Really need some advice (car related)

[Whut]

Well, I got everything I needed to get the motor running nicely again. I took it out the other night and hammered it and it got up and went but the shifting felt oddly soft yet hard and I heard a noise like metal falling to the ground. I thought it may be some crap left over from the welding on my exhaust since the boost still went to full and it still moved forwards and backwards.

Fast forward to tonight. I took it out to go to Office Max and put it to the floor while getting on the freeway, still full boost, but the shifting felt odd again. No noise of metal or anything but it felt like it slipped a couple of times. When I got to Office Max I could smell something like a burnt clutch. When I left the store I had to accelerate a bit but nothing like breaking the tires loose. When it went to shift from first to second I heard a loud high pitched type whine and the power level went in the pooper. Getting on a more deserted road I decided to see if the tranny had gone. Instead, when I accelerated the boost level wouldnt go above 5 PSI and it sounded more like a huge wind gust as opposed to the normal whistle. The shifting also felt odd.

I am going to take it to a tranny shop tomorrow and get it looked at. My question is, if the transmission is going out will it affect the boost level like it is? Nothing is smoking, or coming out of the tail pipe. Smelling the tranny fluid, it smelled sweet and appeared red and not burnt. I revved it while in park and it almost died once but kept running. While it was sitting in the garage the burnt clutch smell was there again.

So,do you think my tranny is shot? What the heck is causing my loss of boost?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SilverSleeper]

It certainly sounds like the trans is not working right.
Your low boost level may be the result of not having load on the motor. If the trans keeps slipping, it lessens the load on the motor, therefore, less boost. If you put it in neutral and rev it, you really cant get any boost, because there is no load on the motor.
Just because your tranny slips doesnt mean the fulid should be burnt. Burnt fluid comes from high temps, not necesarily from a slipping clutch.

Sounds a lot like what happened when my #2 trans went out. Couldnt get much boost, started shifting sloppy, it didnt appear to have burnt the fluid either, but after driving it around a bit, it will show up. Sounds like the clutch will only hold a small amount of torque. If you dont drive it, and get it to a shop, you might be able to get it fixed easily....depending on what might be fried.

 

[Whut]

Thanks, I am not going to drive it until I can get it to shop.

I wonder what the cost of a used tranny would be. That would be the cheapest route since I could put it in myself.

 

[SilverSleeper]

Hey,
Be very careful what you get in a used trans.
I can tell you firsthand, buying a used trans for these cars is a big gamble. Do a search here on the site, and you will find plenty of posts about it.
If you were buying one for a regular beater car or something like that, a used one might work well because you are not subjecting it to a lot of horsepower.
When my trans went out the first time, I took it to a dealer shop to get it done. First rebuild lasted a month! Took it back and they sent it out the second time to a pro builder (supposedly). Came back and it lasted maybe 6 months. And I didnt beat on the car, it was my daily driver at the time, but I kept my foot out of it for the most part.
I bought a used trans of someone on the GN-Ttype mailing list. Was told is was fine, and had a shift kit in it. Well, $500 later I was taught an expensive lesson. It was junk.
For all the pain I went through to get a good trans, I shoulda gone to a builder who knows something about these cars specifically.
So I drove on the junk trans (had no OD and spotty reverse!) about 3 hours to Jack Cottons shop. I got the standard rebuilt trans on exchange (was about $995, plus whatever the new converter was) and Jacks guys installed it and I drove it home the same day. Best money I ever spent on the car. It shifts so nice, and doesnt even have a kit in it. Just the right parts, and setup for these cars. Eric Shertz built this one, I dont know if he still builds Jacks transmissions or not, since Eric has his own place now.
But what I learned from all this is you are better off taking it to someone who knows these cars in the first place. Dont waste your time with Joe Schmos tranny shop down the road, because you will likely be dissapointed.
Good luck dude!

 

[Whut]

I took it to a tranny shop this morning and had them check it out.

The smoke vapor coming from under the car is residue from the welds on the exhaust system.

They said they were 99.9% sure it was not the transmission and that it looked more like a vacum leak in the turbo.

I can now reproduce the sound and it really seems like the turbo bearing is locking up or something. It gets to 5 PSI and when the noise starts it just shuts down. I am going to take some video of it later and post it in a new thread. Hopefully someone here has had the same noise and can tell me what the heck it is.

 

[Wet1]

Take a look at the impeller on the turbo. Look for excessive play, rubing, or worn fins... any of these is not good.

Also go through and make sure you don't have a loose hose/clamp that's allowing boost to blow by.

 

[Whut]

Thanks for the tips. I am going to remove the inlet bell and check the impeller for play and hunt down any hoses that may have popped loose or off.

 

[TurboJim]

Cracked/popped off IC hose? Intake leak?

 

[Buick From Hell]

IF you still have a cat, it MAY have come apart inside and is plugging itself up, which will account for no boost, weird noises, smells, and even funny shifts...

if NO cat, then listen to everyone else!

 

[whitehot84]

Had a similar problem once. The car ran fine until it went into boost, then bam, shut down. It turned out to be a split in the turbo hose right under the clamp. When it went into boost it forced it open. Check hoses very closely.

 

[Whut]

Originally posted by TurboJim
Cracked/popped off IC hose?

DING DING DING DING DING

All the stuff I had done to this car to get it running again proved to much for the intercooler gaskets. The lower hose leading to the turbo and blown completely off.

I found some old clamps from my old TR in the garage and we got it all fixed up. I pulled the hoses off and cleaned them out and check the impeller. For being 17 years old the turbo looked almost new, only one fin had any evidence of getting hot, nothing was out of place and the shaft had so little play in it I would sell it and stand behind it working (not selling it right now).

 

[DCEPTCN]

Don't you love to find something SIMPLE wrong with the car every now and then? I had an IC hose blow off one of the hose clamps once and every time I romped on it the car would sound like a screaming baby elephant.

 

[Wet1]

Hey, I guessed it a day before Jim!


Glad to hear you found the problem... got to love it when it's a cheap/easy fix!

 

[Whut]

Originally posted by Wet1
Hey, I guessed it a day before Jim!


Glad to hear you found the problem... got to love it when it's a cheap/easy fix!

You get credit for sending me down the trail of blown hoses. We also found another rotted hose that we cut short and repaired. All in all, the price of repair was a whopping $0.00 which I think is a record for the cheapest fix ever on any of my TR's. The cheapest before that was a lock cover that cost $1.00.

DCEPTCN: Thats exactly what it sounded like. I had my father put his foot into the car while I stood down the block to listen for the noise outside the car. Some kid came up and asked me if I had a surpercharger in it since it sounded like a Cobra.