ptt Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 The wife drives the 90 convertible to work this morning and in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic the car quit moving. She coasted to the shoulder. And let it sit for a few minutes and started it back up and it went into drive normally but didnt go to far before it quit all forward motion. Towed it home and when I checked the trans dipstick it didnt smell burnt but was foamy. I cant tell if its because its to low and foaming or to full as the dipstick is wet/foamy above the full mark. It seems to go into reverse and drive OK but loses forward motion quickly. Thoughts appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Do you hear a whining noise coming from the transmission? That would be an indication of the fluid being low. Have you seen fluid leaks under the car?Is the foam you see red in color or milky looking? If it's milky looking you could be getting water in the transmission due to a bad transmission fluid cooler in the radiator. That rarely occurs but I have known of it happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 One of our pastors at church had that same thing happen. It was as Ronnie described. Red foam kinda looks like a strawberry milkshake. Antifreeze leaking into trans fluid. We ended up swapping out the tranny as the antifreeze ruined it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest steveskyhawk Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 This sounds like another good reason to install a NEW radiator in a 20 plus year old car. Reprogramming the fans and changing the thermostat wont keep coolant out of the trans cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 New radiators are available in The Reatta Store at a good price with free shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazytrain2 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Assuming you've you've owned the vehicle for some time, have you been adding any tranny fluid lately to give concern of being to full? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptt Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Dropped pan and replaced fluid/filter 15K miles ago and havent added any since. If anything it may have been overfilled slightly by a pint. Its showing almost 190K and is possibly the original transmission. Worse case senario...whats a rebuild or new trans going for nowadays??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCReatta Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Dropped pan and replaced fluid/filter 15K miles ago and havent added any since. If anything it may have been overfilled slightly by a pint. Its showing almost 190K and is possibly the original transmission. Worse case senario...whats a rebuild or new trans going for nowadays???New crate 4T60 tenants go for about $1200 from Advance. Though, I have a car with a brand new transmission and rebuilt engine (and radiator since youll probably need that) that I'd let go for $1600. The whole drivetrain has all of 1k on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-a-n-i-e-l Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Sound like a bad tranny pump or low fluid. A replacement is most likely the end result, and 190k is alot on one of these trannys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptt Posted November 29, 2012 Author Share Posted November 29, 2012 Havent gotten time to crawl under it yet but theres a two foot wide puddle of fluid next to the drivers side front wheel since it was towed here. I believe I will replace with a quality rebuild transmission. Jasper has been mentioned so is Jasper good for rebuilt transmissions? Do they require the old trans for a core? Whats fair labor for installation? Just had to happen around the holidays.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I wouldn't jump the gun. The fluid loss might be as simple as a hole in the line from the transmission to the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kingsley Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Although my fluid loss did not approach the level that you have apparently experienced, I had a similar fluid leak - seal related - at the point where the axle entered the side cover of the tranny. Not that difficult to do and with a little patience it's workable. Initally tried for an OE GM seal and it was not correct so went to local FLAPS and secured it. No more leaks.Bear in mind that my tranny problem was limited to the leak only and it never stopped functioning correctly prior to the seal change. Very wise to have the FSM as a guide.Kingsley'89 and '90 CoupesMember BCA and Reatta Divisionwww.reattaspecialtyparts.com See our website for information on our two models of the headlight motor crank arm and parts kits. Also, Sun Visor Clips and EZ On convertible tops for the '90 and "91 convertibles. In addition to having Reatta parts of the highest quality, we excell in customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiner 55 Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Ptt,This may be a long shot but since you mentioned the driver's side...On the transmission case where the output shaft connects to the CV joint of the half-shaft there are six hex nuts that screw on to six studs protruding out from the case. If those nuts are loose, TX fluid will leak out freely. I believe a 10mm wrench/socket fits the nuts. The best way to view these six nuts is to remove the Drivers Side wheel and either remove the plastic splash guards or just push them out of the way and, with a bright light and maybe an inspection mirror, look where the half-shaft mounts to the case. As was mentioned in a earlier post, this is where the shaft seal is located. If it were a seal, there would probably be a drip, drip, drip. With the nuts loose it would probably dribble. As mentioned earlier, if the trans was run dry, there is probably internal damage done. But, if you find/fix the leak, drop a couple of pints of Tx fluid in, for a cupala bux you might just be back on the road again.Chances that these nuts are loose aren't likely but, you never know. I bought a Reatta from a guy who sold it because the transmission leaking. It was the last straw for him and he wasn't going to spend another 2k on having the Tx replaced. Those six nuts were the cause of the leak. I changed the seals while I had the car up on stands. Cost of the seals was under $20.00.John F. Edited November 30, 2012 by Machiner 55 Added Chances.. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptt Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 When I checked the fluid level after it was towed home I warmed it up and at idle I checked the fluid and it was foamy (but not milky) above the full mark quite a ways. Warm weather this weekend so instead of pushing it in the garage I can take a look at it where it sits in the driveway. I will post followup with results. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I would check it cold, warming it up may have caused it to suck air and fluid causing it to foam, plus it can't be good to run it with that much fluid missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptt Posted December 3, 2012 Author Share Posted December 3, 2012 (edited) I finally got to take a look at the transmission today. Cold fluid level showing about a pint and a half low on the dipstick. Checked the half a dozen bolts around the drivers side axle and they showed leakage and fluid looked to be baked on the housing over time. I added to the full line after warmup and drove around the block. It seemed to hang in LOW and then no forward power...just like it went to neutral. In LOW gear it accelerates normally under acceleration but just builds RPMs like its not going to shift then no forward propulsion! Reverse is good. I was wondering if the shift modulator could be out? Grabbing at straws but hoping. Edited December 3, 2012 by ptt (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Richard D Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I am no transmission person but it sounds like when it was run with low fluid it did bad things to itself. From what I have read 190,000 miles is a good number for these transmissions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptt Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 As far as low on fluid...I only had to add one quart to bring level to the full line. Something is definately wrong. My last hope is if it is the modulator but that hope is fading fast.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 As far as low on fluid...I only had to add one quart to bring level to the full line. Something is definately wrong. My last hope is if it is the modulator but that hope is fading fast....Unlike motor oil, a pint of transmission fluid can make the difference of an automatic transmission being too full or too being low... Low enough to start slipping. Slipping is what destroys the transmission. Good reason to check it often if you detect a leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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