[TheGreatZambini]

So about nine months ago, the planets went out in my transmission. It wouldn't shift out of first gear. I had it rapaired and overhauled for 2,000 dollars. Approximately a month later, it started to slip in first gear. When I was starting from a dead stop, or going up a hill from a stop, it would slip fairly badly and make an unpleasant grinding noise. I also noticed an Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) leak. I took it into the same shop, and they fixed the leak for free. I noticed, however, that the slip was still present, but I didn't have the time to put it back in the shop. This week, I finally had the time, so I dropped it off. They found another leak, fixed it, and refilled it with fresh ATF, and as of yesterday when I picked up the car, the tranny was great. No slipping, and shifting like it was brand new. Five hours later, I couldn't shift into reverse. This morning, I couldn't get it to go over 35 miles per hour, so first thing I did was drive it to the shop. On the way to the shop, it got exponentially worse, and I ended up with no mobility and a smoking tranny. Good times. I had it towed to the shop, where they are again looking at it. I know that the last two times that it's been in there, they have not taken it apart, but I'm sure they are now.

Any ideas on what it could be? The longer it sat, the worse it got. I ended up having to floor it to get it to move at all. The RPMs would soar to redline, and it would just begin to creep along. It was not empty of ATF, either. I checked while hot, and idling in park. It wouldn't shift out of first, either.

 

[green]

I think on G2 there is a key part inside the transmission that is made out of aluminum and is prone to failure. I cant remember what its called but when it fails the symptoms are what you described. hopefully they will fix it under warranty. Maybe someone else can be more specific on what it is and if the new part is made beefier.

Good Luck

 

[TheGreatZambini]

torque converter, maybe?

I know that it's been rebuilt once before, while it was still a police car. Evidentally, the police rebuild their transmissions regularly to prevent tranny failure during a high-speed pursuit. The only reason I mention that, is that I've always heard that when a transmission is rebuilt, they use upgraged (read steel) parts in place of aluminum. I could be wrong on that point, however.

 

[Dan_in_WA]

I think he's referring to an aluminum piston that was used in the valve body. But on your '95 I'd think this would have the updated steel piston.

Sounds to me like a problem that rated a minor teardown the first time it went back. I'm curious as to what the shop finds.

 

[Xmann01]

The part he's referring to is the forward clutch piston. It came from factory made out of aluminum and has been known to warp. That warpage causes the piston to stick and not apply fully. There can be several things going on in your situation. If you had to floor it to get it moving it could be a weak transmission pump (internal) thats not producing the right pressure to apply the clutches. I'm leaning towards this issue. Another thing I have seen is sometimes people don't pay attention to how the trans lines are and they end up installing the transmission with kinked trans lines. This causes the vehicle to move only when enough pressure has built up to squeeze past the kink (rubber hoses) and then it moves. This is very bad for the clutches because it'll slip while there is low pressure and the exessive rise in pressure to work past the kink stresses the trans pump. Let us know what they find..... good luck.

 

[TheGreatZambini]

Wow: fascinating and informative!
Thanks, guys! The next time I talk to them, I might mention those.

 

[TrueBlue]

As long as they are disassembling the tranny internals, you may want to have them put in the Trans-go shift kit. Are you running a cooler on there yet?

 

[TheGreatZambini]

It's funny that you should mention that: I'm not currently using a tranny cooler or shift kit, and was considering installing both.

 

[LoadedLX]

What exactly does the shift kit do for the car? is it expensive to have installed? My tranny just started slipping in overdrive when it tries to pull a hill without downshifting. It only does it in overdrive, and only slips a little. I've had the car for 25,000 miles and it hasn't had a fluid/filter change. could that be causing it?

Sorry if i sound like a moron here...I've owned Honda's all my life and thus have needed very little to no repair work.

 

[TheGreatZambini]

So, here's the update:
The planets were broken. Not worn; broken. It was a hard break, straight up. It's being fixed for free because it's under warranty, and I'm getting them to install a transmission cooler for just the cost of the cooler itself ($30.00).

All's well that ends well, I guess.

 

[HighTecRedneck]

Originally posted by TheGreatZambini@Jul 7 2004, 11:45 PM
So, here's the update:
The planets were broken. Not worn; broken. It was a hard break, straight up. It's being fixed for free because it's under warranty, and I'm getting them to install a transmission cooler for just the cost of the cooler itself ($30.00).

All's well that ends well, I guess.

Hey, not bad at all. Getting it fixed for free and even an aux trans cooler installed with no labor charges. So did they know/speculate what caused the break?