99 SL2 w/Transmission Clunkage and Slippage

Greets all! New Reader/Subscriber, so I hope I'm not duplicating
something commonly asked. If I am, apologies in advance.

I have a 99 SL2 I picked up about three years ago with 66K miles on it.
It currently has 79k miles on it. With the exception of the last on,
I get the oil changed religiously every 3 months (I never make it to
the mileage mark). I've checked the tranny fluid which the level is
good and color/consistency right.

Suddenly two nights ago as I got home (about a 10 minute drive from
work) when I put the car into reverse, the engine idled up but you
could feel that it didn't catch into gear (plus the car "coasted" like
it was in neutral" then about five second later the gear caught with a
audible "clunk" and the car shuddered. I parked and left the car
running to check the trans fluid. Tried reverse a few times and the
problem didn't go away.

Next morning I drove the car fine with no problems until I got to my
day job (about 15 min drive) and as I parked, the car did the clunk
again when I hit reverse. (but did not when I started the car and
pulled out of the driveway). When I left work to go to my second job,
the car began shifting oddly into second and third gear.

After either a quick start (heavy on gas) or light, easy start from a
stopped position, the car would ramp up on the RPM's and you could hear
what I can only describe as a "static" like noise that lasted for about
3-4 seconds in the front of the car. And you can feel that the car is
briefly losing drive power before this switch (more perceptable than
normal). At first I didn't realize it was me but it coincided with my
acceleration. When it goes to third the noise and "slippage" occurs
again but the noise only last about half the time. Higher gears work
fine.

Does anyone have any ideas on this? It's been suggested to me that one
of the vacuum hoses for the transmission may have come loose, and that
because of the "young" age of my car and the relatively (speaking) low
mileage, that there shouldn't be a problem with the transmission. \

Any advice or information would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks!

 

search this NG for reverse slam, that may solve the prob.

marx404

 

This is a common problem. Check out this article on the Saturn Fan's Forum:

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-23670.html

Checking the level and color of the fluid is insufficient. You need to
drain it and change the spin on filter too every 30K or so miles. Due ot
the good location, this is as simple (actually simpler) than doing an oil
change. Good luck.



Bob

 

DO NOT do the group fix first!! Take it to saturn, my son's did the
same thing and it was just a loose rod that was very hard to get to in
the transmission ( special tool) Saturn told us this is a very common
problem and fixed it for $75. Never had the problem come back since.

 

The Input Shaft Nut has come loose. Had this happen on my '95 and '96.
It's only about $15 worth of parts (nut & gasket), but it's not a fun
job. I did it once myself and had Saturn do it for $280 (probably
worth that price).

 

Still problems with reverse. Thinking that maybe there wasn't enough
load on the vehicle going in reverse stationary, so I go to an empty
parking lot and start doing reverse circles and ovals. Cop car comes
by so I go forward a bit. When I go back into reverse the car starts
moving, but with no real drive behind it. No matter the acceleration,
it doesn't increase speed. At this point it's going about 5 mph. Then
I stop and when I start going backwards again, same thing happens but
then the car kicks HARD (HARD!) into reverse and then accelerates
normally. I do some reverse ovals for another five minutes and then
drive the mile back home.

Net result upon getting home? Car goes in drive with no problems, but
now I have no reverse (up to 2.5 rpm's... I didn't want to hit the
pedal more than that.) so I shut the car off. Letting it cool off and
I will see what problems await after it's sat for an hour.

I was hoping this was going to be simple. Does anyone know how to get
ahold of those ATTA or TAAT manuals for the transaxle? I was trying to
find one online without much success.

Thanks!


PS - if it is one of the other listed items, how do I describe the
"Input Shaft Nut" or the loose rod thing to the service dept?

 

How much usually would this cost a dealer to do?

 

My '95 owners manual says you can get service manuals from Adistra Corp
in Plymouth, MI.
But I still have the receipt for the Automatic Transaxle (TAAT) manual
I purchased in 2001 ($22.77 incl. S&H). It came from MSX International
in Auburn Hills, MI (800 272-8876 - Prompt 1)

I'm sure they will know what the Input Shaft Nut is. It holds the
clutch pack onto the end of the input shaft. Btw - when my shaft nut
came loose, the harsh shift from 2nd to 3rd also turned on the SES
light. The first time I took it into Saturn they wanted to do a full
rebuild for $2300 (I didn't bite).

 

You have a loose input shaft nut, and or bad valve body. I would lean
more twards the input shaft nut. This is a repair you can do yourself
if you are willing to attempt it. You will need a 23mm thinwall (you
will have to grind this down further as well) 12 point socket (12 point
is what the input shaft nut is).

 

I found my post from Aug. '05 after doing the job myself . . .

OK gang - here's my experience with this common S-series tranny
problem.
I have a '96 SL2 with 118k miles. All of a sudden I was getting some
harsh shifts that would turn on the SES light. A delayed reverse would
also become NO REVERSE after the car warmed up.
I decided to take my chances with the Input Shaft Nut since the nut
(SN21001680) and End Cover Gasket (SN21001684) were only about $12. I
went in hoping I could dream up something that would take the place of
the Input Shaft Holding Tool (SA9119T) that was called for in the
manual. Getting the End Cover off was somewhat of a pain - you have
to lower the engine a tad to get at the top few bolts (10mm) and
separate the ball joint to move the strut aside a little.
After getting the cover off I discovered you need a thin-wall 23mm
socket to get at the 12-point shaft nut. (I had to grind down a
Craftsman socket enough for it to fit into the clutch pack recess).
Since the nut came out rather easy, I felt a little more confident that
this was my problem. However, rather than risk mucking up something by
using a chain wrench or other jury rig to stop the shaft from turning
while torquing the new nut to 111 ft-lbs., I decided to buy the proper
tool. I went through 3 Saturn dealers before one of them would tell me
where to get the tool (SPX Service Solutions - Owatonna, MN 800
533-2585). The bad $150 plus shipping - Yikes! (Looks to be
worth maybe $25). I also replaced the Output Shaft Nut (SN21001679 -
$2.82) since I was already in there. Probably 5 hrs. work all toll,
but problem solved!