My teen also has a 93 Loyale but with automatic transmission.

He claims a screeching noise from the front and then it wouldn't go forward but he was able to back it into a parking space.

I get to it today, check the tranny fluid and surprised to find it's not low. I check the differential oil and see there's basically nothing. I try a very short test drive and sure enough rumbling from the front almost as if a brake shoe dropped but at around 5mph the noise is deeper she bucks and stops dead, stalls out. I mean the chest seat belt was actually stretched, that kinda dead stop. Whoa. Never had a car seize up so quickly like that. I re-start and back it up to the parking spot.

Right next door is a repair shop, I explain and the guy says sounds like the tranny seized and this will cost $1000 or so.

 

THE QUESTION:

This $ will be more than I paid for the car($800). It's in good condition overall with minimal rust although the four wheel drive doesn't work ( i bought it from a backyard mechanic who did something to screw that up...that's another question for another time).

My ex-wife doesn't want the car in his hands any more and would like to re-coup some cost to put toward another vehicle.

Many parts can be swapped with my car. I'm throwing this out there for suggestions...fix or sell, fix AND sell, do everything I can to save the parts, do the work myself??? I need to have it towed somewhere today and am grasping at a logical solution.

What kind of money should I expect to get for a Loyale in this condition?

 

thanks,

 

RJ

Sounds like the front differential is toast and bits of metal debris are getting caught in between the ring gear and the pinion. Backing up lets the chunks fall back out and the gears will work for a while untill they catch another piece.

 

Where are you located?

Vermont...come on out

Yeah, it's a brutal affair getting the car to drive forward. The front wheels locked up while the tow truck was winching it onto it's flatbed.

The truck couldn't maneuver to the car so I had to drive it out to the road. Bad,bad,bad things happening in there.

The car has a lot of good things going for it though, esp for a '93

You can get another tranny for cheap and have that thing fixed in no time flat. I have one of those trannies in my shed and no car to put it in. It sounds like someone just didn't keep up with the fluids and the front diff got too low and now it came apart. Or else, it was at a lube center and they drained the diff instead of the engine. I've seen that happen before to a friend. The lube center denied any wrong doing even thought the tranny took a dump within 15 miles of their shop. Diff was bone dry.

 

Let me know if you want my tranny. Maybe I can help you figure out why the 4wd isn't working too.

 

With proper care that car should last a looooong time and is very safe to drive. I would put one of my kids into one . Tell your ex to take a breather and your son to be more mindful of the cars fluids. She needs to relax and he needs to learn the workings of the car.

 

Good luck

mdjdc many thanks. Which Richmond are you in?

I agree with the Loyale loyalty.

So i can do this myself?

I was born to work with tools, seriously, but most all of it goes into construction of homes.

Any tutorials out there are much welcome.

I am in Richmond Va. Yes, you can easily do this yourself, even without a lift. You can even do it on a set of jack stands with a floor jack. Not that difficult.

 

Where are you located?

Vermont.

I'm excited you make it sound so easy. I have a space to do this and, fortunately or not, the time..

I need to go there now but will check back later.

many, many thanks

my loyale did the same exact thing, i found a used auto trans off ebay for 350 bucks shipped. took about 3 hours to put it in, and bam, 30 k miles later, still driving it, if it happens again im gonna convert it to a dual range stick, alot better gas milage.. good luck

Thanks ivan..

My ex is looking at small pickup trucks and is not interested in the Suby going back to my son.

This may go up for sale. mdjdc??

I'll slip a pic in a few so check back here...

i have a 3at 4wd with 085,000 miles on it. pulled it out to go 5spd.

 

i have plans on going to long island after christmas. its possible for me to deliver the trans

i don't have a problem swapping transmissions, i don't know how many i've done. but i wouldn't call it easy, meaning anyone should try it. it's a big job wrestling it apart from the engine and getting it back in there. if you don't have a problem wiggling and wrestling large objects in tight spaces while lying on your back, then yes you can do this. it's basically unbolt a bunch of stuff and reinstall.

 

having help is a huge plus - particularly your first time. maneuvering a trans from under a car is fun.

 

make sure you properly engage/install the torque converter or you'll break your new transmission. folks miss that, it's easy to get it wrong because of a 1/4" off and not seeing it.

 

being in vermont, if you've got rusty exhaust bolts or other bolts those might become your worst nightmare.

 

but yeah these transmissions can be found easily for cheap so it wouldn't be too bad to fix price wise

 

the car isn't worth much, they're a bare bones, basic vehicle and a very old model at that. no ABS, not safe, no air bags, no upgrade options, if it doesn't run i wouldn't expect much for it.

Thanks.

I haven't searched for used tranny's and two of you guys are offering yours up. Pm me, I guess, if you want to discuss costs or if you want to buy this car. I know my ex wants to re-coup some money after recently having plunked $400 work into it(wheel bearing/ ball joint issue).

That said, I'd love to do the work myself and may offer to buy her out. I really like the car, esp. since it matches mine, other than I have a 5 speed standard. I'd like to change this over to a standard but it's not necessary.

 

I bought him excellent snow tires which are now on my car, so I kinda made out a bit.

 

Miles, I remember you were on a traveling repair odyssey awhile back. Long Island is kinda far from central Vt. What are you actually offering?

 

Like I say you guys can pm me if you want.

 

mdjdc, where'd you go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm still her, just been kind of busy. If you want to switch it to a 5spd, I have one of thowe too. I even have the pedal bos and the clutch cable. I have a flywheel too, but it probably needs to be resurfaced. I don't have the shifter, but I may be able to get one for you. Since you are going to have the tranyu out, that would be the time to do the swap.

 

If you want the automatic. it is in a running car. Right now I am tapped out, so I couldn't buy the car and you are so far away that I can't even think of transporting the car to here. It is really nice looking though.

 

I think you should fix it and keep it on the road.

 

Let me know if you want my parts and I'm sure we can work something out.

 

Mike

 

Pm me or email

mdjd1@gmail.com