Just thought since I haven't been around a whole lot, i'd update everyone on my wonderful transmission status.

Well, the transmission lost 1st totally. Unfortunately I cannot get it to engage into 1st... but sometimes i think I have it, but all it does is stall the car [??]. Oh well. I have 2nd gear starts and finishes. It doesn't work out well at all, because I have a 45* angled driveway and the car won't go up in 2nd, but she will in reverse [PITA btw]. So she is no longer driven. Parked behind the garage under her comfy cover.

I want to try a few things on the transmission before rebuilding it [a line pressure test prooved the pump is why the transmission sucks hardcore, it'* nothing to do with anything but that damn pump]. I'm trying to figure out some ways of perhaps boosting line pressure somehow [TV Cable maxed out, and vacuum modulator modified to constantly give max pressure too], something that'll do it. It all explains why it does what it does [sometimes the car will drop out of gear if coasting at high speed, and the engine will go from 4k to 1k instantly then if i rev the engine it'll free rev till 3k then it'll hook up and totally throw you in your seat [it doesn't feel like an N-bomb, it'* a smooth transition, but if I have my foot to the floor, holy crap hold on].

In the end I will just go about rebuilding the tranny... it'* inevitable, because i bet even if I do get the line pressure boosted enough to get 3rd and OD back, it'll probably still slip anyways. I'd just kinda like the car to still be driveable, because my mom and I can kinda use the car for large item type stuff, and the cutlass.. well it'* a piece of ****, and runs like a dog, so I don't take that thing very far.

I dunno about that... Does a bad pump explain all of the crud that you found in your pan?

I could be wrong, maybe it does...?

Unfortunately like you basically state above.. broken is broken.

Technically speaking, it doesn't explain all the crud found in my pan. However, I have no clue when the last fluid change was. Maybe that'* 5 years of clutch material build up?

It does explain a lot though, because I got the transmission'* line pressure tested, and it'* low. Fairly low, IMO.

I was just hoping there was something I could do that could make magic happen for a few hundred more miles.

If the pump is bad, then you can try to raise line pressure all you want and its not going to help. The pump is what moves the fluid, the valves regulate the flow from the pump to make the pressure. So if the pump is bad, the adjusting line pressure isn't going to do anything because there is not enough pressure to be adjusted, at least thats the best way I can explain it. Its time for a rebuild. You might be able to get away with just changing the pump if that is truly the problem, however, with how bad the pan looked when you dropped it, I doubt thats your only problem, so even if a new pump does fix it, you'll be doing a rebuild shortly after anyways.

Shawn

The vanes on your pump are worn. There'* nothing you can do but replace it.

You can't get into first gear because your pump isn't circulating enough, and you burnt up your first gear clutches. So even if you fix the pump by REPLACING it, you still won't have first gear.

Yeah, you both are correct. I understand that, i was just hoping maybe i could get a wee bit more out of the tranny... but I guess not. Not sure when the rebuild may take place, i lost my job so I have no income anymore :(.

I'm really sorry to hear about your job. I hope you find another one soon, and I hope you get your car on the road soon also.

Frank

thanks... I hope so too!

Getting the car on the road is no emergency though... I haven't even opened the doors on the poor girl in three weeks, let alone even started her in a month :(.