How do I know if my front clutches are going out?

Question

I have a 99 Pontiac Sunfire with 60,000 miles 3 speed automatic I was told my front clutches were going out and it will cost 1,300.00 to fix When I excelerate to take off in drive it will hardly go, but if I continue real slow it will finally take off and goes fine down the highway, when it first starting doing this the car would shake real bad when I would try to excelerate, now it just feels like the gears are slipping no more shaking,

Answer 1

I own a transmission shop, and can tell you plain and simple; Yes you have got to get it repaired, because it is burned up. All the symptoms you described are classic symptoms. The price you was quoted is right in line with a rebuild now days. High, yes but when you consider you will have a new transmission that is good to go, it doesn't sound that bad. FYI, there are some cheaper routes one can go, and you may want to consider them. One: A good low mileage used transmission may be what the doctor ordered here. You can get a used one out of a low mileage wrecked vehicle that would work for a long time, maybe even the life of your vehicle. 60,000 miles is not what I would call the life of a transmission! Was it ran low on fluid, and caused it to burn up? Another thing that will get them is heat. 90% of all burned up transmissions is caused from overheating. Driving up hills a lot will cause them to overheat, as well as towing trailers. You may want to consider adding an outside cooler to aid in keeping it cool. Your radiator has the transmission cooler in part of it, so if the engine runs hot to begin with, it causes the life of your transmission to deplete also. Adding a cooler (about $60) will do wonders for any transmission. A lot of parts stores have gotten into the game of selling remanufactured transmissions, but beware there is a big difference between a remanufactured, and a rebuilt transmission. These transmissions have been gone through, and they just replace the components that are shot, and put back many parts that would normally be replaced in a rebuild job, so be careful as to what you are getting. I wonder if you haven't got a bad radiator too? One that is burned up, can always be traced back to a reason such as a bad or plugged up radiator, so beware of the cause of yours going out. Unless you find the cause, then you will be replacing the next one due to it burning out too. Add the cooler, and you won't have to worry. If you decide to have this one rebuilt, MAKE SURE they flush the cooler out, or it will burn up the next one. ANY fragment of metal inside the cooler can damage the new one, and cause catastrophic failure.
Glad to help out, Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

Yes, what you describe sounds like the tranny is going...but..before you shell the money. Let's check something or have it checked. Have you ever changed the transmission fluid and filter? No,,bad. Is it full of bright shinny red oil..Brown..bad. A good HONEST mechanic can check the actual pressures to the clutches on a rack to see if you are getting proper pressures. Could be debris in the relief valve or the control valve is not sending the proper pressure to the clutches, Control valve can be fixed by GOOD personnel, but if you keep driving it, you WILL damage the clutches to the point that it will have to be rebuilt. Many people and tranny shops will tell you, that it maybe too late now to change the fluid, but you might try. Not that hard to do or expensive.
Good Luck and God Bless...I do not care if PC or not!!

Answer 3

Yep Its Transmission Time....Buy A Good Warraty...Thats What Ur shopping For Competetive Prices And The Best Warranty You Can Get..."DAWG"

Answer 4

The shaking (sounding like riding on thie grid marks on the side of the road) was probably your torque converter going out , and since that was not fixed it burnt up the transmission clutches, so now you need a total overhaul

Answer 5

Yup, sounds like you have burnt up the clutch pack or packs inside the trans. When something like this happens, you will need a complete overhaul with a new torqe convertor or a complete replacement trans. along with a flush of the cooler system as there will be black fluid and bits inside of it that have to come out so as not to enter the new or rebuilt trans. Good luck.

Answer 6

From what I have seen, they are pretty cheaply made. You can hold them in one hand and hold an original one in your other hand and feel the difference in quality. I'm sure there are some decent ones out there so you just have to look around.