My ATX failed strangely at 55,000 miles
My ATX failed strangely at 55,000 miles
I was driving at about 35 MPH, when I heard a strange 'bang' and the tranny began slipping - then I could not move the car at all. I pulled over and followed a trail of tranny fluid back to some parts (a spring and a circlip, a cover plate, and something else, I don't remember what) lying in the road.
I went back to my car and saw an empty orifice at the bottom of my tranny. With the help of a friend, I got some tranny fluid (all had emptied out) and was able to replace the part, spring, cover plate and circlip by compressing the assembly with a small hydraulic jack and working the circlip in with a screwdriver. I refilled the tranny, and amazingly it worked flawlessy and I was able to drive away. However, a week later, when driving down the highway, the same thing happened again.
This time I had the car towed back to the dealer. They ended up installing a brand-new tranny, because they said the casing was damaged at the circlip retainer, so the whole tranny had to be scrapped. Luckily, the car was under warranty so the $3000.00 bill only cost me the $250.00 deductible.
I still have no idea what the part was, or what actually happened. 123,000 miles now with no further tranny problems. The part is highlighted in the diagram below. Can someone tell me what it is, and what could have happened to cause the tranny to violently eject it twice?
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'98 Mystique LS, Duratec, ATX