I think my Saturn is having some tranny issues.

All of a sudden this morning when it was shifting it would "clunk" into the next gear and the car would kinda lurch. The motor revs before it lurches and clunks into gear.

It's really a loud clunk when I put it into reverse too. However, the clunk is delayed a few seconds after I put the car into reverse.

Does it sound like tranny issues to you?

Where can I take it to have it looked at without having to spend a bunch of cash I don't have? I don't want to replace the tranny. So if it turns out I need a new tranny I will prolly not fix it. So paying a diagnostic fee that will go towards the replacement of the tranny is a no go.

I live in the East County area of San Diego so someplace close to me would be ideal. if you know of a place let me know.

Thanks so much!

I sent you a PM.

When I first read the thread title I thought "Oh Mac, not again" but then I saw it was Shelvis.

It's a little far from east county, (Kearney Mesa) but this guy did some work for me and seems to be a straight shooter.

Free estimates, I believe.

Luis Transmission

May not be the transmission, could be a broken or worn out motor mount.

As a matter of fact, i was told a year ago I had to replace a motor mount! That can affect my sifting??? HMMMMM. Why do cars have to be so complicated?!

When men drive them, its generally not so complicated.

Have someone check the motor mounts and the trans fluid. Low fluid can cause the slippage.

I just want to get in it and drive. don't want to have to think about all the technical stuff!

I am going to take it in on Wednesday night and drop it off to be looked at Thursday!

Replacing the motor mounts is expensive! had to have that done on my Ranger years ago!

However, it is cheaper than a new tranny!

had my oil changed at Walmart yesterday and they "claim" they checked tranny fluid and it was okay. But I will still have that checked at the next place i take it.

low fuild maybe- that was the issue on my dodge. same issues

2001 Saturn SL1 150,000 miles maybe?

Walmart Mechanics are much like women drivers...

exactly why I am taking it to a real mechanic to check it out!
Although they did say my oil was overful which was correct because I just added two quarts 15 minutes earlier without checking to see if it needed any. Which is why I drove it straight to Walmart to have it changed! i know that driving with too much oil is not good just like not having any or enough!

What was wrong with it?

if its motor mounts have mike330r do the work also

When was the last time the transmission was serviced?

If it's the upper motor mount to the front of the car (dog bone looking)
Some of those can be changed with minimal tools (cresent wrench and a piece of pipe)

took it to AAMCO this morning.

The guy said that they think if they replace the Valve Body it may fix it. However, if not then I can rebuild the tranny and the cost of the valve body (parts and labor) will go towards the tranny rebuild. Tranny rebuild "base price" is $1500.

I have no idea which motor mount is not good and they didn't notice while diagnosing the tranny that I even have a bad motor mount.

I am going to talk to the guy again on Monday to get a firm quote on the parts and labor for the valve body and confirm that IF I do need to go ahead and do the rebuild that he will truly apply the previous parts and labor to the rebuild.

I am not in a position to get a new vehicle right now. This one has 119,000 miles on it ( I actually looked this morning) and is 10 years old. Need to try and get another couple years out of it if I can.

Shelling out 1500 bucks is gonna hurt but I really have no choice

Stay away from AAMCO!!!!

Why? You gotta tell me why. Where would you say to go if not AAMCO??????

Oh and the tranny has never been serviced unless it was one of the "things" Saturn did. I did everything they told me to do up until the 90,000 mile service.

Crooks, don't know what they are doing.
Most likely you need a trans overhaul. At 120K no one in their right mind would do
a patch job on that trans. Try these guys-Trans shop

This was many years ago, but...
Had a Ford Exploder and I was taking some bolts of fabric up to OC.
Trans came apart in just N of Pendleton. I had it towed to aamco, got a rental car, and finished my work (this was a sunday so everyone was closed).
Called aamco monday morning and told them the story and that I left the keys on the car so they could get a look at it. I am in San Diego.
They tell me its going to be a full rebuild and thats almost 3k. Being so far away and not knowing any better I had them fix it.
week later I pick it up.
2 months later, I was towing a jetski up the grade (E San Diego) the trans let go. Fluid was so hot, it was burning holes in the asphalt.
Got a tow back into town and had them drop it off at aamco in El Cajon.
They called and said it would be a total rebuild. I smiled and said, its got a 1 year warranty from the aamco up north.
Lots of bicker etc, They wanted me to tow it back up to the original shop.
eventually they work on it and I guess the way it works it the original shop has to pay the bills. You bet they covered towing also.
Week later I get the car and all seems well.
Less than 6 months later, Im in Phx and guess what!
KaBoom - the bitch blew up again.
Have it towed to phx aamco and get the same freaking run around. I tell the owner in some very harsh words that he best be making the calls and that I was tired of all this BS.
Phx trans didnt make it another 3 months.
They fixed it again, and I sold the car.

I sat down and started writing letters to their corp headquarters. Basically I told them Im gonna be forced to sell this car because I can no longer rely on it. I explained that with a Chilton's manual and a decent set of tools, I could probably rebuild a transmission to last longer than any of their shops.
Of course they call me and ask me what I want to do to take care of this.
Full Refund from day 1 is what I want to make this go away. They basically said no way.
I got intouch with the VP which was female and I asked her to imagine having a family and having to go through what Ive gone through and what would she want done.
She told me she would want it fixed right.
Thats when I told her they had 3 times to fix it right.

2 weeks later I received a letter and a check for all towing and original repair
In the letter the VP still asked that I let them make it right. They didnt know by this time I sold the car.
I said Thanks, but no thanks.

Long winded, but thats my AAMCO story. Everytime I see a commercial, my blood boils..
Until they pull the valve body pan, they are making a guess and thats BS,

Daves auto rebuilt my honda trans cheap and it was done in a matter of a weeks.
Lots of people on this board use him and hes a member as well. Ive had nothing but first class service for years now.
Dave's Auto in Chula Vista.. Doesnt charge you a dime to look at it.

So should he take it to Aamco?

This looks like a good recommendation. Or Dave's.

Anywhere but AAMCO.

he's a board member? hmmmm.
Thanks for all the input everyone!

Dave's Auto charges $144 to put it on the machine and diagnose it and they do not put that money towards any rebuild of the tranny.

I can't afford that at all.

got a totally different answer from Allied Gardens Auto place about what they thought would be wrong and what they would recommend being done.

If you have any mechanical experience, a basic set of tools and a jack, you can change your own motor mounts. In my opinion, that is most likely what is causing your 'clunk' sound, especially if you can feel the clunk in your steering wheel. My wife's Lexus needed them, and that just freshened up the whole car.

An auto trans *generally* will stop shifting, or start major slippage or stop downshifting when coming to a stop when it starts failing.

AAMCO is not a good place. Your trans will always need a rebuild, no matter what reason you take it in there. There is a reason they give all the 'free' inspections. Dave charges $144 probably because he will spend about 1.5 hours checking everything out.

Good luck!
John