Recently bought a 96 TE Magna for..wait for it.......$500 !!!!!! The body is straight as, and the motor runs real sweet, but.......the tranny has a problem!!!!!! When you drive off, everything seems ok, it changes through the gears ok, but when it hits top gear, after a short delay the tranny seems to disengage (no forward momentum) and the motor revs like it is in neutral !!! I noticed that every time this happens, the neutral light on the dash begins to flash. If I stop the engine and re-start the car, the same thing happens again !!! Anybody got any ideas as to what could be causing this problem??? I am going to change the tranny oil, as it does smell a bit, and see if that helps at all.

Sounds like your trans is a bit screwed up... you could be up for a lot of dollars. Take it to an auto trans specialist for a checkup and diagnosis.

Or maybe it is the ECU getting confused... hard to tell.

Welcome to the AMC by the way. Enjoy your stay :D

Welcome,

how many K's has the car done?

What colour is the transmission oil? Should be bright Red.

With the RevVvVv'ing out, I'm pritty sure this is not an ECU problem, however it could be (If you have A/T mode or the O/D button engaged try driving with it dis-engaged and see if it makes a difference, could be the bands worn out, otherwise could be that the drive plates are worn/wearing, for $500 you should expect to pay $1800+, otherwise consider a replacement transmission, try the search button in this section, I posted a whole list of Repairers for Trans/Engines.

Good luck

Not my experties, but have you tried resetting everything? aka, disconnect battery. Who knows... stranger things have happened

Not my experties, but have you tried resetting everything? aka, disconnect battery. Who knows... stranger things have happened
Worth a try I guess... but that issue sounds pretty extreme hey? You could come very unstuck in the wrong place... potentially dangerous.

If the N light is flashing, this is an error code from the AT computer.

Flashing slowly is an overheat condition, quickly is an input/output mismatch (slip)

You should think about a reco trans methinks... Take it to an auto tranny specialist for diagnosis.

Cheers
Heath Young

Even if you buy a reco box in the event the current one is stuffed, you still have a dirt cheap TE!!! :P

Thanks for all the responses, now I am more confused than ever !! I will now try and answer all your questions....
1/ Tranny neutral light is flashing reasonably fast...what is fast, what is slow?? Maybe twice a second !!
2/ Had the battery disconnected for two days, as it was flat when I picked it up. Charged battery, starts fine, No difference to tranny though....
3/ KMS = 255,000
4/ Tranny oil is not red doh!! maybe a browny red colour. The previous owner tells me that it is possible that someone may have put engine oil (ouch !!!) in the tranny by mistake.......
5/ How much would I expect to pay for a reco box?with installation. The car is otherwise in excellent condition, and I am happy to throw a few bucks at it to get it right..

By the way, it has the original radio cassette installed, but I need the code for activation. I don't have the owners manual. What can I do to get it cranking at a massive "2 watts per channel"

mate get a reco tranny put in, even if its like 2 grand u still only paid 2500 for a 1996 family car! thats cheap as chips in anyones books

I think you might be right !!!!

I just had my whole transaxle replaced with a second hand unit (51,000K's) fitted for $1550.

If it has had engine oil through it, even if they rebuild the tranny and flush it right out, traces of the contaminant engine oil will remain (mainly in the torque converter).

Get a whole new reconditioned transmission in. If you got a similar deal to Neil (HyperTF), then you still have a car that only owes you just over $2000, which is awesome.

I'd also spend the $500 and get your timing belt replaced with a whole kit (not just the belt) and a FULL set of seals as well. A couple of guys on here just had the belt done without having seals replaced, and ended up with a sumpfull of oil on the road about 20kms later.

Congrats on your purchase, welcome to the club, hope you have a pleasant stay.

Mate for $500 it's pretty hard to lose out....a wrecker or scrap merchant will give you at least $300 and cash in the rego....

It sounds as though with 255,000 k's on the clock it needs a major service, which the previous owner probably never bothered to do.....ever.

Go through the car carefully check ALL your fluids , get your cooling system pressure tested and check the colour and amount of coolant, power steering fluid, brakes...etc

Air filters and petrol filters probably need replacing.

Things like CV boots might need to be replaced....the usual wear and tear.

Sounds like a great project turning this $500 car into a GREAT $500 car.