I was goin' down Satellite blvd. over to Duluth today to see one of my friends and the Mav started shifting funky takeing off from red lights. At the 3rd redlight I hit the gas and it didn't want to take off at first and then it finnaly started moveing. It started up shifting and downshifting real fast and then it just completely quit pulling itself. I managed to coast off into a gas station. I checked the trans. fluid and it is showing that it has about twice as much as it should? The last time I put trans fluid in it was over a month ago and it was perfect, right in between the marks. I checked it 4 times and each time it still came out showing twice as much as it should and it was kinda brown looking. It will not pull it self in Drive or 2nd. If you punch it to the floor in drive the whole car starts vibrateing real bad and kinda trys to move. I managed to crawl home in 1st gear running about 3,000 RPM's goin like 35 mph. Did my tranny just die? I have a spare in my 4 door that I KNOW works perfect as I just drove that car 150 miles a few weeks ago. Problem is, it's in NC.
check your radiator sounds like a tranny cooler leak in the radiator to me.maybe you can drain it and put new trans fluid in but make sure the radiator is not full of tranny fluid.probly best to replace both tranny and radiator. think of the learning this car is giving.
if it is leaking in the cooler unhook the lines and plug the inlets with pipe plugs.then install an external cooler.you might have burned the clutches on the way home like that. but water is not a good lubricant and will not hold the same trans pressure as oil.if you have a good radiator handy this is the time to use it.
I have a couple of good radiators... there just 100 miles away. I didn't have any choice but to drive it home. I cannot afford a tow truck, and I didn't really have any other options. Looks like I'll be makeing a trip to NC this weekend. If I have to swap the trans, I'm going to have to tow the whole car up there. I can't have it that far apart in this neighborhood.
I pulled the radiator cap and it's full of white foam up top? I loosend the lower hose clamp and let a little run out and its brown looking. I think your right...
probly a hole on the suction side of the cooler part plug the lines off in the radiator. drain everything get a new trans filter and add some trans medic along with fresh fluid you can just run a hose between the lines for now to see if it will still move it might .
jamie, will it pull in reverse? could be the ...front pump... . some of these c4 guys will be your best bet...frank...
I just went out. It pulls it self fine in reverse. It now pulls itself in drive but it drives like I have it in first even though its in drive. Dosen't shift at all. I burned tires comeing up the driveway... We have decided to haul it up to NC where I have plenty of room, no neighbors, and can tear into it and replace the trans, radiator and do a bunch of other little things I been wanting to do for a while now. I've been haveing problems with this transmission since the day I got the car running. I'm ready for it to be gone...
