vcarter911

Gary I spent the money and took it to the dealer to have it diagnosed. They came back with: A. My tranny pan was dented (from my useless little jack) and should be replaced, and B. the shift solenoid is malfunctioning and needs to be replaced. Dealer recommendation - Replace transmission for 3300 dollars. Once again I quickly grabed my keys. Back to your inquiry on correct model/year. The trans shop told me it was a 97, but there was a minor difference between the 2. The wire harness that goes into the transmission by the gear selector has a male/female connector on the same wire before going into the transmission, where on my old one, it just went straight into the trans. where it actually hooks upto the car it was the same, so I didn't question it. After doing some searching on the internet, I've noticed that these connections are only on the 98 models, but I can't find any pics of any 97's. That could be something. I did catch that torque converter issue before damaging anything. That was just a luck thing when comparing the new to the old, I noticed that once was further out than the other, and figured out how to slid it in. I will need to replace the rear tires (the dealer told me that was recommended), but would that make the trans shid incorrectly? Does anyone know A. if replacing the pan would solve my problems, or how hard is it to replace the shift solenoid (I believe it is located inside the trans). Any help would be great. Thanks -Carter

No - I didn't fill the torque converter. I followed the Hanes manaul, and it said nothing about doing that. I used the same one that came with then used trans. Would that make a difference in how the trans shifts?

Ok - Where to start. About 2 months ago I hit a curb at a slow speed and that is where the trouble began. I blew the right tire off the rim, and ended up driving down to the tire shop with a donut on. They replaced both front tires (the backs were still at 75%) and I drove the car home. Later on I notice a considerable amount of shaking and a whining noise, so I took it back to the tire shop to have them rebalanced. They told me that the tires were fine and I ended up spending 80 bucks to have them tell me the wheel bearings and the right side stearing knuckle were shot. I didn't buy it and took it to the dealer, who told me that the transfer clutches were shot, along with a long list of things that brought the repair total up to almost 5k. I quckly grabed the keys from the service rep and took my car home, thinking it was the end of the line for the Suby. I put it up on jack stands and ran it in drive. I noticed the the left drive axle was poping in and out of the transaxle and causing the shaking. Based on the fact the dealer told me the transfer clutches were gone, and fluid was mixing between the dif and the tranny, I decided to go for the transmission replacement on my own. I got the used tranny from Dan's Transmissions in CT. I think I chewed off more that I could swallow, but I managed to do it. For thoes who have not ever done this before - the only thing you leave in th car is a couple of belts and pullys. It took about 4 weeks of a few hours here and there, but I managed. After it was in, I put in new ATF and dif fluid. I started it up, and the check engine light came on instantly. When I started driving it, it felt really sluggish and didn't shift. After a few min I realized that it was stuck in 3rd gear. I've spend a boat load of money on parts, and really want this thing to work, but have lost energy and too much time to keep going. Can anyone think of a reason this could be happening? Everything technically should be working, but it's just not. I don't want to drive it for fear of burning out the transfer clutches again. Help!