Aod Transmission Failure

Ok, I decided to travel across country in my 89 gt convertible. My trip was from Las Vegas to Omaha (1400 miles). I got about 750 miles into Denver and my transmission failed. Wouldn't shift past 1st gear. Fast forward a week and 1/2 after a shop rebuild the Trans. Picked it up and drove it 350 miles (Almost to NE Boarder) and it gave out. Stuck in 3rd gear and wouldn't shift up/down. Needless to say it had to be towed back to Denver. I went to Omaha to my destination in a rental. Another week and 1/2 later. I went back to Denver and got the car... Only 600 miles left. well at the 530 mile mark (Outside Lincoln NE) the transmission failed again (3 separate leaks).... The Shop in Denver has finally agreed to pay Certified Transmission in Lincoln to rebuild the Transmission. Am I pushing the transmission to hard driving for such a long distance? Should the AOD transmission be able to handle 750 miles in one drive? Need to get it back to Vegas... But with my luck so far not sure if I should just tow the damn thing.... There was no hot rodding or anything. Kept a pretty constant 70 to 80 mph..

Sorry for the long winded post.

striker911411 said:

Id say the place you went to first just had not fixed the underlining issue. In mechanics you have one single issue that causes something else to fail in a lot of situations. So if the job was done correctly then you should have no issues.

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Did a total rebuild. Here is the list.

Torque Converter
Pump Assembly
Rear Painetary gear Assembly
Sun Shell with gear
Master Rebuild Kit.

With the first rebuild I called him to see if it was ready. He discovered a leak from the Torque Converter that he just purchased from the Manufacture. So he tore it apart and got another TC shipped to him over night. When it failed after the first rebuild we could not get it out of gear. No reverse, even neutral wouldn't budge. The second time it failed the Trans Fluid was burnt and leaking in 3 spots... FYI, the second transmission was a totally different Transmission. He had to bring it from Glenwood springs to Denver. So instead of working on the one that failed he brought another with him and swapped them. The guy from the Denver shop said his boys tore it apart before they took it back to Denver and it seemed to him like there was not enough grease(lube) in the back assembly (Can't remember exactly which area). FYI, the fluid was fine, not burnt. Not the case with the second failure. Leaking everywhere and burnt as heck...

88LX5.Oh said:

How much did they charge you for the rebuild if you don't mind me asking?

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88LX5.Oh, I got screwed. There were only 2 shops in Glenwood Spings and this one was a national chain the other was a local place. So I chose the national chain. (They don't have a shop in Nebraska Though). being from out of state and having 2 dogs with me on the trip, I had to go to Omaha with a Rental while he looked it over. Once he said it needed to be rebuilt he had me. I paid 2k for it.

mikestang63 said:

First thing to do is check the trans fluid for proper level, color, and smell.

Do you know what the alleged repairs were done to the AOD? If the transmission was leaking that bad, it could cause all kinds of problems and obviously needs to be repaired before you do any further driving. I would recommend having a qualified transmission shop look at the car, not just any shop. If needed, a good reman AOD will set you back about 700-900.

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Sad part is, this was a qualified transmission shop. Its a national chain, but its kind of like Subway were you buy a Franchise license to use the name, and the warranty is good at any of the Franchises.... Some have good ratings and some have bad across the US. But I was limited on my choices as stated in my previous response and found out later this place hasn't had the best reviews...

Live and Learn...

So I am putting my trust in Certified Transmission. They have an A+ BBB rating and 2 complaints in the last year and 5 over a 3 year span and all of them were resolved.