Hi,


This is my first post here. I have a 1994 SL2 that is having some real transmission problems andI am hoping there is someone here that can help me. I realize that it can't be dignosed online but if I describe what happened perhaps someone can give me some advice or insight.


I started having some intermittent gear "slipping" (I can't think of any other way to describe it). My SES light was also coming on sporadically so I grabbed the codes which were 25 and 49 (after the "11" code which indicates transmission ). When it became more consistent I knew I had to get it looked at. I live too far from a Saturn dealership to make it so I took it to a local AAmco (bad mistake). They claimed it needed to have a new neutral safety switch installed. This took them 4.5 days to do (they claimed the Saturn dealer kept sending the wrong part) which cost me some days of work as a consultant/independent contractor. When I finally got the car back, (cost- $210.00) the 49 code disappeared but there was still gear slipping going on and the 25 code showed up within days.


So I took it back and they proceeded on another week-long oddyssey. I had read that the electronic connector on top of the transmission can sometimes be damaged by leaking battery acid from above so I asked them to check this first. After several days of no answers, I had to demand an answer and completion from them. They said they were examining the valve body and that connector and quoted me $170.00-180.00 to fix this. After missing several more days work, I was replaced at my job and then they said my car was ready...with a bill of $600.00! I went ballistic and they finally agreed to reduce it to $210.00. I picked it up, drove it home and within days, the SES light came on steady and the slipping/surging/revving was worse. Now I can't get it to shift through all the gears and when it downshifts, it revs way too high. My code reader says code 22 (No 2nd gear).


I have spent $420.00, lost my job and now have a car I can't drive any distance with any confidence. I am very reluctant to take it back there because I now think they are not even competent enough to fix a bicycle.My invoice states there is a 90 day limited warranty but there's no details on what it covers. My invoices from these clowns are the MOST uniformative and lamest ones I have ever seen. I will try to paste in a copy of the 2nd one in this post. It gives no real indication what they did.


If anyone has any advice for me I'd really appreciate it. Losing my job over this, and wasting that money is bad enough but now I can't afford to make any more mistakes with this. Anyone have any idea what a code 22 could entail? Does the 25 nd 49 codes mean anything to anyone? Really, any help or advice is appreciated.


[img]uploads/rickscript/423_2007_AAmco_invoice-top-edited.JPG[/img]

 

I'm no tranny expert but I can advise you to go over to http://saturnfans.com, join in and ask as there's a wealth of information to be had and some advice from Saturn techs. My initial guess is that you're in need of a valve body replacement, internal to the tranny and several hundred dollars for parts and labor. I believe that regular tranny oil replacement may have prevented this but as I stated I'm not a tranny expert.

 

Ducky,


Thanks for your reply. Actually, I have been a registered member of the Saturnfans forum for a few years now. I posed this same question over there several weeks ago but received no helpful replies. That's why I decided to try a different forum. I have performed the fluid/filter changes on my auto trans per the instructed intervals and even put the Mobil 1 fluid in my last time (highly recommended by the Wolfman from the other forum). According to this Aamco invoice, they supposedly worked on the valve body and if you believe that they reduced the bill by several hundred dollars, then replacement could have been done. But what I am looking for is some insight as to these 3 codes I had and the one that I still have (#22- no 2nd gear). I just don't want to wander in to some repair facility and be at a total disadvantage because I don't know what this code might mean. Anybody know ANYTHING about this one?

 

Really? I'm kind of amazed at this. I'm a big fan of synthetics in just about everything, except automatic trannys. Much of the function of the tranny is based on friction so I don't think putting a fluid that reduces friction makes much sense.


As Ducky said though, I'm hardly a transmission expert either.

 

Do you have reverse? and just no second,if you have no reverse and no second gear your problem will be inside the trans in the clutch piston seal that is shared for reverse and 2nd if you have reverse you could have a loose input shaft nut on the side of the trans causing you issue,if they replaced the valve body for that cheap it was used,new they are $650 from the dealer,,