1996 Grand Am Se Tranny Problem

I have a 96 grandam se with a 3.1 liter in it. i went to put it in gear and it wouldnt go any wheres. But if you rock the car while in drive
you can hear it click then it will go and shift with no problem any ideas how to fix it.

Welcome to AF codycodeman .

Hows the fluid level ?
If the levels good I'd say somethings outa wack. The shifter/linkage could be the culprit, hopfully !

If it all looks good underneath, youre probly going to need to take it to a trans shop.
Good Luck!

thats odd does it work fine after you get it going? what happens if you stop and start again? is your tranny a 3 spd or 4 spd?

I'm not sure either if its a 3T40 125C , or a 4T60E.
Think the 3t40 was used till 95' and 96+ had the 4T60E.

They should hav kept using the 4T60E :grinyes: better than the 4T 40/45e.
Would you think the torque Convert lockup is probly sticking, causing this ?

Tcc stuck on with any trans would cause it stall at low speeds or stall when drive engaged, sounds like it won't move here.

ive checked the fluid levels and everyhting is ok with them. I can rock the car back and forth and it will eventually go into gear. After it has gone into gear i can drive it as long as i want to and it shifts as i go down the road as it is suppose to. but onc ei put it back in park it will not go back into drive or reverse inless i rock the car for a little while again.

The TCC would kill the engine if it was stuck on. Is your trans the 3spd or 4spd. I'm trying to think if there is anything in common with the forward and reverse engagements. Does the car do anything else besides click before it starts to move (whine growl humm)? I’m kind of thinking the shift cable might be stretched or some thing and as your rocking it falls into gear and the click is your detent on the rooster comb making the clicking sound. Have you ever tried to put in gear using the lever under the hood?

Make sure you block the wheels or have someone else inside the car holding the brake so you don’t get ran over

Sounds like when you park on a big hill, sometimes you cant pull it outa gear.
Cant remember what the cause is.....
but I'd bet its the cable/linkage thats bad.

That’s kind of a good point there xeroinfinity does the engine rev up freely like its in neutral or does it rev up to 2,000-3,000 rpm and hold like your binding up and just stalling out the converter.


The parking on the hill bit is just the weight of the car putting pressure on the parking pawl gear and binding that’s why you are suppose to put your E-brake on when parking on a hill

Yes when i cran the car and put the shifter in gear the engine will rev up to around 2000 to 2500 rpms and wont rev back down inless i kill the engine. Once i rock the car and have it in gear i can put it in nuetral and kill and and crank and put it in drive and it works but as soon as i hit park it wont go back into gear inless i rock the car back and forth