Tranny issue

[Bluefire16]

Hey all so ive kinda searched but not been able to come up with much, i have a 99 gst Automatic! Driving the other day, not pushing it real hard just doing like 100.... was in a little rush but neways i see a little white smoke in my rear view mirror, i thought it was the gas then i notice a smell and suddenly i see smoke outta the engine area so i hit the brakes and pull over. The tranny is smoking and leaking bad..... I managed to get it in a gear and drive it a couple miles to the garage and then it was towed.... any ideas? And wats a used tranny run to get for this car? THANKS GUYS!

 

[Bluefire16]

It was leaking from right under the tranny, im hoping its just a seal......

 

[ummdsmwhat]

mine did the same thing and it was leaking out of the axle seal on the passenger side. i replace the seal twice and it just kept leaking. then it finally blew. go with a stage 3 rebuild from john shepp....mine was a 5 speed tho.

 

[twicks69]

Your best bet will be to get a remanufactured transmission for your specific model year from a transmission rebuilder.

John Shepherd cannot help you -- he does not rebuild automatics.

IPT Transmissions makes race transmissions for automatics, but they aren't cheap. As well, it would only be a worthy investment for an upgraded valve body or if you were AWD.

You could have a few issues with your transmission; cracked case, trashed axle seal, or more likely...hole in bell housing caused from the front differential buzz-sawing it from wheel hop, causing it to shift and hit the bellhousing.

The cheapest route is to completely replace the transmission if this is the case. You will need the transmission removed and inspected prior to making any purchases.

What you can do is remove the transmission inspection plate located next to the engine oil pan, attached to the lower portion of the transmission bell housing. It should be 3 bolts holding the piece of sheet metal on, and once removed you will have an inspection area showing you the ring gear. If transmission fluid is leaking out of this area, you will have damage to your front differential hitting the bell housing, or a torque convertor seal leaking, or a damaged torque convertor.

Either way, it needs to be pulled.

Here is a good Ebay ad for a 99 GST Auto transmission : eBay Motors: 95-99 Eclipse Talon GST TSI FWD automatic transmission (item 230259798880 end time Jun-13-08 18:43:48 PDT) $450


Good luck.

 

[Bluefire16]

I brought it into a shop in Lansing (Performance Transmissions Inc) The guys been doing trannys for 30 years, and i got a call yesterday. Doesnt look like anything serious according to him. The tranny didnt break and there is know debris but he only got to pull a little of it apart..... ill keep ya posted

 

[jusroln]

Where specifically was the smoke coming from and where was the leak? The only smoke I would think coming from a tranny would be if you sprayed fluid out onto the exaust or turbo. Have you ran over anything or hit a pot hole/ spead bump recently? I though I had had every known problem with an AT transmission but I have never had it smoke.

 

[Bluefire16]

Well, i think it was just the tranny fluid spraying while i was on the highway and i think it was touching the brakes and or turbo (hot parts of the car) so thats why there was smoke, but the smoke came from the tranny area and the leak was right under the tranny, like the seal part of it where the thign bolts up.

 

[twicks69]

Well, i think it was just the tranny fluid spraying while i was on the highway and i think it was touching the brakes and or turbo (hot parts of the car) so thats why there was smoke, but the smoke came from the tranny area and the leak was right under the tranny, like the seal part of it where the thign bolts up.

You need to be a little more specific than "like the seal part of it where the thign bolts up".... Do you mean where the transmission bell housing is attached to the engine? Do you mean an axle seal? Did you even pull off the inspection plate like I described earlier? If you transmission fluid is hitting the turbo or the brakes, you are really sending it pretty darn far; it is more likely going to be leaking onto the downpipe causing it to burn off and cause the smoke you were describing.

Have you pulled the transmission off of the car and inspected it? What did your mechanic take apart (Performance Transmissions Inc)? Did he just pull off the transmission oil pan/filter area? Did he actually remove the transmission from the vehicle? Was the inspection plate removed? Where specifically was the fluid leaking out of?

This isn't rocket science; I have pretty much described the issues it could potentially be in my previous post. Your answers are very vague.

 

[Bluefire16]

Ha sorry, im not gonna lie when i say im not familiar with transmissions. But i just spoke with the mechanic again, he pulled it out and nothing seems to be wrong, nothing is damaged or destroyed. He cant find anything mechanically wrong, at this point he believes its something electrical and hes having it sent over today to the Dealership. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

 

[twicks69]

Ha sorry, im not gonna lie when i say im not familiar with transmissions. But i just spoke with the mechanic again, he pulled it out and nothing seems to be wrong, nothing is damaged or destroyed. He cant find anything mechanically wrong, at this point he believes its something electrical and hes having it sent over today to the Dealership. Hopefully this will be fixed soon.

How does an electrical issue cause you to: "The tranny is smoking and leaking bad..... I managed to get it in a gear and drive it a couple miles to the garage and then it was towed."

Are you sure it was even automatic transmission fluid (red) leaking?

Did you physically see the transmission out of your vehicle?

If not, you are going to learn a good lesson with this problem. I cannot wait to see what your bill is for towing, his labor charges, and then the dealership.

 

[Bluefire16]

Its all under warranty and the tow is free ( and YES I NO IT WAS TRANS FLUID, I CHECKED IT MYSELF) and it was only 75 bucks the rest is covered. I cannot explain the "electrical" issue, he went into it in great detail though and they are sure that have found whats wrong. (Im not savy enough to understand though and we only talked brief) But bro, you can chill out a little geeze.....

 

[Bluefire16]

The car is getting a tranny rebuild, the original shop didn't full pull it apart enough. But it should be done by Thursday... i hope

 

[Bluefire16]

Tranny was rebuilt and runs a lot nicer now, haha but now since i got it back the speed sensor took a crap. It was fine when i picked it up and drove it home, then started it the next morning and the speedometer doesnt read anything now. Im checking the sensor hopefully i just came loose.

 

[evileclipse909]

Ya it probly did come loose if the shop didnt put the little metel clip that goes around the connector back in.

 

[Bluefire16]

Well i tried to "reconnect it" thinking it came undone or loose. But this seems to no have helped. It worked completely fine before I had the tranny rebuilt, so is it possible it died now and i need a new VSS? Or is there any other ideas you guys? Should i try to pull the thing out and reconnect it?

 

[Bluefire16]

All is fixed and done and car is running fine again...ugh the worst month of my life