Transmission problem

[AB-SX4]

Hi everyone,
My 82 Eagle Ltd is having issues again. Today the transmission quit in the middle of the city in lots of traffic. Lots of fun.
No gear works. Pushed it to the side of the road and turned it off for a while. Checked fluid. Fluid looked ok. Turned on again after about 30 minutes and car drove for about 3km. Uphill there was a shudder, almost like stalling. Then same thing again at the next set of lights. No gear will engage. Got a friend to pick us up with a trailer. Got it started and moved behind the trailer, then no go again. Pushed it onto the trailer. At home it engaged in reverse to back off the trailer. Tranny makes a pretty awful sound like not being fully engaged.
Had some slippage between 2nd and 3rd in the past when not accelerating fully under load, but never slipped when accelerating fast.

Any ideas?

It only has 128,000 kms (not miles) on it right now. Tranny was serviced with filter change and band adjustment 30,000 km ago.

[mudkicker715]

it sounds like your transfer case slipped into false neutral

[AB-SX4]

I don't know much about trannys (yet). How would I go about fixing that?

[mudkicker715]

http://amceaglesden.com/guide/index.php?search=false+neutral&go=Go

[AB-SX4]

Thank you so much!

[AB-SX4]

Well, unfortunately this is not a false neutral problem. The transfer case and the vacuum system work perfectly fine.
The noise is coming from the bell-housing. Our suspicion is the oil pump in the tranny or the torque converter, but more likely the pump.  If this Eagle had not been in an accident years ago fixing the tranny would be the way to go. But in this case I will be looking at another Eagle this weekend.
I may still talk to a transmission shop to get a quote.
It's really too bad. Love this Eagle. The interior is in such nice shape.

[Amc1320]

That's bad news, sorry

However the 998 is a pretty easy transmission to rebuild in case you go that direction. You could also upgrade to a newer transmission out of a Cherokee with a little modification

[AB-SX4]

A few years back my husband would have done this right away. But now he's so busy building houses, he's just exhausted after work. I'd have to find someone else to do it.

[DaemonForce]

It's really not that hard to overhaul an A-998. I'm pretty stupid about car parts and even I managed to overhaul one over 2 days. In your case it sounds like no gear works...Pay extremely close attention to your VALVE BODY. With any luck that's all you have to mess with.

[AB-SX4]

Thanks everyone. We know that it won't be that hard to fix the tranny, but my husband just can't so it right now and I can't do it by myself. So we parked the Eagle for now and are thinking of working on it during the winter when construction period is done.

In the mean time we have picked up a 1988 Eagle in very good condition for a price that was reasonable considering the condition. Most expensive Eagle we ever bought., but worth it.
It still needs some TLC like wheel bearing front driver's side, headlight adjustment as they are better suited for picking flowers right now, replace some missing vacuum lines and some electrical issues. But all that is really minor and the body is in really great shape without a single dent. We were very lucky to find it so close by from a lovely elderly couple.

[A-A EAGLE]

Sounds like a clogged ATF filter. Renew it, put new oil in and see. I think the problem will be solved with that.

Anjo
Holland

[carnuck]

I agree. Drop the pan and if the filter isn't clogged, I lay odds the valvebody is gummed up. I always add a can of STP engine oil treatment to my Mopar style trans to keep them operating correctly. The noise you hear may be a cracked flexplate, loose starter or the bolts may have fallen out of the converter and it only moves on friction driving the trans when the crank is cool enough to grip the converter hub. Another possibility is the front pump pressure regulator is jamming open and dropping line pressure.....


OH! Make sure the trans cooler in the rad isn't clogged! That's what did the same thing in my Jeep pickup!

[AB-SX4]

Yes, the filter is probably clogged. But it has not been in the Eagle for long. We did put a new one in after we bought it and did not put that many miles on it since. It had metal shavings in the pan though and the slippage between 2nd and 3rd when not under load, was not solved by adjusting the bands.
So some time this winter i hope we can get the tranny out and rebuild it ourselves, since the last quote I got from a shop in Calgary way $2,800!

The real bugger though is that the tranny on my new to me $2,500 Eagle is starting to act up as well!
It is a 1988 Eagle with 180,000 km on it, non lock up torque converter of course, and reverse is starting to go it seems. Sometimes it engages sometimes not. Sometimes it engages and then while driving it stops working. the engagement always seems weak, compared to the forward gears.
Checked the shift linkage, fluid level (seems like it has air bubbles though despite the fluid looking good otherwise) and adjusted the throttle linkage. We had a false neutral issue that we fixed as well. Vacuum lines were melted through. Every time that we worked on it, it worked fine for a few times after that, then a few days later, same crap again with reverse not engaging.
Any ideas?
I think it may be the valve body or the front clutch.

[carnuck]

No filter. The transmission cooler in the rad turns into a cork in the cooling system on these cars. Large diameter fitting going in and small coming out. It took me a long time to clean mine out. I had to take the fitting off the rad (I hate doing that because they never seem to seal right again without Gaskacinch) and flush back and forth till it was clear. The crud from the old trans hides in there and either comes loose and ruins the new trans (it bypasses the filter) or plugs solid and cooks the new trans.

[carnuck]

On the reverse not engaging, if the trans cooler isn't plugged (that lowers line pressure, which causes slippage too) then the rear band needs adjusting or the bore is scuffed badly. You are checking level in neutral warmed up? I also add a can of STP engine oil treatment (or the more expensive, but nearly identical Lucas trans treatment which also has seal softeners I don't like) while the pan is off (easiest time to pour it) and it increases the life of these trans. When I worked for A & B trans in Cloverdale, BC (back before Mt St Helens blew up) we built 727s for the RCMP and that was one of the tricks they did to help the trans last longer.