Thread: lost all gears and stuck in gear 1!!!

i already PMed dave. a couple of the guys over CGP, specifically 3800SE, suggested since the trans is sitting around i can go ahead and upgrade the clutches as well as upgrad the 4th gear hub. now i hoenstly say im a full tranny noob, if i can piece the parts from trannyman-dave and have a reputable shop installed the parts(also need to know what they are lol), will i be looking at spending alot?

Parts wise, if you just get a rebuild kit from Dave and a hardened 4th clutch hub shaft, if you spend $350 Id be surprised. Well I say that and I dont recall exactly what I paid for my rebuild kit. But if you speak with Dave you arent going to get steered wrong, thats for sure. Whats going to get you is the cost of the local shop doing the work for you. And if you are going into it that far then you might as well make sure the valve body has all the updates that it needs. Conservatively speaking, you'd probably have $1000 into it if you get everything from Dave and have a local shop do the work.

But again, Im not the expert on this, Im just speaking from generalizations in my small experience and path of rebuilding my tranny.

WOW.....thats expensive :-(

Well like I said, Im thinking more on the conservative side. But if you have $350 in the rebuild kit and 4th hub shaft, valve body updates are going to run a couple hundred, then the labor with the local shop installing everything.

I suppose its possible that you could get buy without doing the valve body updates, but my philosophy is if you are going to do it, then might as well do all you can to ensure you dont have to tear into the thing again anytime soon.

true...just didnt know it'd end up costing almost to the same amount i'd put into the motor itself lol ^_^;...maybe i can buy the proper parts and wait a week when my funds replenish then have the shop install them then wait another week and have the other shop where my car's at and install the tranny then....poo

Thats what Ive been doing. I am never on ClubGP anymore other than to troll the classifieds. What I cant find there Ive been saving for and buying. Each payday I set aside a little to spend and if I dont find what Im looking for then I just keep it saved and wait until the next payday. All I have left to get is my single chain and the valve body taken care of and I'll be ready to rip into mine.

yea same here, i troll the other topics as well as classified and occasioanlly help out a few members under the pcm and tuning but thats about it.

IIRC, the shavings was mostly black/gray nothing bronze or gold.

heres are a couple pics of what he showed me when he drained the tranny and took out from the pan.



what do u think it could be? he and i think the chain broke and that caused the car to not be able to go into any gears. but thats just a guess.

Look like chain links to me.

Ouch! Definately links from a chain! There are two chains in the trans, you did say the trans was stick in gear 1 in the original post and thread.... sorry its been a while since this thread started and i couldnt remember if you meant stuck in postion 1 or just in 1st gear. I guess one chain could have let go and the other one is nursing the trans along but its not a big deal really since you already have a replacement. If you need any assistance or parts just let us know

thanks guys. i should mention, that the reason it was stuck in gear 1 was due to the gear lever was out of place. the car had no gears at all once i was able to manually shift it into neutral then to park. so im guessing the main chain, 15/16 chain broke? if so, what am i looking at in terms of getting it fixed? trannyman, im planning on saving this trans and hoping to go forward and getting the master pack and hardened 4th gear hub as well as another chain(oem 15/16 or something else?) installed instead of the one that'll be installed into the car(long story). i'll keep u and others posted though.

Originally Posted by fst

so im guessing the main chain, 15/16 chain broke?

Stock the transmission comes with two chains. I don't know what their added diameter is. They are offset just slightly so that the sound of one chain hitting the sprocket is canceled out by the other chain, so the tranny makes less noise.

o ok, i think i understand lol

Honestly, I don’t know. When I lost gear in OD and pulled to the shoulder I shifted down to each gear to see if it’ll engage. I worked down from OD-3-2-1 and still no gears engaged. Then when I tried to shift up back to park, it wouldn’t. so my key was stuck because the gear selector was still in gear 1. Later on I ended up popping the hood and manually shift the lever from gear 1 to neutral, went back into the car and started it up again, and was able to put it in park.

I got the old trans from the mechanic and its sitting in the garage. Im awaiting some time aside and plan on opening it up and see if the damage(s) are present. However, I need to read up on the tranny internals before I open the tranny up.

Ct tech, again, I honestly don’t know if just the chain broke and if everything else is alright.

well i just noticed whenever i turn the steering wheel to make a tight right turn i hear/feel a clunking/popping sound that makes my ears and gut tremble. it 'sounds' like its on the passenger side but its hard to diagnose when the car's moving(tried it in park but only got it once). it sounds like once i straighten the wheel or make a left turn it corrects itself, but then once i make a tight right i hear/feel it again. i jacked the car up on the passenger side and moved the wheel left/right/up/down and felt very little play. my next theory is a bad cv boot or cv joint? any ideas as well as how to check it? thanks in advance!!!