a couple weeks ago i was driving along on an icy road and it felt like my tires were loosing traction. i assumed i was just slipping on the ice. soon after i had no power to the wheels. pulled over to find fluid leaking out of a hole in my tranny pan. i fixed the hole and refilled with tranny fluid. drove fine for a couple days and then started to act funny. it is slow shifting between gears and feels like it slips out of gear now and then. Im assuming i did some damage when i was driving as it ran out of fluid. if i wasnt on an icy road i would have known to stop much sooner. the fluid level is good but its quite dark in color. not sure what to do next. is my tranny toast? could it possibly help to change the fluid and filter? since i only fixed the hole, i didnt remove the pan and change the filter. i dont want to buy fluid and filter and go through the trouble of removing the pan if its just a waste of time. Any suggestions are very much appreciated!

 

How big of a hole? Did it slowly leak or gush out? Loss of fluid means loss of pressure. This causes clutches to slip and burn. Cheapest thing to do is get one from a salvage yard. You'll be looking for a vehicle with heavy impact damage. This means it was moving at the time of the accident.

 

small hole but it was squirting out pretty fast. still havent figured out what caused it. almost looked like a drilled hole with an eighth inch bit. almost like someone got lazy and drilled the hole to change the fluid and then just put a screw in it that eventually came out.

im also thinking a salvage yard is my best bet. so is there any chance that changing the fluid and filter could help? ive been forced to drive it any way now and then and the slipping doesnt seem to be getting any worse. is rebuilding this myself even an option? i consider myself pretty mechanically inclined, but are there a lot of special tools required? if i go the salvage yard route, what makes and models will work for the 02 blazer(3.4l)?

 

What I did was get one from the salvage yard and installed. The original I rebuilt. I had to buy one special tool. It is like a snap ring plyer. What it is called is lock ring player. Similar to the snap but the lock ring has no holes. The other tool really required is a spring compressor. I fabricated one really cheap. It was really not difficult. You will just need clean well lit work space.

 

Thanks a lot for the info. Really appreciate it. If I decide to go the rebuild route, do you know of any good resources to help me along the way? Like any good videos or step by step books? Also I'm curious how heavy the tranny is. Is it something ill be able to man handle myself? I'm not a huge guy.

 

I found some good videos. Would my tranny be a 4l60e? Are there any variations of it?

 

The transmission is heavy. The job of removing and installing a transmission is always easiest with the assistance of an auto lift and a transmission jack. The next best thing is having the vehicle on jack stands and having a low profile transmission jack to lower and raise the transmission. Raising the transmission using a floor jack is next to impossible and will cause you much frustration. Everything about unbolting is fairly easy with the exception of one bolt which is at the top of the bell housing on the drivers side. I am able to use a wobble socket and a long extension to break it loose but removing the bolt completely is always very slow going due to the limited space. I will take a pics today of some of the tools necessary when I perform a removal.
I will also show you the spring compressor I made.

 

Thank you very much for the help. I'm still trying to decide if a want to tackle the rebuild myself. I actually don't have a garage so the removal will be in the driveway and I have an 8 x 8 area in my house where I could put down some plastic for the rebuild. I will have to rent a transmission lift. I'm curious if there's anything I could have damaged that a stage 4 rebuild kit wouldn't replace. I don't remember who said it to me, but they mentioned something about the bands possibly being scored from driving without fluid. Not really sure what those are, or if they are included in a rebuild kit. That would be great if you could take some pics. I know a welder that could throw something together if needed for the spring compressor. I saw one rebuild kit on eBay that was an upgrade that actually uses 8 or 9 friction plates instead of 6, but not sure if that's the best choice. I just want something that I know will work without any problems. Any recommendations on which kit would be great. Thanks again.

 

It can pretty messy. I don't think I would do this job in my house.
Materials and information source: www.transstar1.com