Chevy Camaro

MONKEYBONE

MEMBER
CHEVROLET CAMARO

Hi.
i've used your site before, and was very happy with your advice. Now I need you again. :Lol:
i have a 96 chevy camaro v-8 lt1 engine. Automatic transmission. 100,000 miles.
we've had the car for 6 months, and today the transmission started acting up.
my son was driving it in overdrive because some people told him it saved gasoline, when the car slowed to about thirty mph. The transmission would go into first and second, but not into third, and wouldnt go any faster than 30 mph. So he called me to rescue him.
i went up there and not only was the car unable to go faster than 30 the radiator fluid was leaking from the car. Weird, . Huh?The car isnt overheating, it's running around 130 degrees. The car is designed to safely run at 260.
i drove it home, and like I said he was driving it in overdrive, so I decided to try"drive" instead, it got up to 30. And wouldnt shift. So I decided to put it in the "2" position, and I got it up to 45 mph, and it shifted fine, but because of what he told me I didnt want to push it past that point and possibly damage the car further.
i then decided to try "overdrive", and again up to 45 mph it did fine, shifted and everything. But in drive, it would only get up to 30 and wouldnt shift right like it should.
at a point even in overdrive and second, it seemed as if it wasnt going to go faster than 30, but once I accelerated, it did fine. But 45 was my limit on how fast I wanted to push the car. Maybe you could give me some tips, or sugestions on what to check first, before I take it to a mechanic. Since i've had the car, i've already put about two thousand dollars in repairs into it.I'm ready to pull my hair out. PLEASE any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Vivian :lol:

2 Replies

MONKEYBONE

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Thanks. But the fluid I saw leaking seemed to be radiator fluid, the camaro has been parked for a few days, no fluid under the car now. And it didnt overheat.
But I will check it again.
I checked the transmission dipstick, and it seems full. But again, i'll check that again, also.
Now about the shifting problem. The car will shift into first and second, but wont shift into third, acts as if it goes into nuetral instead. There is no problem with the reverse gear.
My husband test drove it and tried to shift manually, first he put it in first low then second, it shifted well in those gears, but when he put it in drive it's like he put it in nuetral? Car wont go over 30 mph in drive. But will get up to 45 plus. In other gears.
When we bought the car we had a mechanic check the tranny, and service it, they said the tranny looked good, we even had a computer diagnosis done on the engine, but still ended up spending a couple grand on repairs over a period of 6 months. Should I just give up and sell?
I really like the car, but, cant afford all the repairs.
Please help. And again, thanks for answering. Vivian :roll: