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[mustbfaster2]

This is actually a quick question about my pontiac grand am gt. Hopefully someone here can help. When the car is cold or has been sitting for a while it will not engage into gear. It has been progressively been getting worse over the last couple of weeks and now i have to let the car run for 10 mins or so before it will engage. If i put it in gear and give it some gas it will slowly start to inch forward a bit and if i continue to give it gas it will slam into gear (i know this is bad....i only did it once). Once it does engage the trans runs and shifts perfectly fine. I know nothing about automatic transmissions so unfortunately I have to pay someone else to work on this. I took it to aamco and they say it is most likely hardened seals and will require a rebuild. He quoted me approx 1200 w/o torque converter and 14-1500 w/torque converter. The thing that kinda made me wonder a bit is he said if I drop it off tonight he could finish the entire job tomorrow and have the car back to me tomorrow night. Can this job actually be accomplished in a day I thought trans work was quite time consuming and would take longer. I never delt with these people before and just want to make sure i'm not getting bent over here.

Thanks
Dustin

[trumpeter]

I assume that you have checked the fluid level, but my diagnosis would be terminal as well.

If the cost is for a guaranteed rebuilt tranny complete installed, that is not that bad. Torque converters don't normally fail, but if you are putting a rebiult tranny in it is best to replace the TC at the same time.

Sorry, I know it sucks...

Trumpeter

[Paul]

Are they rebuilding yours or just swapping in a rebuilt one?
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

[924guy]

tranny shops generally have rebuilt units on the shelf , especially if their common , domestic ones.. spo what youll probably get is not your unit rebuilt, but one they previously prepared. thentheyll rebuild your unit and someone else down the road will get it..
or theyll just rebuild yours, a good rebuilder can do it in a fairly short time, and if theyve got a good installer, its amazing how fast the whole job can be done..
so the time frame isnt really surprising, the price seems about on par, not great, not terrible..the guarentee is whats important though..and if they recommend a new T/C and you dont do it, and something goes wrong, they can use that as an excuse to void the warrentee so look into that possibility before you decide..also, if can be there while your working, id highly recommend it..ive known tranny guys to charge for a full job, and only rebuild the modulator, or somethinig cheap and simple withjout ever even pulling the unit..its a common thing..and there no way to know unless you see them at work on it.. make sure the shop is reputable..
_________________
Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
http://www.cardomain.com/id/924Guy
Performance by Pasha

[mustbfaster2]

They are rebuilding mine. I agree the price isnt bad..... im just wondering if it is really possible they are rebuilding it in 1 day.

[mustbfaster2]

Yeah...Aamco told me that if i didnt replace the TC they would only give me 90days instead if the 3 year/36k. Although the TC is probably fine I would have it done anyway just for the warranty.\

BTW thanks 924guy...I didnt even think about the fact they probably have one already rebuilt....my trans is very common for gm

[Sleykin]

It could also easily be a dirty filter/screen in the bottom of your trans. How long has it been since you changed the fluid and filter? You might just want to take it over to a quick lube and have it done for $50 to see. Old cold ATF has a tendency to not want to get to the pump. Usually if the seals are that bad it will continue to shift poorly and or leak.
_________________
Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

[D Hook]

I've had three transmissions jobs done at our Aamco shop. Two out of the three have been just fine. The third only lasted about two years.

I've found they seem to charge the same amount for darn near any vehicle that come's in the door; $1200. I had two tranny's done in an '89 t-bird and one in a '76 Ford F-250. Same cost each time.

Try to get the lifetime warranty, if you can. I had the two year warranty I think and that's about the time the tranny went again in the t-bird. It costs a little more but if you plan on keeping the car for any length of time it'll be worth it. It's good at any Aamco in the nation, IIRC.

But before you spend the big money, I'd take it somewhere, maybe a dealer, see if there's a service bulletin on this, have them (or someone) do the fluid change. My Mustang was acting up and everyone I talked to said the whole tranny needed to be rebuilt. Actually turned out to be the MLP switch (manual lever position) that sits on the side of the tranny and was known to short out and make the transmission downshift and upshift mysteriously. A $140 dollar part instead of the whole transmission. This certainly isn't what causing your problem but try the cheap stuff first.

Also, there's probably a BBS for your car. See if someone has had the same problem. That's how I found the problem with the Mustang.

[D Hook]

I did a google search for "Grand Am GT transmission" and there's some info on tranny slipping here:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/f385-1.html

[mustbfaster2]

Thanks for the help guys. I had the car into Aamco a week or 2 ago and had them change the filter/fluid but that didnt help any. I spoke to a mechanic friend of mine and he suggested Bell Transmissions would do a great job and probably be a little bit cheaper. They did some work on my fathers 67 camaro and seem pretty reputable. His car kept slipping out of gear and it turned out being a simple $50 fix.