Hello everybody! I have a rather peculiar question....I attempted to change the tranny fluid on my 03 Bonnie yesterday and was unsuccessful in completely doing this without problems. Now the transmission seems to shift but the car does not move one bit!!! I think the problem lies in the fact that when I changed the filter, I don't think I put it on correctly. I read in here that the gasket from the new filter can just be taken off if the old one wasnt removed. When I pulled off the old filter, it came off without any rubber on the piece where it is supposed to connect but the new one clearly had a rubber ring at that site. Please relieve my worried mind and tell me that this is why the tranny isn't moving since I am dreading ghastly repair costs for trying to keep my Bonnie in smooth-running condition. Or, if anyone knows the cure for this, PLEASE advise as to what to do next.

Ok.. this is probably an easy thing.

That rubber piece you mention could be the issue.. Did the filter fit back in snugly? If it went back up in snugly..that is correct.

Have you checked the fluid level and confirmed it is within the hatched marks on the dipstick? You want to make sure the car is parked reasonbly level and check the fluid. After the filter change it should take anywhere from 5-7 quarts of fluid. (or a little over a gallon to almost two full gallons).

Start off there and we'll get this fixed up and running right..

thanks! No, it did not go on the right way, it seemed to hang there. WIll get on that immediately now that the sun is coming out.

Sounds like you found the issue. W/o fluid your trans doesn't work, and if the filter isn't on right..then you aren't getting fluid.

and running the car without fluid flow is a BAD idea, try not to even start the car until you get this fixed or you may encounter some front pump damage

[size=24]Allright guys, I finally got my Bonnie back Thursday night and completely understood what happened until last night. Turns out that although the tranny oil was drained correctly, as was guessed, the original seal from the old filter didn't come out right. That was worked out when I pried it out, which was pretty scary since the aluminum is so easy to damage! So after adding more fluid, it still didn't run. Ended up having to have the car towed to the local dealership, and when I got it back, the service tech mentioned that there was transmission oil in the engine. That was kinda perplexing to me and wrote it off to an excuse for service. Ultimately, knowing that I had done something wrong in the process, I accepted the answer and happily drove home. While cleaning the air filter this weekend, I realized there was another dipstick in the back, this one with a sprocket labeled on it. Then it hit me...THAT'* WHERE THE TRANNY FLUID GOES! I don't know how I could have missed this and althoiugh this turned out to be a pretty costly mistake, it could have ended up a worse (and even more expensive) catastrophe than it did. Hope that my ordeal helps out any other newbies looking for info on how to improve their Bonnie and keep the Pontiac legacy flying high!

i don't think i can express how funny that actually is...i mean seriously...thats hilarious...

so you basically put no trans fluid back in the trans after you drained it, i guess that could be one reason it did not move...lol...wow, this is a serious case of blinker fluid!

glad you got it resolved though, that coulda been a VERY bad thing...

Collier, while you may think this is humorous, I don't. Everyone has to start somewhere, nobody knows it all when they start. I admire our unimportant member for taking the bull by the horns on this one. Most car noobs wouldn't attempt this job.

Unimportant, glad you got it running. The trans fluid in the engine would have caused no long-term damage. Sounds like everything worked out well! That filter seal can be spooky the first time you do it.