Someone who knows somethin' about cars

[AboveAverage484]

Tonight I turned right onto a road that goes uphill, and all of a sudden my car went out of drive, then, without any action from me, it goes back into drive. It did it like two more times since then.

 

My only guess is that somehow its slippin into neutral and then back into drive, but I'm not for sure.

[Guest Vitamin X]

You need a new spark plug.

[AboveAverage484]

You need a new spark plug.

Really? I woulda never thought about that without seein' a mechanic.

 

Is this a problem that needs immediate attention? My transmission's not gonna fuck up is it? I got less than two weeks left of school then I'll be back home to my regular mechanic.

[Art Sandusky]

Okay, did the car lose all momentum and start drifting back or did it just slow down or what?

[Vyce]

Yes, there are many questions here. Questions that need answers.

 

When you say it did it "two more times", what were the circumstances? Going up a hill or flat terrain?

 

I don't know, it kind of sounds to me like maybe either your transmission or clutch might be fucked. Does it have a manual transmission? Have you been having trouble changing gears if it is? If it's automatic, have you noticed any trouble with car shifting gears outside of these slipping problems?

 

First thing you might want to do is just check your trans fluid levels.

[AboveAverage484]

Yes, there are many questions here. Questions that need answers.

 

When you say it did it "two more times", what were the circumstances? Going up a hill or flat terrain?

 

I don't know, it kind of sounds to me like maybe either your transmission or clutch might be fucked. Does it have a manual transmission? Have you been having trouble changing gears if it is? If it's automatic, have you noticed any trouble with car shifting gears outside of these slipping problems?

 

First thing you might want to do is just check your trans fluid levels.

The second time was turning onto another road, the third time was just hitting the gas driving out of a gas station parking lot, both on flat roads.

 

The best way to explain is that it felt like it was put in neutral, and then all of a sudden jumped back into drive.

 

The car is automatic and this is the first time I've had any trouble with the gears and whatnot.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Oh wait nevermind. Yeah, your transmission's fucked dude.

 

Eventually what it'll start doing if you don't get it fixed, is everytime you come out of park, you'll hit the gas for a little while and then it'll go KICK! WHAM! into gear. My friends and I called it "da bump" on my old Mustang when it did that, until one day it just refused to even bump so I drove it in reverse to a mechanic.

[LessonInMachismo]

Has anyone ever heard of the secret transmission filter?

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Sounds more like a fuel pump, or plugs/wires.

[Black Lushus]

hopefully it's the fuel pump and not the tranny...either way it's going to be pricey, but the fuel pump is the lesser of two evils...if the tranny goes, you may as well try to get a new car...

[AboveAverage484]

hopefully it's the fuel pump and not the tranny...either way it's going to be pricey, but the fuel pump is the lesser of two evils...if the tranny goes, you may as well try to get a new car...

Fuck that, it's gonna be a new engine for me.

 

Motherfuck, this is just what I need, thanks for the help anyways.

[Black Lushus]

what is the year and make of your car?

[AboveAverage484]

1995 Z-34 Chevy Monte Carlo. I always told myself it would be cheaper to just buy a brand new engine than spend the money on a new car, or another used car that I would have to repair every six months again.

[Black Lushus]

well the problem that a lot of folks..myself included a couple of times...run into is that by the time you plop money into fixing a vehicle, you may as well get a 04 or 05 and pay 300 bucks a month for it...

 

example...I don't have 1000 bucks this month to get a new tranny...and then another 1000 bucks in a couple more months to get something else...I can swing 300 a month on a new or almost new vehicle and not have to worry about this problem...if i get a new vehicle, nothing serious will happen to it within 5 years (which is how long most loans are) and I can either keep it or start all over again...it's all based on income...

[AboveAverage484]

well the problem that a lot of folks..myself included a couple of times...run into is that by the time you plop money into fixing a vehicle, you may as well get a 04 or 05 and pay 300 bucks a month for it...

 

example...I don't have 1000 bucks this month to get a new tranny...and then another 1000 bucks in a couple more months to get something else...I can swing 300 a month on a new or almost new vehicle and not have to worry about this problem...if i get a new vehicle, nothing serious will happen to it within 5 years (which is how long most loans are) and I can either keep it or start all over again...it's all based on income...

Of which I have none, ha.

 

Unless you count 75 dollars a week as income. My parents would have to buy it for me, they already pay my car insurance, they probably wouldn't want to pay 300 a month for a new car.

 

Fucking college.

[Black Lushus]

college...ick...that'll throw my theory off then...best to hit them up for help on fixin your rig then...

[Vyce]

Sounds more like a fuel pump, or plugs/wires.

 

I don't think so. If it was the fuel pump, he'd have problems with even keeping the car running. Plugs / wires would explain a loss of power but not really why the gears seem to be shifting.

 

Best bet is to take it to some shop, or transmission place, and see if they could just check it out for you (hopefully for free). That can be a bit tricky because mechanics aren't altogether trustworthy and so they might tell you that you need a whole lot of work done on it, when who knows if that's the case.

 

Again, check your trans fluid. You could even try draining it (or having it drained) and replaced with new fluid. Also, you could check out a local auto parts store and see if they have a chemical additive that's under the "Lucas" brand of auto chemicals. Lucas has additives for oil, fuel, transmission, etc. You could buy their transmission fluid additive (it comes in single quarts) and put that in there and see if that does anything, as it's supposed to extend the life of your trans and help prevent slips.

[AboveAverage484]

It's shitty because my mechanic that has fixed everything on my car since I've had it is back home, I've got two weeks left of school. If I have a couple days off of work next week I might take it back home to have him check it out.

 

Would oil have anything to do with it? I'm due for an oil change so I was going to take it in for that, plus my car has a leak, usually I'm pretty good about checking it and filling it, but if it ran out of oil the whole engine would lock up, right?

 

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

[Black Lushus]

yeah it's more than just running out of oil...while my wife and i were still in the dating stages, I had the pleasure of driving her car when it ran bone dry of oil...it completely shut down and I had to coast into a, luckily, nearby gas station...

[AboveAverage484]

Yeah, women are bad about shit like that.

 

I haven't had any problems at all today after about 30 minutes total of driving. I'm still gonna take it to a transmission place tomorrow and they're gonna check it out.

 

My transmission fluid was full, btw, but thanks for the suggestion.

[Guest BrokenWings]

This sounds exactly what I went through with my car about six months ago.

 

I had the same symptoms and worries as you, but fortunatly I got lucky.

 

My carburetor (sp?) was messed up. My mechanic took it out, cleaned it up and put it back in there. Told me it'll run for a while longer, but when it goes again that I'll need to get a new one. This was pretty much the best case scenario for me, so I hope you've got something similar.

 

Keep us posted.

[AboveAverage484]

I hope all I need is for it to be filtered out. I never knew you needed that donet o your transmission fluid, I just thought you had to keep it filled.

 

Well, at least you learn something about cars when you have stuff happen to them all the time.

[AboveAverage484]

It did it again tonight and then the anti-lock brake light came on in my car. WTF? Hopefully the guys at Mr. Transmission can sort this mess out.

[AboveAverage484]

Well, apparently they need to take my transmission apart, that alone is gonna cost me 690 big ones, not counting what they're gonna need to replace.

 

Oh well.

[Black Lushus]

Does that include labor? If not, you're really hosed...sorry, no better way to sugarcoat it...

[Guest Vitamin X]

Well, apparently they need to take my transmission apart, that alone is gonna cost me 690 big ones, not counting what they're gonna need to replace.

 

Oh well.

Told ya.

 

$690 isn't too bad, if it includes labor. Supposedly, to fix my air conditioner, Pep Boys wanted to charge me $950 or something ridiculous like that, which would have included the parts and labor... just to fix the fucking compressor.

[Black Lushus]

find someone who loves working on cars and become their friend QUICKLY! I have about 4 like that, sure have come in handy over the years...

[Crimson Platypus]

Yeah my buddy's father-in-law is a mechanic. I get all my repairs at parts cost + 6-pack of Bud-Light. Pretty cheap really.

[AboveAverage484]

My grandpa is the ultimate fuckin' handyman. Fixes tons of shit around the house, built his own deck roof with electricity and fans and shit.

 

Too bad he lives in Birmingham.

[Guest bigshot]

Hey, here's a quick car tip, durring the hot summer months, cars tend to run hotter than usual; which is very bad for the engine... so as a mechanic, what I do to keep them cool is that every time I fill up with gas; I add (precicely - no more, no less) 1/4 of a quart of radiator coolant to the gas tank. it sounds cooky, but it really makes the fuel burn cooler, and in turn makes the machine perform better. WARNING --- if you drive a diesel, you cannot do this, it will damage your engine!!!! diesels are very sensative and cannot have the mixture, however water can be added in the very very hot months... also while this is never an issue for gasoline engines, you can add a small amout of regular grade gasoline to a diesel tank in the very very cold seasons to keep it running (the exact opposite is true of diesel than gasoline --- it burns too cool for very very cold weather) ... okay if I can assist anymore,,, just let me know!!!!! I LOVE THIS SITE!!!!