Transmission issues: Car got stuck, now seems fine...

[fauch]

OK so I am in the US for a month or so and am using my late grandfather's 2000 Mercury Sable that my father keeps around as a spare car. Only 70,000 miles and well taken care of. It has never caused any problems but the other day when driving from upstate NY to Long Island the tranny light started flashing in the middle of nowhere and as I had no idea what it meant, and there was nowhere to even stop I kept driving until the car eventually died right in the middle of the Goethals Bridge in Staten Island. It first started slipping badly and eventually would not move forward in any gear. (Reverse DID work).

Turns out it was VERY low on ATF and after we filled it with 5 quarts!!! (manual says this particular tranny holds over 12) the car seems 100% fine. When I was stuck I noticed a fairly large leak of fluid, but now there still is a small leak but very negligible. It made it back from SI without a hitch and we've been testing it for a few days and fluid levels seem stable and no problems. Drove to Manhattan and back last night no sweat. No remnant that there was ever a problem.

My father REFUSES to take it in to be checked out, and I am worried to "take my chances". It's not my car so it's really not my place to do so and I don't have money to pay. Clearly there is a leak somewhere and the fluid did not simply evaporate and I SAW it on the road when I was stuck. But now it is not leaking badly if at all. Could it just have been that it was slowly leaking for maybe years and my luck it hit a critical point the other day? What are the chances of me NOT getting stuck again? Any general advice besides to keep a gallon of ATF in the trunk?

[cbelt3]

Odds are that after a slow leak a seal was exposed, dried out, and leaked like crazy. Your Dad is reasonably afraid of the old 'it's gonna need a new transmission', when it probably just needs an ATF replacement and a pan seal replacement. At 70K miles that's a common maintenance activity.

If he's got a favorite shop I'd take it there for a basic ATF flush and fill. The cost should be less than $100.

[C(-)ris]

If it has a leak it probably gets worse as the transmission heats up. Take it for another really long drive and it will probably all leak out again. Probably going to have to take it to a shop and find out where it is leaking from. If you are lucky it is an easy to get to seal...unlucky and it could be a crack in the housing or a pump. A reputable transmission shop should be able to find the leak and advise on if it is fixable or not.

[davester]

fauch wrote:
My father REFUSES to take it in to be checked out, and I am worried to "take my chances". It's not my car so it's really not my place to do so and I don't have money to pay. Clearly there is a leak somewhere and the fluid did not simply evaporate and I SAW it on the road when I was stuck. But now it is not leaking badly if at all. Could it just have been that it was slowly leaking for maybe years and my luck it hit a critical point the other day? What are the chances of me NOT getting stuck again? Any general advice besides to keep a gallon of ATF in the trunk?

The leak certainly didn't fix itself so it's likely to come back if you drive around, which means that this particular car is not useful as reliable transportation. Not a situation I'd put myself in. If I were you I'd either rent a car, pay for the mechanic to check it out with your own money (apparently a non-starter with you), or take the bus.

[Dennis S]

I had something similar happen in a '97 Avalon. Luckily the nice man at the shop replaced or fixed something for $100. The same thing happened to my aunt. The same guy fixed hers for little money. I think there's a good chance it's something simple like that. If you're going to be driving much at all, I would at least get an estimate and pay out of my pocket if it was reasonable.

[Speedy]

I was towing a somewhat heavy but unladen trailer with my '97 Taurus (clone to your Sable) and it dumped its ATF all over the road. I had it hauled back home and filled it back up with fresh ATF to try to find the leak (ATF all over the the tranny so not easy to spot). I could not find the leak but I assumed it was the front seal. I just drove it expecting it to again belch ATF. It never leaked again in many thousands of miles. I never used it again to tow.

[fauch]

Well I drove the car for the rest of my trip without so much as a hitch. Only had to top off the fluid once and not even a quart and I was driving it under unpleasant NYC traffic conditions. So either it was leaking for a LONG time and it just coincidentally hit critical when I was driving it or there was some set of circumstances that caused a major leak that was not present under normal conditions.

Now if my father chooses to fix it, it is up to him...