Auto trans problems -- gen2

[Mr. Photog]

Hi there. First post -- 91 camry; 4 cylinder, auto; K&N but otherwise stock.

So the automatic transmission died the other night. Drove 100 miles or so, parked it and came back 2 hours later. Made it around the corner, and the re was a huge KLUNK! and we ground to a halt.

My girlfriend said "It sounds like it threw a rod", and she was right -- it did sound about like that. But the motor was fine; the transmission isn't.

The symptoms, as far as I can tell: after about 100 yards, will suddenly slow the car and motor to a crawl. Can't shift into neutral at that point -- you can put the shift lever there, but the car won't roll.

After some time, it will move -- but will quickly lock up again.


Any idea what's wrong? What to check?

I'm a decent mechanic -- I've put close to 100k on a manual trans I rebuilt in another car -- but clueless about automatics.

Thanks for the help, everyone.
Matt

[JetspeedCamry]

Welcome.

Honestly, these sorts of things are quite hard to diagnose without tearing it down. (unless your an auto trans mech and have had the problem before). By hearing a "clunk", it sounds fairly serious, and i don't think simply checking the fluid or the filter inside is going to tell you anything (apart from maybe metal shaving :P). Perhaps, check the shift solenoids, and also the NSS/shifter mechanism on the front to see if it's actually shifting into gear properly.

Goodluck