Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Tranny problem? Stupid mechanics!

No
I was stupid not to take it there.....but just wanted to get it done without driving a certain distance. I paid for it in the long run though.

Thanks to everyone for their help, I will take the car back in the morning and ***** (with a cool head though) and get my money back. I might thrown in the fact that I had to get it towed early this morning on the way home from work. I will then take it to a Chevy dealership!
Thanks!

SAME THING happened to my 98 Contour! Ran great one second, flushed for the second time @ 65K mi., then it ate itself at 72K. It's still down.
I'm convinced that flushes are the root of all xmission evils. BTW, the dealership admitted flushes can be devastating given the right consequences... but they refused to take responsibility for the breakdown.

You are not alone! STAY AWAY FROM ATX FLUSHES!!!

So do you just recommend drain, fill, and filter? I am just curious, and I don't mean to hijack the thred, because it is about that time for me

Yeah, from now on I will be draining and filling. You can pull the drain plug from the tranny and drain 4 qts. of fluid, then fill it back. Drive it around the block, repeat a few times. I think four times. Haven't done this myself yet, so get a second opinion! There's no accessible filter on our cars, so forgeddaboudit!

I thought that rule was that a flush-n-fill keeps a working ATX in good shape, but makes an already broken trans worse? So, if it was performed correctly and your trans breaks afterwards, it was already broken?

It's sorta like tossing the dice. My ATX was fine before the flush, and bear in mind this was my second scheduled flush. Scary thing is, even the dealership who performed the proceedure said it was a risky thing to do to any car. This was after my car started sounding like a coffee grinder!

The flush will churn up any dirt in the case and torque convertor. That's what happened to me. BTW, I flushed my old '91 Nissan Maxima's ATX which was running fine back in '99. Immediately after the flush I had to repair a blown servo seal. The tranny was pouring fluid onto my garage floor. 10K miles later I rebuilt it. I should have learned my lesson. Don't learn the way I did... drain and fill, DON'T FLUSH!

Yeah now you tell me

Everything is working now, but the shop is a bunch of idiots. I had to call the dealership before I went in, to get some info on changing the fluid w/o a dipstick.
They stated, "drain the fluid from the drain plug (one of 2 plugs), change the filter, replace new filter, TURN ENGINE ON, fill with tranny fluid with plug open, when a little bit of fluid starts coming out of the plug, stop. This mean there is enough in there.
The mechanics did it the way I told them and there are no more problems. I told their manager that they should call the dealership and get directions before attempting a vehicle they have never done before. I dont think I should have even had to say anything!

Hmmm, who was it that told you to change the filter? I ask you this because our CD4E trannys don't have one! We've got a screen buried in the case, but you can't remove it w/o taking the tranny out and halving it. Also, when you pull the drain plug only about 1/4 of the total fluid in the ATX will drain out so I don't see where they're coming from saying to pour the fluid in until it pours back out the plug. It'll drain as long as you leave it open .

Anyway, you sound like you're okay. The shop is obviously run by a bunch of dumb@$$es, but I wouldn't worry myself over it. Do check your fluid level, though. Make sure they didn't overfill it.

BTW, I'm not trying to scare you by telling you my horror stories, just trying to help. I think I just have horrible luck!

For one, I dont have a tour anymore I have a '00 Malibu LS and the tranny does not have a dipstick, it has a leveler So, I cannot check it unless I do what I stated in a previous post which is pull the plug.
Also, I thought every tranny had a replaceable filter, just like an oil filter? At least my buddies '97 Intrepid was fairly easy to change.

Malibu?! Oops! I assumed you had a Contique! You're okay, then. If you had a basic pan/filter/fluid change done that's exactly what I would've done. But check this out:

On my way to Grand Lake in Oklahoma last weekend I was following a Dodge Intrepid. We were in a construction zone, doing about 50mph. When the zone ended we began accelerating. Suddenly the Dodge slowed and eased onto the shoulder. I passed it and looked over to see a woman perched up by her steering wheel, peering at the gauges (and looking pretty distraught, I might add).

I pulled off at the next exit for gas and she followed. We parked at the same pump and she popped her hood. Long story short, her tranny was slipping and didn't upshift from the downshift. She told me this was a 2000 model and she couldn't wait to get rid of it. I checked her fluid and it was burnt! I couldn't believe it. The fluid looked and smelled just like mine did.

Out of complete curiosity I asked her if she had her ATX fluid changed recently. Sure enough, she was going from Nebraska to New Mexico and had just had her fluid changed THURSDAY , just the day before !!!

I told her my story and sent her to the nearby Chrysler dealership, wishing her luck. I felt bad for her and didn't want to scare her, but I felt she needed to know what might be going on. This is just another page in my "anti-flush novel". Thanks for reading!