Could be the tranny.....

[csale]

Maybe a CV joint?

OK, I'm not a car person, but i've been around enough cars and the problems they can cause (thank you, dad) to question whether my current delimna is actually my tranny. Here's my story and a little background on my 2001 Impala base model:

First, we got our oil changed about a month ago and had the tranny checked because there was some mild slipping that occurred every now and then. The mechanic said that there was no problem with the tranny, but mentioned that the rotors needed rotated. So, I thought that could have been what was causing a popping noise when I turned a corner (again, I'm not car savvy) and some light jerking that I felt in the steering wheel. This didn't happen all the time, so I wasn't to concerned about it. Over the weekend I noticed kind of a crunching noise when I turned a corner and applied the brakes at the same time. It did that twice that I recall. On Monday I stopped at a stop sign, turned the corner and the crunching sound came back. I turned another corner and there it was again. We stopped at another stop sign and when I turned it started crunching and grinding really bad and the car didn't want to move. It was moving slow. I had to park the car in a parking lot. When I stopped, I put it in reverse and the engine just revved. It wasn't moving. So, we pushed it back, put it in drive and of course, the crunching and grinding noise was there. We went home and called a friend to look at it. When he turned it on every gear was gone. He put it in reverse and pushed the car back and the crunching/grinding noise started.

I know it's hard to say when you can't see the car or hear it, but any ideas would be appreciated. Oh, I did check the boots for the CV joints and I couldn't see any tears or anything. We need to take it to a mechanic, but are reluctant to do so until we have a better idea of what it might be.

[maxwedge]

Originally Posted by csale

Maybe a CV joint?

OK, I'm not a car person, but i've been around enough cars and the problems they can cause (thank you, dad) to question whether my current delimna is actually my tranny. Here's my story and a little background on my 2001 Impala base model:

First, we got our oil changed about a month ago and had the tranny checked because there was some mild slipping that occurred every now and then. The mechanic said that there was no problem with the tranny, but mentioned that the rotors needed rotated. So, I thought that could have been what was causing a popping noise when I turned a corner (again, I'm not car savvy) and some light jerking that I felt in the steering wheel. This didn't happen all the time, so I wasn't to concerned about it. Over the weekend I noticed kind of a crunching noise when I turned a corner and applied the brakes at the same time. It did that twice that I recall. On Monday I stopped at a stop sign, turned the corner and the crunching sound came back. I turned another corner and there it was again. We stopped at another stop sign and when I turned it started crunching and grinding really bad and the car didn't want to move. It was moving slow. I had to park the car in a parking lot. When I stopped, I put it in reverse and the engine just revved. It wasn't moving. So, we pushed it back, put it in drive and of course, the crunching and grinding noise was there. We went home and called a friend to look at it. When he turned it on every gear was gone. He put it in reverse and pushed the car back and the crunching/grinding noise started.

I know it's hard to say when you can't see the car or hear it, but any ideas would be appreciated. Oh, I did check the boots for the CV joints and I couldn't see any tears or anything. We need to take it to a mechanic, but are reluctant to do so until we have a better idea of what it might be.

Welcome to AF, you have to understand to suggest a cause for your problem, based on a description of a sound and the fact it won't move, is nearly impossible. Could be a broken axle, or the trans let go, only on site diagnosis will reveal the source of the problem.

[troy1]

If a axle was broke your speedo should go up. All the crunching sounds like a blown diff or failed bearing in the input planet/final drive planet. Getting the tranny pan pulled should tell you all you need to know

[jayman31]

Your problem is what they call an intermediate steering shaft...very common failure in my 04 impala...the great news is even after redesigning a new shaft, my service rep told me it will not fix the problem. chevy engineering. But you can lubricate the part. crawl under the driver footwell and pull the boot back where the steering shaft goes throught the firewall. There is a a u-joint type part in there that needs lube. Chevy sells the lube kit but you can use a can of whatever you have around the house, maybe white silicone or other, to temporarily fix the problem. I have done it a couple of times..it last 6 months or so...GOOD LUCK