Another Transmission Question 02 LS

[Dr.Mark]

My 2002 LS has 130K on it and was running, driving/shifting fine until one night I parked it after a few hours of driving. Drove it home, put it in park, shut it off and went inside. Next morning go to leave for work, fire it up, put it in drive..... Nothing. No forward, no reverse, nothing. My car is pretty clean and I keep up with maintenance, no leaks or any known issues. The next day I do the same routine and it runs, drives/shifts fine all day. Park it overnight and its been sitting since.
I'm going to service it tomorrow to get a look at the fluid and pan but has anyone else had this happen?
Ive read several posts and seen solenoid pack and valvebody issues. Roughly what's the $price for a solenoid pack replacement?

 

[Dr.Mark]

I have zero desire to spend $1200 or more on a rebuild. It was shifting and driving fine until now. I just want it fixed, If it was slipping/shifting hard or anything like that it'd be different. Do you rebuild your engine if it develops a miss? Same principal here

 

[Dr.Mark]

Yes thats my car in the pic and ive been a mechanic and worked on cars most of my life but I'm not a auto trans expert. Yes the trans comes out pretty easily and I have a garage but I was hoping to be able to just have it fixed for $500 and under. I could swap the solenoid pack myself no problem but I'd rather not remove the valve body. Too many check balls to fall out and go bouncing across the floor. I bought a scan tool yesterday and I hope I can pull a code for the trans. If not I'd bet its a broken spring or something in the valvebody. I'll look into a rebuild kit and a good shop to do it, but my wife needs the car as bad as I want her out of my Mark VIII and a rebuild would likely be a 2 week+ ordeal. I need to beat the streets and find a local trans guy. There has to be one closer to me than all the way in Dayton

 

[Dr.Mark]

if thats the real car in the picture, its a beautiful car, probably worth the $500.

im no LS expert myself.

maybe there is some nuance that im missing. but in my experience, when a transmission is not shifting correctly and you have no engine codes, well then its not something that can be fixed electronically, IE a solenoid. Its going to be Mechanical failure of some sort. but any technician will have to take the thing apart to even diagnose it. like i mentioned its probably that faulty check valve the mechanic pointed out in the video.

alternatively, I see these trans and engines on ebay craigslist and at LKQ pick your part ALL the time.

Maybe a fluid flush, that might clean out the valve body, and might free up that sticky valve.

but if the transmission has to be taken apart, the shift kit costs ~$100,

The trans was working great until I came home and parked it for the night. No warning whatsoever and it will not go into any gear. Reverse, Drive nothing. The motor doesn't idle down like its engaged, nothing. Not even a check engine light. So something broke when I parked it

 

[Dr.Mark]

This actually happened twice I forgot to mention and this is why I think its something in the valve body. A few weeks ago this happened, drove it most of the day and went home. Parked it overnight, next morning trans does nothing. No gears forward or reverse. Next day I get in, start it up and let it warm up enough for the car to idle down, put it in gear and drive away with zero issues. Drove it for another 3 days with zero issues. Then parked it overnight, next morning no gears again. Been sitting ever since. Ive tried to get it to move a few times in the last few weeks with no luck.
The car sounds normal when I start it and let it warm up. The idle goes down like it should when it warms up but doesn't change rpm when I put the shifter in gear. The trans doesn't make any weird noises or anything just won't go into gear.
Will the TCM or store any codes without turning on the check engine light?

 

[04_Sport_LS]

Mark...

First thing you may want to do,,, is have a look above the aluminum belly pan that is sandwiched in between the exhaust and drivetrain. What you want to look for... is signs of the tailshaft seal leaking on the transmission. Shouldn't be too hard to see when you get a look at where I'm talking about. Back in "the day" before belly pans... a tailshft tranny seal leak would leave a spot on the ground. You're not gonna get this with the LS,,, but because of the belly pan under the car.... it will be hidden. Check that first. It will take removal of the rear half of the exhaust... but it comes apart pretty easy, (normaly), even in the "rust belt" of the USA. Just watch the rear exhaust bolt clips in the frame of the LS. They tend to snap,,, but are re-useable.

If the tailshaft tranny seal isn't leaking... then drain out a bit of the tranny fluid. If it's not "rosey red"... then you may have other problems that MAY point to a rebuild. 130K seems a bit early for tranny failure. Looks like you have done your research,,, and know about the valve body separator plate... and the broken spring in Gen1's that can cause a problem. This would be my next step.

Last i checked... the revised separator plate was a couple hundred... plus $350 or so for the solenoid pack... and the spring for the Gen 1 was minimal

You've done your homework... now check for leaks,,, and move forward accordingly

 

[04_Sport_LS]

sounds like the pump. pretty easy fix

Yeah... pretty easy fix if pulling the trans seems easy,,, and then pulling the pump without screwing up any seals or disloging any parts in the internal clutch assemblies. One day fine... and next day not,,, most likely wouldn't be the pump. More so a valve body or shift soleniod problem.

Seems like Mark is on the right track... with the separator plate and that one simple Gen 1 spring replacement included,,, and of course shift solenoid.

if thats the real car in the picture, its a beautiful car, probably worth the $500.

That car sitting is worth at least 2k in parts alone. Find a good tranny, Or fix one), for $500 and you probably doubled the price. While not the same era T-Bird,,, these cars are still somewhat rare.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

I'll give you the transaxle... but any rwd is pretty much straight forward,,, IMHO. If a person has the experience for the repair. Must have a tranny vice in your shop... to keep the trans vertical,,, without putting any pressure on the tailshaft.

 

[joegr]

Well, I have one that is over 180K and the transmission is still good. Yes, I know it won't last forever, but I doubt that the described symptoms call for a full rebuild. It could very well just be a stuck valve. A shift kit and solenoid assembly have a good chance of fixing it. The solenoid assembly and the valve body are not deep in the transmission. Drop the pan, and they are right there.

 

[Dr.Mark]

I found a complete 2000 LS with timing chain issues and a good trans for $500. I talked to the lady today and the trans in her car has had the solenoid pack replaced 8k miles ago. She said the trans works fine and she just wants it out of her driveway. The car looks pretty clean and for $500 I dont see how I can go wrong. I have the garage space so a parts car might be the way to go. With a bad motor is there $500 in parts there after I take the trans?

 

[Dr.Mark]

I'll give you the transaxle... but any rwd is pretty much straight forward,,, IMHO. If a person has the experience for the repair. Must have a tranny vice in your shop... to keep the trans vertical,,, without putting any pressure on the tailshaft.

I've been a mechanic most of my life and have worked in several trans shops as a r&r tech but I have no desire to tear into my trans in my home garage. There's a 100 different things that can go wrong and I also have no desire to pull it back out if I get it wrong. I'm going to look at a parts car that has had the trans updated and go from there. It's a warm day here today I'm about to go stick the battery in it and see if it will move. I need to get it in the garage

 

[Dr.Mark]

She just sent pics of the inside and it's cleaner than I was expecting for the money. I think I'll keep that wheel for myself.. lol Anyone need parts??

 

[joegr]

...With a bad motor is there $500 in parts there after I take the trans...

Possibly, if the interior is in good shape. You might get $150 for the headlights alone. You should be able to get $250+ for the front seats if they are in good condition.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

Go to car-part.com and see what all the removable body parts are worth. I'd think you could get your money back on just those.