One in a million shot

[Findog]

I have a 1993 Saturn SL2 with 180,000 miles on it. The air conditioning doesn't work, the wiring needs to be redone so I can't lock it, there's been an engine indicator light that has been on since last July. I take the bus to work and only drive it to the grocery store, my girlfriend's apt, etc, so I'm not throwing any huge amount of money into it as long as it runs. I keep the fluid levels constant, the tires inflated, and get the oil changed regularly. It's a 17-year-old car and it's held up well for a long time, so my plan was always to drive it until it became too expensive to fix.

Today I'm driving on the highway on my way to my gf's apt when the cars in front of me start swerving out of the way to avoid debris. I hit this black piece of metal that I didn't see until it was too late. Ran right over it. At first I was worried that I had a flat tire, but the car ran fine the next 10 minutes until I got to her place. We were leaving to go meet my family for dinner. When I pulled my car out of the parking space, I noticed a pool of red transmission fluid. I didn't think too much of it because there's been a transmission fluid leak for a while and I periodically check the levels and refill as necessary. About five minutes after pulling out of her complex, the car won't shift gears and begins revving over 7,000 rpms. I put my hazards on and immediately pull off the road and had the car towed.

My guess is whatever I hit punctured the tank holding the transmission fluid. Is this something that is going to be extremely expensive to fix? With this car, the guiding principle for the past year has been to not fix it and sell it for salvage if it is too expensive.

[DPG21920]

Do you have UM/UIM insurance?

[Findog]

I think I have just liability insurance.

[4>0rings]

http://www.dbskeptic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/fucilli-jerry.jpg

Something might have punctured the tranny pan, not to hard to fix or you could of blown a seal then you put full coverage on it and roll it into a lake.

[DPG21920]

I think I have just liability insurance.

Shite.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

my guess is that the piece of metal tore a tranny fluid line off. probably a cooler line that goes to your radiator. unless it was a huge piece of metal i doubt it put a hole in the tranny case or the pan.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

if you had to guess , where was the puddle in relation to your car. i realize it could be hard to tell.

[Findog]

The puddle was dripping out towards the front of the car, on the drivers side. Fluid was reddish, and after getting it parked, I turned it back on and let it idle. Then I checked the transmission fluid level, and it was empty.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

i would bet that the piece of metal either punctured a transmission line(most likely) or tore a cooler line from your radiator. either way, if its one of those two scenarios its nothing major or expensive. you'd be amazed at what you can figure out (even if you dont consider yourself mechanically inclined) by crawling underneath there with a flashlight, looking around and using some common sense. people tend to think working on automobiles is rocket science and its really not. just try to find the source of the leakage and go from there

[Findog]

i would bet that the piece of metal either punctured a transmission line(most likely) or tore a cooler line from your radiator. either way, if its one of those two scenarios its nothing major or expensive. you'd be amazed at what you can figure out (even if you dont consider yourself mechanically inclined) by crawling underneath there with a flashlight, looking around and using some common sense. people tend to think working on automobiles is rocket science and its really not. just try to find the source of the leakage and go from there

Thanks. After googling around on the subject, that is what I'm going to put my money on. The piece of metal looked like the size and shape of a vinyl record.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

well good luck and dont let someone rip you off to get it done. should be very inexpensive to fix. pm me if you want some e-help

[Jacob1983]

Your luck with your car sounds like the luck I have with mine. You've had the engine indicator light since July? That sucks but I can relate. I've probably paid over 1,000 dollars in repairs during the last two years for my car. I just had it looked at on Friday and spent 415 on it. But I think I'm gonna have to take it back because there is a wire loose underneath a part of the car. I had to get some tape and tape the wire so it wouldn't be dragging against the ground. It made me so mad tonight when I saw it. I'm hoping that I can get the car place that fixed it to look the wire and connect it back without charging me a butt load of money.

If you know someone that is a mechanic, I would let them look at it or if you have some type of family friend that has a shop, I would take it to them. You would probably get a better price with someone that you know rather than going to some random person. I hope you car problems get better because it's never a good thing when you have to deal with that especially when you don't have the money to pay for the repairs.

[Das Texan]

Whats the point of full coverage on a 93 Saturn.


I mean the car is worth what? a grand. maybe.


Common sense says to only carry liability.

[Wild Cobra]

My guess is whatever I hit punctured the tank holding the transmission fluid. Is this something that is going to be extremely expensive to fix? With this car, the guiding principle for the past year has been to not fix it and sell it for salvage if it is too expensive.
Chances are, you punctured the transmission's oil pan. You could have cut or punctured a hose however. Either is not too hard to fix yourself if you know how. If it's a pan, it shouldn't be too expensive, and you might get one for like 5 bux at a junk yard. Just needs to be the same transmission, probably a common one.

I don't know the damages if someone else has to do the repairs. I'll guess about $60 plus parts.

Now the exception is if it is a front wheel drive, the pan is punctured, and the pan cannot be removed without pulling or dropping the engine and transmission.

JB Weld might work...

Possible damage to the transmission too, running it out of oil. Already old, and may have burned the last of the clutch plates off internally.

If it's either tube to/from the radiator, you can splice it. It's not a high pressure line.

[Findog]

Turns out the transmission pan was knocked out of alignment. They put it back in place, replaced the oil that drained out. They said the bad news is that the engine basically needs to be replaced. It makes a loud clicking sound now when turning over. That would cost $2700, which you wouldn't do on a car that old. They said based on how old it is, just drive it till the engine locks up, which could be two weeks or two years.

[Wild Cobra]

worst tranny thread ever
Did you want it to be about transvestites?

[Wild Cobra]

Turns out the transmission pan was knocked out of alignment. They put it back in place, replaced the oil that drained out. They said the bad news is that the engine basically needs to be replaced. It makes a loud clicking sound now when turning over. That would cost $2700, which you wouldn't do on a car that old. They said based on how old it is, just drive it till the engine locks up, which could be two weeks or two years.

Well, I'm glad it was a relatively cheap fix.

[4>0rings]

Why would you have engine damage when your tranny fluid got dumped out?

[Findog]

Why would you have engine damage when your tranny fluid got dumped out?

I'm not exactly sure. They said it "irregularly clicks" when turning the car on, which was not the case as of yesterday.

[RandomGuy]

Turns out the transmission pan was knocked out of alignment. They put it back in place, replaced the oil that drained out. They said the bad news is that the engine basically needs to be replaced. It makes a loud clicking sound now when turning over. That would cost $2700, which you wouldn't do on a car that old. They said based on how old it is, just drive it till the engine locks up, which could be two weeks or two years.

Start saving your money for a down payment...

Now is probably the best time ever to buy a new car.

Wait until they offer one of those "push, pull, or drag in" offers for a trade in.

Buy a new car and hold on to it forever.

[Wild Cobra]

Why would you have engine damage when your tranny fluid got dumped out?
It just because the car is old I bet. Or... the mechanic might be trying to make some more bux...