tranny's gone

[95grandamgt3100]

so i was goin down the highway and the speedometer needle stated jumpin from 65 to 40 and back till finally it just dropped to 0 and i had no clue how fast i was goin anymore. the tachometer is redlining and the tranny isnt shifting. i make it home since i was only like 3 miles away, and smoke is just pouring out of the engine. i got a flashlight and theres tranny fluid all over everything. directly below the alternator theres a 2 inch gap where the metal on a piece of metal from the tranny to the tire just split and theres no tranny fluid whatsoever in my car. theres also a wiring harness cover(that black cover that goes over wires) above this ***** of metal with no wires in it and its split. the first that that happened was as i was gettin on the highway i hit the gas and the rpm's jumped but the spedo didn't. a few miles later the spedo was jumpin and so on. can anyone tell me exactly what that metal piece that is split is? (it looks like it goes to the passenger side front tire fromthe tranny)

[rixGAphx]

The only metal thing that goes from the passenger wheel to the tranny is the axle shaft. At each end it has a rubber boot which has some ridges like an accordian. Could be mistaken for a rubber cover over electrical stuff, but I'll bet it's down near the lower rear of the engine where there aren't any electrical devices and few wires.

This boot is the CV joint cover, and it's normally filled with grease.

How do you know you have no tranny fluid? You can only check when the engine is running and in 'N'.

It's quite possible that the CV joint broke, and it exploded the boot and flung hot grease all over everything.

When an axle (or CV joint) breaks, the engine and transmission will try to spin both front wheels. Since one wheel is disconnected (broken axle = no connection to wheel), there is very little power getting to the good axle and drive wheel.

It's also possible that you blew/broke the side off the transaxle, and that the tranny fluid actually ran out.

Replacing CV's and axles is a bit complicated even for a trained mechanic, and special tools are required.
Do not attempt to drive the vehicle.

Let everything cool down overnight. In the morning, cover the alternator with a plastic bag, and hose everything off to clean the grease.
Take some photos and post them, if you can.

And arrange for a tow to a repair shop, this is gonna take a pro and $$$.

Good luck.
-Rick

[gagt98driver]

I'm with Rix on the CV joint /axle shaft. Its probably grease all over. Had the tranny itself broken and started leaking fluid you wouldn't have made it more than a few blocks before the fluid had completely emptied out.

However, the fact that you drove after the CV joint broke could have possibly caused actual damage to the transmission... rule of thumb is... car acting goofy stop driving it right now before you cause more damage.

Also did you have to continue to readline the engine to make it home?

[95grandamgt3100]

it would redline to like 6500 before it would finally shift, and that was at like 60 mph. when i stopped at a stop sign and started going it shifted but it was very hard and it jerked pretty bad. as i was givin it gas it wouldnt go anywhere for like 3 seconds and then the tranny would finally catch and start going.

[95grandamgt3100]

does anyone have a diagram of this area so i can figure out which piece is broken?

[95grandamgt3100]

ok i've talked to my friend and he said he too thinks its just the cv joint, so im gonna have it towed and fixed. the dealership wants $250 for parts and labor on the cv joint, is this a good price?

[wiccanferret]

Get a shop to fix it, not the dealership. Dealerships are bad, mmkay?