Transmission went out on my '95 Cutlass Supreme Convertible
 

This morning was nice and cool so I decided it would be pleasant to take my '95 Olds Cutlass Supreme convertible (3100 V6 automatic) out for a little ride. It was indeed very pleasant until I got about three miles from my house and suddenly it acted like it was in neutral, regardless of where I put the gear selector. I am totally puzzled by this since it happened suddenly, without warning and with no bad noises. One minute it was driving fine, then I stopped for a red light and when it turned green, the car coasted forward because it was facing downhill but was otherwise acting like it wasn't in gear. All I can say is thank goodness for AAA. The tow truck got there in about 10 minutes and amazingly, he was able to get the car up onto the rollback under its own power but he said he had to put it all the way down into low gear because "it just wasn't pullin'". I had him take it to a nearby transmission shop that's been in business since the late '50s, according to their sign. I guess it'll be Tuesday before I can find out what went wrong.

I don't know why the universe hates me so much this week. I had to replace the HVAC system in my house, then I had to replace most of the A/C system in my Buick, and now this. When will it end?!?

Sometimes things seem to suggest that the Lord is against us. I can assure you that the Lord who created this universe loves you very much. I know there are times I've went without acknowledging Him and He has a way of getting my attention that may seem hard to me but it's the best thing for me. Maybe He's trying to get your attention! Just a thought.

Well . . . to be fair, the AC went out on the Buick a couple of months ago, just "fixed" itself for a bit. ;)

Regarding the transmission going out, maybe it's going better than you think. Perhaps a choice was made for you as to where and when it went out, and for whatever reason the choice was to do it while safely stopped at a traffic light headed downhill where it would be easy to get the car out of the way, and when a AAA truck would be able to arrive in ten minutes. There are many other ways the story could have gone, right?

Regarding the transmission: Is the fluid full from a very recent check?

So I talked with the transmission shop yesterday and he said it's going to need a rebuild to the tune of $1,600-$1,900, depending on what they find when they get inside it. Add that on top of everything else the past couple of weeks and I will have taken a $10,000 hit! Not pretty. The car will be ready Friday or Monday and then I'll have to make a decision on whether to get it inspected so I can renew the registration this month or just cut my losses and sell it for whatever I can get out of it.

That's a good price. If it were me with the newly-overhauled transaxle in it and if the car is otherwise decent I'd keep it. I can't imagine the car is worth the price of the overhaul otherwise.

I agree, the price of the rebuild isn't bad and if that were the only major and unexpected expense I had been hit with this month, I wouldn't think twice about it. The car is in okay condition. The body is straight and the original paint is bright with no major rust. The interior is in good shape except for the carpet, which is worn and faded. Neither the air conditioner nor the ABS system work and the top has shrunk so that all of the staples holding it in the rear have pulled loose. I was considering having the top done this winter but that's definitely off the table now. Realistically, the work it needs would probably cost at least twice what it's worth and with all those things fixed, it might be worth half again more than it was with a good transmission. But without fixing the transmission, I might as well donate it to the local public radio station; so therefore, I'm getting it fixed and then reassessing my finances.

As far as the transmission fluid level goes, I hadn't checked it since I topped it off earlier this summer but I doubt I've driven the car more than 150 miles since then and there isn't a big puddle of transmission fluid under the carport.

Still worth checking. Would feel silly going to all this fuss over a leak.

That's a good point but rather moot at this juncture since the rebuild, including new seals and fresh fluid, could be finished as early as this afternoon. I haven't heard anything further from the shop so I have no idea how that process is going but I suppose one could take the lack of news as a good sign that everything is moving along without the need for any major input or decisions on my part. We'll see...

I just got off the phone with the guy at the transmission shop and he said they had to order a core unit for it, which I guess means the transmission was so far gone it was better to get another transmission and rebuild that to put in it. Not looking good for the bottom line.

Forgot to mention he said the core should be in on Monday and the car should be ready midweek.