lost all gears!! need some help

[fst100]

was cruising and doing some spirited driving on the way home on the highway at 1AM in the morning. was only applying like 35% throttle when i felt and saw the car free-rev. i let off and waited a couple seconds then i applied throttle and it appeared to be alright but suddenly it free revs again and the car just coasts. I eventually coasted off to the shoulder and to a complete stop. tried to apply throttle again in D and it didnt budge. i shifted the gear selector to 3 and still no good, then 2 the same and finally gear 1 and the same result. so i decided to shift it to park and turn the car off but when i tried to shift it to park it wouldnt budge from gear 1! what makes it worse is since its stuck there i cant take out my key? another problem is since i turned the car off, i cant seem to start it up again. the system primes but it wont crank. Later on I was told to manually shift the gearing via the lifter in the engine bay. So I shifted the lever to neutral and was able to set it to park. Still the car wont shift into any gears in drive or reverse.

I checked the fluid level and it was still red with no foaming or metal shavings. The TCC fuse was fine. Ther was no trans fluid or anything else leaking underneath the car. I do hear a slight whine when the car starts up around the tranny. Need some input as the car was towed and dropped off at a local mechanic. Thanks in advance.

ps-car was bought at 75K miles and had a trans fluid CHANGE at 115K. i also had installed a mild shift kit as well as having the car mildly modified such as VS Cam, headers, and a 3.3" pulley with supporting mods. the car has bene to the track a few times but on street tires and NEVER had slicks/drag radials, but did a few small and short burn-outs. i also have a Powrtuner that increased the tranny pressure lines to prevent slippages.

[GTP Dad]

The first thing to do is to have the trans scanned with a trans capable scanner. The scanner will give you a good indication of what is going on. Since this is a computer controlled transmission it sounds like you have a communication problem between the PCM and the transmission however, the possibility does exist for a total trans failure. If you find you need a new trans check with Ed Morad at moranautoparts.com for a used one. It will cost a whole lot less than a new one or a remanufactured one.

[fst100]

thanks for the input. i did get the car scanned from the mechanic and the tests came back w/o failures which he believes is an internal problem with the tranny. i honestly dont know much on trannies lol. also i think u mean ed morad ;-)
i am planning on getting another used tranny from a 98 near where i live. just curious what went bad in the car though

[fst100]

found a used tranny. the trans has 102K miles but was rebuilt when the owner bought it around 55k-60k and since then had 10K tranny flush intervals. im gonna take the car for a test drive as its still on the car and unbolted yet. im gonna also check the fluid level and color. if everything checks out how much would i ask for the tranny? please let me know as soon as possible as i plan on getting it unbolted tomorrow. thanks in advance!!!!

[GTP Dad]

$800 is a fair price for the transmission and you are correct I meant Ed Morad!
My speller wasn't working when I typed the post.

[fst100]

Well I test drove the car b4 we agreed to have him unbolt the trans form the car. However I was not able to fully drive the car at various speeds mainly because his rear struts were blown and it was really saggy as well as no rear window and no headlights. The car was recently considered totaled by his insurance because a tree fell onto the rear of the car when a storm came by. Theres no headlights because I originally bought them from him from a few weeks b4 lol.

I again asked him the low-down on the tranny. He said the car was bought when it had ~70K. before he bought the car up in NY, the original owner had an issue of the trans slipping and had it ‘fixed’, and the guy bought it there after. Since then he had 10K mile trans flush intervals done to the car and said he ‘babied’ it ever since to where it is now at 102K miles.

Anyways he wanted $400 but I tried to negotiate since the trans was ‘fixed’ a while back w/o knowing whether it was rebuilt or replaced for $350. he looked stern and we settled for $375 instead. So now hes gonna try to find time aside to take both motor and trans out-since he eventually plans to sell the motor as well take it out from the car-and wel let me know. I just hope he knows what he’s doing and not damage the tranny while uninstalling it. That’s one of the things I am paranoid about buying from a private seller, there’s no guarantee nor warranty >.<

[fst100]

Forgot to mention in the reply above but apparently the forum’s edit/save doesn’t respond to explorer or something >_>. The car shifted firmly w/o slippages from 1st to 2nd as well as 2nd to 3rd applying at most 20% throttle with performance shift on. Fluid was leveled and color was a fresh red pigment as well as no awkward noises.

[tblake]

why are the selling the tranny out of a car that drives?

[fst100]

a tree collapse on the seller's car's rear end, smashing the rear window, denting the trunk and part of the roof as well as blew the rear struts.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by fst100

Since then he had 10K mile trans flush intervals done to the car and said he ‘babied’ it ever since to where it is now at 102K miles.

10K mile flush intervals?

Just based on that I would pass on the deal. Plus the mileage is too high.

[fst100]

wthanks for the input, but at the moment i dont have alot of options and im planning to get it come sunday. i hope you're wrong, no offense BNaylor, but i want to have it working as soon as possible and functional. im really hoping it'll at least last 60k miles more out of it on the road....do wish me luck

[BNaylor]

Maybe luck will prove me wrong but Murphy's law normally comes into play in these situations. It is your car and money so you can do as you please. All I said was based on the data you have provided so far I would pass which is reasonable to me versus making a rash decision based on being desperate. There is too much work involved doing a tranny swap out to be installing one that looks questionable and with a dubious repair history. All I can say is good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[fst100]

thanks bnaylor for understanding. i just done want to hex anything on this tranny thats all ^_^;. i'll keep u and whomever reading this updated on how the car feels and acts once its installed and running. i may plan on keeping my old trans and see if its worthwhile to have that rebuilt from a reputable tranny shop i know as a spare in the future...?

[grandprixgtx00]

idk about this one. i know that back when my SE had about 90K on it, my tranny started slipping into 3rd gear. so i figured what the he!!, i ordered a shift kit from ZZP for $40.00 shipped. i figured if it didnt work...then what is $40.00?

well, the car now has just about 125K on it, and the tranny is still shifting excellent. i havent done a flush on the tranny since i put the shift kit in, so i am going to do one soon and we'll see what it does.

i am very surprised that my tranny has held up though, since i did a tap swap on the car when it had 85K on it. i figure i've gotten another 35K outta the tranny just by putting a $40.00 shift kit in it

moral of the story here...i believe it is all luck, so in other words...good luck man

[fst100]

thanks for wishing me luck guys ;-)
grandprixgtx00, are u still running on the non-hd trans? if so, im somewhat surprised it lasted this long after u had the top-swapped done. i believe "dbk" on clubgp is still running on his non-hd trans and hes in the 12s lol. again, i'll keep u guys posted. i am thinking whether i hould install the shift kit or tune via the powrtuner since i have that on hand and increase the line pressure. i have the mild shiftkit in the tranny in my car at the moment. i didnt install it but a fellow member, because of that, im hesitate(worried i'd fucked something up) on doing it myself on the 'new' tranny.