Transmission suddenly broke???

[echo987]

I need some help figuring this one out. My wife took the car out. was about to get on the Freeway and the tranny suddenly stopped working. She said she was sitting at the light. went forward and suddenly lost power. transmission smelled a little hot but not too bad.

with the car running I checked each gear and nothing. When it is in gear the speedometer registers speed but the car doesn't move. When in park the car rolls as if in neutral.

The car is an 1996 Camry 4cyl with 168K. Automatic. Just had the tranny flushed a few months ago.
Fluid level is fine, no leaks. No diagnostic trouble codes.

Do you guys have any ideas? Could it be a busted CV axel?

The car used to feel like park would barley hold car from rolling, now it rolls in park and won't drive.

Thanks Guys.

[Mister_Perkins]

It could be an axle. These camrys need both axles to be hooked up for the car to move at all. Having an axle broke you would think that the Parking Pawl would still engage.

Firstly, Check your fluid. See if theres any fluid on the dipstick

After you check that, look around the transmission for Automatic Transmission fluid. If you see a lot of parts near the transmission "wet" looking or red underneath the car, you are in some trouble.

It sounds like its internal transmission problem, but its hard to say without knowing the above two statements..

If an axle broke, you probably would have heard CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK sound as the axle would be spinning quickly hitting against the engine / subframe.

Go check those things though and let us know

[reluctantmechanic]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

If an axle broke, you probably would have heard CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK sound as the axle would be spinning quickly hitting against the engine / subframe.

agree, but the odometer has me puzzled....I wonder if it's possible to have the lower ball joint fail enough to allow the entire axle to slip out? If so, it would have to the drivers side - the passengers side is held in by a bolt (wait, that might just be gen4)

Please do let us know.

OT
Will a gen3 4cyle trans fit a gen4 4cyle trans? Thanks

[Mister_Perkins]

I am not sure, I know the Gen 3 has two different Transmission designs. I would suspect a transmission from a newer generation Gen 3 such as 95 or 96 MIGHT work

Another Question:

When the speedometer is moving as normal, did you hear or feel any vibration or clunking ? This would be a dead indication of a broken axle

If a lower ball joint failed, she probably would have wrecked.

I know that the Gen 3 Lower ball joints are held in by 3 bolts on the control arm and 1 bolt on the spindle assembly

She would have probably noticed the vehicle start pulling to one side very quickly as well if the ball joint partially pulled out.

The best thing you could do is get under the car, pull the transmission pan and check the pan for metal particles. This will confirm you have internal transmission damage.

If your car axles are good, These are the things that COULD be wrong with your transmission using the Symptoms Chart:

Park Locking Pawl
C/o OD Direct Clutch
Bo OD Clutch

Just keep this in mind. If a shift solenoid was faulty, you would probably be throwing a code. Your Parking Pawl isnt engaging, so that tells me its either axles or internal problem.

[N/A Camry Sleeper]

Originally Posted by reluctantmechanic

Will a gen3 4cyle trans fit a gen4 4cyle trans? Thanks

Pretty sure a Gen4 auto tranny will bolt up to a Gen3 car and vice versa. Small possibility of the axles not being the same, however, but I think the whole drivetrain is interchangeable between both Gen3 and 4 vehicles...

Anyone confirm/debunk this?

[rusty9]

sounds like the axle came apart at the transmission side so its just spinning freely. That would also explain why it wouldnt hold park. Or your differential somehow destroyed itself.

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by N/A Camry Sleeper

Pretty sure a Gen4 auto tranny will bolt up to a Gen3 car and vice versa. Small possibility of the axles not being the same, however, but I think the whole drivetrain is interchangeable between both Gen3 and 4 vehicles...

Anyone confirm/debunk this?

I think if he gets a 95 or 96 transmission it might work.

[zythr]

Originally Posted by rusty9

sounds like the axle came apart at the transmission side so its just spinning freely. That would also explain why it wouldnt hold park. Or your differential somehow destroyed itself.

So you're telling him in no uncertain terms, time for a new(er) car?

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by zythr

So you're telling him in no uncertain terms, time for a new(er) car?

no not at all

its a fixable problem

[echo987]

No leaks, I even added a qt to see if that was the prob. put car in gear and speedo registers 10mph neither axel moving. Is the differential seperate from the trans? could it be a bad diff?

[Mister_Perkins]

Yeah that could be a possibility.

I would inspect the transmission pan

[reluctantmechanic]

Originally Posted by echo987

No leaks, I even added a qt to see if that was the prob. put car in gear and speedo registers 10mph neither axel moving. Is the differential seperate from the trans? could it be a bad diff?

could be...but ever time I've seen a diff fail in a fwd car (toyota, honda) the diff doesn't just go, the gears teeth will clatter, very loudly.

My mothers Camry did this a few years ago, when she would rev the engine, the diff gears would go "Bang, clack, clack....CLACK BANG" you could hear it for blocks away.

[Mister_Perkins]

I've also seen this happen on many vehicles. Most recently I saw it on a 4wd Jeep Cherokee. The differential was so broken that it actually was making the whole vehicle hop every time that the broken teeth got caught on what was left of the differential.

[Mister_Perkins]

I was just thinking of something. You may want to check your Torque Converter.

What MAY have happened is your torque converter failed (Thats why you got the smell).

While this happened. It seems the parking issue has been there for a while. It could be that the parking pawl spring just took the final step and completely broke leaving no tension on your parking pawl.

Just an idea


what a broken differential does ( pictures borrowed from mk2-1jz ) --- Transmission problem? Help!

[reluctantmechanic]

Originally Posted by Mister_Perkins

I

what a broken differential does ( pictures borrowed from mk2-1jz ) --- Transmission problem? Help!

OUCH! Thanks for sharing that...nice pics