QuestionWow, thanks for the quick follow up.
I ended up taking the eclipse to an AAMCO Tranny shop (w/ Free Diagnostic Coupon :) , and he later told me that my transmission fluid was mixed with water :(. Funny thing is, my problem was mainly that the car wasn't switching gears, but he fixed that problem somehow. But then he warned me that my transmission is in big trouble, and will probably need a $2000 repair. I rejected that and decided to take the car home.
The only problem was, 2 miles before my house, it went ugly. WHen I tried accelarating, the gear would just suddenly "drop off" like it was on neutral, but really on D. So now basically, it drops out of gear.
I'm ready to accept whatever happens, and if I have to junk, then I guess that's how it goes. But my next step is to flush the fluid and replace the tranny filter.
One more question sorry, on my instructions manual it says that when I bolt the bolts back on the oil pan, I need to make sure the torque is right using the right Specifications... Is that an important step? Because I don't currently own that kind of tool, so I was wondering if it made a big difference.
Thanks, and sorry for the length :(,
Yuriy
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Followup To
Question -
Couple months ago, I got into an accident. When I drove home from the towing, my car was changing gears perfectly. After the car was sitting awhile, and after I fixed the cooling system (from the collision: radiator, condensor, fans), the car had gear problems.
It goes from 1st gear to 2nd gear fine, but then it gets stuck in that gear, and can't shift to the next one. The RPMs keep going up, and no gear change.
As I said, it was driving fine before I started fixing the cooling system, but now the gears don't change properly. By the way, WHen I was fixing cooling system, some trans fluid leaked, so I added more. My next step is to replace the Trasnmission Filter.. But what if the filter doesn't help, what could be the problem?
Answer -
Yuriy,
It's possible the gear cabling became misadjusted during the installation of the cooling system. Be sure all the cables are properly seated on the transmission and it has the proper level of fluid in it. It may just be a coincidence that the transmission started showing problems after the front end damged was fixed. It is a good idea to drain the fluid and replace the filter to be sure this is not just a simple fluid problem, but if the problem persists afterwards, you may need a transmission shop to inspect the problem. You may even want to consider having a tranny shop inspect your transmission first, since they may have to drain your tranny system any to inspect it.
Good luck!
AnswerYuriy,
Spending $2000 on an 11 year old car is probably not in your best interest. It would probably be best to put that kind of money towards a newer car.
Replacing that oil pan bolts with the proper torque is important. There is usually a partern you need to tighten down the bolts in as well (alternating opposite sides). A torque wrench is suggested, and it will indicate the proper torque. A torque wrench is actually not that expensive. You can probably get one for about $20. But you can rent one for free if you have an AutoZone in your area. They rent many specialty tools for free.
Good luck!
