Lost all gears (Suddenly) engine running

[Ray De Man]

Ok drove car to and from work today. No leaks or rattles apart from the usual engine noises. I do believe there is a problem though, from standstill 1st gear seems to slip as revs increase to about 4-5 rpms then engages into 2nd (revs go up and up but car not moving anywhere quickly) . 2nd gear through to 3rd and 4th seems fine and smooth upto 80. From drive into reverse is ok but think it slips too ut not as noticable.
It's like having a manual but with a twin plate clutch, more revs or it will stall but once your moving all is well...

So is this gearbox related or something else, diff maybe? Someone please explain what the torque converter does? This was mentioned to me by a family friend but didn't explain.

[Ray De Man]

Ok car is completely stuffed now. No gears at all. Can't book car in anywhere! Anyone know of any places in south-east melb? Car would need to be towed....

What costs could I be expecting to pay? Lube mobile will cost $98.50 for call-out but won't quote me for Torque converter untill they see it, which i believe what the problem is.

[Stewlz]

Booran Holden glenguntly are good blokes and very helpful give them a ring

[scott-95]

simmalr thing in a VT wagon we had..
car wouldnt move till you got till 5000RPM+ when cold, altho fluid ened up pissing out and had a fire due to it..
fittex a 2nd hand box & convertor at same time, only cost $500 fitted ourselfs fairly simple job, and that was the end of problems..

what im getting at is, dont try drive it or you could create more problems! - you should be able to drive it if you let the box get warm.. but i wouldnt!

[Ray De Man]

Thanks for your replies. I was driving it as advised on here to see if it was a one-off and also if it happen again. Car was always started from cold but no longer have gears so won't get warm mate. I would do the replacement myself but no confidence or knowledge around that area. Best left to pros. Howmuch was your converter on its own? Do the vt-vz have the same TQ or are the different due to my being an alloytec?

[impulsive]

at a guess wouldnt it be a different torque converter. If it is the same you have a fair chance of picking one up cheap.

[torana355]

Thanks for your replies. I was driving it as advised on here to see if it was a one-off and also if it happen again. Car was always started from cold but no longer have gears so won't get warm mate. I would do the replacement myself but no confidence or knowledge around that area. Best left to pros. Howmuch was your converter on its own? Do the vt-vz have the same TQ or are the different due to my being an alloytec?

Mate you should have had it looked at right away like i said. Now even if it is only the tranny pump you have more then likely done damage to the box itself which will require a rebuild.

[impulsive]

It is just f***ed that it was running fine after the initial issue, then ran ok again..

[Ray De Man]

As said above i can't book car in anywhere. All seem booked out. A shop near me said he may have a free slot nextweek so will book in then. If worst comes, rebuild would be expensive. Would buying a 2nd hand box be better and would need to be reprogrammed to my ecu? Whats the cost effective way?

[torana355]

As said above i can't book car in anywhere. All seem booked out. A shop near me said he may have a free slot nextweek so will book in then. If worst comes, rebuild would be expensive. Would buying a 2nd hand box be better and would need to be reprogrammed to my ecu? Whats the cost effective way?

Repair is cheaper unless you can get a really good deal on a second hand box. I got mine repaired for $2500 which included all brand new friction surfaces and oil seals, but a proper rebuild is closer to $3500 as the 5 speed has some really expensive parts, the pistons that actuate the bands are close to $700 alone.

[impulsive]

Hopefully its not that bad, There are some cheap manual gearboxes about

[Ray De Man]

Finally got my car back and repaired today.
Had to get another gearbox for it as the original one had blown the pump, damaged the torque converter and had metal shavings in the valves. All up $2450 including new seals, labour and towing fee's. He also straightened under car (car is lowered on peddlers), straightened exhausts, topped up all fluids, steam cleaned the engine bay and checked/adjusted brakes.

Pretty good price me thinks, what are your thoughts?

[Nitronic_12]

Good to know what happened mate, glad you got it fixed but that's a fair bit of coin to part with. I'll be happen to reference this if anything like this happens to me or any other of my mates.