My friend was going to replace my transmission with one he had so I drove it to his place in limp mode and told him it would not work any other way. He decided to test it later that night and drove it around until it overheated, I told him the transmission probably overheated from too many rooms he said it doesn't have a trans cooler but I beg to differ, he also mentioned the battery light came on. Then he hooked it up to his truck and a tow dolly without disconnecting the drive shaft. When he started it again it started making a horrible noise. I'm not a certified mechanic but I know the basics, and I know you need to disconnect the drive shaft because it will continue to spin but I'm not sure what damage that will cause exactly. I immediately had it towed back to my house on a flat bed and of course he already spent the money I gave him so now that I've saved up enough and found another transmission, what else can I expect to need to replace as far as the damaged caused by improper towing? Drive shaft? Transfer case? I would like to get the parts all at once to save on shipping.
This is a 95 blazer, 4 door, 4x4AT, engine w, front tires were on a dolly and I'm sure it was pulled from front. Any advice appreciated!

 

The transfer case wont be hurt but boy the transmission is toast. Did he not put t case in neutral?
The drive shaft will be ok.
Brad

 

He says it was in neutral and I'm sure the column shifter was but the 4wd is electronic and he said the battery died when it overheated so I doubt he could have made sure it was in 2hi since there wasn't any power. I'm ordering a transmission from a salvage yard and a torque converter, I'm thinking I should get a new transfer case too?

 

Friend is clueless. Find another one..

trans cooler in radiator usually.

"The driveshaft back- drives the internals in the trans without the input turning to drive the fluid pump" is the classical explanation although I've not verified it.

Towing In neural is irrelevant.

 

How far has it been towed that way? Short distances (1-2 miles) should not cause damage, which would be to the bearings in the transmission.
Transfer case should be fine it's a self contained unit in it's own oil bath. (Ah, Transman34 already said that)

Look on the right side of your radiator. Have 2 lines going into and out of the side case of the rad - then you got trans cooler. If not - you don't.

And just to cover all the bases a couple more questions.
What does that mean "he drove around until it overheated". What did overheat? Engine? Transmission? Which indications?
What do you mean with "horrible noise"?

 

It appears I do have a trans cooler, that's what I thought although I didn't think about that needing to be replaced do thanks for your responses.
​​​​​​ When I drove it to his place originally it was only driving in low gear, or limp mode, max speed 30mph, and I told him that it had to be in 1. So he took it out after I left driving in over drive or drive and the rpms were red lining-way too high, he was telling me that wouldn't cause it to over heat but I called BS, then apparently it started smoking from the engine compartment

and the battery light came on and then the car died and he couldn't start it back up so he went home and got his tow dolly and dragged it back to his place, 2 or 3 miles. He called me the next day and I went over there to check it out and when he started it up it was shaking and making a squelling noise. That's when I called the tow company and had it towed back to my place, he and I haven't spoken since.
I'm assuming the trans is toast, I was planning on replacing it anyway, also the flex plate, and now the trans cooler too.
Previously I had an issue if I drove it over 45mph or over the high bridge leaving my neighborhood-with a steep incline at 45mph+ I would get some black smoke coming out the exhaust and it wouldn't die but after I shut it off it wouldn't start again unless I would pop the trans dipstick out and start it from neutral. People were suggesting I drive it on the highway at high speed to burn off any build up since I mostly use it to drive around my neighborhood and my 2 mile commute to work but I figured it had to do with the transmission going out and shortly after the higher gears stopped working. Also it was loosing a lot of fluid although I didn't see any apparent leaks of red fluid anywhere. That's when I first found this site and reading all the previous threads on this particular transmission I figured it best to replace or rebuild.
Thanks again this site has been a wonderful resource!

 

I replied to this thread but I'm still waiting for approval. I attached a photo of the radiator with 2 hoses so looks like I have a trans cooler. Also, I've never had any issue with overheating the engine or otherwise, I'm sure was caused by red lining the rpms. It was stuck in limp mode and I told him I only drove it there in low or "1" and that it wouldn't go over 30mph. But I left and he immediately took it for a test run and he didn't listen and left it in od and drove it about 2 miles until it started smoking and the battery light came on and then it immediately died. He couldn't get it started again so he got his dolly and dragged it back to his place without disconnecting drive shaft. He says he charged the battery and started it up and it started making a squelching kind of noise and shaking like something bouncing around inside the engine compartment. I was thinking the flex plate was broken for sure but I don't know if that's from towing or overheating. It was hard to get a straight answer when I asked him for details like why he didn't disconnect drive shaft he kept giving me the I'm a "certified mechanic" I know what I'm doing. Obviously not!

Since I knew it would be awhile to save up for a new tranny again I tried to siphon the gas out of the tank, I got a transfer pump from harbor freight and I don't know if the hose isn't long enough but I couldn't get anything out. It's possible someone beat me to it but this is my zombie apocalypse vehicle and I always refill when it got down to 1/2 tank.

Thanks again for your help! This forum has been an indispensable resource :-)

Side note: I trusted him with my blazer because he worked as a mechanic for county metro for years until he quit to start his own moving business. He sucks at both. Known him 10 years and he had a young daughter and this was around xmass so I thought I would throw some money his way and get my transmission fixed-to good to be true!

 

I'm not seeing any pictures... not sure if it's just me...

 

Couple funny symptoms here which may or may not relate to the transmission.

First thing that I'd suggest is to read all the codes. Then go from the findings.