Hello Everyone,

I have a 94 LS with just under 150k on the clock. I've never had any trans issues until recently, and I'm a bit unsure how to proceed. It began making an odd grinding sound on startup that would quickly go away. It sounds similar to putting a pop can on your bike tire. We determined the sound was coming from the bellhousing (great). After some research, I determined it could be a bad starter with a sticky bendix gear.

I was wrong. My trans decided it was done. Started slipping in all gears, only grabs hard briefly at 3500rpm or so then lets go again. Can only get about 25mph regardless of rpm. Had a faint, strange smell of ...cooking apples maybe? Not very stinky. Fortunately I was almost to my destination.

Here's where I get confused... My​ first thought was torque converter. Strangely, my fluid still looks good. Smells fine also. It is at the proper level. As far as I know, the right stuff is in there. I've only refilled a small amount a few years ago when changing my rad out. If it isn't the right stuff, 7 years of ownership was a long time to find out. Wouldn't the fluid be totally cooked if my TC died? Is it possible this is the lockup solenoid failing or some other issue like a filter? ECU, that weird trunk harness? I tried to pull codes and there were none (yes the cel and o/d lights work).

Thanks!

 

I won't guarantee this will fix your problem, but you can start simple by changing the 2 quarts in the transmission pan and the filter to see if it improves or resolves the issue

Do NOT perform a full transmission flush or try to exchange the entire transmission fluid capacity. Only change what is in the pan periodically

Do you know anything about the service history of the transmission?

 

Thanks. I have resolved to check my ecu caps and trunk harness first, as anything involving dropping the pan requires a tow. My condo hoa wouldn't be pleased. The holidays haven't really given me much time. I would be pleased if replacing fluid did the trick, but I have my reservations. I of course will try it when I can.

The service history is largely unknown on this car. I've put maybe 35K miles on it. When I got it the rad fluid was wrong/low, the oil was dirty, the fan clutch seized, brakes smoked, bad uca, tired serp pulleys, etc. So it was a bit neglected. Probably should've changed the atf eh? Looked clean lol.