Hi all
My dad's old commuter, a '95 Chrysler Cirrus LXi recently had its transmission puke (150k miles.) Reverse it toast but it runs like a champ going forward. He gave me the car to do what I want with it and I'm taking the opportunity to learn more about automatics by attempting a rebuild. I'm an avid DIY-er, and specialize in keeping old Jaguars alive- I've just never done an automatic transmission. Before I ramble some more, my question is, can a malfunctioning solenoid pack "murder" a transmission? In this case, the there is a low-reverse solenoid. Can it get stuck and kill reverse?
Some background. When the transmission acted up, dad said he was pulling out into traffic somewhat briskly when he heard alot of grinding and the car stopped accelerating. He pulled off to the side, shut the car down and did the usual under-hood checks. He got back in the car, started it up, put it in gear and everything seemed fine- so he drove it home with no issues.
When he got home, he backed it into the driveway but after that, reverse was gone.
So, now the transmission is out of the car and all the end-play and thrust clearances on the dif and shafts are within spec (on the high-side, but within spec.)
Now I have the tranny all apart (there isn't much to 'em!) and clearly the reverse clutches are toasted with no friction material left and the steels are black, warped and full of heat cracks. The clutch drum is also dinged up and needs replacement. The fluid was always changed every 30k (I did the work) but it's pretty black now and full of clutch particals (not surprising)
So, with the hard parts in good shape I'm thinking I'll just do a soft-parts rebuild and get a new torque converter. Since this is purely educational, if things don't go well, I'll just get a used transmission. So, does anyone have any other suggestions? Maybe someone with some experience in these things? Is there something I *should* change since its all apart anyway (besides EVERYTHING since these tranaxles are supposedly such notorious garbage ) I'm concerned that I'll do this work and something external might murder the transmission again (like a malfunctioning solendoid pack)- but then my fears may be unfounded.
Thanks for any suggestions...
Kev
My dad's old commuter, a '95 Chrysler Cirrus LXi recently had its transmission puke (150k miles.) Reverse it toast but it runs like a champ going forward. He gave me the car to do what I want with it and I'm taking the opportunity to learn more about automatics by attempting a rebuild. I'm an avid DIY-er, and specialize in keeping old Jaguars alive- I've just never done an automatic transmission. Before I ramble some more, my question is, can a malfunctioning solenoid pack "murder" a transmission? In this case, the there is a low-reverse solenoid. Can it get stuck and kill reverse?
Some background. When the transmission acted up, dad said he was pulling out into traffic somewhat briskly when he heard alot of grinding and the car stopped accelerating. He pulled off to the side, shut the car down and did the usual under-hood checks. He got back in the car, started it up, put it in gear and everything seemed fine- so he drove it home with no issues.
When he got home, he backed it into the driveway but after that, reverse was gone.
So, now the transmission is out of the car and all the end-play and thrust clearances on the dif and shafts are within spec (on the high-side, but within spec.)
Now I have the tranny all apart (there isn't much to 'em!) and clearly the reverse clutches are toasted with no friction material left and the steels are black, warped and full of heat cracks. The clutch drum is also dinged up and needs replacement. The fluid was always changed every 30k (I did the work) but it's pretty black now and full of clutch particals (not surprising)
So, with the hard parts in good shape I'm thinking I'll just do a soft-parts rebuild and get a new torque converter. Since this is purely educational, if things don't go well, I'll just get a used transmission. So, does anyone have any other suggestions? Maybe someone with some experience in these things? Is there something I *should* change since its all apart anyway (besides EVERYTHING since these tranaxles are supposedly such notorious garbage ) I'm concerned that I'll do this work and something external might murder the transmission again (like a malfunctioning solendoid pack)- but then my fears may be unfounded.
Thanks for any suggestions...
Kev