friend of mine has his 95 olds cutlass supreme with the v6 and automatic tranny. Well a couple days ago, he went to leave work and put it in gear, and it didn't go anywhere. He got it home and I went to see what it was doing.

Well, he would put it into gear...and you could hear it go into gear. Give it some gas, the car wouldn't go anywhere, but the speedometer worked. And you could feel it shifting (if it was in D)...or you could manually shift it up through the gears and hear it.

I just thought it was odd the way the speedometer worked...meaning that something was turning inside to activate the sensor for the speedo. Also, since because you could hear it shifting seemed weird.

The only thing that sounded bad was when you go and put it back into park. You can hear it grinding on the lugs that engage the parking gear.

Could this be something electrical...like something is not engaging like it is suppose to? I dont even know where to start. The car only had 105,000 miles on it...I can't see the tranny going out this soon...or at least without any warning.

I don't expect a diagnostic here, but at least maybe some guidance of where to go to try and figure this out (besides the dealership)

Thanks

I had a Buick Century that did the same thing and it turned out to be a blown CV joint on the drive side (left I think).

I had a Buick Century that did the same thing and it turned out to be a blown CV joint on the drive side (left I think).

I guess that could be a possibility. Would that go out without making any noise? From what I understand, he drove the car up to work...it drove fine. Then when he went to leave, it didn't want to move. I would think that if it was a CV joint was to go out it would be when he was driving...like when there was torque on the joint. I don't know...but it is a possibility....

Thanks for the response...

first off, i got the same car as the pic above, only difference mine isnt a convertible...and the wheels are different.

ANYWAYS to your issue, my dads car had a similar issue, only no speedo and you didnt hear it shift, i guess you can try and switch out the vacuum modulator, from my understanding it uses the vacuum from the engine to decide when to shift and how to run basicaly, if it goes bad its possible you can get hard shifts, or no shifts, i think that yours isnt working right and that could be the cause, hope that helps at all.

first off, i got the same car as the pic above, only difference mine isnt a convertible...and the wheels are different.

ANYWAYS to your issue, my dads car had a similar issue, only no speedo and you didnt hear it shift, i guess you can try and switch out the vacuum modulator, from my understanding it uses the vacuum from the engine to decide when to shift and how to run basicaly, if it goes bad its possible you can get hard shifts, or no shifts, i think that yours isnt working right and that could be the cause, hope that helps at all.

Thanks for the response...

Well, I talked to my friend today...and he clarified a few things. Turns out he WAS moving when the problem occurred. Now I can really see the possibility of the CV joint going out. I am going to look into that for him. Definitely sounds like it may be it....

I hope that it is the CV because that is a fairly easy repair that you can do yourself. Shouldn't take you too long either.

Good luck!

I hope that it is the CV because that is a fairly easy repair that you can do yourself. Shouldn't take you too long either.

Good luck!

Will we be able to tell with no question that it is the CV? I mean, is it fairly obvious to see? I have never worked with any of the automatic transaxles before. I guess I can't really ask any question until I get over to his house and take a look.

Thanks for all the help...i'll keep you guys updated...

If the cv is broken you will see the axle turn coming out of the final drive but no movenment, plus there certainly would be some obvious noises, I think the trans is done.

i dont know about the lugs grinding or what not but my cousin has a cutlass that did the same things with no warning. He drove it than came back and it wouldn't move turned out the tranny needed to be replaced. Hopefully that not your case

yeah my tranny in my 95 supreme died and i had to get it replaced...luckily i had a tranny available from 94. ever since replacing the tranny, the car runs great :iceslolan

is there an automatic clutch of sorts in the transmission, or just the vacuum assist?

oh also, i have an the same car as the blue one in the pic w/o convertible, where can i find a lrivers side rocker panel assembly? links would be nice, a trunk lid also...